Markiplier explains how he climbed out of “rut” to hit huge YouTube goal

Andrew Amos
Markiplier wearing black clothes on YouTube video

Mark ‘Markiplier’ Fischbach has celebrated a massive milestone on YouTube, reaching 25 million subscribers on the platform, although he explained he had to climb out of some pretty big holes to make it there.

Markiplier is one of the faces of YouTube, having gotten his rise on the platform almost a decade ago alongside the likes of Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg and Sean ‘Jacksepticeye’ McLoughlin.

The American content creator has changed his tone from his early days from gaming to a wider variety of skits, but his drive to keep making new videos has never stopped as he kept knocking down milestone after milestone.

Markiplier sitting down
Markiplier has grown from small-time YouTube gamer to entrepreneur over the last decade.

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Hitting the 25 million subscriber mark on his main channel is another sign of validation for the wildly-successful Markiplier, who has described his life as being “exceptionally busy” in recent times.

While he might not upload to YouTube as much as he once did, the American is constantly striving to pump out high-quality content, and feels a tinge of regret when he doesn’t.

“I’ve been busy trying to get ahead because I don’t like not uploading. Contrary to popular belief of what people think, I actually don’t like not uploading things.

“I enjoy making videos, and lately I’ve been enjoying making videos more than anything. It’s been a really satisfying experience in terms of just creating on the internet. It’s weird — I’m supposed to be burned out by this point.”

For mobile readers, the related segment starts at 11:01.

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It wasn’t like that all the time though. The YouTuber was going through the motions at one point, uploading for the sake of uploading, rather than enjoying the ride. He was too focused on numbers, and every milestone seemed “insignificant.”

“I haven’t really been celebrating a lot of milestones lately because in a big way, the numbers are not important. For all of you budding YouTubers out there, or if you want to be successful on social media, I would encourage you not to be focused on the numbers,” he said.

“I’ve always made a big stink about saying ‘thank you,’ and to be perfectly honest, I think the reason I’ve fallen out of it is because I was in a rut for so long. I was in a little stinker of a rut. It hit around 17, 18 million subscribers and I started to wonder ‘okay what do I do now?’

“You’ve probably heard this a million times from other YouTubers and stuff, but for me — I’ve talked about it a little bit here — I was in a little bit of a rut. I started to shy away from the concept of thanking you guys for every single milestone because they felt less and less special each time.

Markiplier YouTube Subscriber Count
Markiplier has flown past 25 million subscribers on YouTube.

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To get out of it, the YouTuber had to change his approach to life, not just how he was creating his regular content.

“It’s really f**king hard to do what you want to do if you are not on top of the things that you are doing while you are doing it. In addition to trying to get my life in order in terms of the projects I’m working on, I’m also trying to get my life in order just in terms of my life,” he admitted.

“Trying to get into a regular schedule, trying to get out of bed as soon I wake up, trying to stay on top of things I try to accomplish on a day-to-day basis, trying to get writing done where I can, squeezing it in where it is and where it does.

Markiplier and Ethan Nestor on Unus Annus YouTube video
Markiplier has a landslide of content prepared for 2020, including more Unus Annus vlogs.

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Now, Markiplier is in the right space to keep pushing ahead, harder than he has before.

“Right now, I’m in such a good place. I’m not going to get emotional about it, but seriously, thank you guys. Thank you for sticking with me for so long. Thank you for being with me through this journey,” he said.

“I have a long way to go left on the things that I want to make, and I’ve got a ton of other things I want to do with doing what I’m doing.”

The YouTuber also announced he had some major projects coming up, although he was tight-lipped on some of the details. A sequel to his YouTube original “A Heist With Markiplier” series is on the way, as well as some more content with Ethan Nestor for Unus Annus.

His eyes are also up on more big milestones in the future, and he is ready to make good on a promise to celebrate every little joy with his loyal fanbase in the future.

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About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.