Draft:Flamingo (YouTuber)

Albert Spencer Aretz (born June 11, 1997), better known online as Flamingo and AlbertsStuff, is an American YouTuber best known for his gaming videos and commentaries. He focuses a majority of his content on the video game Roblox, but has branched out to play other games, such as Minecraft, Among Us, and Fortnite, among other things.

Aretz's channel was noted as one of the top ten most-viewed YouTube gaming channels in 2020. His channel has amassed over 12 million subscribers and 7 billion views since it sprung to popularity in late 2017.

Content format and style
Aretz's gaming content has evolved over the years. When he first started uploading gaming videos to YouTube in 2011, the videos were edited poorly and had no dialogue or facecam. Starting in 2014, Aretz began adding his own voice to his videos, commentating on what he was doing in his videos. He continued to make videos in this form, until June of 2019, when he officially revealed his face on his YouTube channel. From then on, his videos contained footage of his face as well as gameplay footage.

Early years and rise in popularity (2011-2017)
Aretz uploaded his first video, titled "Play ROBLOX - Paintball" to YouTube on July 6, 2011. He uploaded mostly Roblox skating videos, as well as gameplay footage of the Roblox game Arsenal. On July 19, 2012, Aretz created a YouTube channel called "AlbertsStuff", but didn't upload anything to it until 2014. The content on the AlbertsStuff channel was set apart from other Roblox YouTubers of the time by its dark and edgy humor, as well as its uncensored cursing. These traits led Aretz's channel to become successful, and it eventually grew to earn over 1 million subscribers.

Change in content (2017)
In July of 2017, when YouTube began mass demonetizing videos deemed "not advertiser friendly", Aretz made a new YouTube channel called "Flamingo" and began uploading family-friendly gaming content on it, in case his main channel was demonetized. He stated that his uploads to the Flamingo channel would have no impact on his content on the AlbertsStuff channel, and for a few months, he was able to keep a consistent upload schedule on both channels. However, when the Flamingo channel began to rapidly grow in popularity in late 2017, Aretz decided it would be better to focus on the Flamingo channel, and abandoned the AlbertsStuff channel. In 2020, all the content on the AlbertsStuff channel would be removed after Aretz was brought under fire for a transphobic remark made in a video on said channel.

Increase in popularity (2017-present)
Aretz's constant upload schedule combined with his family-friendly content led the Flamingo channel to grow rapidly. The channel grew to earn over 1 million subscribers in early 2018, and by late 2021, it had accumulated 11 million subscribers. In November of 2021, he appeared as a guard in YouTuber MrBeast's real-world rendition of the show Squid Game.

Early life
Aretz was born on June 11, 1997 in North Carolina. He has a sister and a brother. He has stated on numerous occasions that his mother left him when he was young. He began playing Roblox in 2008 and began uploading YouTube videos in 2011 under the name "ROBLOXHub". He graduated high school in 2015 and began attending college, but eventually dropped out to focus on his YouTube channel full-time.

Personal life
Aretz lives in Sarasota, Florida. He skateboards in his free time.

Awards
In 2022, Aretz was voted "Creator of the Year" in Roblox 's "Innovation Awards". In 2021, Aretz's Roblox fan group was noted in Roblox 's "Bloxy Awards" as the most joined group of 2020. Additionally, he was noted by YouTube to be in the top ten most viewed gaming creators on the platform in 2020.