Grant Thompson’s body was reportedly found after embarking on a paragliding trip on July 29. His brother Mark broke this sad news to TMZ, and his family also confirmed that the founder of “The King of Random” YouTube channel was just 38 years old after dying from the “paragliding accident.” The Washington County Sheriff’s Office added that it received a report about an “overdue paraglider” who went off-course near Utah’s Sand Hollow State Park on Monday, and GPS data led a helicopter to Grant’s body “that night.” Paragliding equipment and a video recording device was found, and Grant’s cause of death is still being determined while his family is being briefed, TMZ reported.
Grant’s death was also announced via an “In Memoriam” video on his YouTube channel, which had amassed more than 11 million subscribers at the time of his death. “It is with great sadness to inform everyone that Grant Thompson passed away last night,” the video’s caption read. “Grant had great love and appreciation for his fans. We invite you to share your thoughts for Grant and the channel in the comments. Please do a random act of love or kindness today in honor of The King of Random. Grant’s legacy will live on in the channel and the global community he created.” Here’s what you should know about the Internet personality that is now being grieved by many on YouTube.
1. Grant’s YouTube channel uploads videos about “life hacks, experiments, and random weekend projects,” according to its “About” page. The channel went live in 2010, and it has since climbed to become the 331st most subscribed channel on YouTube as of July 30. Two new personalities (Nate and Calli) have taken over hosting duties in recent uploads, but Grant made appearances in videos like “Mystery Puzzle Box & Gum Wrapper Fire Starters” (Feb. 2019) and “Grant Likes To Make Fire” (Nov. 2018).
2. Grant started his paragliding hobby not that long before his death. His brother said the YouTube star only got into the extreme sport “around five months ago” while speaking with TMZ.
3. The YouTuber loved “airborne activities” and previously worked as an airline pilot. Mark added that Grant was passionate for activities that put him in the air (i.e. skydiving and flying) in his interview with TMZ. That makes sense, considering that he worked as an airline pilot for 11 years before quitting to focus on his YouTube channel full-time!
4. Grant also worked in real estate. At one point the YouTuber was renting out 11 houses in addition to buying and selling houses, which he revealed in a 2017 interview with Mediakix.
5. The YouTuber created his channel out of a love for tinkering. The projects on “The King of Random” have no specific niche, just as its name suggests — that’s because Grant was curious about everything. “I just started tinkering and learning about how the world works, which was inspired kind of by the idea of the Great Recession from the housing collapse. I was learning about things. I started making videos on YouTube showing people what I was tinkering with and what I was coming up with,” he told Mediakix.