Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, or PewDiePie as he is known to millions around the world, is one of the most prolific creators on YouTube. Felix has celebrated several awards and milestones over the years: from becoming the first creator to hit 60 million subscribers, being one of the first YouTubers to win a Teen Choice Award, and even releasing a scathing diss track. It goes without saying that this Swedish YouTuber is not to be messed with.
Considering the nature of both YouTube and the Internet, it is a constant surprise how this YouTube star remains at the top, and we do not mind it one bit. There is nothing worse than seeing a lifeless and soulless corporation overshadow the “little guys” – something PewDiePie knows all too well! Today, Felix is one of the most subscribed to individual creators on YouTube, and his channel history is one to be lauded. Felix also turns 30 today (24 October). Given how we have been fans since the very beginning, the Vamers Crew felt it was high time we collect a few PewDiePie firsts. So without further ado, here are 30 PewDiePie Firsts, for his 30th birthday.
1 – Felix joined YouTube in 2006.
While the channel we all know and love today only began later, 2006 marks the first time Felix decided to create his own channel, called Pewdie.
2 – Felix created the PewDiePie channel in 2010.
29 April 2010 marks the first day Felix created PewDiePie (because he forgot the password for Pewdie). Little did he know how this would be the start of something big.
3 – “What the frick” Minecraft Multiplayer Fun.
While Felix only recently started playing Minecraft again, his first video released on 3 October 2010. The video famously begins with Felix asking “what the [frick] is that!?”.
4 – Felix left school in 2011.
Around a year after PewDiePie began, Felix quit the Chalmers University of Technology, where he was pursuing a degree in Industrial Economics and Technology Management. Felix later stated that his main reason for dropping out was because he simply did not like it.
5 – Fridays with PiewDiePie.
2011 was a big year for Felix. A new show on his channel called Fridays with PewDiePie garnered a lot of attention. These vlog-style videos were a departure from his normal gameplay videos, and gave audiences weekly glimpses into the man behind the channel.
6 – Meeting Marzia Zofia Bisognin
Felix and Marzia met online sometime in 2011, thanks to Marzia’s friend, Daizo. They clicked almost instantaneously, and the relationship flourished quickly. Marzia moved to Sweden in October 2011.
7 – Deleting Pewdie.
In 2012, Felix finally remembered the password to Pewdie and deleted most of the original videos on the channel. The channel was officially marked as inactive in 2013.
8 – One million subscribers.
In July 2012, PewDiePie’s subscriber count surpassed the 1-million mark and showed no signs of stopping. He hit it big.
9- Most subscribed YouTuber.
In 2013, Felix briefly became the most subscribed YouTuber when he surpassed 5 million subscribers. Unfortunately, Smosh quickly took the title back… until Felix took it back again thereafter. The two channels kept surpassing each other until the following year.
10 – Sweden’s Favourite Boy.
In May 2013, Felix attended the inaugural Starcount Social Stars Awards in Singapore. There, he won the award for Swedish Social Star; as well as the award for Most Popular Social Show, the latter of which he went up against Jenna Marbles, Smosh, and Toby Turner
11 – Joining Polaris.
In the old days of YouTube, it was essential for gaming channels to sign up with networks. Felix decided to join the ranks of Polaris, a newly rebranded Game Station, and sub-network for Maker Studios.
12 – Breaking literal records.
In August 2013, Felix finally surpassed Smosh as the most subscribed channel on YouTube (where he would remain for many years). Courtesy of the quick gain in subscriber count, PewDiePie received a certificate from Guinness World Records.
13 – First channel to 15 million.
With Felix’ YouTube career still skyrocketing, it would come as no surprise that his channel was the first to hit 15 million subscribers… only to be up-ended by YouTube’s own Spotlight account the following day.
14 – Disabling comments.
In an unprecedented move, Felix joined many prominent creators who begrudgingly disabled all the comments on their videos in August 2013. A move to protest Google’s overhauling of the YouTube comment system. This garnered a lot of media attention. Unfortunately, it did not lead to improvements and PewDiePie’s comments were ultimately turned on again thereafter.
15 – Growing quickly.
Felix hit more first-time milestones as 2013 rolled on. In December, PewDiePie’s channel was cemented as the fastest-growing channel on YouTube, with a new subscriber every 1.037 seconds.
16 – Edgar.
On 13 October 2013, Felix announced that he had adopted a dog named Edgar Allen Pug. While this is not his first dog (Edgar joins Maya, another pug), it is the first time he announced a new pet to his subscribers.
17 – No more horror.
From 2010 all the way through to 2014, Felix was widely known for his commentaries on horror games. This changed in 2014 when Felix announced how he was growing tired of faking reactions to horror games.
18 – Meet the family.
Felix’ private and family life remained a mystery for a long while after he started to make it big. On his birthday, in October 2014, Felix decided to introduce the world to his family. Finally showing fans where he got all his charm from.
19 – 7 billion views.
In December 2014, Felix’ channel surpassed emimusic’s video view count. Social Blade, a website which tracks YouTube channel statistics, revealed how PewDiePie surpassed 7.2 billion views – becoming the most-viewed channel on the website.
20 – Teen Choice Stud.
In 2014, PewDiePie attended the 16th Annual Teen Choice Awards. This was the first year the awards ceremony nominated YouTube stars. Felix won the award for Choice Web Star: Male.
21 – Jack septiceye2.
As a means to mock his friend and fellow YouTuber, Jacksepticeye, Felix created a channel called Jack septiceye2. The channel garnered 1.4 million subscribers in a single 24-hour period – another record for Felix. The channel (with a single video on it) gained 50 million subscribers before Felix deleted it.
22 – This Book Loves You.
Felix released his first (and so far only) book in October 2015. This Book Loves You is a written parody of self-help books where Felix wrote many “helpful hints and tips” to becoming a better person. It boasts 250 illustrated pages with parody quotes on almost every page.
23 – Scare PewDiePie.
In his endeavours to branch out, Felix announced his role in a new series. In February 2016, Scare PewDiePie debuted on YouTube Red. These episodes feature Felix exploring physical sets based on horror games he played on his YouTube channel.
24 – Custom Play Button.
Play Buttons are cool rewards that YouTube sends creators when their channels reach certain subscriber milestones. On 18 December 2016, Felix received a custom Play Button for reaching 50 million subscribers. A first for Felix and any other YouTube creator. The Play Button is a cool ruby brofist – a sign which he is known for.
25 – The 9-Year-Old Army.
Feuds happen all the time. However, in 2018 it became evident that PewDiePie would be bested as the most-subscribed channel by Indian entertainment giant, T-Series. Felix then tasked his subscriber base to do everything in their power to not let the soulless corporations win. This began the biggest YouTube Subscriber war the site has ever seen.
26 – Engagement.
As of April 2018, Felix and Marzia were officially engaged to be wed. The announcement came by way of social media, where both Felix and Marzia touted the ring. A Q&A-style video later released on Marzia’s channel, where the couple talked about how Felix planned on proposing in Japan.
27 – YouTube Rewind 208 (but it’s good).
As the years roll on, YouTube’s annual Rewind video receives more and more flak for how disconnected they are to the site’s actual users. In 2018, YouTube Rewind took it a step further by not including a single PewDiePie moment – something Felix himself corrected in a video called YouTube Rewind 2018 But It’s Good. The video became the most liked non-music video, and the first Rewind parody to surpass the original in likes.
28 – Bitch Lasagna.
On 5 October 2018, Felix released a brand-new music video on his channel. The music video, titled Bitch Lasagne, is a diss track poking fun at corporate music giant T-Series. The song made waves as it surpassed Eminem’s hit song at the time, Venom. Bitch Lasagna also resulted in stopping T-Series’ growth for that month. It is currently the most viewed video on PewDiePie, and boasts more views than any video T-Series has ever published.
29 – 100 Million.
The weeks leading up to August 2019 were huge for Felix. PewDiePie officially crossed the 100 million-subscriber mark in that month, making him the first-ever individual creator on YouTube to reach the milestone. As a reward, YouTube sent Felix another ruby Play Button – this time designed for future channels reaching this mark.
30 – The Royal Wedding.
It would only be befitting for this list to end on the highest of PewDiePie notes. The week following 19 August 2019, both Felix and Marzia took to social media to announce how they had finally wed. It was a beautiful and private wedding, taking place on the day of their eighth anniversary as an official couple. A quick video was published on PewDiePie showcasing some highlights of the evening.
There you go! 30 PewDiePie firsts, for Felix Kjellberg’s 30th birthday. From all the Nine-Year-Olds here at Vamers, we wish Felix the best in the years ahead.
Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.