Calvin Vail - Comedians, Facts and Family

Calvin Vail (LeafyIsHere) comes from a troubled family background and endured a difficult childhood. His parents struggled with substance abuse and his father even attempted suicide. Calvin used YouTube as an outlet for his emotions and as a coping mechanism. He is very interested in videogames and his first few videos depicted Minecraft and Fallout 3 gameplay. He also hosts videos of Counter Strike: Global Offensive gameplay. Calvin’s videos are always new and interesting in their content. He covers a wide range of topics, and his commentaries reflect his own problems and concerns. But they are also a reflection of the youth culture and cyber culture of which he is a part.

Calvin creates stories and commentaries that have a quality of inventiveness and originality to them. His videos have garnered a truly phenomenal level of viewership and he has become a unique internet sensation. He is not affiliated to any other organization, and the popularity his videos and commentaries have achieved indicates the potential of new platforms and new content, as also youth cultures and subcultures. With a YouTube subscriber count of almost five million, the young man is surely an internet phenomenon to reckon with.

Calvin Vail has pioneered a new kind of individualism and sociality. He combines personal expression of angst with a more casual glimpse into his life and views. He also combines social banter and personal storytelling with knowledgeable and entertaining gameplay of several popular videogames. Besides this, he has created a sort of fantasy world where he, as a character, lives and interacts through his cyber persona, which has almost taken a life of its own. Thus, Calvin Vail has created a sort of double identities, as Calvin and as Leafy, and the internet becomes a platform for the expression of the different sides of his personality that perhaps do not find expression elsewhere. The internet is a sphere for creative self depiction and recreation, of fantasy and escape, and yet, of intense social interaction. These users almost live as double personas and even lead double social lives, with the cyber sphere giving another dimension to their personalities and lives. Calvin has been a pioneer in the creation of this subculture and has a very loyal and extensive fan base. The manner of his rise to popularity, his method of expression, and the media he uses, all of these make him unique.

LeafyIsHere was in controversy recently for cyberbullying an autistic Youtuber TommyNC2010. Leafy has been accused of 'bullying' other YouTubers for views. His His abrasive style of commentating on other people is considered to be cruel. For mocking TommyNC2010, Leafy was bombared with criticism. In his defence, Leafy said that he had no idea Tommy’s apparent learning disability.

Leafy (Calvin Vail) had a troubled family life marred by drug abuse, and his father even attempted suicide. Calvin became seriously involved in video games and eventually began to upload gameplay videos. His YouTube videos became a source of solace and a way to express his views, concerns and individuality, and attained a phenomenal level of popularity. He is quite private and doesn’t divulge much of certain aspects of his private life. He travels a lot between Europe and America.