KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — It’s official. Popular nature YouTuber Luke Nichols, best known for his channel Outdoor Boys, is saying goodbye to millions of fans.
Nichols, whose channel has 15 million subscribers, recently posted a surprise farewell video announcing he would be stepping away from content creation. His journey on the platform began 11 years ago with his first channel, Catfish and Carp.
The father of three, widely admired for his outdoor adventure and camping videos, shared that his decision was not solely due to the time and effort required to produce content, but also because of the increasing attention he and his family have been receiving from fans.
In the four-minute video, Nichols expressed concern about the explosive growth of his channel and the level of exposure his family has received through his videos, which often include his wife and children.
“In just the last 18 months, this YouTube channel has gained 12 million subscribers and because of people stealing my content and posting it on other social media platforms, my family and I have been viewed for about four billion times, in addition to the 2.8 billion views on YouTube.
“The sheer volume of fans trying to contact me, trying to take pictures with me or just try to come and talk to me in public, could be a bit overwhelming at times.
“And my wife and I had real concerns about what this could do to our family if I keep growing my YouTube channel at this pace and the time to stop is before this problem gets so out of hand and my family and I can’t live normal lives,” he said.
Nichols added that his decision was also motivated by a desire to focus on other aspects of life, including raising his three sons and helping others.
Although this will be his last video for the foreseeable future, Nichols reassured fans that he plans to upload a series of videos from unfinished projects later this year. These will include extreme camping trips, homesteading content, and travel adventures.
“But no matter what, this is going to be my last video for a while.
“Now I know there’s some of you out there that got more than just entertainment from my videos.
“If you feel my videos have helped you in some way, then go out and find someone you can help. I’ll see you guys later,” Nichols said before the video cut to a montage of memorable moments from past uploads.
Since its release yesterday (May 17), the ‘Goodbye’ video has racked up over eight million views, with many fans expressing shock and sadness online.
“Today is a bit of a sad one #outdoorboys,” tweeted X user @aightyden.
“Waking up and realising Outdoor Boys retired from YouTube. You will be missed,” posted @Vumana1.
To a channel that I have watched religiously for the last 2 years!
Goodbye, Outdoor Boys! A Legend! See you again soon…#Bushcraft #SurvivalSkills #outdoorboys pic.twitter.com/PVUXDZcYV2
— DragonSpawn DM (ドラゴンスポーン) ENVtuber (@DragonspawnD) May 17, 2025
— autist (@litteralyme0_) May 17, 2025
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 17, 2025
