Last weekend, a beloved YouTuber bid farewell to the video platform.
Gaining 15 million subscribers over 11 years, the YouTube channel Outdoor Boys became a global community for anyone interested in wilderness survival, fishing and extreme wild camping.
Creator Luke Nichols entertained millions by sharing his journey on multi-day solo treks to building snowstorm survival shelters in the Alaska wilderness.
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In his farewell video, Nichols called his YouTube journey 'a wild ride' but decided to step away from the platform after things went a bit 'too far.' The father-of-three revealed that the rapid growth of his channel, gaining 12 million new subscribers in just 18 months, has come with challenges.
With other channels and platforms 'stealing' his content, Nichols estimates that his family has been viewed 'over four billion times,' on top of the 2.8 billion views directly on his channel.
But just how much could he be leaving behind by stepping away from the YouTube game?
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According to Social Blade, which calculates a YouTuber's estimated earnings based on 'the average amount of views,' found Nichols was likely earning anywhere between $790 to $12,600 per day for his videos.
Monthly, this comes out anywhere between $23,000 to $380,000.
Now, drum roll please...
Given his mix of family fishing and bushcraft camping content, Nichols could have been earning around $285,000 to a whopping $4,500,000 a year! That’s not hard to believe when you look at the performance of his videos, many of which clocked in tens of millions of views.
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For example, his video "Solo Camping in Survival Shelter During Snow Storm" hit 74 million views, and "Stranded in Alaska's Rainforest – 3 Days Solo Camping" gathered 39 million.
Despite the massive success and income, Nichols said the decision came down to wanting a more 'normal life' for himself and his family.
In the video, he shared his gratitude for the channel and community that allowed him to 'provide for his family while making wonderful memories with his wife and kids.'
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While Nichols said he 'still enjoys making videos and going on adventures,' it's time to 'start focusing on other things'.
Over on Reddit, fans of Outdoor Boys have been discussing the channel's earnings, estimating around $500k to half a million a year.
"I would not be surprised if he was making quite an incredible amount just from YouTube," one Reddit user said while another agreed: "I think you’re right, $500k a year sounds about right."