• Luke Nichols has been sharing content on his Outdoor Boys YouTube channel for close to a decade now.
  • Videos of Nichols camping in extreme conditions has amassed nearly 15 million subscribers.
  • The creator said the fame can be “overwhelming” and that he plans to spend more time with family.

Luke Nichols, the mind behind the renowned

YouTube

channel, Outdoor Boys, is saying farewell to the nearly 15 million followers he’s garnered by posting videos of himself camping in desolate conditions.

The father of three said in a five-minute video published Saturday titled

“Goodbye”

He plans to take a short break from producing content so he can dedicate more time to his family.

One factor, he explained, was due to the considerable attention he garnered from the increase in his follower count and viewer numbers over the last twelve months or so.

Nichols started Outdoor Boys in 2015 and has about 14.9 million subscribers.

In the video, the creator mentioned that 12 million of these subscribers were acquired within the last 18 months, during which his content also garnered over 6.8 billion views altogether.

“The sheer volume of fans trying to contact me, trying to take pictures with me, or just trying to come up and talk to me in public can be a bit overwhelming at times,” Nichols said. “And my wife and I, we both have real concerns about what this will do to our family if I keep growing my YouTube channel at this pace. And the time to stop is before this problem gets so out of hand that my family and I can’t live normal lives.”

Nichols said there are other reasons for his decision to step back from his channel.

The creator mentioned that he aims to dedicate more quality time to his kids, such as assisting his eldest son develop his outdoor-focused YouTube channel called “Outdoor Tom.” Additionally, he expressed an interest in starting efforts to help others, though he did not elaborate on specific ways this would be done.

He mentioned, ‘I’ve dedicated considerable time to concentrating on myself, my family, and expanding my business. Now, I feel it’s essential to take a step back and prioritize assisting others instead. I’m enthusiastic about seeing how this new path unfolds.’

Nichols mentioned that there are numerous uncompleted video projects along with some ambitious campaign trips he intends to undertake. He stated that should he choose to wrap up these endeavors and capture them on camera, he will upload all the resulting footage onto his channel as one extensive release towards the year’s conclusion.

Nichols couldn’t be reached for comment.

The

creator economy

has seen rapid grown since the advent of YouTube in 2005. Goldman Sachs estimated in 2023 that the industry was worth about $250 billion and could grow to half a trillion by 2027.

Still, some people working in industry, amassing six to even

seven figures

from content creating, have reported experiencing

creator burnout

Partly due to the necessity of continuously producing material to stay significant.


MrBeast

The top YouTube personality, boasting over 395 million subscribers, praised Nichols’ choice in his reply to a tweet.

“Good for him, to know what matters to him and stick to it is admirable,” he wrote. “People don’t realize how draining it can be to constantly be stared at and take photos out in public.”

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