Curated trail

Early YouTube character creators

Creators who built audiences around distinctive recurring characters.

01
Shoes video preview

2006 · Video

Shoes

“Oh my God, shoes.” One character’s full-volume footwear emergency became early YouTube vocabulary.
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02
Ask a Ninja video preview

2005 · Video

Ask a Ninja

A masked ninja answered viewer questions with jump cuts, terrible advice, and a promise to kill you soon.
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04
Fred Goes Swimming video preview

2008 · Video

Fred Goes Swimming

A shrill, hyperactive six-year-old character tried a tiny pool and helped make a one-person channel into an early YouTube institution.
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