The sheer quantity of time we spend with our favorite YouTubers has a quality of its own,
and it sometimes even feels like they're our friends. And when they die, the feeling
of loss is immense. These are the famous YouTube stars who sadly died far too young.
English YouTuber Emily Hartridge ran a modest-sized channel, but her knack for
clickable video titles let her rack up tens of millions of views. This SEO queen started
posting on YouTube way back in the primordial standard-definition days of 2007. Fans got to
see her blossom from wandering twenty-something vlogger to confessional comedian, giving
cheeky tips on topics like how to get a hot, younger boyfriend – if that's your cup of tea.
Sadly, tragedy struck in July 2019, when Hartridge was killed in London
after being struck by a truck while driving her electric scooter. This was the first such
fatality in Britain involving this type of e-scooter. She was only 35.
Hartridge's shocked fans, expecting her normal content to be uploaded to YouTube
the following day, discovered the terrible news in an abrupt announcement via Instagram.
It read,
"Many of you were expecting to see Emily today ... We all loved her to bits and she will never
be forgotten. She has touched so many lives it's hard to imagine things without her."
Rich Piana had those alien gains and the bodybuilder-turned-YouTube star found a
second passion documenting his love of the iron cathedral for his over one million subscribers.
But bodybuilders also often suffer from a type of muscle dysmorphia aptly nicknamed bigorexia.
In 2015, Piana revealed to Jerry Ward of Bios3training that he'd struggled
with bigorexia since he was a young child.
He said,
"You know, I constantly wanted to be bigger my whole life. You know,
it started with the He-Man dolls when I was 6 years old.”
“Yeah, He-Man!"
He went on,
"You know, we look in the mirror and we look small,
and we see a picture of us and [we're] like, 'Oh [...] I didn't realize I was that big.'"
Piana was genuinely gigantic as the 6'1" influencer's body weight approached 300 lbs. For
reference, he was about 50 pounds bigger than the best bodybuilder in the world the year he died and
that can be very dangerous. Famously open about his use of human growth hormone and traditional
anabolic steroids, Piana suddenly collapsed while getting a haircut near his Florida home in August
2017. He passed away two weeks later after being placed in a medically-induced coma. Upon autopsy,
the coroner found significant evidence of heart disease: hardening of the arteries and an enlarged
heart, which, according to Men's Health, is common in male athletes abusing steroids. Piana was 46.
Talking Kitty Cat creator Steve Cash had a simple idea: talking cats are funny. In 2008,
Cash first cast his kitten, Sylvester, as a grumpy roommate, and did all the voiceovers himself.
The result was a viral video with 10 million views — and thus, a YouTube sensation was born.
"Kitty wake up! No. Please wake up. Why? Because it's morning."
Cash's channel eventually grew to over 2.5 million subscribers as he added other
feline friends to the series. Each perfectly captured the quiet menace of your house cat's
expressions that say both: "I love you," and, "I will absolutely hunt you down."
In April 2020, fans woke up to a startling Facebook message from Cash's wife, Celia DeCosta.
The message read,
"This is so hard [...] I just lost my best friend, my sidekick, my lover, my mentor, my absolute
everything [...] I'm so sad to say, my husband, Steve Cash took his own life this morning."
He was 40. Idaho police had responded to an early morning call at their home and
found Cash dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cash had opened up about his mental
health the previous September, describing himself as bipolar in response to a fan.
Referring to his presence on social media, he said,
"I'm on a manic up right now. When I go back into depression I'll vacate everything."
Grant Thompson, better known as The King of Random, was an absolute DIY
master. His YouTube channel is like home economics on giddy steroids. Since joining the site in 2010,
his absurdist tutorials have ran the gauntlet from how-to videos on making LEGO gummy candy
to opening a coconut without the use of tools. Thompson's sensibility was life-hacker meets
lo-tech tinkerer, and its perhaps his succinct tutorial on creating a $3 laser-guided blowgun
that summed up his style best. The YouTube community loved it,
rewarding him with over 12 million subscribers and nearly three billion views.
In July 2019, Utah authorities got a call about an "overdue" pilot. The adventurous
YouTuber had been out paragliding, which is sort of like hang-gliding but with a giant parachute,
and a helicopter search ensued. Using GPS coordinates from his phone,
authorities eventually located Thompson's body. Also recovered was a video that purportedly
contains footage of the crash, which Thompson's family has not released. It appears that a change
in wind caused Thompson's chute to collapse and his backup chute didn't deploy in time.
A simple message to his devoted followers appeared on Instagram.
It asked fans to, quote, "do a random act of love or kindness
today in honor of The King of Random." For those needing one more ride with the King,
his channel also created a tribute video. Thompson was 38.
Christina Grimmie became a star on The Voice, but it was on YouTube
that the singer first found her range. Beginning in 2009, Grimmie dabbled in a bit of everything,
but it wasn't really until her powerful Miley Cyrus "Wrecking Ball" audition on The Voice
in 2015 that her channel blew up to nearly four million subscribers. Grimmie went on
to take third place in the contest and immediately upgraded her YouTube presence from DIY to dynamic.
However, tragedy struck in June 2016 following a performance in Orlando, Florida. After the show,
Grimmie was signing autographs for fans, when a 27-year-old man later identified as Kevin Loibl
approached her. The star — as was her habit — opened her arms to embrace him.
Loibl then shot Grimmie to death before her brother tackled him to the ground.
Coworkers later told police the killer was socially awkward and detached, saying he had
an unrealistic infatuation with Christina Grimmie. He followed her social media intently and watched
hours upon hours of her YouTube performances. After the murder, Loibl took his own life.
Grimmie was 22 at the time of her death. Her family, friends,
and fans have continued to hold an annual Gala hosted by the Christina
Grimmie Foundation, which supports families devastated by gun violence.
Stevie Ryan got her start on YouTube doing pop culture sketches and impersonations of
celebrity characters, like her take on Miley Cyrus' Disney alter ego, Hannah Montana "Hannah
Fontana." Her most popular video is a spoof of The Maury Show called "Maurly," which
seems to have completely anticipated the Dr. Phil-created "Cash Me Outside Girl" phenomenon.
"One time in class I stole a syringe from the diabetic girl and stabbed her with it."
Ryan's channel was amateurish and modest with less than 100,000 subscribers,
but VH1 loved her brand of pop-culture parody. Her sketch comedy series, StevieTV, was born
in 2012. The YouTuber went on to thrive while mocking reality shows like Toddlers & Tiaras.
Sadly, Ryan also battled mental health issues, and in June 2017, announced that she'd stopped
taking her antidepressants. Around that time, she was also grieving the loss of her grandfather.
Shortly after Ryan shared her last social media post a tribute to her grandfather on Twitter her
body was found in her Los Angeles home. Her death was later ruled a suicide by hanging. She was 33.
Gregg Plitt was a West Point Graduate, a former Army Ranger, and, of course,
absolutely jacked to the gills. This YouTuber was dude-bro body goals in every respect,
so much so that he landed a cover shoot for Men's Health in 2014, and eventually joined the Bravo
show, Work Out. Plitt also turned his gains into subscribers with motivational YouTube montages,
setting the stage for his larger life-coaching and personal fitness empire.
Unlike other self-improvement fitness channels, Plitt's YouTube-style was more about setting
an inspiring example than getting into the nitty-gritty of his actual routines or diets.
In January 2015, the handsome vlogger was shooting without a permit in Burbank, California while
running on train tracks, when he was tragically struck and killed by a passenger locomotive.
A police officer told the Associated Press that the conductor saw Plitt on the tracks and
laid on the horn, but Plitt didn't get off. However, sources told TMZ
that Plitt was actually intentionally racing the train while filming an ad for a sports
drink and was only struck when he tripped and fell onto the tracks. Plitt was 37.
Dillon Henderson better-known by his YouTube username, Dillon the Hacker was one of the
most gratifyingly goofy content creator you could find. In 2014, he rose to prominence by trolling
one of YouTube's biggest stars, Pewdiepie, claiming he stole his idol's girlfriend and
eventually declaring victory in their facetious feud. Pewdiepie was so delighted by Henderson's
antics that the duo leaned into the hacker gimmick in a hilarious Mr. Robot-inspired collab video.
In a since-deleted tweet, Pewdiepie wrote,
"Dillon the hacker was such a talented young comedian. He successfully trolled
my entire audience at one point. Such sad news to hear about his passing.
My condolences to his family and close ones. RIP Dillon."
The actual circumstances around Henderson's demise have remained mysterious. His last online activity
was an innocuous tweet about Boy Meets World in late July 2019. However, his childhood best friend
and fellow YouTuber, BG Kumbi, later confirmed his passing in an emotional video the following month.
Assuring fans it was absolutely not a joke, BG Kumbi signed off with a solemn,
"I'm gonna miss [him] like you wouldn't believe. Goodbye, my friend."
Dillon the Hacker was only 20 years old.
TotalBiscuit, whose real name was John Bain, was an English gamer and games critic who took
to YouTube in 2010 after a layoff. Bain racked up over two million subscribers,
endearing himself to fans with in-depth game reviews and practical game-related advice.
He also reveled in scathing take-downs of tired gaming genres, including his take
on modern military shooters. All of this was narrated in his charmingly British baritone,
bringing the proceedings a certain bougie gravitas.
However, tragedy struck in 2014: Bain was diagnosed with bowel cancer. A year later,
he told fans his illness had metastasized, hinting his condition was likely terminal.
However, Bain bravely vowed to simply keep a classically British stiff upper lip and
continued his work as a gaming content creator without further comment, while enduring a long
course of chemotherapy. Sadly, he succumbed to the disease in 2018 at the age of 33. Bain's wife,
Genna, made the heart-wrenching announcement on Twitter, sharing a poem by Francisco de Quevedo.
The poem ended,
"They will be dust but will be dust in love."
LBGTQ influencer Tai Couture, born Tyree Williams,
built a modest channel he called a "church" by giving off-the-cuff takes on everything from
Jussie Smollett to his own ordinary relationship struggles. Williams was always transparent with
his small but dedicated subscriber base, and not just because most of his wardrobe was mesh.
In August 2018, Williams revealed that the demise of his long-term relationship was
related to his battles with depression and suicidal ideation. The YouTuber also spoke
at length about his struggles after being involved in a serious car accident in 2015,
which left him in critical condition and briefly unable to walk. He was not at fault, but admitted
that the, quote, "emotional torment" of a long recovery took a serious toll on his mental health.
After the news of a 15-year-old boy dying by suicide after being
bullied for being gay broke the following year,
Williams shared a Facebook post about the tragedy, which revealed his own suicide attempt.
He wrote,
"Although bullying wasn't my trigger I know firsthand how
it feels to be desperate for the hurt to end."
Williams took his own life seven months later. In classic Tai Couture style,
his family shared a video of his funeral, which felt more like a celebration of his life.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at
1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.