Why I Left YouTube

I haven't posted a video on my YouTube channel in six years. Here's why.
Flash Mob Proposal: https://youtu.be/ZGxb2omT2r4
In 2011, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This happened when I was at the height of my career on YouTube, making some of my biggest hits. While I was big on YouTube, I was in the darkest place of my life. I didn't tell anyone other than my closest friends and family. Most of my friends didn't know. How do you tell people you have cancer? It was scary. I didn't know if I would live or die.

When all of this was happening, YouTube changed its algorithm to promote 10+ minute videos and channels that uploaded multiple videos per week. The videos that I was posting were much shorter than that. I was only posting one video every three weeks or so. This change caused my videos to get much fewer views. On top of that, music labels cracked down on my parody music videos for copyright. They did this even though I didn't use any of their content in my videos. Now, I couldn't make money from my YouTube videos. Not only was I worried about my health, but I also was worried about my livelihood.

The good news was when I got surgery and the biopsy. I found out that I was one of the lucky ones with Stage 1 cancer. However, hearing the words "you are in remission" is only the beginning of the story. While when you are in remission, you are technically "cancer-free," but there is also a chance that it is still in your body. There is a chance of it coming back. Each year after that, the likelihood that it returns becomes less and less. The type of cancer I had meant that it was not extremely unlikely to come back until after five years in remission. From 2011-2016, I had no idea if my cancer would come back.

I felt that my body failed me. Why did I get sick? Was it going to come back? I lost trust in my body and confidence in myself. It's taken me all this time to get it back.

All those years that you were asking me, "What happened to KeeptheHeat?" or "Why did you stop making videos?" That's why. I didn't say anything because I didn't feel comfortable talking about it yet. I wasn't ready to talk about it until now.

But this isn't a sad story.

I'm happy to say I am now nearly ten years cancer-free! The chances of me getting it again are the same as anyone else. I finally gained my confidence back. I am a better version of myself. Since then, I co-created other YouTube channels like Yo Mama and Animeme. I created viral videos like the Frozen/Breaking Bad Parody, "Do You Want To Build A Meth Lab," "Animeme Rap Battles," and Avicci's "Wake Me Up" Remix video. I was invited to the White House and hired by the US State Department to give talks worldwide.

But more importantly, I found happiness. I discovered my life purpose. And I became who I was born to be.

And on top of that, I fell in love!

Three weeks ago, I got engaged. I proposed to my girlfriend Lindsay on August 25th with a surprise flash mob at one of our favorite hotels. During the pandemic. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ZGxb2omT2r4

As for me, I plan to come back to YouTube to talk about happiness, health, living my best life, and all the things that matter most to me.

Thank you for supporting me through all of this. I've read every single one of your messages that you've left me over the years. You have no idea how much you all mean to me. I feel so blessed to be a part of all of your lives.

You Can Keep in touch with me via social media below. If you have any questions, let me know. I'll make a Q&A video for you to answer all of them.

https://www.facebook.com/alexnegrete
https://www.instagram.com/alexnegrete

Love you all,
Alex