KevJumba gained prominence after becoming one of the first breakout stars on the YouTube platform and appearing in a Scorsese-produced film.
The Asian-American teenage YouTuber mysteriously vanished from the site in 2014, leaving his followers and the industry in the dark.
However, Wu was starting to withdraw from both online and offline activities around the time Revenge premiered in Toronto in 2014.
After a year of not updating his immensely successful YouTube channel, he made it private. According to his account, the emphasis should have been on feature films.
For instance, he mentioned, “I didn’t see YouTube as my ultimate objective,” citing the example of Donald Glover, who gained fame through viral videos of his sketch comedy routines but departed from YouTube before the site could define him.
He expressed, ‘My time at the peak of the online popularity charts would be temporary. Perhaps I grew tired of being in front of the camera because I didn’t think that format would endure.’
Instead, he wanted to concentrate on “personal development” he believed he was lacking.
What occurred to KevJumba?
The once-Hollywood-friendly YouTube sensation has been offline since 2014.
He has become an enigmatic figure to the internet generation that made him famous.
Nevertheless, in June 2015, he was walking in Los Angeles when he was struck by a car.
According to him, it completely derailed his aspirations.
His spine was fractured, his lungs were crushed, and his determination was shattered in the near-fatal crash.
Initially, he was confined to bed, but resolute to continue.
He had previously assured himself, “I’m still going to attend school after I leave the hospital.” As the saying goes, “I’ve got to get on with my real life.” However, his organs were failing, and he required two major surgeries to mend the damage.
Who is KevJumba?
Kevin Wu, born in the United States on June 12, 1990, is a renowned YouTuber known as KevJumba.
Jeff Yang of the San Francisco Chronicle has highlighted that despite Wu’s lack of traditional comedic training, “just conversing is, well, quite amusing” because of his deadpan vocal delivery, animated facial expressions, and inclination toward unforeseen tangents.
In 2008, Wu appeared in the HBOLabs original film Hooking Up alongside Jessica Lee Rose and Philip DeFranco.
Prior to that, Wu had a minor role in The CW’s short-lived series Online Nation.
Wu and his father, Michael, participated in the 17th season of The Amazing Race in 2010.
They ultimately finished in seventh place out of eleven teams. Revenge of the Green Dragons, a crime film featuring Wu and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, was released in 2014.
Wu ceased making videos for YouTube in 2013. In 2016, Wu briefly reappeared on several social media platforms. Wu’s Twitch channel, initially named Cybermuse, was launched in November 2020.
Where is KevJumba now?
Kevin Wu (KevJumba), an early YouTube star, has come forward to explain his hiatus from the platform.
On March 15, Kevin shared a video on his channel titled “Hope,” where he discussed being hit by a car the previous year, which left him unconscious for 45 days and required him to spend time in the hospital.
In the video, the YouTuber recounted the traumatic experience, conveyed his helplessness during rehabilitation, and expressed gratitude to his father, who had taken him back to Texas to recuperate.
There was no point in continuing because I was so traumatized and in pain… I owe a great deal to my dad since he got me out of a terrible situation and back to Houston.
Kevin, who disappeared from the online video-sharing platform in 2013 to focus on his studies and Buddhist practice, has returned with a new video on his channel as Kev, distancing himself from his previous alias Kevjumba, and has pledged more videos in the future.
