Lucas Cruikshank retired Fred Figglehorn, the squeaky-voiced character that made him YouTube’s first million-subscriber star. The Fred channel posted its last video in 2015, after a run of Nickelodeon films, and Cruikshank now posts under his own name at 33. He played Fred once more for a MrBeast video in June 2026.
Fred Was the First YouTube Channel to Reach One Million Subscribers
The Fred channel passed one million subscribers in April 2009, the first channel on YouTube ever to do it. Guinness World Records recognises Cruikshank as the first YouTuber to reach that mark.
Cruikshank was a teenager in Columbus, Nebraska when he built the character: a hyperactive six-year-old with a voice pitched up in editing. The first Fred videos went to a channel he shared with his cousins in 2006, and the dedicated Fred channel followed on 30 April 2008. It held the most-subscribed spot on YouTube for 318 days between October 2008 and August 2009.
For scale, the platform now has tens of thousands of channels past a million subscribers. In 2009 there was exactly one, and it belonged to a character who screamed about his mother’s meth lab.
Why Lucas Cruikshank Stopped Playing Fred
Fred moved to television, ran its course there, and Cruikshank aged out of playing a six-year-old.
Nickelodeon turned the character into a franchise. Fred: The Movie premiered on 18 September 2010, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred followed on 22 October 2011, and Fred 3: Camp Fred arrived on 28 July 2012. A spin-off series, Fred: The Show, ran for 24 episodes in 2012. Cruikshank then led a separate Nickelodeon sitcom, Marvin Marvin, across 2012 and 2013.
After that the acting work dried up. Cruikshank said in 2017 that he was taking a hiatus from acting and that the decision had not been his to make.
When Did the Fred Channel Actually Stop?
The final upload to the original Fred channel came in 2015, and the account now runs under Cruikshank’s own name.
| Date | What Happened |
|---|---|
| 2006 | First Fred videos uploaded to a channel Cruikshank shared with his cousins |
| 30 April 2008 | The dedicated Fred channel is created |
| April 2009 | Fred becomes the first YouTube channel to pass one million subscribers |
| 18 September 2010 | Fred: The Movie premieres on Nickelodeon |
| 2012 | Fred 3: Camp Fred and the 24-episode Fred: The Show |
| 2015 | Last upload to the Fred channel |
| 2020 to 2021 | Short-lived revival on a TikTok account, inactive since |
| 13 June 2026 | Fred appears in MrBeast’s 500-million-subscriber video |
The brief TikTok revival in 2020 is the only sustained attempt to bring the character back, and it stopped posting in 2021.
What Is Lucas Cruikshank Doing Now?
As of 12 September 2026, Cruikshank is 33 and still making YouTube videos, on the same account, under his own name rather than as Fred.
The channel stood at roughly 3.4 million subscribers and more than 230 million lifetime views as of August 2026. The output is ordinary creator fare now — commentary on trending topics, food, travel and reviews — plus a podcast he hosts with his brother. He references the Fred years openly but does not perform the character.
He is one of a small group of first-generation YouTube stars whose channels outlived the personas that built them. Jenna Marbles left YouTube entirely in 2020 and has not posted since; Cruikshank took the other route and simply changed what he makes.
Fred Came Back for One Video in June 2026
Cruikshank revived the character for a single appearance in MrBeast’s video “50 YouTube Legends Fight For $1,000,000”, which premiered on 13 June 2026.
The video marked MrBeast passing 500 million subscribers the previous day, the first channel to reach that number. It gathered roughly 50 creators from YouTube’s early era, Fred among them. It was a one-off: there has been no announced return of the character beyond that appearance.
Is Lucas Cruikshank Married?
Yes. Cruikshank is married to Matthew Fawcus, an Australian model, who keeps a deliberately low public profile.
Cruikshank came out as gay on 20 August 2013 in a video posted to his own channel, at a point when few creators of his reach had done so. He and Fawcus had begun dating earlier that year. The couple have not made the date of their wedding public.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fred Still on YouTube?
The old videos are still up, but no new Fred content is being made. The channel’s last upload as Fred was in 2015, and it now operates under Cruikshank’s own name.
Was Fred Really the First YouTuber With a Million Subscribers?
Yes. The Fred channel crossed one million subscribers in April 2009, and Guinness World Records credits Cruikshank as the first YouTuber to do so.
How Old Is Lucas Cruikshank?
He was born on 29 August 1993 in Columbus, Nebraska, which makes him 33 as of September 2026.
How Many Fred Movies Are There?
Three, all made for Nickelodeon: Fred: The Movie in 2010, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred in 2011 and Fred 3: Camp Fred in 2012. A separate series, Fred: The Show, ran for 24 episodes in 2012.
Will Fred Figglehorn Ever Come Back?
Nothing has been announced. Cruikshank played the character once in June 2026 for a MrBeast video, but that was a guest appearance rather than the start of a revival.
