Luke Nichols

Luke Nichols (born 1978)^[1] is an American YouTuber known for the channel Outdoor Boys. He primarily produced content on backcountry camping, bushcraft, survival, and outdoor cooking.^[1][2]

Not to be confused with Luke Nicholson or William Luke Nichols.

Luke Nichols
Personal information
Born	1978 (age 46–47) Anchorage, Alaska, United States
YouTube information
Channels	outdoorboys catfishandcarp
Years active	2013–2025
Genres	outdoor recreation outdoor cooking vlog family camping survival bushcraft fishing
Subscribers	16.4 million (Outdoor Boys) 1.19 million (Catfish and Carp)
Views	2.6 billion (Outdoor Boys) 302 million (Catfish and Carp)
Last updated: July 26, 2025

Life and law career

Nichols grew up in Alaska, where he developed a passion for the outdoors. At 19, he traveled to Japan on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When he returned to the United States, he attended Brigham Young University. Nichols met his wife Rebecca while living in Salt Lake City.^[1][3]

After graduating, Nichols started a political consulting firm and ran 20 campaigns over three years. Nichols and his wife later moved to Virginia, where he attended law school at George Mason University. Nichols started his own criminal defense practice, focused on traffic laws.^[3]

Nichols and his wife have three children; Tommy, Nate, and Jacob.^[1][3][4]

YouTube career

Nichols started posting videos on his first channel, Catfish & Carp, in 2013, where he focused on fishing content.^[5] He launched the Outdoor Boys YouTube channel in May 2015.^[1] In 2020, Nichols began to work on YouTube full time when his channels outpaced his law practice. Followers enjoy Nichols' content for its "simple and wholesome" nature.^[3] His emphasis on "outdoor activites, self-reliance, and family values" is said to resonate with viewers.^[6]

Retirement

In May 2025, Nichols announced via a video on his channel that he would be stepping back from YouTube, both due to privacy concerns and to spend more time with his family.^[7][8][9] In the span of the 18 months leading up to this video, Nichols gained 12 million followers.^[10] Nichols considered the resulting attention to be "overwhelming".^[11] Nichols stated that he may post a final round of videos at the end of the year.^[7]