Stevin John

Last updated

Stevin John
Stevin John.jpg
Personal information
Born
Stephen John Grossman

(1988-05-27) May 27, 1988 (age 36)
OccupationChildren's entertainer
Website blippi.com
YouTube information
Also known asBlippi, Steezy Grossman
Channel
Years active2014–present
GenrePreschool
Subscribers21.5 million [1]
Total views15.7 billion [1]

Last updated: October 22, 2024

Stevin John (born Stephen John Grossman, May 27, 1988), better known by his alias Blippi, is an American children's entertainer on YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. The Blippi character that John portrays has a childlike, energetic, and curious persona, and is always dressed in a blue and orange beanie cap, blue shirt, orange suspenders, and an orange bow tie. [2] John later legally changed his name to Stevin John sometime before 2019. [3]

Contents

Early life

John grew up "surrounded by tractors, cows, and horses", and has stated that as a child he wished to be a limousine driver and a fighter pilot. [2] John served in the United States Air Force in 2006 and was discharged in 2008. [4]

Steezy Grossman

John started making gross out videos in 2013 under the persona of Steezy Grossman. [3] In a 2013 video, John performed the Harlem Shake on a toilet and defecated on a naked friend. [3] [5] When the video was unearthed by BuzzFeed News in 2019, John said, "at the time, I thought this sort of thing was funny, but really it was stupid and tasteless, and I regret having ever done it." [3] John used DMCA takedown notices to remove the video from social media and internet search engines. [6]

Blippi

The idea for Blippi came to John after moving back to Ellensburg and witnessing his then two-year-old nephew viewing low-quality videos on YouTube. Blippi has been described as "an adult human man who dresses up in bright clothes and dances around America's deserted soft play centres for the benefit of YouTube". [5] The first Blippi video was published on February 18, 2014, [7] with John starring as Blippi and doing all of the filming, editing and graphics himself on the initial videos. Taking inspiration from children's educators and entertainers before him, such as Mr. Rogers, John wished to portray Blippi as educational but also as thinking and acting as a child would. [8]

The videos garnered a large following with over a billion views on YouTube, and the production staff was expanded to produce videos in Spanish, establish Blippi Toys, and begin offering DVDs and digital downloads. Some parents have criticized the simplistic nature of the character's tone and repetitive songs about things such as garbage trucks, fire trucks, and pizza. [9]

Some social commentators have criticized Blippi. Writing for the magazine Current Affairs , Nathan Robinson criticized the videos for their lack of depth, calling his universe "thin and dull". He contrasted the show's themes and lessons to Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, preferring the latter two shows. [10] Meanwhile, Stuart Heritage of Esquire wrote that the character fascinates him, writing "He has no children. He doesn’t seem to like children". Heritage also brought up John's infamous defecation video. [5]

Stevin John had a son, Lochlan David John, born on March 9, 2022, with his fiancé Alyssa Ingham.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet humour</span> Type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, urination and flatulence

Toilet humour, potty humour or scatological humour, is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions.

<i>A Great Day in Harlem</i> 1958 photograph by Art Kane

A Great Day in Harlem or Harlem 1958 is a black-and-white photograph of 57 jazz musicians in Harlem, New York, taken by freelance photographer Art Kane for Esquire magazine on August 12, 1958. The idea for the photo came from Esquire's art director, Robert Benton, rather than Kane. However, after being given the commission, it seems that Kane was responsible for choosing the location for the shoot. The subjects are shown at 17 East 126th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenue, where police had temporarily blocked off traffic. Published as the centerfold of the January 1959 issue of Esquire, the image was captured with a Hasselblad camera, and earned Kane his first Art Directors Club of New York gold medal for photography. It has been called "the most iconic photograph in jazz history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards</span> American annual awards ceremony show

The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in television, film, music, and sports as voted by viewers worldwide of Nickelodeon networks. Winners receive a hollow orange blimp figurine, a logo outline for much of the network's 1984–2009 era, which also functions as a kaleidoscope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave England</span> American stunt performer (born 1969)

David Joseph England is an American stunt performer, television personality, and former professional snowboarder. He is best known as one of the stars of the reality stunt show Jackass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube</span> Video-sharing and social media platform

YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States, it is the second-most visited website in the world, after Google Search. In January 2024, YouTube had more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, who collectively watched more than one billion hours of videos every day. As of May 2019, videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute, and as of 2023, there were approximately 14 billion videos in total.

The Harlem shake is a style of hip-hop dance characterized by jerky arm and shoulder movements in time to music. The dance was created by Harlem resident Al B. in 1981; the dance was initially called "The Albee" or "The Al. B.". As indicated by the name, it is associated with the predominantly African American neighborhood of Harlem, in New York City. The dance became known as the Harlem Shake as its prominence grew beyond the neighborhood. In 2001 G. Dep's music video for the song "Let's Get It" introduced the dance to the mainstream.

Tractor Tom is a British animated children's TV programme, produced by the Contender Entertainment Group and Hibbert Ralph Entertainment. Two series were produced, consisting of 26 eleven-minute episodes each, which was aired between 9 February 2002 and 18 November 2004 respectively. It was the first program produced by home media distributor Contender, who later went on to produce and replace with the preschool show Peppa Pig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baauer</span> American record producer

Harry Bauer Rodrigues, known professionally as Baauer, is an American record producer and DJ, best known for his double platinum song "Harlem Shake".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlem Shake (meme)</span> Internet meme

The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people dance to a short excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake". The meme became viral in early February 2013, with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.

A YouTube poop (YTP) is a type of video mashup or edit created by remixing/editing pre-existing media sources, often carrying subcultural significance into a new video for humorous, vulgar, satirical, obscene, absurd, profane, annoying, confusing, or dramatic purposes. YouTube poops are traditionally uploaded to the video sharing website YouTube, hence the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joji (musician)</span> Japanese-Australian entertainer (born 1993)

George Kusunoki Miller, known professionally as Joji and formerly as Filthy Frank and Pink Guy, is a Japanese-Australian comedian, singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Miller's music has been described as a mix between R&B, lo-fi, and trip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsagate</span> Controversy concerning a genre of YouTube videos

Elsagate is a controversy surrounding videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids that were categorized as "child-friendly", but contained themes inappropriate for children. These videos often featured fictional characters from family-oriented media, sometimes via crossovers, used without legal permission. The controversy also included channels that focused on real-life children, such as Toy Freaks, that raised concern about possible child abuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan's World</span> Childrens YouTube channel

Ryan's World is a children's YouTube channel for children aged 2–6 featuring Ryan Kaji along with his mother, father, and twin sisters.

A YouTuber is a type of content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006, and subsequently appeared in the 2006 Time Person of the Year issue.

Cocomelon is a children's YouTube channel operated by Candle Media-owned Moonbug Entertainment. The channel specializes in 3D animation videos of traditional nursery rhymes and original children's songs. As of May 2024, Cocomelon is the 3rd most-subscribed and 2nd most-viewed channel on YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonbug Entertainment</span> British media company

Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. is a British children's media company and multi-channel network headquartered in London, with an office in Los Angeles. Founded in 2018 and owned by Candle Media, Moonbug creates and distributes children’s video and audio content. It is known for managing popular YouTube channels Cocomelon and Little Baby Bum, as well as series such as Mia's Magic Playground, Blippi, My Magic Pet Morphle.

<i>Blippi</i> YouTube channel aimed at toddlers

Blippi is a popular American educational YouTube channel aimed at toddlers and young children. The show features a cheerful, energetic character named Blippi, who takes viewers on adventures to places like factories, play parks, and zoos. As he tours these locations, Blippi relays his experiences directly to his audience, posing questions and explaining unfamiliar concepts. Blippi was acquired by Moonbug Entertainment in 2020, and became a subsidiary of Candle Media on November 1, 2021.

Miss Persona is a Canadian children's television program for preschoolers, which premiered in 2018. Inspired by past programs such as The Big Comfy Couch and Mr. Dressup, the series was created by children's entertainer Kimberly Persona, and features her in character as a woman who lives in a treehouse in the forest with her teddy bear friend Brandon, and uses songs, games and dress-up role play to teach children how to solve problems.

The Bowel Movement Bandit is the alias of an unidentified man in the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron, Ohio, United States, who repeatedly defecated through the sunroofs of random people’s cars from 2012 to 2015. In total, the criminal defecated on 19 parked cars in driveways, as well as children's toys left in the front yards of homes. The criminal only stopped his public defecation spree after a photo of his face was captured by a hidden camera and released to the public.

References

  1. 1 2 "About BlippiVideos". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 "Who Is Blippi?". blippi.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Notopoulos, Katie (February 13, 2019). "Kids YouTube Star Blippi "Regrets" The Viral Video In Which He Poops All Over His Friend". BuzzFeed News.
  4. Phillips, Bethaney (March 30, 2022). "This vet is now the star of a kids' TV show". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Heritage, Stuart (July 17, 2019). "YouTube Is Destroying My Child's Mind (And One Person Is To Blame)". Esquire. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  6. Koebler, Jason; Maiberg, Emanuel (February 15, 2019). "How Kids YouTube Star Blippi Used Copyright Law to Hide His Harlem Shake Poop Video". Motherboard.
  7. FARM TRACTORS - KIDS SHOW. Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids. February 18, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022 via YouTube.
  8. Cuming, Emma (August 22, 2018). "Who the fluff is Blippi??". thespinoff.co.nz. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  9. Brockes, Emma (May 4, 2017). "I was trapped by a YouTube clown – but the Wizard of Oz saved me". theguardian.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  10. Robinson, Nathan J. (August 25, 2020). "The Dead World of Blippi". Current Affairs. Retrieved April 19, 2024.