User:BirdPerson1928/sandbox

Maximilian James Scott (born Maximilian James Baldwin, January 6, 1998) is an American vertebrate paleontologist, conservationist, and internet comedian based in the midwestern United States. He has assisted in publication and research with several paleontologists, actively participated in field conservation, lead natural history education for the public, and is credited (by some, with marginal support) with sparking a wave of the anti-bigotry and toxicity movement within the Star Wars fandom (most often having criticized the actions of controversial YouTubers Star Wars Theory and Geeks and Gamers, among others).

Scott also runs a freelance company called "FossilFads" in which he leads members of the public on educational natural history tours in several public outdoor localities.

Early life
Scott was born in Michigan. Having experienced an abusive childhood at the hands of his father, he describes his escapes to the natural world and its history as being the thing that kept him sane in his childhood. He delved into learning about the natural sciences, with a particular focus on dinosaurs throughout his youth. Due to aforementioned traumas as well as a high diagnosis of ADHD, Scott struggled to maintain grades in primary school but was noted by his teachers to be exceptionally talented in the things he enjoyed. Later going to college at Ivy Tech Community College and subsequently Indiana University, he found his niche with the scientific community and was able to maintain academics in ways he had not in primary school. It was at Indiana University that he became the president of the Geology Club at IU and Sigma Gamma Epsilon, Rho Chapter as well as founding a short-lived club called The Wildlife Watchers Club at IU.

Scientific Career
While at Indiana University, Scott met Natural Academy of Science fellow, paleobotanist David L. Dilcher. Under Dilcher, Scott began his research career in studying dinosaurs to pair his research with Dilcher's fossil plant research for Dilcher's own publications. It was under Dilcher that Scott gained the majority of his skill in research. In addition, Scott spent short periods working under several other Paleontologists including Dr. Tara Smiley, Dr. Alex Zimmerman, and Dr. John Kearney.

In 2022, Scott accepted a field conservation position with the Nevada Conservation Corps. To earn money for the trip to Nevada, Scott created his own company named FossilFads in which he utilized his natural history expertise to educate interested members of the public in outdoor and hands-on settings.

YouTube
In 2015, a high school-aged Scott, along with collaborators Brady M. Coffman, John Brothers, and Jerome Flaherty, began their first shot at YouTube celebrity with a gaming channel known as GamePals (later rebranded as Button Blasters). After two years, only Coffman remained on the channel with Scott, and the two opted to privatize and discontinue the channel. In 2017, Scott and Coffman created a new channel to allow themselves more creative freedom. The new Channel, Entertainment Explorers, in which they uploaded comic book and movie reviews, podcasts, and comedy sketches, did not take off until 2021 when Scott released a video describing the negative effects of toxicity within the fandom, with emphasis on major YouTuber, Star Wars Theory. The subsequent popularity of this video gained Entertainment Explorers some notoriety, influencing Scott to turn the video's success into an open campaign against bigotry and bullying within the fandom, a series which he titled "Bantha Banter." This caught the attention of tens of thousands, with a potential ripple effect influencing larger creators such as StarWarsOnly and Eckharts Ladder, along with interviews by controversial channels such as Echo Base Network. In addition to anti-bullying Star Wars content, Scott continued to create comedy sketches, educational outdoor vlogs, and videos about natural history. In early 2022, Scott and Coffman grew tired of the newfound pressure to fight fandom bullying put on them by the fans they had amassed, and opted to wipe clean their channel and once again rebrand to "Those Obnoxious Blonde Guys", a channel that they have not yet been active on.