VanossGaming
| VanossGaming | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 VanossGaming's logo (2015–present) | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born |
Evan Fong 31 May 1992 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Video game commentator | ||||||||||||
| YouTube information | |||||||||||||
| Channel | |||||||||||||
| Years active | 2011–present | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Video games | ||||||||||||
| Subscribers | 23 million+ | ||||||||||||
| Total views | 9 billion+ | ||||||||||||
| Network | 3BLACKDOT | ||||||||||||
| Associated acts | |||||||||||||
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| Subscriber and view counts updated as of June 1, 2018. | |||||||||||||
Evan Fong (born 31 May 1992), better known through his YouTube videos as VanossGaming (or simply Vanoss), is a Canadian video game commentator and internet personality. He produces content on YouTube centered on playing popular video games with other YouTube collaborators. As of June 2018, Fong's channel has over 9 billion video views and 23 million subscribers on YouTube,[1] making it the 27th most subscribed channel on YouTube.[2]
YouTube channel
Format
The majority of VanossGaming videos take the format of a montage or compilation, featuring various clips from a particular game session, usually featuring other video game commentators. The Canadian Press described "a typical Vanoss video" by claiming that it features "Vanoss and a group of friends chatting, laughing and making jokes over gameplay from popular titles such as Grand Theft Auto V or Call of Duty: World at War."[3]
History
Fong created the VanossGaming channel on YouTube on September 15, 2011. The name "Vanoss" comes from VANOS, a variable valve timing system produced by German automobile company BMW; Fong's father used the alias "vanoss62" on the PlayStation 3, which his son later adopted for his own.
Fong has been known to do work with other popular YouTubers such as H2O Delirious, I Am Wildcat, Adam "SeaNanners" Montoya and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell. Fong first appeared on camera in July 2013, in a video celebrating one million subscribers.
In January 2015, Fong began to receive mainstream media attention as he approached 11 million subscribers and a ranking within the top 25 most subscribed channels on YouTube, with commentators identifying him as a central figure in the growing video game commentary subculture.[3] Speaking at the time, he suggested that his success could be credited to the fact that "Viewers really like the authentic type of content from regular people just playing games because they can relate to that".[3] In March 2015 he appeared on his first gaming convention panel, the "YouTube Gaming Evolution" panel at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts, alongside collaborators I Am Wildcat, Lui Calibre, and Mini Ladd.
On April 30, 2015, Fong announced on Twitter that he had signed with Jetpak, a multi-channel network founded by Adam "SeaNanners" Montoya and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell.
On November 26, 2015, Fong announced that he was releasing a new logo for the VanossGaming brand. He released the logo later that day along with limited edition merchandise released the day after. The logo was a white minimalistic design of an owl on a black background. There is also a diagonal cut through the design, creating a black letter "V". The owl design represented the owl mask on Fong's character model in Grand Theft Auto Online.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Game Awards | Trending Gamer | Nominated | [4] |
| 2016 | Shorty Awards | Tech and Innovation: Gaming | Nominated |
Other projects
On July 25, 2015, Fong announced that he had been working on a game called Dead Realm for "the last six or seven months" as a creative director, alongside other YouTube collaborators such as Daithi De Nogla, Terroriser, MiniLadd, and TheSyndicateProject. It was released via Steam as an early release on July 30, 2015.[5]
On November 2, 2016, Fong, Adam Montoya and Scott Robinson, announced that a computer-animated series of videos entitled Paranormal Action Squad starring the three and written by Michael Rowe would air on YouTube Red, beginning on November 24.
On August 25, 2017, Fong released a remix of "U-Rite" by hip-hop group They under the name Rynx. Fong released his debut single "Want You" featuring Miranda Glory on December 12, 2017. On April 18, 2018, Fong released the official music video for "Want You". On June 27, he released the music video for his second single "I'm Alright" featuring Jimi Ono. On August 15, he released a remix of the Alison Wonderland song, “Cry.” He also produces works for the bands Slenderbodies and Emotional Oranges.
Personal life
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Fong is of Asian descent, his mother being Korean, and father Chinese.
Fong graduated from Richmond Hill High School.
Fong claims that he was not introduced to video games at a young age, but that he played games "here and there" which included children's adventure and puzzle titles such as Freddi Fish and Pajama Sam.
After attending high school, Fong studied economics in college, but later dropped out in his second year to focus on his YouTube channel as a full-time commitment.[3] Fong claims that his parents were initially concerned that he was neglecting his studies in favor of producing content for his YouTube channel, admitting that "Even though there's a lot of potential for somebody starting a YouTube channel it's obviously not a guaranteed path."[3]
Outside of his YouTube career, Fong continues to play ice hockey recreationally, and also plays the guitar as another hobby.
References
- ↑ statsheep.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ↑ "vanossgaming YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics". Socialblade.com. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Toronto man draws millions playing games on YouTube". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 14, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ↑ Sarkar, Samit (November 21, 2014). "Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2014". Polygon. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ↑ "3BLACKDOT Releases Early Access STEAM Horror Mega-Hit 'Dead Realm'". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2015-11-22.