Marques Brownlee Biography
Marques Keith Brownlee (/mɑːrˈkɛz ˈbraʊnliː/; mar-KEZ BROWN-lee; born December 3, 1993), also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast Waveform. As of December:2023, he has more than 20 million subscribers across all channels and 3.93 billion total video views. Vic Gundotra, a former senior vice president of Google, called Brownlee "the best technology reviewer on the planet right now". At the 10th Shorty Awards in 2019, he was named "Creator of the Decade" The former name of his YouTube channel is a concatenation of MKB (Brownlee's initials) and HD (for high definition). With New York PoNY, he is the 2022 WFDF World Champion in the Open Category for ultimate Frisbee.
Online career
Brownlee joined YouTube on March 21, 2008. He first started uploading technology videos in January 2009, while still in high school, about new products or reviews of products he already owned. He produced his first videos through screencasting.
Brownlee's reviews have been promoted by review sites. Engadget promoted the site in January 2012 when they featured his tour of the then-new cloud storage service called Insync. In November 2013, one of Brownlee's most viral videos was posted based on the LG G Flex, where he performed various scratch tests to demonstrate the self-healing ability of the device. In December 2013, Brownlee did an interview with Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside.
Brownlee's video review and scratch test of a rumored 4.7-inch sapphire display component for the iPhone 6, uploaded July 7, 2014, gained immediate popularity, being featured on sites such as The Verge, Forbes, HuffPost, CNET, and Time Magazine. The video appeared on NBC News, and in newspapers across the world. As of January:2023, the video has gained over 9.2 million views on YouTube and has had over 60,000 likes.
In December 2015, Brownlee interviewed professional NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant. During one of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary debates that was cosponsored by YouTube, Brownlee asked the candidates, by video, whether tech companies and the government can find a middle ground over encryption while considering rights to privacy and national security.
In April 2018, Brownlee won Shorty Awards Creator of the Decade. In August 2019, Brownlee began co-hosting a technology podcast, Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast. and is sometimes referred to as Waveform and WVFRM. The podcast is focused on product reviews and interviews with figures in tech.
Retro Tech is a YouTube Original series produced by Vox Media Studios starring MKBHD which aired on December 2, 2019. In the series, Brownlee interviews fellow YouTube creators and celebrity guests and discusses iconic pieces of technology from the past which have had a major impact on modern life and culture.
Brownlee reached 10 million subscribers on December 18, 2019, making MKBHD one of the most-subscribed-to technology-focused YouTube channels, according to Social Blade. As of April:2023, his main channel has 16.8 million subscribers and 3.45 billion total views. His secondary channels add an additional 2.6 million subscribers and approximately 165 million views.
In December 2020, he was honored in the Forbes 30 Under 30 listing in its social media category. In April 2023, Brownlee collaborated with footwear brand Atoms to create the high-top Sneaker 251, named after the duration of his first YouTube video. Later, in 2024, he joined everyday accessories company Ridge as a board member and chief creative partner.
YouTube channels
Brownlee speaking at Web Summit's Collision conference in Toronto in 2023- Marques Brownlee – Brownlee's main channel
- The Studio – behind-the-scenes secondary channel
- WVFRM Podcast – technology podcast
- Auto Focus – car-focused channel
- MKBHD Shorts
Personal life
Marques Keith Brownlee grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey. He attended Columbia High School, graduating in 2011, and studied at the Howe School at Stevens Ins*ute of Technology, where he majored in business and information technology. Brownlee graduated in May 2015 and became a full-time YouTuber. His videos were produced at his apartment until he moved out in 2016, and he now works out of a studio in Kearny, New Jersey.
American Ultimate Disc League
Brownlee is a professional ultimate frisbee player for the New York Empire of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), who were the AUDL champions in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Brownlee previously played for the Philadelphia Phoenix (2017) and Garden State Ultimate (2015–2017). Other previous team engagements include the now-defunct New Jersey Hammerheads, a team belonging to the AUDL, and the New York Rumble, which was in the now-defunct league Major League Ultimate.
On July 31, 2022, Brownlee won the WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship with New York PoNY.
See also
- List of YouTubers
Notes
- 60.622 million (MKBHD Shorts)
- 3.159 million (100 Upload Project)
- 40.465 million (The Studio)
- 41.178 million (WVFRM Podcast)
- 72.483 million (Waveform Clips)
- 42.456 million (Auto Focus)
- 651 thousand (MKBHD Shorts)
- 17.5 thousand (100 Upload Project)
- 781 thousand (The Studio)
- 344 thousand (WVFRM Podcast)
- 432 thousand (Waveform Clips)
- 730 thousand (Auto Focus)
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marques Brownlee.- Official website
- Marques Brownlee's channel on YouTube
- :Biography
- :Internet
- :United States
- :Technology
