William Osman
William Osman in 2019
Personal information
Born (1991-06-08) June 8, 1991 (age 32)
OriginVentura, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationCalifornia State University, Northridge (BS)
Occupation(s)YouTuber, Engineer
Websitewilliamosman.com
YouTube information
ChannelsWilliam Osman
William Osman 2
Years active2008–present
Genre(s)Maker, Educator, Comedian
Subscribers
  • 2.97 million (William Osman)
  • 461,000 (William Osman 2)
Total views
  • 449.6 million (William Osman)
  • 18.0 million (William Osman 2)
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2017 (William Osman)
2019 (William Osman 2)
1,000,000 subscribers2019 (William Osman)
Last updated: January 21, 2023

William Osman (born June 8, 1991) is an American YouTuber and engineer based in Ventura County, California. His eponymous YouTube channel features invention-based builds and challenges, including testing dummy fingers in car windows, building a scrap boat for a competition, and challenging other popular YouTube personalities to an egg drop competition.[1][2] Prior to YouTube, Osman used his degree in mechanical and electrical engineering to work with MRI machines, exploration vehicles, and military testing equipment. He is also the host of the Safety Third podcast.[3]

Early life and education

Osman attended Foothill Technology High School.[4] He created short skits with his best friend, cameraman, and assistant editor John Willner throughout high school.[1] During his senior year, Osman made a Stirling Engine that could turn heat into mechanical energy for the 2009 California State Science Fair.[5] Osman earned his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Northridge in 2014, majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in electrical engineering.[6]

Career

Osman created what would become his main YouTube channel on November 25, 2013. The majority of his early videos focused on testing his 80 watt laser cutter named "Retina Smelter 9000", in which different unconventional materials were examined for their ease of laser cutting.[1]

Early in December 2017, Osman and his wife, Chelsea, lost their home in the Thomas Fire.[7][8] A GoFundMe account was started by his family friend to help pay for the damages.[7] Osman posted a YouTube video about the house fire on December 5, 2017, and it quickly went viral.[9] The GoFundMe campaign had a goal of $10,000, but surpassed $120,000 from more than 6,300 donors in 20 hours.[9] Osman's channel gained a lot of attention in the period immediately following the fire.

As of January 2023, Osman has posted over 160 videos and accumulated over 432 million views. His channel hit 1 million subscribers in June 2019. He has collaborated with Mark Rober, Simone Giertz, and many other maker YouTubers.[10][11] In August 2019, he partnered with the U.S. Navy for part of their Sailor VS series.[12] The Navy worked with three YouTube creators with a focus on science, technology, and math, inviting them to highlight different technical roles and equipment.[13] Osman was invited aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to compete in an egg drop competition against a pair of sailors from a cybersecurity team.[14]

On July 19, 2019, Osman created a second channel for behind the scenes footage and snippets of his life. His second channel now consists of videos with ranging topics: smaller quick videos, other projects he's working on, and clips of him with other fellow YouTubers. As of October 2023, it has amassed over 461,000 subscribers.

In March 2023, Osman announced Open Sauce, a creator and maker convention inspired by Maker Faire and VidCon.[15][16] It was held at Pier 35 in the Embarcadero in San Francisco from July 15, 2023 to July 17, 2023 and featured fellow engineering YouTubers Mark Rober, Michael Reeves, CodeMiko, ElectroBOOM, Allen Pan, Jake Laser, and others.[17][18][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Clinton Matos (August 30, 2017). "We interview William Osman: The funniest maker channel on YouTube?". Hypertext. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Alex Swerdloff (March 29, 2017). "Man Uses Lasers to Carve Bust of Vin Diesel Out of Ham and Cheese". Vice. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "Safety Third - YouTube". YouTube.
  4. ^ "CSSF Project Listings: 2009". Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  5. ^ "California State Science Fair 2009 Project Summary" (PDF). Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "2014 Senior Design Project Showcase" (PDF). Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Taylor Heyman (December 6, 2017). "The internet raised more than $100,000 for this YouTuber who lost his home in California wildfires". Independent.ie. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Nathan Kontny (April 9, 2018). "Why Are Some Of Our Customers Successful? YouTuber William Osman Has A Lesson With His Creepy Hat". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Maria Vultaggio (December 6, 2017). "Who Is William Osman? Youtuber's House Burned by Ventura Fire, GoFundMe Campaign Goes Viral". Newsweek. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  10. ^ Jenna Alton (June 26, 2018). "The Clean Cut: BYU grad makes world's largest lemon battery to help power Pikes Peak race winner". Deseret News. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Sophie Weiner (February 18, 2018). "This Inventor Turned a Car Into a Giant Computer Mouse". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Geoff Weiss (August 8, 2019). "U.S. Navy Taps Kevin 'VSauce2' Lieber, Jake Koehler, William Osman For Inaugural Influencer Campaign". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  13. ^ Anthony Ha (August 8, 2019). "The Navy taps YouTube creators for its latest recruiting campaign". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  14. ^ Sophie Weiner (August 31, 2019). "The Navy's Newest Recruiting Strategy: YouTube Influencers". Military.com. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "William Osman, Mark Rober, Code Miko headline upcoming gathering of YouTube engineers". Tubefilter. 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  16. ^ STOP HIDING FROM ME, retrieved 2023-03-29
  17. ^ "Open Sauce 2023". Open Sauce. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  18. ^ Kraft, Caleb (2023-03-17). "Come See Your Favorite Science And Maker Youtubers At Open Sauce This July". Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers. Retrieved 2023-03-29.

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