The Loss of Grant Thompson: A Tribute to the "King of Random"
Last week, I was shocked to learn about the passing of my friend Grant Thompson. I'm sure many of you were equally stunned by this news. There's something surreal about this loss that still feels difficult to believe. As someone who has experienced their own share of loss over the years, I understand the pain and senselessness that comes with it.
My personal journey with loss began when my wife of 30 years succumbed to cancer. Just six months later, my oldest son passed away due to a drug overdose. While these losses were devastating, there's something about Grant's passing that feels different. Perhaps it's because they all are. Losing someone as vibrant and full of life as Grant is like losing a piece of myself.
In 2010, Grant launched his YouTube channel, where he took on a force of nature with his first DIY project, the electromagnetic flashlight. He continued to learn, discover, and build his channel into an awesome space for amazing DIY and scientific projects. I first communicated with Grant in 2013 via Messenger, and we quickly discovered that we shared strategies for navigating YouTube's elusive algorithm. Unlike many creators who chose to keep their success to themselves, Grant and I felt like we were on the same team.
Our conversations went beyond just discussing YouTube; we talked about our personal lives as well. He shared with me when he was expecting his fourth child, and we discussed things that were personal to us. These moments created a friendship between us, one that would have been amazing to explore further if circumstances had allowed it. We did think about collaborating on content, but ultimately, it didn't work out. For that, I'm sad; I wish we could have collaborated together at some point.
So, what makes Grant's loss so hard to understand? Here was a guy who wasn't afraid to play with liquid nitrogen, throwing it in his own face. Fire and explosions were commonplace in his videos. He made electricity fun by dashing with microwave ovens and gravity. His videos showcased incredible challenges that pushed the limits of human exploration. Grant also did rock climbing, cliff jumping, skydiving, and paragliding, all while testing the boundaries of what's possible.
In mid-October last year, Grant texted me to say he was going to be coming to Florida. He wanted to know if we could get together and catch up. I didn't really know much about paramotoring or power paragliding, but I told him it sounded like fun. We made plans to meet up when he arrived in Florida. On November 12th, Grant posted a photo on Instagram with a comment that brought tears to my eyes. A week later, he sent me two pictures, and we planned to meet for lunch the next day.
When I finally met Grant at a barbecue restaurant, it was like meeting the "King of Random" in person. He was just as funny, full of life, and caring for his family as I had imagined. It was clear that he had made this decision to step down from hosting videos so he could spend more time with his loved ones. In that moment, not once did it cross my mind that this new adventure would be his final test of the law of gravity.
As I reflect on Grant's life and legacy, I'm filled with a sense of loss and wonder. We will all miss what incredible paths his life would have taken if given more time. To me, Grant Thompson will always be the "King of Random," a reminder to live life to the fullest, push boundaries, and never stop exploring. Thank you for watching, and I'll cherish the memories we shared with this extraordinary individual.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enlast week when I learned about the death of my friend grant Thompson I was shocked as I'm sure many of you were but there's something surreal about this and I still have trouble believing it you see I suffered my own share of loss over the years I lost my wife of 30 years to cancer and then six months later my oldest son to a drug overdose but there's something about this loss that's different because I guess they all are back in 2010 grant launched his YouTube channel and he took on a force of nature in his first DIY video the electromagnetic flashlight project and he would continue this quest of learning discovering how the world works and building his channel into an awesome place of amazing DIY and scientific projects I first communicated with grant in 2013 via messenger and we shared our strategies of how to deal with this elusive algorithm of YouTube and unlike a lot of creators who wanted to share their success with no one keep it to themselves grant and I felt like we were on the same team even though we produced similar content we texted and spoke on the phone over the years mostly about YouTube but we also talked about our own lives he shared with me when he was expecting his fourth child and we talked about things that were personal to us and that created a friendship between me and grant and we thought about collaborating but with him in Utah and me in Florida it just didn't work out and for that I'm sad I wish we could have collaborated together at some point so what makes this loss so much harder to understand here was a guy who played with liquid nitrogen throwing it in his own face fire and explosions were commonplace he made electricity fun as he dabbled with microwave ovens and gravity he made videos of amazing challenges to that particular force of nature as he floated paper clips made a gravity puzzle built cool rockets and shared videos of him doing acrobatic flying in his plane as well as paragliding after all grant was an airline pilot but at a young age also did rock climbing cliff jumping and skydiving all the while testing the limits of gravity last year in mid-october grant texted me and said he was going to be coming to Florida wanted to know if we could get together he was going to be trained in paramotor or power paragliding something I didn't really know much about I told him it sounded like he was gonna have a lot of fun doing that so we plan to get together when he was here after he arrived in Florida and on November 12th grant posted this photo on Instagram with a comment that brought tears to my eyes when I went back to look at it a week later on November 19th grant sent me these two pictures and we plan to meet for lunch later that day I was excited to finally meet the king of random and around noon that day we met at a barbecue restaurant and had lunch together and shared all kinds of stories he was just the kind of guy I expected him to be honest funny and cared for his family so much that a year prior he decided to step down from hosting his videos so he could spend more time with his family when he told me all about paramotoring not once did it crossed my mind that this new adventure would be his final test of the law of gravity I will miss grant and we will all miss what incredible paths his life would have taken to me grant Thompson will always be the king of random thank you for watchinglast week when I learned about the death of my friend grant Thompson I was shocked as I'm sure many of you were but there's something surreal about this and I still have trouble believing it you see I suffered my own share of loss over the years I lost my wife of 30 years to cancer and then six months later my oldest son to a drug overdose but there's something about this loss that's different because I guess they all are back in 2010 grant launched his YouTube channel and he took on a force of nature in his first DIY video the electromagnetic flashlight project and he would continue this quest of learning discovering how the world works and building his channel into an awesome place of amazing DIY and scientific projects I first communicated with grant in 2013 via messenger and we shared our strategies of how to deal with this elusive algorithm of YouTube and unlike a lot of creators who wanted to share their success with no one keep it to themselves grant and I felt like we were on the same team even though we produced similar content we texted and spoke on the phone over the years mostly about YouTube but we also talked about our own lives he shared with me when he was expecting his fourth child and we talked about things that were personal to us and that created a friendship between me and grant and we thought about collaborating but with him in Utah and me in Florida it just didn't work out and for that I'm sad I wish we could have collaborated together at some point so what makes this loss so much harder to understand here was a guy who played with liquid nitrogen throwing it in his own face fire and explosions were commonplace he made electricity fun as he dabbled with microwave ovens and gravity he made videos of amazing challenges to that particular force of nature as he floated paper clips made a gravity puzzle built cool rockets and shared videos of him doing acrobatic flying in his plane as well as paragliding after all grant was an airline pilot but at a young age also did rock climbing cliff jumping and skydiving all the while testing the limits of gravity last year in mid-october grant texted me and said he was going to be coming to Florida wanted to know if we could get together he was going to be trained in paramotor or power paragliding something I didn't really know much about I told him it sounded like he was gonna have a lot of fun doing that so we plan to get together when he was here after he arrived in Florida and on November 12th grant posted this photo on Instagram with a comment that brought tears to my eyes when I went back to look at it a week later on November 19th grant sent me these two pictures and we plan to meet for lunch later that day I was excited to finally meet the king of random and around noon that day we met at a barbecue restaurant and had lunch together and shared all kinds of stories he was just the kind of guy I expected him to be honest funny and cared for his family so much that a year prior he decided to step down from hosting his videos so he could spend more time with his family when he told me all about paramotoring not once did it crossed my mind that this new adventure would be his final test of the law of gravity I will miss grant and we will all miss what incredible paths his life would have taken to me grant Thompson will always be the king of random thank you for watching\n"
