One YouTuber with over 2m subscribers has shared why he quit the platform in favor of a 9-5 desk job.
The YouTube life isn't for everyone, and in an era where the platform is full of MrBeast forcing to fight people for money, Logan Paul pulling lookalike pranks, and people trying to convince millionaires to buy the world's freshest air, it's easy to see how you could get lost in the algorithm.
Sometimes they're gone forever, or sometimes they go full David Dobrik and return with a new ripped physique after years away.
Former YouTuber Evan Eckenrode has no regrets about leaving that YouTube life behind and taking on a standard 9 to 5.
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Known for his alter ego of Dwarf Mamba, Eckenrode's channel has an impressive 2.3 million subscribers. Sadly, it sits gathering dust because he hasn't posted a video since 2022. Eckenrode famously lived with Logan Paul and posted an emotional thank you video when the latter moved to Puerto Rico to focus on his boxing career. Now appearing on an episode of the Impaulsive podcast, he explained why he headed into the rat race.
Saying what many are thinking, Paul asked, "Hey buddy, how the f**k are you dude?"
Saying he's going to get vulnerable and ‘real’, Eckenrode admitted he's at a 'reset' moment in his life.
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Speaking candidly about his career with social media, Eckenrode added: "It was something that I definitely wasn't loving anymore, it wasn't fun."
He emotionally continued: "People starting to get hateful too, like more hateful. Also, the whole dwarf niche thing, it comes to an end, like, we get it."
Eckenrode says that he didn't spend enough time trying to hone his other skills like comedy and stand-up, and when Paul pushed on whether he's trying to get away from the 'Dwarf Mamba' persona, he said, "A little bit."
Paul clearly has a lot of affection for the Dwarf Mamba days, chiming in: "I'll never forget scrolling on Vine, I got like 10,000 followers at the time…and just seeing Dwarf Mamba pop up. You had these just hilarious Vines."
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Although Eckenrode knows it's a 'legend name', he's since left the red glow of YouTube behind.
As for what he's up to know, the former content creator said: "I have a job now, 9 to 5, which I don't hate, I really don't."
While he thinks most people would assume he dislikes the sometimes mundane routine of worker life, Eckenrode continued: "I like the authoritative schedule, I need that in my life, I need that authoritative drive because I don't have drive."
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Even if his current job might not be his forever job, he concluded: "Maybe this is, like I said, this is the reset I need to find that extra skill or that self skill to get me going into something else."
Paul agrees that for those who might think they lack drive or can't find the motivation to go and work on their own schedule, a 9 to 5 can be a blessing in disguise. Co-host Mike Majlak noted that the 9 to 5 has been villainized by some, but there's a reason it remains so popular.
In the end, Eckenrode suggested that you have to be a 'psycho' to commit to the schedule of a full-time social media career, saying he's 'too genuine' to live that life. Paul and Majlak didn't seem to take that too personally, and with Eckenrode back on the sofa, they were clearly happy to see him. Just don't expect the Dwarf Mamba channel to suddenly kick back into action anytime soon.