On Wednesday (Sept. 4), Paul Harrell – a YouTube creator who reviewed guns and educated viewers on firearms – posted a pre-recorded video of himself announcing his own death from pancreatic cancer.
The video was published with the title ‘I’m Dead,’ and garnered 4.5 million views and more than 70,000 comments on YouTube over the past three days. Paul was just 58 years young at the time of his death.
“Let me get right to the point. As I’m recording this today, it is 20 December 2023,” he said. “I’m recording this and giving [my manager] instructions to publish it upon my death. So if you’re watching me, I’m dead.”
The heartbreaking video comes just a few days after his brother, Roy Harrell, shared that Paul’s ‘time with us is becoming exceptionally short’ in a video that showed his brother shooting guns in the backyard.
Paul was a U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran who built a following of more than 1.2 million people on YouTube – where he posted videos of him and his family discussing gun safety and reviewing firearms.
His shocking last video was nearly seven minutes long and included three wishes he had for his followers, a big thank you to all of his supporters, an apology for letting his fans down, and more tear-jerker content.
“Now, a few months ago I sat here on this log, and told you I’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I told you they caught it early and we were going to be here for some time,” Harrell said in the video.
“Well, we did catch it early but not as early as I had thought,” he continued – adding that it has spread much faster than they initially thought. Instead of having a few years left to live, he only had a few months.
Harrell also went on to explain why he had been in crutches recently. While he did, in fact, break his hip (which he was previously open about) not too long ago, it wasn’t because he was in any sort of accident.
“It was because the cancer spread to my bones. The bones just crumbled and my hip fractured, and I fell down. No – I didn’t fall down and then fracture it. I fractured, and then fell down,” he explained in detail.
Paul Harrell Asks Three Things of His Followers
As the video continued, Paul Harrell had a few things he wanted to ask of his followers – and here’s what they are:
1. Continue to support his Patreon.
“For everyone who was a Patreon supporter, thank you, but don’t immediately turn off your Patreon support,” he said – adding that his brother (among others) will continue to create content on the channel.
2. Avoid pirated versions of his content.
“People pirate other people’s material in this format, and now that I’m dead I’m not going to be able to do much about it. And I’m sure people will pirate my material. Please, don’t put money into the pockets of thieves,” he said – urging his followers to only watch his content if it’s directly posted on his channel.
3. Disengage with content creators who ‘denigrate his character.’
Harrell addressed some of the rumors people have made about him – most of which were in an effort to denigrate his character. “I would hope by now that you know me well enough to know what you should or shouldn’t believe – and don’t just believe whatever nonsense people tell you,” he said.
Paul Harrell Thanks His Supporters – And Then Apologizes
Paul Harrell went on to thank everyone who has ‘watched, hit the like or dislike icon, commented, shared, subscribed, and donated on Patreon’ – adding he couldn’t ‘begin to articulate’ how ‘appreciative’ he is.
He explained that his goal with his channel was to ‘put out useful information (or if not useful information, at least interesting information)’ and to help people make sense of the gun-related topics he covered.
Harrell then apologized for his life ending so soon. “I had hoped that I would continue in this format for the next 10-15 years. And even once I was diagnosed, I had hoped that I would be here 2-3 more years.”
Unfortunately, that time is getting cut short – and it had him feeling as if he let his followers down.
“I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to do all of the stuff that we’ve done,” he ended his portion of the video with. “I really hope it’s been helpful and I really appreciate you watching, commenting and participating, and I have probably very few regrets in what we’ve done here.”
After Paul’s portion of the video ended, a second video – this one of Paul’s brother, Roy – confirmed Paul’s passing and confirmed that the family will continue to publish quality content on Paul’s behalf.
“I ask that you give the crew some time to process the death of my brother, and find the best way to honor his memory,” Roy Harrell said in the video – adding that the content will mirror what Paul believed in.
Paul’s editor and manager, Brad Nelson, also shared a few words at the end of the video.
“I had the great privilege of having Paul in my life, and having him as a friend. He’s a very generous and kind guy, and he told the best campfire stories. He has positively influenced many people’s lives, including my own, and I’m very grateful for that,” he said – confirming that content will continue in the near future.
For those who would like to continue to support Paul Harrell’s mission, you can donate to his Patreon channel – but you can also support by watching the videos that are to come from his brother and family.
