PewDiePie, real name Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has hit 45 million subscribers on YouTube. In his recent “Reacting to Old Videos” clip, he thanked his “bros” for their continuous support throughout the years.
“It keeps going up doesn’t it? Soon aliens will subscribe. Soon the people of China will have subscribed. Have you subscribed?” he said in the video.
PewDiePie also took this opportunity to throw shade at his haters, who claimed that more than half of his subscribers were inactive users.
“I’m sorry, did you get 4 million views in your videos? No, then shut the f**k up,” he joked.
PewDiePie then reacted to old videos; one was when he hit 2,500 subscribers. This was also the time where he first showed his face on camera and gave a mini-tour of his apartment and video set-up. The YouTuber recounted how he had to starve himself just so he could afford a decent computer. He also had to sell some of his artwork, made on Photoshop, to buy the equipment he needed.
“It was so hard to pay rent. I literally did not eat anything but spaghetti for like a week. No condiments, just spaghetti. It was all I had. I had no money and I was too proud to ask my parents for money.”
PewDiePie shared that he found the transition from having 2,500 subscribers to now at 45 million subscribers extremely difficult. Back then, it was just him and his bros, but now even people who do not watch his channel know about him.
PewDiePie also reacted to an old “Fridays With PewDiePie” video, a special post he did to celebrate hitting 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. It was also the time where he got a full-page feature on a Swedish magazine. While he never thought that he could make a living out of making YouTube videos, PewDiePie admitted that after getting 100,000 subscribers, he started to think that his channel might just make it big someday.
“My channel was growing very slowly, I would say. I wasn’t making any living out of it the first year I made videos. But I love doing it. As soon as I hit 100,000 that’s when I remember [thinking], ‘This is growing really fast and if this keeps going, it might be big someday.’”
Having the most subscribed YouTube channel, PewDiePie receives a lot of flak online. Some fans held that they prefer the “old PewDiePie,” pointing out that he only plays odd games and make weird videos nowadays. They also kept comparing his channel to that of new YouTubers, especially to JackSepticEye, real name Seán William McLoughlin. In the end of his video, PewDiePie left a heartfelt message to his supporters, the Bro Army, for their continuous support for the last six years.
“I clearly get a lot of subs each day and I really appreciate that but [what] I appreciate even more is that you bros keep watching my videos and support me and what I do. Rather than just clicking on a video. And I can tell who the fans are that show your support and I really really appreciate it every time. Yes, it’s not a secret I make a great living doing YouTube but I am confident that I will not invest this much time on YouTube if it was not for you bros. There is no way. I really really do work a lot and its because I love doing it. I love doing it because you bros are here and you’re supporting me even though it has gone way out of f*****g hand. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again. Thank you for being a bro.”
[Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]