Deleted channels to starting families: Here’s what the biggest OG US YouTubers are up to now

There was a time when absolutely every teenager was obsessed with YouTubers and their daily vlog series, DIY videos and pranking videos before it all moved to TikTok. The best era of YouTube was in the early 2010s when everyone became obsessed with watching video after video of people sharing their lives online. But are the OG US YouTubers up to now?

This particular era featured the likes of Shane Dawson, Bethany Mota and Tyler Oakley. But what are all these people doing now? They’re all still about, making content but less than before and still have the huge fanbases they grew up creating.

If you’re keen for a trip down memory lane, here’s a look at what the OG 2010 YouTubers from the US are up to now.

Bethany Mota

Bethany Mota’s YouTube videos were the soundtrack to loads of people’s teenage years. She was one of the first beauty gurus on YouTube and was just the sweetest soul. In 2014, Bethany appeared on Dancing with the Stars and her videos became less frequent. While she stills uploads to her YouTube channel, it isn’t as active as it once was, with her latest video being posted six months ago.

In 2020, Bethany launched her own jewellery line called atom and Matter, a “sustainably made demi fine” brand. Her collection is made of recycled silver and covered in gold vermeil or rhodium and the sales support charities for women empowerment.

The 27-year-old recently hosted a new “influencer reality competition” called Follow Me. The series tests influencers to see if they have “what it takes to become Insta famous and walk away with a $50,000 cash prize”.

GloZell Green

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GloZell is probably best well know for her cinnamon challenge video, song parodies and video interviews. Over the years, GloZell has interviewed the likes of Barack Obama and had a small voice role in Ralph Breaks the Internet.

In 2016, GloZell published her autobiography, Is You Okay?, and later on had a role in the YouTube red series Escape the Night alongside Shane Dawson and Lele Pons.

In 2020, GloZell launched her own documentary series called The GloZell Show. During her show she talked about “the taboos” and had “frank conversations about life, love and all of her financial blunders”.

Joey Graceffa

Joey Graceffa began his YouTube career at just 16 years old with his friend Brittany. He later began posting videos on his own and fast forward 10 years he had over 2.1 billion total views on his YouTube channel. After announcing he had been in a relationship with his boyfriend Daniel Preda but they broke up in 2020.

Nowadays he is travelling the world with his friends and has visited places like Japan, Costa Rica and the UK. He still uploads to his YouTube channel and currently has 9.4 million subscribers.

Fred

Fred, AKA Fred Figglehorn, AKA Lucas Cruikshank, was the best in the game. His high pitched voice and incredibly chaotic videos provided everyone with all the entertainment they needed. His fame led to him signing a deal with Nickelodeon which led to a TV show and movie.

While the Fred YouTube channel hasn’t been active in seven years, it still has three million subscribers. Lucas still posts on his Instagram page, posting skits and iconic selfies as well as uploading to his different YouTube channel often.

Tyler Oakley

Tyler Oakley shaped a decade of teenager’s lives with his hilarious reaction videos and YouTube challenges. Two tears ago Tyler announced he was taking a step back from Youtube to focus on other projects but nine months ago updated his fans on what he has been up to, which is that he is now a Twitch streamer.

Tyler told his subscribers he didn’t know when he would share his next YouTube video but encouraged them to follow him on Twitch where he continues to upload new videos. Tyler doesn’t regularly post on his Instagram as much but he does have his own pop culture podcast called Pyscho Babble.

Shane Dawson

Shane Dawson rose to fame on YouTube for his comedy sketches and would often do different accents and put on different wigs to play various characters. Over the years Shane has faced backlash for some of the characters he portrayed, with many people saying they drew on offensive stereotypes about people of colour. Back in 2020 he deleted a multitude of videos, following an apology about the content he made.

Shane later shifted to documentary type videos on his YouTube channel and followed the lives of Jake Paul, Eugenia Cooney and Tana Mongeau. In May 2023, Shane announced he and his boyfriend Ryland were expecting two baby boys via a surrogate after officially getting married earlier this year.

In a YouTube video, Ryland told subscribers: “So, today, we had a very exciting meeting with our fertility doctor. We’re so close. We’re like almost to the finish line of getting knocked up.”

Ryan Higa

Ryan Higa was best known for his comedy sketches and parody videos on his YouTube channel and from 2009 to 2011, he was the most subscribed to channel on YouTube. Nowadays Ryan still posts content to his YouTube channel and produces more high quality comedy videos and parodies.

In 2018 he launched his own weekly podcast called Off the Pill which has the featured the likes of YouTubers and K-Pop icons.

Jenna Marbles

Jenna Marbles was one of the original content creators on YouTube before anyone even knew what the words content creator meant. After uploading videos like How to Avoid Talking to People You Don’t Want to Talk To and How to Trick People Into Thinking You’re Good Looking, she shot to fame. Over the past decade, Jenna has amassed 20 million subscribers on YouTube and went on to host her own radio show and have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds.

Despite having an incredibly successful career, Jenna faced backlash during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 after old videos of her resurfaced of her doing blackface. In a now deleted video, Jenna addressed the allegations and said: “I do want to tell you how unbelievably sorry I am if I ever offended you by posting this video or by doing this impression, and that was never my intention.

“It’s not okay. It’s shameful. It’s awful. I wish it wasn’t part of my past. For now, I just can’t exist on this channel. I think I’m just going to move on from this channel for now. I don’t know how long it’s going to be. I just want to make sure the things I’m putting in the world aren’t hurting anyone. So I need to be done with this channel, for now or for forever.”

To this day, Jenna has remained inactive on social media and two years later, Jenna’s partner revealed they had gotten married. Jenna and Julien have been together for nine years and have five dogs together, however Jenna still remains inactive on her socials.

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Featured image credit via Instagram @bethanynoelm, @shandawson and @lucascruickshank.