Luke Nichols, creator of the popular “Outdoor Boys” YouTube channel, announced he’s shutting down the channel after a decade of outdoor adventure content that has amassed 15.3 million subscribers. Nichols cites concerns about maintaining his family’s privacy as the primary reason for his decision.

“The time to stop is before this problem gets so out of hand that my family and I can’t live normal lives,” Nichols states in his farewell video, noting that his channel gained approximately 12 million subscribers in just the past 18 months.

The channel, known for extreme camping, fishing, and hunting exploits in Alaska, has generated 2.8 billion views on YouTube. Nichols reports an additional 4 billion views from content redistributed on other platforms without his permission.

“The sheer volume of fans trying to contact me, trying to take pictures with me, or just trying to come up and talk to me in public can be a bit overwhelming at times,” Nichols explains in the video.

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Nichols developed his love for the outdoors from an early age. Before his YouTube career, he worked as a criminal defense attorney in Virginia for 10 years after earning a law degree from George Mason University. 

Nichols indicates he has several half-finished videos, including homestead projects, travel adventures, and extreme camping trips that he may release in a single batch at the end of the year.

Family and Faith

Nichols plans to dedicate more time to his family, particularly supporting his oldest son Tom’s YouTube channel, “Outdoor Tom,” which already has over 800,000 subscribers.

“I’ve spent so much time focusing on me and my family, and growing my business. It’s time to step back and focus on helping other people for a change,” Nichols says.

Throughout his 11-year content creation career, Nichols has produced 1,110 videos across two channels – initially with “Catfishing Carp” and then with “Outdoor Boys.” He acknowledges the substantial effort involved, including “late nights editing and packing and unpacking, camping with pneumonia, building log cabins while injured.”

While stepping away from regular content creation, Nichols emphasizes that the channel has allowed him to provide for his family while making “wonderful memories” with them.