A favorite YouTuber can feel like a good friend, and when they suddenly stop posting it’s like losing a bestie. For fans of stunt scooter professional and YouTube personality Tanner Fox, his long hiatus has been miserable. Since leaving the platform in 2022, Fox’s socials have been untouched, though they’re still active. Millions of fans still reach out to him on Insta, YouTube, and TikTok, but Fox has never responded, leaving some to fear the worst.
Luckily, it appears he’s doing well, and has opted for some time away from social media.
Why did Tanner Fox leave social media?
Tanner Fox has been an active social media presence since 2011. After starting his YouTube channel, MTFilms at just 12 years old, Fox wowed viewers with his impressive scooter skills and wild stunts. His passion for his craft has been evident from the very start. His talent quickly drew in a YouTube following, and he was able to take his content creation to the next level as a professional scooter rider.
By the time he was 16, Fox had 100,000 subscribers and had scored sponsorships from brands like Lucky Scooters. He made merch like branded fidget spinners and sold videos to FailArmy. By the end of that year, he was worth more than a million dollars.
All that success can be incredibly daunting, especially when it comes at such a young age. Fox struggled with depression, and as his follower count continued to climb his mental health went the opposite direction. Unable to cope with the anxiety that plagued him, he began looking for home remedies to help him with his mental health. Eventually, a friend recommended psilocybin, the mind-altering ingredient in “magic mushrooms.”
He revealed in an interview with Roman Atwood that he became heavily addicted to psychedelics. While he agreed psilocybin had helped with his initial problems, they were a gateway to an even worse mental state. “it messes with your thoughts.” He told Atwood, “I was fully fired for a while.”
He started using up to 5 times a week, and then he was using every day. He told George Janko that his mental health struggles were tied to growing up. “I let other people’s thoughts dictate my life,” he explained, finding fame so young meant he needed other people to guide how he made money, and what he did with it. Most of all, he felt as if he had lost the passion that had driven “little Tanner” to stay so true to himself. As his anxiety and depression raged, he kept coming back to the idea that his younger self was better than who he grew up to be. “I was always so true to myself… As soon as I stopped doing that, I think that’s when I needed drugs.”
Fox doesn’t blame the drugs for his waning YouTube appearances, but says that it did “bleed together.” By the time he spoke about his battle with addiction, Fox was already 8 or 9 months clean and had just started producing videos again. His return didn’t last, however.
Where is Tanner Fox now?
After several months of inconsistent posting, the YouTuber disappeared again. His last video was posted in 2022, and his fans are feeling the absence. Despite multiple well wishes, and pleas for an update, Fox is clearly taking a break from his internet celebrity.
Fox is alive and well, and even without consistent uploads to his channel, his many sponsorships ensure his bank account never hits zero. For now, all fans can do is hope that Tanner Fox is off the drugs, living in the present, and healing his inner child.