KevJumba Interview on Asian America Podcast

KevJumba has entered a new season of life and a lot has happened since his quick rise to fame on YouTube.

KevJumba was one of YouTube’s first stars who happens to be Asian American, Chinese  ethnicity, to be specific. He started his channel in 2006, got featured on the YouTube homepage in 2007, and was the 3rd most subscribed channel by 2008.

There’s a little web chatter about KevJumba going dark in 2014, like at YOMYOMF, What Happened to KevJumba? that referenced the Hollywood Reporter’s piece, Why YouTube Megastar KevJumba Mysteriously Disappeared. That was August 2017.

In September, Ken Fong interviewed Kevin Wu on his podcast, Asian America: the Ken Fong Podcast. (I’m surprised it’s not on the leaderboard as a most popular episode there, yet.) Depending on your interest, you might like the backstory of his YouTube popularity, his new ambition for acting in films, his near-death experience, and his spiritual journey in seeking different religions.

Episode description: “YouTube star KevJumba talks about his early days as one of the internet’s first social media sensations. Kevin also discusses his foray into feature films, his awesome dad, the car accident that almost killed him, and his focus on spirituality.”

This conversation did reveal that KevJumba was in a Bible study with Jeremy Lin (yes, the NBA basketball player), though he wasn’t practicing any particular religion at that time.

I’m grateful that his life was spared and that he is on the road to recovery. I wish KevJumba the best.