#katers17

^ Photo credit meetinglife.com

On Friday the 27th of July musician and producer Nathan Wills committed suicide;among other things he provided instrumental and electronic backing music for YouTubers like Katers17andSMPfilms.

That day he recorded his last piece of video content and sent out a whole host of messages to his friends. Many of them just saying hello.

Regardless of his motivations for what he did what has really come out of this is a sense of communal mourning and loss.

Tributes

A wide variety of YouTubers have paid tribute to him in video form since his death was announced. From those who were close friends with him to those who simply enjoyed his music and videos.

“To everyone else that’s watching this, Nathan Wills was a very kind person and if you can just send some love. We made videos together and a lot of you have heard his music in my videos so you know him.” - Katers17

“Nathan Wills became like a brother to me over the years. He helped me through some of the hardest parts of my life and I was there for a lot of his hard times.”- Cory Williams

“Nathan Wills was the person that always would cheer everyone up, he was always the most delightful charming peron that you could ever meet. He was always so friendly and I met him at the first yotube gathering that i ever went to and he made me feel like I was welcome”-Aly 

King of the Web

One of those friends, Sarah Parker, has taken that one step further by asking for support in King of the Webs Battle Royal Competition on his birthday  in an effort to raise money for Wills’ family.

“However, August 5th would have been his 31st birthday and as a tribute—and to show my support to his family—I would like to gain as many votes as possible on that day. In case I would win the daily prize, I would donate the money to his family”

“The YouTube community was really important to Nathan and I would like to see it come together to bring a final salute to his family”

So far the youth of the format and the people who use it has -with a few notable exceptions- insulated it from the reality of death.

The death of online personalities will inevitably become far more common as YouTube and the community that exists within and around it ages.

What doesn’t have to change however is the way that death is dealt with, with respect, compassion and the celebration of their work.

Especially the ways that that work has affected the people who watched and supported it.