Joseph Mark Garrett (born 13 December 1990), better known as Stampylonghead, Stampylongnose, Stampy Cat, or simply Stampy, is an English YouTuber, actor and author best known for his Minecraft video game commentaries as the character of Stampy Cat. He is well-known for his child-friendly demeanour and incorporating storytelling and education into the Let's Play format. In 2014, he was one of the ten most-watched YouTube channels in the world.
Stampy | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born | Joseph Mark Garrett 13 December 1990 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | ||||||||||||
Occupation | YouTuber | ||||||||||||
Spouse |
Kye Bates (m. 2019) | ||||||||||||
YouTube information | |||||||||||||
Also known as |
| ||||||||||||
Channel | |||||||||||||
Years active | 2006–present | ||||||||||||
Genre | |||||||||||||
Subscribers | 10.8 million[1] | ||||||||||||
Total views | 8 billion[1] | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Last updated: 21 October 2023 |
In 2015, Garrett created a scripted edutainment series called Wonder Quest in collaboration with Maker Studios and Disney. The show was filmed in Minecraft and features educational content designed for children to watch in school. It aired two seasons from 2015 to 2016. Garrett has voiced the Stampy character in the video game Minecraft: Story Mode and has made guest appearances on several television programs with CBBC and Disney XD. He has also released two children's books, and is in the process of writing a series of young adult novels.
As of June 2023, Garrett's channel has gained over 8 billion video views and over 10.7 million subscribers. In 2015, his channel received 200 million monthly views,[6] with each video averaging 1.87 million views.[7]
Garrett began working for 4J Studios in January 2024 in the development of a new game.[8]
Early life
Joseph Garrett was born in Havant in Hampshire, England, on 13 December 1990.[6][9][7] His father is a graphic designer. He has two older sisters: Rachel and Annette, the latter of whom also has a Minecraft YouTube channel.[6][10]
Garrett studied TV and video production at Solent University in Southampton.[11][6] Garrett enjoyed creating stop-motion films and wanted to be an editor or vision mixer, wanting to work on projects entirely by himself.[6]
Career
In August 2006, Garrett created his first YouTube channel, the Stampylongnose channel.[12] Initially, his channel consisted of live-action comedy skits and animations he made with his friends.[9] He later transitioned to Let's Play videos, playing video games such as Homefront. Garrett eventually removed his older content from his channel. From 2016, he resumed uploading on this channel, primarily non-gaming videos such as vlogs, 'Behind The Scenes' videos, and later 'Book Diary', where Garrett would talk about his progress on writing his novels.
On 29 July 2011, he launched the Stampylonghead channel. He began making Minecraft Let's Play videos in 2012, including his most popular series, Stampy's Lovely World.[13][14] Garrett has described the Stampylonghead channel as a "complete accident," saying his original aim was to become a video game journalist.[15] As of 2014, Garrett recorded, edited, and uploaded his videos himself, while Maker Studios handled his business affairs.[15]
In December 2013, YouTube terminated the Stampylonghead channel due to false reports of community guidelines violations. After widespread campaigning under the Twitter hashtag "#savestampy" began trending, the channel was reinstated a day later.[13][16] In 2014, he attended the San Diego Comic-Con for the first time.[17]
In 2014, Garrett attributed some of his popularity to his upload schedule, which was daily. He said that this ensured his audience knew they could return regularly to find new content to watch.[18] When asked if he would be interested in transitioning to television, Garrett has stated that he is happy on YouTube.[19]
On 25 April 2015, Garrett launched a spin-off edutainment YouTube series, Wonder Quest, in collaboration with Maker Studios.[20] The series is told through Minecraft, and is designed for educational use in classrooms.[7] Jordan Shapiro praised the show for demonstrating the educational potential of Minecraft.[21] He was a featured panellist at Minecon in July 2015.[22][23][24] He also attended Minecon in 2016.[25]
In September of 2015, Garrett signed a two-book deal with Egmont Publishing.[26] Stampy's Lovely Book, released to United Kingdom stores on 22 October 2015, is a children's activity book themed around Stampy Cat.[27] Stampy's Lovely Book was followed by a sticker book titled Stampy Cat: Stick with Stampy! on 28 July 2016.[28]
In 2018, he broke a Guinness World Record, the fastest time to make and display ten cakes in Minecraft, which he did in three minutes and 51 seconds.[29]
In October 2018, Garrett announced he would be taking a break from his Minecraft content to spend more time working on writing books. He returned briefly in 2019, with the release of episode 658 of Stampy's Lovely World, "Mirror World".[30] In the summer of 2020, he revealed he would soon resume uploading Stampy's Lovely World on a weekly basis. The series returned on 19 August 2020.[31]
On 13 November 2021, Garrett released the first episode of a podcast entitled The Bonus Points with his longtime friend Oli Guy. The podcast centres around discussion and ranking of new video games.
On 21 October 2023, the final episode of Stampy's Lovely World aired, titled "Thanks For Watching", marking the end of the series after 823 episodes.[32][33] The final episode received 1.7 million views in a day.[33][34] Garrett stated that although his personal channels would be inactive following the series' conclusion, he would continue working on his podcast The Bonus Points.[35]
In January 2024, Garrett was hired by 4J Studios to help develop a video game using their new proprietary voxel engine called Elements Engine.[36][8]
Content
His avatar is a character called Stampy Cat, an orange and white cat (depicted by a commercially available Minecraft skin based on the character Fidget from the video game Dust: An Elysian Tail). Garrett describes the character as "a bigger, brighter, better version" of himself.[7] Other characters in the videos (who are referred to as Stampy's "helpers") include iBallisticSquid, the YouTube name of Garrett's friend David Spencer,[37] and Sqaishey Quack, a duck character played by Garrett's spouse Kye Bates.[38]
When Garrett started making content about Minecraft, which 'blew up', he noticed that his audience mostly consisted of children.[39] Upon this realisation, he began to make his content more family-oriented.[15] Garrett's Minecraft series adds a story to game which has none, while giving viewers ideas for activities to pursue with their friends in their own Minecraft games.[40]
Once Garrett became aware of his young audience, he started placing more energy into his voice to keep their attention.[7] This voice is high-pitched, and has a 'trademark laughter', which The Independent described as a "helium honk".[6][41] Caroline Knorr of Common Sense Media describes Stampy's presentation as best for younger children, and that "Stampy feels like a cross between Pee-Wee Herman and Mr. Rogers."[42]
Lee Bear was a bear character who was prominent in the earlier Stampy's Lovely World episodes as a helper, played by the Minecraft YouTuber Lee Carson. In 2015, it was alleged that Carson sent threatening messages and explicit images of himself to women online.[11][43] Garrett removed Carson from the series in September of 2015, doing so in a manner that concealed the truth of Carson's actions from Garrett's young fanbase.[44]
Personal life
In 2014, Garrett described himself as "a very big introvert" and "shy".[18]
On 28 July 2019, Garrett married Kye Bates, a fellow Minecraft YouTuber known online as Sqaishey Quack. They have a cat, Ori, and two dogs, Alyx and Mei.[29]
YouTube statistics
In February 2014, the Stampylonghead channel received 159.3 million views. At the time, he had 2.3 million subscribers and 845 million channel views overall.[20] In May 2015, he was the 32nd most-viewed YouTube channel of all time, with 3.5 billion views and 5.8 million subscribers.[21] His YouTube channel surpassed 10 million subscribers on 8 February 2021.[10]
In 2014, Garrett was in the top 10 most-viewed YouTube channels worldwide. That year, his audience consisted largely of six to 14-year-olds, about sixty per cent of whom were girls.[37]
Bibliography
- Stampy's Lovely Book (Egmont, 2015), ISBN 978-1405281560
- Stampy Cat: Stick with Stampy! (Egmont, 2016), ISBN 978-1405284219
Filmography
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014–2017 | BBC Breakfast | Himself | Guest star, "7 March, 2014" and "13 September, 2017" | [45][46] |
2015 | Good Morning Britain | Himself | Guest star, "Episode #2.73" | [47] |
2016 | Diddy TV | Himself | Guest star for episodes three, seven and fourteen | [48] |
Web
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012–2023 | Stampy's Lovely World | Stampy Cat | Creator | |
2015 | Good Mythical Morning | Himself | Guest star, "Ultimate Minecraft Quiz ft. StampyCat" | [49] |
2015 | Good Mythical MORE | Himself | Guest star, "Corn Dogs With Stampycat" | [50] |
2015 | Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything | Stampy Cat | Guest star, episode one | [51] |
2015–2016 | Wonder Quest | Stampy Cat | Creator and writer | [52] |
2015–2016 | I Wonder | Stampy Cat | Creator | [52] |
2016–2017 | Minecraft: Story Mode | Stampy Cat | In episodes "A Portal to Mystery", "Hero in Residence" and "Giant Consequences" | [53][54] |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016–2017 | Minecraft: Story Mode | Stampy Cat | In episodes "A Portal to Mystery", "Hero in Residence" and "Giant Consequences" | [53][54] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | The Game Awards | Trending Gamer | Nominated | [55] |
4th Annual Streamy Awards | Gaming | Nominated | [56] | |
2015 | 2015 Kids' Choice Awards | UK Favourite Tipster | Nominated | [57][better source needed] |
5th Annual Streamy Awards | Gaming | Nominated | [58][59] | |
2016 | 2016 Kids' Choice Awards | UK Favourite Tipster | Nominated | [60][61] |
References
- ^ a b "About stampylonghead". YouTube.
- ^ Stampy – 100k Subscribers Special. YouTube. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ 1 Million Subscribers Special – From Then To Now. YouTube. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Stampy's Special Unboxing. YouTube. 11 September 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ 10M Subscribers Special – Play Button Unboxing – 🔴 Live. YouTube. 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Duerden, Nick (21 November 2015). "Stampy Cat: Minecraft vlogger Joseph Garrett is the name on every child's Christmas list". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Burell, Ian (1 January 2015). "Stampy Cat: Joseph Garrett's cartoon from Minecraft that is bigger than Justin Bieber – and has just been linked to Disney". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ a b stampylongnose (25 May 2024). Let's Talk - What Am I Doing With 4J Studios?. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Mohan-Hickson, Matt (13 June 2020). "Who is Stampy Cat? Name, age and Minecraft videos created by YouTube star". The News. JPIMedia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ a b "YouTuber Stampy celebrates 10 million subscribers". Newsround. 10 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ a b Sperling, Nicole (30 July 2014). "Go inside the world of Minecraft hero Stampylonghead". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "stampylongnose - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ a b Mohan-Hickson, Matt (13 June 2020). "Who is Stampy Cat? Name, age and Minecraft videos created by YouTube star". The News. JPIMedia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ Precey, Matt (7 March 2014). "Minecraft gamer's YouTube hit 'more popular than Bieber". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b c Dredge, Stuart (9 April 2014). "YouTube star Stampylonghead launching new education channel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "YouTuber Stampy celebrates 10 million subscribers". Newsround. 10 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Sperling, Nicole (30 July 2014). "Go inside the world of Minecraft hero Stampylonghead". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ a b Dredge, Stuart (9 April 2014). "YouTube star Stampylonghead launching new education channel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (28 August 2016). "Joseph Garrett, the children's presenter with 7.8 million subscribers". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ a b Dredge, Stuart (9 April 2014). "YouTube star Stampylonghead launching new education channel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b Shapiro, Jordan (31 May 2015). "This Is What You Should Be Asking About Stampy's Minecraft Videos". Forbes. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (1 July 2015). "Minecraft Minecon 2015 schedule reveals Stampy, YouTube and more". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Grill, Scott (3 July 2015). "'Minecraft' MineCon 2015: How To Watch And Full Saturday Schedule". The Inquisitr News. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ de Gallier, Thea (4 July 2015). "Minecon 2015 news updates and highlights". Metro. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "The execs in charge of Minecraft explain why it's taken over the world". Yahoo Finance. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Eyre, Charlotte (16 September 2015). "Egmont signs YouTube star Stampy Cat". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (15 September 2015). "Minecraft's Stampy Cat Signs Deal For Stampy's Lovely Book, Out Next Month". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Depository, Book. "Stampy Cat: Stick with Stampy! (Sticker Activity Book) : Joseph Garrett : 9781405284219". bookdepository.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ a b "YouTuber Stampy celebrates 10 million subscribers". Newsround. 10 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Minecraft Xbox - Mirror World [658], retrieved 19 December 2023
- ^ Minecraft - Back To Business [659], retrieved 19 December 2023
- ^ Minecraft - Thanks For Watching [823], archived from the original on 21 October 2023, retrieved 21 October 2023
- ^ a b "Stampy's Lovely World: 1.7m say farewell to YouTube series". BBC News. 22 October 2023. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Gutelle, Sam (23 October 2023). "After 823 'Minecraft' adventures, Stampy Cat creator ends "fantastic ride" on YouTube". Tubefilter. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1_9N3zxSbM
- ^ MacDonald, Ben (23 May 2024). "Dundee Waterfront recreated in 3D as games firm teases fans with 'Minecraft 2.0'". The Courier. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b Precey, Matt (7 March 2014). "Minecraft gamer's YouTube hit 'more popular than Bieber". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Ep. 72 Stampy Cat – Ear Biscuits". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Precey, Matt (7 March 2014). "Minecraft gamer's YouTube hit 'more popular than Bieber". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Stampy on why his Minecraft tutorials have YouTubers gripped. BBC Breakfast. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Merz, Theo (23 July 2014). "Stampylongnose: the Youtube star you've never heard of". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "The 10 Best Kid-Friendly Minecraft Channels on YouTube". The Huffington Post. 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Broomfield, Matthew (31 January 2016). "YouTube Personalities Use 'Minecraft' to Prey on Underage Fans". Vice. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Garrett, Joseph (20 September 2015). Minecraft Xbox - Bye Bear [339]. stampylonghead. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ BBC (7 March 2014). Stampy on why his Minecraft tutorials have YouTubers gripped - BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Phil Watts (13 September 2017). Stampy on BBC Breakfast 13/09/17. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ BBC (7 March 2014). Stampy on why his Minecraft tutorials have YouTubers gripped - BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Diddy TV" (Adobe Flash). BBC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ Good Mythical Morning (8 May 2015). Ultimate Minecraft Quiz ft. StampyCat. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Good Mythical MORE (8 May 2015). Corn Dogs With Stampycat. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Elizabeth Wagmeister (10 June 2015). "'Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything' to Premiere July 22 – Variety". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ a b Studios, Maker. "Season 2 of Award-Winning Original Series "Wonder Quest," From Disney's Maker Studios, Attracts 10MM Views on YouTube". prnewswire.com (Press release). Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ a b "'Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 6 – A Portal to Mystery' Will Add Stampy Cat, Stacy Plays, DanTDM, LDShadowLady, & CaptainSparklez as Guest Characters – High-Def Digest". highdefdigest.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Minecraft: Story Mode – Season 2 debuts – PC News at New Game Network". newgamenetwork.com. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "Nominees". thegameawards.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "4th Annual Winners & Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "NickALive!". nickalive.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Streamy Awards: James Franco, 'SnapperHero,' Fifth Harmony, Tyler Oakley Score Nominations". TheWrap. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "5th Annual Winners & Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards". 2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ "Full 2016 Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards nominations revealed". Music-News.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
Further reading
- Dezuanni, Michael (2020). Peer Pedagogies on Digital Platforms: Learning with Minecraft Let's Play Videos. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262539722.