Why Fe4RLess Abandoned His Audience | Internet Anarchist

0:00Having a massive audience on YouTube is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you gain unmatched levels of fame, and the potential to earn millions allowing you to turn your passion into a lucrative career. On the other hand, the pressure to meet the expectations of so many people with each new upload can really mess with your mind, leading to severe mental health issues like crippling anxiety and complete burnout, which might be exactly what happened with Fearless and made him abandon his audience. And while we don't know for certain, there's enough information out there to make a pretty solid guess. Hi, I'm the internet anarchist. I create weekly YouTube documentaries, and today we'll be examining the disappearance of Fearless. If you've watched my previous video about popular YouTubers who abandoned their audience, you'll know that Fearless was a part of it. However, Fearless's story has a lot more nuance than I was able to include in that video. So today, we're going to uncovering the reasons behind his decision to quit YouTube, and how his incredible popularity may have contributed

1:01to his downfall, and as you'll see later in the video, there's still hope for Fearless to make a potential comeback. But to truly understand why Fearless has appeared, we first need to look back at how he roost a fame and what made him stand out in the first place. Now, the thing about Fearless is that it's gone to great lengths to hide his real identity. We don't know who he is in real life, where he lives, or even how old he is. The only thing I found about him is that his real name might be Ali, because it used to be in his Instagram buyer. There's also this picture that has been flooding around on the internet for years, that many claim is Fearless, but he has never done a face reveal or confirmed that this picture is his. What we do know for sure is that Fearless uploaded his first YouTube video over a decade ago on December 21, 2013. It was nothing more than a 36 second clip of him making a few successful sniper shots in Call of Duty Ghosts, with no voice over or fancy editing.

2:06From there, he kept posting similar clips from different games, like Titanfall, Battlefield 4, and Halo. These videos were extremely primitive compared to his later uploads, but at their core, they still had elements, like his sniping skills, that would later become a key part of his brand. However, things started to change in February of 2015, when he began taking YouTube more seriously and uploaded his first video with a voice over. Where is this for? This kid's bad. No, there's no way you're this bad. He also started properly editing his videos to highlight funny moments and integrate memes. We had something, man. The way you looked at me when you entered the map, I thought we had something. And just nine months later, he hit his first big milestone on YouTube, 1000 subscribers. Things would only go up from here. He kept refining his editing style and comedic timing, and the views on his new uploads reflected the effort he was putting in.

3:07When finally, his video titled, Kicked From Face, became his first true viral success, with over 12 million views to date. In July of 2017, Phyllis hit 300,000 subscribers, and he couldn't have been happier with that accomplishment. Little did he know at the time, his channel was about to reach heights he never would have imagined. Just a few days after he uploaded his 300,000 subscribers special, a game called Fortnite got released and took over the internet. It was the only thing everyone was talking about. After seeing the game's success, Phyllis decided to jump in on the fun as well, and uploaded his first Fortnite video titled, Insane Sniper Shot, Fortnite Battle Royale, Funny and Epic Moments, and The Rest is History. This was an instant hit with each subsequent Fortnite video getting more views than the last. Phyllis also reached a million subscribers in June of 2018, and then 3 million subs in November of the same year. And while the success of the

4:13game certainly played a big part, the main reason people kept coming back to Phyllis' videos was because they were deeply entertaining. With comments like, I love you, and the mix of funny content and sick edits is just way too good. It was clear that fans loved every second of his videos. His Fortnite videos kept getting tens of millions of views, resulting in his channel reaching the 10 million subscriber mark by the end of 2020. But what should have been a triumph at a moment for fans quickly turned into something more heartbreaking. You see, while his videos were loved by millions, Phyllis had a massive flaw since the very beginning. His erratic upload schedule, with comments like, POV, you can't believe he uploaded in less than a month, being a common sight under his videos. At one point, the gap between uploads got so long that fans began speculating he might actually be dead. He even included the wild theory as a joke

5:17in his next upload. I love just going to say, if y'all watch Phyllis, he dies. He's at the hospital because of this infection. While his fans would have loved more uploads, they understood that what made Phyllis' content so great was his commitment to prioritise equality above all else. He only uploaded when he knew he had a banger video. Phyllis could have easily uploaded at least once a week, but that kind of forced content wouldn't have been as entertaining, so his fans were more than willing to wait patiently. However, their patients turned into concern after a cryptic statement from Phyllis himself. When a fan asked about his absence on TikTok, assuming he was on vacation, Phyllis replied with an unsettling comment. Vacation lol, I wish this was a vacation. If only you knew my life, brober. His situation became even more alarming during a livestream on his second channel

6:20in June of 2020. It started off quite normal, with him talking to the chat and wanting to thank them for joining individually. However, things took a dark turn when a fan asked about his upload schedule. The fan likely expected a joke or a snark you're a mark in return from Phyllis, but what he received instead was oddly serious and concerning. I'm sorry, it's life. I don't know, it's... You want to talk about it? Let's talk about it. All right. YouTube. How the fudget... Whoa. Nah. I don't want to get into it while I haven't been uploading stuff, but... Is personal? Is personal? I mean a little bit, and another thing is I just like...

7:24It doesn't matter. And just 20 minutes into the stream, Phyllis decided to shut it down, and ended it with a message that sounded like a final goodbye. I love you guys. I hope you have an amazing day. A blessed life. Free taking, I don't know. Take care for it, I'll take care. I love you guys. This left many viewers wondering if this was their last handle ever see Phyllis on YouTube, and these worries became even more justified when Phyllis didn't upload anything for the next four months. Fortunately, concerned viewers were able to breathe a sigh of relief when he uploaded his next video in December of that year, squashing any rumors of his retirement. Fans were over the moon to see him return to making regular content, resulting in the video getting over 2 million likes, and becoming the most liked video on his channel. With top comments on the video reading, Phyllis uploads, 2020 has been saved, and this video still feels like the old days. You'll love to see it.

8:30Welcome back. But while things looked great on the surface, a peek into the video's description revealed something incredibly odd, with Phyllis stating, Minecraft vid in a couple weeks. And sure enough, Phyllis delivered on his promise, and started 2021 with a surprise no one saw coming, a Minecraft video. Up until this point, he'd exclusively focused on shooters, so him switching to a single player survival game was a bit shocking to say the least, but for his fans, it wasn't about the game. It was about his personality and humour. We've all got those habits that just stick, whether it's grabbing a drink to fit in at a party, or reaching for something just because your hands feel empty. For moments like that, Fume, the sponsor of today's video, is a game changer. Fume is a flavoured air device, designed to give you something better to reach for. It's completely nicotine free, has no vapor, and comes in non-toxic flavours like crisp mint. My personal favourite. Fume doesn't require batteries

9:32or charging, so it's always ready to use whenever you need it. To sweeten the deal, it's also a third of the cost of most habits, making it an affordable and guilt-free alternative. Think of it as an awesome way to fill in that hand-to-mouth fixation without any of the usual downsides. Plus, Fume doubles as a sleek fidget tool with satisfying magnets and clicks. Perfect for keeping both your hands and mind-bizzy. Want to try it, head to TriFume.com slash internet anarchist and use code internet anarchist to get a free Fume top-up with your journey pack. Scan the QR code on screen and start your better habit journey today, but that being said, let's get back into the video. As long as those stayed the same, they were ready to support anything he played. Unfortunately, despite their warm reception of the new content, the anticipated next microfidio never arrived, days turned into weeks, and without any announcement or explanation, Fielis quietly vanished from the internet. It's been four years since his last upload, and Fielis hasn't posted any updates on his whereabouts or future plans. Living as fans,

10:33yearning for more videos, with a heartfelt comment under his last video reading, Miss Ubroh, I remember coming home from school super excited to see that you would upload it, and just watching it without even blinking once. I used to, and still sometimes just binge your old content. Now that you haven't been uploading, it's weird, not having a certain feeling like I was truly happy and entertained. You made us all smile and laugh. You were truly amazing at making content. I doubt you'll even read this, but if there's a chance you do, just know that we'll be waiting for you when you return, man. Which brings us to the big question that's on everyone's mind. What happened? Why did a YouTuber, a successful and beloved as Fielis, abandon his audience without warning? Fans have come up with dozens of theories over the years trying to explain his sudden disappearance, and while some of them are plausible, others are a bit too out there to be true, like the theory that claims he's actually dead. This used to be a common joke among fans when they had to wait months between uploads. But given how long it's been since his last video, some fans are starting to worry that the joke might have come true. Fortunately, there's

11:35enough evidence out there to prove that he's still alive in 12. For starters, we haven't seen any official news or updates about his death. Even if he kept his real life separate from his YouTube channel, you would think that some friend or family member would spread the news to fans if he had actually passed away. A fan named Snowy1X also matched up with Fielis in a random Fortnite game in June of 2021. While going through with social media accounts, I also found out he changes TikTok profile picture from this to this. Sometime between July 2022 and October 2023, more recently, Reddit user Glumpivibbe discovered that Fielis changes Minecraft's skin around Christmas as well. So he's definitely not dead. A more reasonable theory that explains his mysterious retirement is that he simply got tired of playing Fortnite. You see, a large chunk of Fielis' content revolved around finding and trolling default skin noobs in creative ways.

12:47But as time went on, the game became more serious. The unique new items that came with each new update got replaced with more traditional weapons that were good from a competitive sense, but extremely boring for a Fielis video. Even more importantly, the endless stream of noobs and low-skilled players from Fortnite's early days dried up. Over time, the majority of players became at least decent at the game, making it harder for Fielis to troll them in entertaining ways. What makes this theory even more believable is the fact that Fielis wasn't the only Fortnite grader losing interest in the game, as other big names like Ninja and T-Fu felt the same way around that time. The game is so fucking stupid, bro. The community's little fucking kids is so dumb. It really is, man. It's not fun. And the thing is, man, these little fucking cloud-chasing losers

13:49have no idea, man. Like all they're doing is just harming the game, man, because I'm not going to fucking play it. I'm not going to play it. I'm not going to stream it. This would also explain why he tried to pivot away from Fortnite and to play other big games at the time, like Minecraft. But when he struggled to find the same passion for Minecraft, as he once had for Fortnite, he decided to put down his controller and quit making videos. Some people have also put forward the idea that he simply quit because he already made it big. His channel has over 1.5 billion views in total, which translates into millions of dollars in revenue. And judging from his voice, Fielis was also quite young when he made these millions. So why would a young person want to grind day and night making videos when they already have enough money to last them a lifetime? That's entirely possible. However, based on what I've found, the real reason behind Fielis' appearance is far more tragic than him living it up on some tropical beach with his YouTube fortune. As I mentioned earlier, Fielis' dedication to quality was one of the biggest reasons his content stood out. He wanted to make each video better than the last. In his mind,

14:52every new upload had to be more funny, more entertaining, and more exciting to watch. Even when he was playing Call of Duty for less than 1000 subscribers, he was trying to improve continuously, working on his editing style, voiceover quality, and overall timing of comedic bits to deliver as big of a laugh as possible. And while this is a good mindset to have as a creder, there's only so much you can improve before the pressure of doing better becomes too great to handle. The pursuit of constant improvement can lead many people to abandon personal projects that have never shared with anyone. Now, imagine if that project was going to be seen by tens of millions of people. The sheer weight of the expectations would be crushing, which I believe is exactly what made Fielis quit YouTube altogether. On the one hand, the astronomical growth of his channel brought in more success than

15:55he could have ever imagined. But on the other hand, it also made him anxious to hit the upload button for each subsequent video, fearing that he might disappoint his millions of fans. Which can be seen in this TikTok comment from Fielis back in 2020, when someone asked him about his next upload on TikTok, where he replied stating, Bro, I have my next video done, I'm just scared AF to upload. A few months after his appearance, in July of 2021, I read a account by the name of GraphFielis started an AMA while claiming to be the real Fielis. And when fans asked him about the break, he mentioned things like, I had a panic attack after posting a video that made me seek therapy. And I love what I do, but the pressure did get to me. Therefore my break, I am in therapy about it, and I'm getting better. Unfortunately, this AMA turned out to be completely fake. With the original poster stating, this AMA is obviously fake. I hoped this would get a response from him and Provi is still alive. That failed unfortunately. That said, while this random fan was making things up, there was more truth in their words than they realised. In February of 2024, a YouTuber by the

17:01name of Kaylex did a deep dive into Fielis' disappearance. During his search, Kaylex managed to get in contact with a person named Pigo, who was friends with Fielis in real life. Fielis had even shouted out to Pigo in one of his Fortnite videos. So, his connection with Fielis was definitely real. Pigo confirmed many things about Fielis. Like how it used to work at a bakery, and that this was really him in this picture. Most importantly, Pigo verified the theory that the reason Fielis stopped posting videos was because of the pressure. Stating, his videos are really good because he actually cares and he is a perfectionist when it comes to YouTube. Like on camera, that says real self and he is genuinely that funny off camera. But he felt pressured because he always wanted to top the last video. And all it takes is a bad video to f up your algorithm. And he just wanted the best product for his fans, and that can really burn someone out. And nowadays, YouTubers all about quantity over quality and isn't super forgiving to loan YouTubers without hired editors and stuff like that. In the end, it was the very content his audience

18:01cherished that drove him to a bend in them entirely. That being said, not all hope is lost for Fielis fans. There's a good chance that he'll make a comeback to YouTube. In 2023, Fielis operated a discord server for a couple months, where he talked with his fans and often invited him to his games. And before shutting this server down, he posted a message thanking them for their support and ended it with a message with this statement. Till the next time we meet, indicating that he still wants to return to his fans. Fortnite has also changed a lot since he left, with a lot more fun items and updates to make videos about. For his fans, all that remains is to patiently wait his return. That said, Fielis isn't the only one who abandoned his audience. Check out our video covering other popular YouTubers who did the same thing.