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User:GEbb4/sandbox/Draft of Max Fosh

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Max Fosh
Born1995 (age 28–29)
EducationHarrow School
Alma materNewcastle University
OccupationYouTuber
Parents
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2017-present
Subscribers1.4 million[1]
(November 2022)
Total views118 million[1]
(November 2022)
100,000 subscribers2019
1,000,000 subscribers2022
Websitemaxfosh.co

Maximillian Arthur Fosh is a British YouTuber, comedian, radio host, and was a candidate in the 2021 London Mayoral election.

Early Life[edit]

Fosh was the second child of Matthew Fosh and Helena van der Kun, and has an older sister called Talitha. He attended Arnold House School[2] before progressing to the prestigious Harrow School - the same school his father attended - and was in Bradbys house from 2008 until 2013.[3]

Career[edit]

Radio[edit]

Whilst studying English Literature and Business at Newcastle University, Fosh began presenting at Radio Tyneside. His last show was presented after three years, on 18 May 2018. He has since referred to this as one of his formative public speaking experiences and his first taste of being in the media industry. Whilst at Radio Tyneside, he won gold in the "Best Newcomer" category at the National Hospital Radio Awards in 2017.[4][5]

On Christmas Day 2022 Fosh presented a half-hour "TikTok Takeover" show on BBC Radio 1,[6] following a stunt almost two years earlier which involved printing his CV in large text on the roof of a car, and parking it outside of Broadcasting House in London.[7][8]

YouTube[edit]

Fosh's eponymous YouTube channel has amassed more than 1.4 million subscribers, and includes content which he describes as "silly" - pranks and other light-hearted content.[9] The channel was started on 13 January 2016 and posted its inaugural video on 18 October 2017, which started a series called "StreetSmart" where Fosh would interview people on the streets. As of December 2022, Fosh has released more than 60 episodes of StreetSmart including a UK tour which visited 14 UK universities over Freshers Week 2018.[10]

On 25 June 2019 Fosh incorporated "Fish with an O Limited",[11] the production company he owns and makes videos with.

Gatwick Airport Prank[edit]

In May 2022, Fosh placed a large sign reading "Welcome to Luton" visible from the approach path for Gatwick Airport, to prank arriving travellers into thinking they were instead at Luton Airport.[12] The letters were each 8 m × 3 m (26.2 ft × 9.8 ft) and although initially anonymous, Fosh claimed the prank on Justin Dealey's show on BBC Three Counties Radio.[13] This was well-received by the media and Fosh made several appearances on TV and radio, although some people criticised the prank as having caused undue stress for arriving passengers.[14] Fosh had use of the land on which the sign was placed for six weeks,[15] and claimed that renting the land and materials for the sign cost more than £4000.[16]

The following month, BBC Three Counties put a similar sign reading "Welcome to Paradise" under the approach to Luton Airport.[17]

Treasure Hunts[edit]

On 16 May 2021, Fosh posted a YouTube video containing the first of three clues to the location of a briefcase containing £10,000 (US$13,698.63). The hunt for the case lasted 28 days, with Fosh releasing a video announcing the conclusion on 13 June.

The following year, on 4 August 2022, Fosh posted another video launching a second hunt for a treasure dubbed "the Goldfosh" - a golden fish, made from 18ct gold and encrusted with gemstones[9]. The Goldfosh was a bespoke piece created by jeweller Sam Hunter and valued by several experts, including Joanna Hardy, at up to $100,000.[18] Fosh announced the hunt was over, and the treasure found, on Twitter on 7 November 2022.

Stand-Up Comedy[edit]

Following his YouTube success, in 2021 Fosh wrote and toured the UK with his show "Zocial Butterfly". He then went on to take the show to the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022, his debut at the festival.[19] On 3 November 2022, Fosh played the show in London once again, this time at the London Palladium.

2021 London Mayoral Candidate[edit]

Further information: 2021 London mayoral election

Max Fosh was an independent candidate in the 2021 London Mayoral election which was eventually won by the incumbent, Sadiq Khan. He admitted to running simply to "wind up" fellow former Harrovian Laurence Fox, who was running as a right-wing candidate for the Reclaim Party which Fox had recently founded.[20] Fosh aimed to get more votes than Fox,[21] as well as increase youth turnout.[22]

Fosh launched his campaign in a YouTube video on 12 March 2021,[8][23] although did not expect to win and even encouraged people not to vote for him, claiming "I would make a terrible mayor".[24] His jovial policies included putting a seed in every cigarette butt, providing every household with a cow so they know when it is going to rain, and carpeting the M25 to make it "the smoothest motorway in the world";[25][10] he also said he would replace all police sirens with Fox's song "The Distance" which he quipped would make people move out of the way 23% faster.[25] Given this election was held in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fosh also said "I would listen to all of the scientists and people from industry to try and get us the best solution to get us out of Covid-19",[8][22] which was in direct contrast to Fox who had been a vaccine skeptic.

On 30 March 2021 Fosh appeared at Fox's campaign launch.[26] Fox arrived on a classic London Routemaster bus, emblazoned with his campaign messaging. Fosh had been tipped off about this and pulled up alongside in a small red car, printed with the slogan "Don't believe everything you see on a bus".[20][27] After Fox agreed to a policy debate against Fosh, on 28 April 2021 Fosh arrived outside Fox's campaign headquarters with two lecterns, but Fox did not show.[28][29]

After polling around 1% for the duration of the campaign, Fosh finished in 19th place out of 20 with 6,309 (0.2 per cent) of the votes.[30] He does not intend to return to politics.[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About Max Fosh". YouTube.
  2. ^ Hill, John (2012). Miller, Stephanie (ed.). "Prize Giving". Arnold House Magazine. p. 33.
  3. ^ Harry Bucknall. "Harrow Generations - Matthew Fosh & son Max" (Podcast). Harrow Association. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. ^ "National Hospital Radio Awards - 2017 Winners". Hospital Broadcasting Association. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Radio Tyneside upgrade studio with a little help from the Canford Community Fund". Canford. Canford Audio Limited. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 1 announces first-ever TikTok Takeover on Christmas Day". BBC. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  7. ^ Scott, Jim (17 December 2020). "Former Newcastle student comes up with bizarre way to grab attention of BBC bosses". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Petherick, Sam; Atkin, Elizabeth; Martin, Rachel (7 May 2021). "London Mayor Election 2021: Who are all the candidates?". Metro. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b Kile, Jenny (9 August 2022). "Six Questions with Max Fosh on the $100,000 Treasure Hunt for the GoldFosh". Mysterious Writings. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Max Fosh". Retrieved 30 December 2022. Cite error: The named reference "FoshWebsite" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ "FISH WITH AN O LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  12. ^ Coffey, Helen (23 May 2022). "'Welcome to Luton' prank sign panics Gatwick Airport passengers". Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ^ Fosh, Maximillian. "YouTuber Max Fosh behind 'Welcome to Luton' prank". BBC Three Counties Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Justin Dealey. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  14. ^ "'Welcome to Luton' stunt panics Gatwick Airport arrivals". BBC News. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  15. ^ Smith, Lawrence (23 May 2021). "'Welcome to Luton' prank near Gatwick Airport: YouTuber Max Fosh surprises air passengers". Luton Today. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  16. ^ Fuller, Christian (26 May 2022). "YouTuber Max Fosh claims responsibility for 'Welcome to Luton' sign at Gatwick airport". The Argus. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  17. ^ "BBC Three Counties radio rivals 'Welcome to Luton' banner stunt". BBC News. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  18. ^ Alexander, Tilly (15 August 2022). "Ex London mayor candidate sends Londoners crazy over a viral treasure hunt with a £83,000 diamond prize shaped like a goldfish". MyLondon. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. ^ Lewis, Isobel. "Meet the TikTok comedians taking over this year's Edinburgh Fringe". Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  20. ^ a b Strick, Katie (7 May 2021). "London mayoral election 2021: who are the candidates in the race to become London mayor?". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  21. ^ Wyatt, Tim (6 May 2021). "Who are the candidates standing for mayor of London this year?". Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  22. ^ a b Max Fosh (19 April 2021). Max Fosh: ‘I want to engage young voters and beat Fox’. BBC.
  23. ^ Gamp, Joseph (29 April 2021). "Who is Max Fosh and why is he running to be Mayor of London?". The Sun. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  24. ^ Waterson, Jim (30 April 2021). "How YouTubers turned running for London mayor into content". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  25. ^ a b Doherty, Simon (5 May 2021). "We Asked a YouTuber Running for London Mayor to Review Every Candidate". Vice. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  26. ^ Harwood, Tom [@tomhfh] (March 30, 2021). "Spotted: YouTuber (and mayoral candidate) Max Fosh has turned up" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Fosh, Max [@max.fosh] (30 March 2021). "Great to see my Mayoral rival this morning... vid coming soon" – via Instagram.
  28. ^ "Video: Laurence Fox stands up rival mayoral candidate Max Fosh at debate". Metro. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  29. ^ Fosh, Max [@max_fosh] (April 28, 2021). "Ready and waiting @LozzaFox Let's debate" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Results 2021". London Elects.
  31. ^ Moreland, Jamie (20 May 2021). Meet the YouTubers who stood for mayor of London. Event occurs at 03:38. Retrieved 28 December 2022. I have retired as a disgraced politician.
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