“Yeah, we’re going to change the YouTube game, and who knows? Maybe we’ll become legends!” A headset microphone too big on her head and her face still childish, Inès Benazzouz alias Inoxtag, then 16 years old, already sees her career on YouTube in a big way. During the year 2018, his community and that of his sidekick Michou suddenly grew. The two teenagers then regularly play the popular video game Fortnite together and form a team nicknamed the “Croutons”. They broadcast their games live on their respective YouTube channels and are joined by other videographers like Lebouseuh or streamer Deujna.
This short extract, dating from six years ago, appears in the latest video by YouTuber-star Inoxtag where he retraces his journey. “It’s crazy to see his evolution from the age of 12 to 22, he has gained in maturity and surpasses himself every time,” testifies, admiringly, the YouTuber Captain Guzman, a long-time subscriber. In this same video, the content creator announces to his 7 million subscribers that he is carrying out his craziest project: climbing Everest. This expedition, where the young man will be accompanied by a team of at least six people, will last almost two months. “A year ago, I set myself the biggest challenge of my life,” recalls the YouTuber, “reaching the roof of the world with 8,800 meters to climb.”
Over the last twelve months, Inoxtag has devoted most of its content to filming his training with mountain guide Mathis Dumas. From the first hikes to his ascent of Mont Blanc eight months ago, the YouTuber shows his audience everything behind the scenes. It must be said that his taste for risky challenges is not new. Gradually, the videographer abandoned video games to offer ever more eccentric entertainment.
Thus, the second most viewed video in 2022 on YouTube in France is the one where he survives alone on a desert island. “This is clearly the video where I was the most impressed by his mentality and, ultimately, it is quite logical to see him embark on the ascent of Everest today,” continues Captain Guzman, “he ‘is 100% dedicated to this new project.’
“There is a search for authenticity and emotion on the part of creators in which their communities take direct part by following their evolution,” notes, regarding the success of Inoxtag videos, a spokesperson for the platform. This can explain the rise of video challenges with a high level of production.” The most followed YouTuber in the world, the American MrBeast, has even made it his specialty. On his channel, being stranded on an island, surviving in an abandoned town or spending seven days buried alive has almost become commonplace. And all his videos easily have more than 100 million views.
“Television is the fastest growing screen on YouTube, and content creators have understood this,” continues the spokesperson. The rise of Inoxtag is proof that YouTubers can have means of production that have nothing to envy of television.” A pressure to produce faster and more original, which has however pushed more than one YouTuber like the duo Mcfly and Carlito to burnout, or even the most followed YouTuber in France, Squeezie.
Especially since the challenges that the YouTubers in question set themselves are not without danger. At the end of his video where he announces he will climb Everest, Inoxtag lists the risks linked to his project. “There are a lot of accidents in the mountains, whether avalanches or falling seracs, crevasses and that is not inevitable,” he continues, looking serious. “At Everest, there is a whole passage called the “ice fall” where you walk on ladders.[…] Everything is in motion there […] If you don’t You’re unlucky, you have a serac fall on you and you don’t come back.”
A dangerous project, which also creates an unhealthy fascination among certain Internet users. After these dangers were mentioned, black and white videos announcing the imminent death of Inoxtag multiplied on the social network TikTok. “It’s scary, some people want to see him die because they’ve never seen a YouTuber die in exceptional circumstances,” notes Captain Guzman, “it’s scary.”
For the young man, the YouTuber on the contrary deserves to be seen as a source of inspiration. If, in the past, Inoxtag was accused of making sexist remarks at the Zevent charity marathon or of tweeting its opinions a little too freely, it would have evolved. “I met him in Marseille, during his event to collect cigarette butts on the beaches. Everyone found him much more serious than in his videos and aware of the issues linked to pollution,” testifies Captain Guzman. “He is motivating and he can go far… I think there will really be a before and after of his ascent of Everest on YouTube.”
Is the young man aware of the role assigned to him? Inoxtag almost poses as a guru at the end of his goodbye video. “I have the right to dream, and you also have the right to dream. I think this is the very essence of the project. That’s why I’m going to take you up there with me,” he declares, and insists to his audience: “I don’t climb Everest, we climb Everest.”
A few minutes later, the YouTuber concludes his video with a black background and a simple “See you soon, Inès”. A little earlier, he declared: “My ultimate goal? It’s that I’ll be remembered when I leave, that’s all.” A perfectly mastered storytelling which, whatever happens, will have left its mark on its many subscribers.