Shane Dawson: A Youtube Queen
YouTube has been a part of my life since I started high school and since then, the presence of the popular video platform has only grown. Over the years I’ve followed many YouTubers’ lives; from the true OG YouTubers such as Shay Carl and his family (the “Shaytards”), Charles Trippy (CTFxC), Jenna Marbles, iJustine, Tobuscus, and Pewdiepie, to the newer internet video celebrities such as Casey Neistat, Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, and more.
Unfortunately, many OG YouTubers have fallen from the top and have been replaced by younger, flashier, and more current influencers — many of whom do not deserve their fame (take the toxic Paul brothers as a prime example).
However, there is hope. One of the very few OG YouTubers has managed to rebrand his online brand/persona, completely change the style and vibe of his overall YouTube channel and videos, and outlive many original top YouTubers. This man is Shane Dawson.
The Birth of an Internet Sensation
Shane Dawson, whose real name is Shane Lee Yaw, started making videos around 2008 on his first channel ShaneDawsonTV. His videos mainly consisted of original comedic sketches, parodies of songs, his original songs, collabs with other YouTubers, etc. He became famous for his original comedic skits, claiming that his one video titled, “Fred is Dead”, “shot him to fame” (YouTube Wikia). Shane Dawson’s sense of humour was quite crude, often including offensive jokes and portrayals of stereotypes (was known to do blackface from time to time until he matured and changed up his videos).
He created and played many different characters in his skits. His most famous character was called Shanaynay, a ghetto woman who was the epitome of Shane’s sense of humour at the time — crude, offensive, gross, etc.
In a now deleted Draw My Life video (that has been re-uploaded by others), Shane reveals how his troubled childhood was plagued by his abusive and alcoholic father who ruined his family member’s lives. He was severely overweight/obese throughout his childhood and during his high school years and has described himself in videos as an emotional eater. Because Shane had such a tough upbringing, he filmed his own videos as a creative outlet for the turmoil of emotions he went through on a daily basis. He managed to turn his negative feelings into something positive — silly and fun entertainment for everyone on the internet.
How Shane Dawson Became the Queen He is Today
Over the (close to) ten years of uploading videos to YouTube, Shane Dawson has taken his ever growing audience on an exciting life journey, sharing many personal secrets and important life experiences with his fans. How did this YouTuber grow such a large audience of over 13 million subscribers and keep such a dedicated fanbase for so long? There’s no simple answer but there are a few key factors. These factors include almost completely changing his content, finding himself (and his passions), and making videos that are either comedic, heartwarming, thought-provoking, or a mix of all three.
Rebranding and Changing Everything
As seen in the picture above, 2010 Shane Dawson made many videos with inappropriate clickbait-y titles and thumbnails. Back then, it was clear his sense of humour was crude, immature, and perverted. I remember watching some of his videos back in middle school and cringing at a lot of the content. However, over the years, I personally think Shane has found his passion(s), niche, and developed an amazing personal brand. And I think all of this is due to Shane not only finding himself, but also finally finding his groove, a purpose in life.
In the past year or two, Shane Dawson has completely rebranded his YouTube channel and video content. Just compare this screenshot of his recent video titles/thumbnails to the one above.
Just by reading the titles, one can see his content has changed to something completely different. In the bottom row to the right, the three videos titled, “Confronting my Dad”, “Confronting my Mom”, and “The Truth About my Past”, is a three part series about Shane delving into his dark childhood with his abusive father and getting back in touch with said estranged father after many years. With this example, we can see that Shane Dawson has matured and opened up to his audience over the recent years.
Finding Shane
A big part that contributes to Shane Dawson rebranding himself and his content so successfully, and also maintaining such a large viewership over a long time is (I personally think) due to Shane: 1) being open and true to himself, and 2) finding his passions; topics that he genuinely finds interesting and enjoys making videos about. Somehow over difficult and emotional times, Shane has managed to learn to find and accept who he truly is.
One thing that makes Shane Dawson such a pleasure to watch over the recent years is that he is incredibly open in his videos and to his audience. Although one may think it might be a ploy to make the audience feel closer to him, those doubts would be quickly erased once watching his videos. He is painfully raw and honest in his videos when he talks about his troubled past or dark secrets that he has kept over the years.
In the video “My Body Dysmorphia Disorder”, Shane talks about his body dysmorphic disorder and how it has affected his life. He talks about how he constantly battles this disorder and has unhealthily obsessed over his weight and body image. The purpose of the video he mentions, is to remind his viewers to take an easy on themselves, to not stress over things they see as flaws. This video is an example of how Shane has opened up to his viewers and connected with his fanbase. It’s raw, it’s uncut/not edited, and I think it truly shows what Shane is truly like as a person. He has many flaws and he knows all of his audience does too, and with this video, he makes a strong connection with his viewers by baring his flaws and scars.
In the video above, titled “I’m Bisexual”, Shane reveals the struggles he went through while coming to terms with his sexuality. He goes into detail of his confusing journey of being attracted to girls, thinking he was straight and entering a relationship with an amazing woman (another YouTuber called Lisbug), but feeling guilty as he realized he was also attracted to men. He constantly mentions his viewers throughout the video, saying how he knows there are others watching who might be going through a similar journey, and that he wants to show that they’re not alone, that he’s here for them.
Again, Shane is raw and holds nothing back in this video. He shows his confusion and talks about his fears, he discusses how he doesn’t want to hide anything from his fans, etc. I think this raw openness is truly one of the key factors to Shane’s success. It’s something that can’t be faked and it shows his fans who he truly is as a person — it shows that he’s a real human being just like all of his viewers. Shane isn’t afraid to share his dark past, flaws, fears, and struggles; he’s truly genuine and his dedicated fanbase can see it. (1193 WORDS)
Tears, Laughter, Ghosts, and Conspiracy Theories
Over time, Shane has found the perfect recipe to creating a crowd-pleasing and addicting YouTube video. From heartwarming yet silly videos about (fake)adopting kids to hair-raising adventures in haunted hotel rooms and ships, Shane has yet to upload a boring YouTube video (within the past couple years). His sense of humour has changed from disgustingly crude to tastefully crude. Shane and his friends are able to make any type of video funny with their self-deprecating jokes and endless child-like (youthful?) silliness.
In his latest three part video series , Shane and his crew collaborate with a blind YouTuber by the name of Molly Burke to experience what day-to-day life is like as a blind person. It was eye-opening, it tugged at the heartstrings, and it somehow managed to be endearingly funny throughout all three videos.
Shane has shown over nine years how an original top YouTuber can dominate the platform while growing and maintaining a dedicated fanbase. He has managed to open up to his audience and stay true to himself. His genuineness and raw, unfiltered personality attracts viewers, while his highly addicting and unique videos trap said viewers. Finally, his group’s adorable dynamic and his hilarious self-deprecating humour keep viewers coming back for more.
This OG YouTuber is a rare gem amongst today’s sorry excuses of “influencers” (RiceGum, the Paul Brothers, etc.). Shane Dawson is one of my few favourite YouTubers who I look up to and aspire to be. He’s shown me (and the rest of his audience) that it’s ok to have flaws, to struggle along your journey in life, and most importantly, to love myself for who I am. Watching his videos always brings a smile to my face (unless it’s a conspiracy theory video), no matter what mood I’m in. One day, I hope to build and develop a personal brand that’s even just 1/25th as successful as Shane Dawson’s. I also hope one day, to inspire people the same way Shane has inspired me.
