Tragic Details That Will Change The Way You Look At These Youtubers
Some people think that streaming and creating content on sites like YouTube is an incredibly easy and fun job. While it's definitely got its perks, there are plenty of drawbacks, too. While daily streaming can be harsh on the body, there are also aspects of streaming that are incredibly taxing mentally, especially when streamers encounter tragic events.
Streamers live their lives on camera — even when they want to keep things private, some events are impossible to hide. When they're going through difficult circumstances, or when questions about a streamer's past start popping up in chat, many opt to explain their situation. Some YouTubers have opened up about some very tragic events that have happened in their lives, either as a way to connect with viewers or to cope with things going on. Whatever their reasons, these YouTubers have been open and honest with the world about tragic details in their lives.
Ludwig
Ludwig made a name for himself as one of Twitch's most popular streamers after a massively successful subathon, but the streamer eventually decided to make the switch to YouTube. Before changing his streaming home, Ludwig frequently posted videos to YouTube as well, and appeared in other content creators' projects. Before he officially joined YouTube, Ludwig sat down to discuss his father's death with Dr. K of HealthyGamerGG, a channel dedicated to gamers' mental health.
Ludwig opened up and explained that his father died because of alcoholism. While he didn't know — or didn't get into — the specifics, Ludwig's father began to experience a health crisis and refused hospital care. Suddenly, things turned deadly. Ludwig was only 10 years old when everything happened, and he remembered knowing what death was and understanding that his father wasn't coming back. Though he made jokes about the incident, he clearly felt affected by his loss.
Ludwig has talked about his father other times too, and he's discussed how he didn't want his father's death to be something people would feel uncomfortable about when making jokes around him. It's more disturbing for people to avoid talking about people who died, Ludwig explained.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
CouRageJD
CouRageJD was one of the first Twitch streamers to make the hop to YouTube, and he's been hard at work on the platform ever since. Like any popular streamer, he's worked hard to get where he is. However, he's also sacrificed a lot to end up where he is in his career.
In a "May Contain Action" podcast from March 2020, CouRage discussed his life and what got him to where he was at that time. He spoke about how hardworking he was, even as a teenager, and how he always sought opportunities to push ahead. However, this led to him having to sacrifice things you simply can't get back — like time with family. While many people know CouRageJD as a streamer, he was originally a caster for games like "Call of Duty" and "Fortnite." At times, his grind with casting jobs would cause him to miss holidays with his family.
When he decided he wanted to stream full-time instead, he kept his same mentality and threw everything he had at it. This caused him to live in a way that was "unhealthy," living with little furniture in a bare-bones apartment and doing little else besides eat and sleep. CouRageJD pointed out that the choices he's made are also what gave him the success that he has today.
PewDiePie
PewDiePie, one of the most well-known gaming content creators, has openly spoken about the whiskey addiction that changed his life. In a YouTube video from November 2021, he explained that he had been drinking whiskey daily — however, he didn't realize it was a problem until he tried quitting. PewDiePie's journey to quit first started back in late 2017/early 2018, around the same time he had a stunning transformation and started taking charge of his health.
After successfully quitting his drinking habit for a few months, PewDiePie talked about how he convinced himself that it would be ok to start drinking whiskey again. He also mentioned that he was anxious at the time, as he'd gotten into several feuds online, and that "drinking ... to sort of escape emotions is a recipe for disaster." He was also "scared of losing YouTube," which he called another addiction that "fueled" his whiskey addiction.
When he quit drinking again, the withdrawals were harsh. PewDiePie turned to nicotine patches to satisfy his craving itch. However, he realized that he was just trading one addiction for another and eventually quit nicotine as well. Quitting a second time also came with harsh withdrawals, but PewDiePie stuck with it and was able to stop both habits.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Sykkuno
Being a streamer isn't always easy, and unfortunately, there are risks that are associated with being in the spotlight all the time. While terrifying situations can happen when streamers leak personal information on accident, bad things can happen even when streamers take the utmost care with their private details. Sykkuno experienced this firsthand when someone showed up at his house and completely destroyed his internet line. For a streamer like Sykkuno, whose full-time job relies on the connection being stable enough to play games, having no internet made it impossible to work.
He mentioned that he tried to use his mobile hotspot, but it only lasted two hours before the service on his phone slowed down so much that it was impossible to use. That led to a two-day blackout, though it wasn't necessarily a two-day break for Sykkuno. Instead, the forced vacation days made him feel disconnected and bored, since he couldn't even load anything on his phone — the perks of blowing through his phone's data while attempting to use it as a hotspot.
DrLupo
DrLupo had to handle an entirely different type of fear while live-streaming; Someone donated on his live stream with a note that they were contemplating suicide. When the donation came in, DrLupo immediately encouraged the viewer to talk to someone and mentioned that he "expected to hear from [the viewer] in the morning." DrLupo gave the viewer explicit instructions about setting an alarm and calling the suicide hotline, which was immediately put in chat when DrLupo brought attention to the donation note. After a few more encouraging words, DrLupo shut the stream down.
The next morning, the viewer reached out to DrLupo and showed up on DrLupo's stream. At that point, DrLupo mentioned that he'd had experiences where he was in "the same mindset" as the viewer. He continued to give encouraging words to help the viewer. DrLupo didn't go into detail about the things that have led him to understand the viewer's feelings. However, he has publicly dealt with several events in his own life that could've led to him overcoming his own mental struggles, like losing his father.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
TimTheTatman
TimTheTatman has also dealt with his fair share of tragic times in his life, including the death of his mom. Tim spoke about his mom's death in the past, saying that his mom died due to health complications related to her weight. This led to TimTheTatman undergoing his own stunning transformation on a journey to be healthy.
It's not something he's talked about on stream very often, but his actions towards his fans and his family have shown that her death affected him. He's used his experience of losing his mom to relate to fans who have also lost a parent. In the past, he's also talked about how he keeps his family close, like taking his "gram" out to lunch or bringing his dad on his stream. He's also very affectionate to his wife, and his viewers even call her "mom" the same way they call Tim "dad." Losing a parent is almost always difficult, but Tim has used the tragic loss of his mom at a young age to help others.
Valkyrae
Gaming queen Valkyrae's 2021 blue-light protection makeup, RFLCT, was a project that went south quickly before being shut down altogether. Valkyrae revealed just how much damage was done by the scandal, both financially and in terms of her mental health.
RFLCT was effectively terminated after people started realizing that the science behind the blue-light skin care didn't really exist. This was a problem that Valkyrae originally thought would be addressed by RFLCT, but the company never managed to post additional information.
After struggling to speak at the beginning of her stream, Valkyrae explained that she was in therapy because of everything that happened. This wasn't her first time opening up about the tragic mental health issues she's struggled with — in the past, she's discussed how anxiety and depression have been a problem for her. The RFLCT scandal brought her symptoms back to the forefront again in the midst of all the negativity and backlash she received.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.