PewDiePie: An Unlikely Positive Male Role Model
Why PewDiePie is an incredibly positive role model for young people, and his impact on me, which I never saw coming...
There is often an outcry about the need for positive male role models, and sometimes these are filled by people whom are not of the best character. There are a few positive ones out there I can name, but an unlikely role model no one would likely name is Felix Kjellberg - a.k.a PewDiePie.
A Brief Look at ‘PewDiePie’
Felix Kjellberg is a Swedish internet personality who rose to popularity on YouTube as a video gaming content producer, under the name 'PewDiePie'.
Felix started his YouTube channel back in April of 2010 just as a bit of fun; meanwhile, he was studying for a degree in Engineering. Felix felt uninterested with his course, so decided to drop out in 2011 to spend his time doing things he actually did care about. Felix has explained that his reason for dropping out of university was because, for him, being able to spend his time creating videos mattered more than a prestigious career.
When Felix decided to leave university, he had no idea he could make money from YouTube. Felix's priority was to have a work-life balance where he could cover his rent and have plenty of time to pursue his hobby. He ended up having various jobs as a harbour captain, a digital photoshop artist, and working at a hot dog stand to keep a financial income, whilst granting him enough time to also make and upload videos to YouTube. Felix has reflected that this move made him happier than he had been in a long time because he was finally doing what he wanted to do, despite his job not being high in status.
YouTube Career
As his channel grew, there became viable ways to monetise his YouTube content and this transitioned his hobby into a career.
Felix's content constantly evolved over time, whilst managing to maintain the authenticity and individuality which made him such a relatable, likeable, and entertaining character. His ability to adapt is why his YouTube channel continued to grow to become, and remain, the biggest between 2013 until 2019 - when he was passed by the Indian corporate record label T-Series. (Felix still has the most subscribed small team YouTube channel).
Over the years Felix has had some incredibly controversial moments which he has managed to navigate through. He showed humility and growth to be able to apologise when he made a mistake; developed resilience through these experiences; and even stood firm behind things he actually believed in - not compromising his beliefs or giving in to social pressure when others may have.
Since 2010, Felix has uploaded well over 4,500 videos which equates to a video almost every day (a video every 1.03 days). The relentless work ethic Felix has shown over the years is impressive, but also something Felix himself has often talked about as draining and unhealthy. He finally started to take a few breaks from YouTube in recent years, before eventually leading him to 'retire' from the algorithmic side of YouTube and focus more on producing the content he actually wanted to share, when he wanted to.
Felix Kjellberg
My personal favourite era of Felix's channel is the current one, which I estimate started around 2020. He transitioned away from his internet persona of PewDiePie and started being purely himself. Felix started producing self-help content, in a way, sharing the learnings from topics which he found interesting. He started a book club, back in 2018, hoping to encourage people to start reading more, and doing topic videos on things like multiverse theory, philosophy (including Stoicism), and health and fitness (notably: raising awareness of the use of steroids within Hollywood).
Felix has since decreased the frequency of this content, and all of his content, because he became a father in July of this year (2023). Over his whole YouTube career, Felix has dabbled with vlogging, but for the past year, since moving away from the UK to Japan, vlogging has become his main format - which I personally love. Each time a vlog gets uploaded, when I watch it I just have a moment of peace and calm. Over the past year, I have had a realisation, which is cause for that tranquil feeling: Felix has become an incredibly inspirational figure in my life - not because I wish to lead the life he has, but because his personal growth and development is aspirational. Therefore, when I see the life he is leading now, I realise that it will take time for me to reach that state of happiness, but I am on the right path.
This piece has come from a desire to share what I deemed to be a weird realisation. When I was at dinner with a friend a couple of months back, I was discussing how I find it odd that somehow though watching Felix's content he has unintentionally become a role model in my life: someone who has subtly, often subconsciously (to say, without me realising), influenced my development out of adolescence into early adulthood.
His unintended impact on me.
I did not watch Felix’s content when he first started uploading; if I were to estimate, I probably started watching in 2013 a little bit, but more majorly in 2015. So, I have witnessed a significant portion of Felix's content over the past 9 to 10 years. Through that content, and in the journey which I briefly outlined above, I have learnt five key lessons.
5. Minimalism
At the start of the Covid pandemic, Felix was stuck in the UK despite being in the process of trying to move to Japan. In one video, I think a Q&A, a comment was left critiquing Felix's black t-shirt as it were all he had been seen wearing for several videos. Felix responded light-heartedly, but said that he had shipped all his clothes to Japan ready to move so was left with only his Tsuki (his and Marzia's, his wife, clothing brand) tops. He revealed that he found it liberating to not have to think about what to wear on a daily basis. Honestly, this was the thing which turned me into a minimalist - simple, honest, wholesome. I just thought, 'that makes sense'!
4. You are not your past
Everything in someone's past is part of their story, but it doesn't define who they are; it develops and crafts them, causing them to undergo personal growth. Felix wouldn't be the person he is today without the good or the chequered parts of his past. It is something we should all be aware of: we learn from the mistakes we make, they don't have to define you.
3. Stoicism
Felix introduced me to Stoicism, not personally but through his content. Without having consumed Felix's content I would likely not have dived into Stoicism. On the 12th December 2022, Felix put out a video titled 'Mr Beast passed me in s ubs..' (aptly named). It was actually a book review about 5 books which changed the way he thought. In this video he picked out Epictetus' Enchiridion and briefly spoke about Stoicism, so I decided to take a dive into Stoicism based on his recommendation - it is safe to say this video actually changed my life.
2. A Healthy Relationship
The relationship between Marzia and Felix is one of the sweetest stories you will hear on the internet. Marzia enjoyed watching Felix's videos way back in the very early days, they started speaking and met up - which meant Felix flying from Sweden to Italy! They moved in together, built lives, supported one another, got married, and now have started a family.
We don't know what goes on behind closed doors - nor, should we want to - but Felix and Marzia have given the world a wholesome example of what a healthy relationship should look like. Felix spoke in a recent vlog about the discussion him and Marzia had about what they would be willing to sacrifice, and what they want to ensure they can keep doing, before having a child. Simple, mature, but incredibly important and meaningful decisions being made - which in my view wouldn't happen if the relationship was not healthy.
1. Live how you want to
Prioritise how you want to live. The humility and courage of Felix to drop out of university and prioritise his wellbeing is one of the most inspiring decisions he made - it is the opposite of the Sigma Male Grindset. The humility of the dream: to want to just have a balance in life.
What I find inspiring are the different phases in Felix's life - there has been a gentle, seemingly natural, transition over time. He decided to move on with his content because he wished to, and he didn't let other people's expectations restrict him. Spend your time doing the things you wish to - don't allow yourself to become trapped by other people's expectations.
All of these examples are ways in which Felix has honestly become a role model in my life. The maturity and growth we can see of Felix as a person through the years of PewDiePie videos is inspiring, and should give all of us hope that we too can one day craft our own slice of happiness, just like Felix and Marzia have, now with their newborn Bjorn.
I believe part of the message of this post is that: you are a product of what you consume, in every sense. Whether you realise it or not, you are influenced by the content you read, watch, and listen to. I didn't intend to be influenced by Felix, but in retrospect he has had a far larger impact on me that I realise. Make sure that you are consuming positive, uplifting, and enlightening content - it shapes you into who you are: for better or for worse…
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