Outdoor Boys makes surprise appearance on YouTube following retirement from channel with 19 million subscribers

One of YouTube biggest retired creators has now made a surprise appearance in a new video, simultaneously leaving fans shocked and delighted as he returns after saying goodbye over a year ago.

Having earned over 19 million subscribers across 10 years of making videos, many people were rightfully surprised when Luke Nichols – better known by his channel name 'Outdoor Boys' – announced his retirement from the video sharing platform.

The decision was revealed a year ago this month, with Nichols citing privacy concerns as the primary motivating factor behind his retirement — especially as he had gained the majority of his subscribers (roughly 12 million) within the 18 months prior to his decision.

Nichols has since released a handful of videos since that decision was made, including a few that were pre-recorded before his retirement and one to help out a friend who was going through a difficult period in his life, although he has started a new career off the back of his departure.

Something that some fans might not have been aware of, however, is that Tom – one of Luke's three sons – started his own YouTube channel that has been thriving since his father's retirement, and a special guest made an appearance in the most recent video.

As reported by Dexerto, Tom documented the completion of a major achievement in a recent video, showing how he made it through his first 'solo' bushcraft camping trip in Alaska, and many might be shocked to see quite how wild he was.

Being still early on in his teenage years, however, his father rightfully decided to still be nearby just in case something happened, with the pair communicating through walkie talkies between the two distinct camps.

The more prominent presence of his dad has left many fans of the Outdoor Boys overjoyed, as it felt like an old school video with a slightly different face leading things, but don't expect that to signal a proper return of any kind for the main channel.

Tom's channel is growing with each new upload, however, with his current subscriber count sitting just below the 2 million mark. Some of his videos have managed to stretch beyond 12 million views, showing that there's definitely a future for him on the platform.

"Miss watching Luke, I love that he gets involved with Tom's video and helps but also respect that he stays distance [sic] in the videos, won't talk to the camera ect, knowing this is Tom's venture," wrote one comment on Reddit appreciating the new content. They did add that they "still feel teased," though.

Another added that "it's very wholesome that he's not afraid to ask Luke for help when he needs it in these videos," whereas others commented on how deep the teenager's voice has become in such a short period of time.