Throughout the start of 2020, David Dobrik slowed down his regular uploads to YouTube and, at the time of writing on April 1, hasn’t posted to his main channel since March 11 – his biggest break since a brief pause in 2018.
In 2018 and 2019, Dobrik became one of the biggest stars on the platform, reaching 16m subscribers and bringing him in line with some of the biggest names on YouTube including Logan Paul, KSI, and Mr Beast.
Of course, this means he built a huge, rabid fan base and, after more than three weeks of not posting, people are beginning to question when he’s going to start uploading again. So what do we know?
When will he return?
David hasn’t been entirely away from YouTube and has actually uploaded twice to his second channel – David Dobrik Too – since March 11. In the most recent one, posted on March 25, he added a screen of text at the end that explained why uploads have slowed down.
It said that due to the current global crisis, it has been “basically impossible to film the stuff we would normally want to film,” and joked that he’ll be regularly uploading again “as soon as quarantine is over and Zane [Hijazi] is allowed back in the bars.”
So we know that being isolated is greatly depleting Dobrik’s opportunity for content, especially as his vlogs revolve so tremendously around the friends that he hangs out with on a daily basis. When this ends, however, is not clear to anyone.
Dobrik has mentioned several times before that he would like to take a break, and this might be the perfect opportunity to do so, albeit with some heavy restrictions.
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He has frequently said that he is constantly out of ideas for the vlog and implied that most of his content really comes from nothing, so it may be that this time is perfect for coming up with ideas and getting a rejuvenated passion for vlogging.
Keep up with David Dobrik without the vlog
Despite not uploading, Dobrik’s channel is still growing at a fast pace, earning over 400,000 subscribers since March 12 and amassing around 120 million views. But, this might be being aided by some of the other channels Dobrik is using to keep the content coming.
David is regularly posting videos to TikTok, where he has over 13m followers, with his housemate, friend and assistant Natalie Mariduena.
As well as TikTok, Dobrik continues to regularly update his Instagram story with whatever he’s doing throughout the day, almost as if it’s a scaled-down version of the vlogs we’ve all come to know and love, so there’s almost always something to watch and enjoy.
As for an exact date to mark his return, it’s unclear. Countries across the world are currently dealing with the crisis in the ways they see fit, and it could be a matter of weeks or months before David doesn’t have to be in quarantine any more.
That said, if it takes too much longer, he might start working on vlogs without all the regulars so as to keep bringing content to his viewers.