William Osman (born June 8, 1991) is an American YouTuber and engineer based in Ventura, California. He makes videos about science and robots. He has gone viral for a 2017 video featuring a laser cut sculpture of Vin Diesel made of a ham and cheese sandwich and a 2021 video featuring a homemade X-ray machine. His other videos include egg drop competitions, including one against U.S. Navy sailors as part of a recruitment campaign. He founded Open Sauce, a maker and creator convention, in 2023.
Osman created his YouTube channel on November 25, 2013.[wo 2] He began creating YouTube videos with his cameraman and editor John "CameraManJohn" Willner in high school. The majority of his early videos included his homemade laser cutter named "RetinaSmelter9000".[1] He used the machine to test whether materials could be laser-cut, such as a video attempting to cut ice.[2]
In March 2017, Osman made a video based on a request from a viewer called Restroom Sounds, who said, "Please sculpt a bust of Vin Diesel using laser-cut cross-sections of laser-sliced ham."[3] He made a ham and cheese sandwich laser-cut to depict Diesel with a large bust,[4] which he designed using Autodesk Maya and Fusion 360[3] and assembled with 90 slices of meat.[5] He called the project, "one of the worst things I have ever done, like, in my life," and apologized to Diesel.[4][6] The video received over 100,000 views within two days.[7]
In August 2019, Osman partnered with the U.S. Navy for part of its Sailor Vs. series, its first recruiting campaign to feature influencers.[13] The Navy invited three STEM YouTubers to highlight technical roles and equipment.[14][15] Osman was invited aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to compete in an egg drop competition against a pair of sailors from a cybersecurity team.[16][13]
In a 2020 video, Osman purchased a BattleBots robot nicknamed Red Devil and used it to destroy objects. He made another video in response to negative comments about his destructive treatment of the robot, in which he said that the robot was already old and that he knew how to undo damage to it.[17] He worked on Mr. Beast's 2021 recreation of Squid Game, designing a replica turret gun using motion detection to trigger blood squibs.[18] He was a featured creator at VidCon 2021.[19]
Osman and other creators in a panel at Open Sauce 2024
In August 2021, Osman made a video building an X-ray machine and criticizing the American for-profit healthcare system. Having been charged nearly $70,000, including $8,500 out-of-pocket, for a hospital visit, he said, "I’m a slave to medical debt now. I have to sell all my things, I have to sell my friends’ belongings." He created his X-ray machine for a few hundred dollars using a 60 kilovolt power supply, an X-ray vacuum tube, Geiger counters, and a sheet of lead. He called it, "the most dangerous contraption I have ever built".[20][21] The video went viral on multiple social media platforms.[22]
Osman is a mechanical and electrical engineer[4][7] whose videos involve science, robotics, and artificial intelligence.[14] He has described his YouTube videos as, "dubious quality, questionable integrity and unethical delivery".[4] He has collaborated with several YouTubers and made several egg drop competition videos.[23]
In early December 2017, William and Chelsea Osman lost their home in Ventura, California in the Thomas Fire.[28][29] Their friend started a GoFundMe account to help pay for the damages.[28] Osman posted a YouTube video about the house fire on December 5, 2017, and it quickly went viral.[30] The GoFundMe campaign had a goal of $10,000, but surpassed $120,000 from more than 6,300 donors in 20 hours.[30]
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