When most people think back on the child celebrities of their time, they may think of child movie actors, the well-trained stars of showbiz. For kids these days, however, some of the biggest stars are not actors at all but YouTube stars.
And one of the biggest of them all is a 6-year-old named Ryan who plays with toys — mesmerizing millions of children across the globe.
Since he was 3 years old, Ryan’s parents have been capturing videos of him opening toys, playing with them and “reviewing” them for videos posted on their YouTube channel, “Ryan ToysReview.”
Ryan’s last name and his place of residence are a closely guarded secret, and not without reason.
Ryan has become a multi-millionaire, according to Forbes magazine’s just-out list of highest paid YouTube entrepreneurs. He was ranked number eight, having brought in $11 million in revenue between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017. He tied with the comedy channel Smosh, created by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox.
Children everywhere have become hooked, watching his videos for hours a day, even mimicking him and starting their own YouTube channels. For some of his youngest fans, Ryan is not just some stranger on the Internet. He is their friend.
Combined, the world’s 10 highest-paid YouTube stars earned $127 million, up 80 percent from last year. According to Forbes, this boost came thanks to ad dollars from a surge in views — including a healthy sum from “Ryan ToysReview.”
What has grown into a viral phenomenon began with a simple, unremarkable 15-minute video about a Lego Duplo train set. When his family started recording and posting the videos in March 2015, the 3-year-old barely had any views let alone reviews, according to a profile of Ryan in Verge. In his first video, he simply opened a Lego box, set up the blocks, and played with them.
“Ryan was watching a lot of toy review channels — some of his favorites are EvanTubeHD and Hulyan Maya — because they used to make a lot of videos about Thomas the Tank Engine, and Ryan was super into Thomas,” his mother, who declined to be named, told TubeFilter last year.
“Ryan ToysReview” took off. Views started doubling every month. In January of 2016, he hit 1 million subscribers. A year later, he had more than 5 million. Now, he’s at more than 10 million subscribers.
In June, TubeFilter ranked “Ryan ToysReview” as the most viewed YouTube channel in the U.S. for the 40th week in a row. In September, NBA player Kevin Durant was featured in one of Ryan’s videos performing a children’s science experiment.
Ryan’s popularity makes perfect sense. He’s got every small kid’s dream job, opening toys and playing with them, day after day. He’s smiley, too, totally nonthreatening to parents and children alike. No bad words. No preachy banter. He’s a miniature Mister Rogers but without the sweater and slippers.
In his most popular video, published April 13, 2016, Ryan’s mother films him as he crawls through an inflatable waterslide, searching for giant Easter eggs. He cracks open each one to find various toys inside.
Ryan’s got great timing too. He specializes in the slow reveal, like the opening of those eggs, and in surprise.
Ryan has real impact.
His parents told TubeFilter in September of last year that 99 percent of the channel’s videos aren’t branded. At the time, the parents said they paid for all of the toys that Ryan reviewed. It’s unclear how many toys he reviews are sent to him by sponsors, but his video descriptions often include dozens of links to name-brand items. According to his channel’s “about” page, the family donates most of the toys to charity after Ryan reviews them.
Many videos include Ryan doing things other than playing with toys. They show him going to get a haircut, playing hide and seek in a hotel and attending his twin siblings’ birthday party. Looking to turn into a Youtuber ? I bet, you are!
