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'''Stuart Clive Ashen''' (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online [[pseudonym|alias]] '''Ashens''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|ʃ|ə|n|z}} {{respell|ASH|ənz}}), is a British comedian, critic and [[YouTuber]] known for reviewing various products; his reviews usually include toys, video games and food. {{As of|2022|January}}, his main YouTube channel has garnered over 1.56 million subscribers. |
'''Stuart Clive Ashen''' (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online [[pseudonym|alias]] '''Ashens''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|ʃ|ə|n|z}} {{respell|ASH|ənz}}), is a British comedian, critic and [[YouTuber]] known for reviewing various products; his reviews usually include toys, video games and food. {{As of|2022|January}}, his main YouTube channel has garnered over 1.56 million subscribers. |
Revision as of 03:05, 8 October 2022
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Stuart Ashen | ||||||||||
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![]() Ashen in 2019 | ||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||
Born | Stuart Clive Ashen 16 December 1976 Norwich, England | |||||||||
Education | Doctorate in psychology[1][2][3] | |||||||||
Occupations |
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Website | ashens | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
Also known as |
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Channel | ||||||||||
Years active | 2006–present | |||||||||
Genres |
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Subscribers | 1.56 million (ashens) 318,000 (extraashens) 101,000 (Barshens)[4] | |||||||||
Total views | 530+ million (ashens) 56+ million (extraashens) 18+ million (Barshens)[4] | |||||||||
Associated acts |
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Last updated: 8 October 2022 |
Stuart Clive Ashen (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online alias Ashens (/ˈæʃənz/ ASH-ənz), is a British comedian, critic and YouTuber known for reviewing various products; his reviews usually include toys, video games and food. As of January 2022[update], his main YouTube channel has garnered over 1.56 million subscribers.
Early life and education
Stuart Clive Ashen grew up on the Heartsease Estate, Norwich and attended Heartsease High School.[5][6][7] He previously worked for PC World and Norwich Union.[5] His mother, Pauline, died of cancer when he was eight years old.[8]
YouTube
Ashen has been reviewing food and various products in a distinctive style on YouTube since 2006. The items he humorously reviews are often low quality and procured from various variety stores notably UK's Poundland), or are poor knockoffs of well-received or well-known products, which he refers to as "Template:Wikteng". Featured products are typically personally sourced by Ashen in the UK or during holiday abroad or submitted by viewers.
He frequently collaborates with his friend and fellow YouTube vlogger Barry Lewis, and in the mid-2010s had a podcast and YouTube channel with him, both called Barshens.[citation needed]
As of 8 October 2022[update], Ashen has produced 905 videos, has 1.56 million subscribers to his primary YouTube channel Ashens and over 530 million video views.[7][9] His secondary channel, used mainly for DVD extra-style clips, along with an annual look with Daniel Hardcastle at a series of Advent calendars throughout December, has over 322,000 subscribers and over 54 million video views.[10] In addition to his own channels he has also produced videos for other YouTube channels, which included "The Multiverse", a geek-themed channel controlled by ChannelFlip.[11]
In 2013, Ashen, along with Emma Blackery, Dan Howell (Daniel Howell) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil), starred as a contestant in a remake of the 1980s TV show Knightmare during the YouTube Geek Week event.[7][12][13]
Television
Ashen made his first television appearance on a 2008 episode of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, where he played a cameo role as Mr. Noseybonk, a character from the 80s BBC children's show Jigsaw.[14]
Ashen guest starred on The Armstrong & Miller Show for their "The Node" segment in October 2009.[15] In early 2009, Ashen also released a very limited edition DVD anthology dubbed Ashenthology, containing a selection of his early videos, as well as some unseen videos and animations, some of these videos were later released on his second YouTube Account; extraashens.[16]
In 2010, Ashen created the series Ashen's Tech Dump for BBC Online Comedy.[17] In 2011, Ashen co-starred alongside Karen Hayley in another BBC Online Comedy series Back Space.[18] The next year, he starred as himself in The Proxy, a sci-fi webseries produced by ChannelFlip in partnership with Dell Alienware.[6][19] The series took eight days to film, consists of 10 episodes and won a Marketing Week "Engage Award" in the "Gaming and Entertainment" section.[20]
Film
Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/StuartAshens_Gamechild.jpg/170px-StuartAshens_Gamechild.jpg)
Ashen wrote and starred in Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild, a feature film released in August 2013, for YouTube's "Geek Week".[11][21] The film also stars Warwick Davis and Robert Llewellyn, and was produced by the multi-channel network ChannelFlip,[7][11] in association with The Multiverse. The film was partially paid for through crowdfunding website Indiegogo with contributions totalling US$73,690 at the end of the month, which comprised 41% of the US$180,000 budget.[11][22][23][24] As of June 2016[update] it has been viewed over a million times on YouTube. A remastered and slightly extended edition of the movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 July 2014. On 2 July 2018, the full film was released on his YouTube channel.
Ashens and the Polybius Heist
In 2016, Ashen confirmed a sequel to Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild at a fan screening.[25] In July 2018 Ashen created another Indiegogo campaign for the sequel titled, Ashens and the Polybius Heist. By the time funding was closed, the project earned over US$195,000 from over 4,000 backers[citation needed]. On 9 May 2019 Ashen announced the principal photography was wrapped.[26] On 5 May 2020 it was announced on the official Twitter account for the film, that The Gaming Muso; a fellow Youtuber, and musician would be performing the opening theme tune for the film.[27] On 9 October 2020 Ashen announced on Twitter that the film is available for preorder, and was released on 19 November 2020 on iTunes, YouTube Movies, Amazon and Vimeo.[28] The reveal trailer/teaser was uploaded on his YouTube channel on 14 October 2020.[29]
Published works
In November 2015 Ashen released the book Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, a collection of textual reviews of poor retro games, released through the Unbound crowdfunding platform.[30][31] The book reached its funding target in 12 hours.
On 24 February 2017 Ashen announced a sequel to Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, titled Attack of the Flickering Skeletons: More Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, again through Unbound, was released on 2 November 2017.[32]
Ashen released the book Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey on 23 September 2012; it parodies the popular erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey.[33] The title is literal, as the book simply consists of the phrase "Shades of Grey" repeated 50,000 times. A 25-part audiobook of the parody was recorded and released on YouTube.[34][non-primary source needed]
Personal life
As of 2013[update], Ashen lives in his hometown of Norwich.[6][7] He has a doctorate in psychology,[2] but claims to have never professionally worked in the field.[35]
In addition to his YouTube channel, Ashen has maintained an active public Twitter presence for years, where he posts about various subjects ranging from his announcements for his YouTube channel to personal thoughts,[36][non-primary source needed] while his personal website has been inactive since 2016.[37][non-primary source needed]
Ashen has criticized the veracity of his Wikipedia article and the site in general, saying that it has listed untrue statements about him; he wrote in 2017, "[my article] used to claim I was a spokesman for the British Egg Council".[2]
Bibliography
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2012 | Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey | Parody of Fifty Shades of Grey |
2015 | Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of | |
2017 | Attack of the Flickering Skeletons: More Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of | sequel to Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of |
2019 | Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life & Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd by Daniel Hardcastle | Contributor[38] |
2020 | Things I Learned from Mario's Butt by Laura Kate Dale | Contributor[39] |
Filmography
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Ashen's Tech Dump | Himself, lead role | Four episodes over two series |
2011 | Back Space | Himself | Six episodes |
2012 | The Proxy | Himself, lead role | Ten episodes |
2013–2014 | Ideas Men | Himself | Nine episodes over two series plus Series One and Two Bloopers |
2013 | Knightmare | Himself, dungeoneer | Special online one-off episode |
2013 | Geek Week Special | Himself | Single episode, panelist |
2018 | Digitiser: The Show | Himself, Insincere Dave |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe | Mr Noseybonk | Cameo appearance, one episode |
2009 | The Armstrong & Miller Show | Himself | Guest star, one episode |
2015 | Newsnight | Himself | Interviewee, one episode |
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild | Himself, lead role | Co-writer |
2016 | The Darkest Dawn | Bob | |
2020 | Ashens and the Polybius Heist | Himself, lead role | Co-writer, sequel to Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild |
TBA | Sariel | Father Adrian Servo |
References
- ^ @Ashens (16 August 2012). "I failed all 3 A-Levels in 1995 but now I have a PhD, my very own stepladder and a total inability to experience positive human emotions" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "r/Ashens - Is ashens a doctor?". Reddit. 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- ^ "r/IAmA - I am Stuart Ashen AKA "Ashens", YouTube comedian. AMA". reddit. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ a b "About ashens". YouTube.
- ^ a b Briscoe, Kim (12 November 2014). "YouTube success helped Stuart to realise his film-making dream". Norwich Evening News. Archant. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ^ a b c Kate, Laura (19 May 2012). "Interview with Stuart Ashens". MCM Buzz. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e McGuinness, Ross (2 August 2013). "The Knightmare begins again as YouTube launches its own Geek Week". Metro. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Ashen, Stuart (18 December 2013). "Sorry to hear that man. My mother died of cancer when I was 8, one of the reasons I'm supporting the charity now". Twitter. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ "Ashens about page". YouTube. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "ExtraAshens about page". YouTube. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d "YouTube Geek Week movie premiere online". SFX. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Edwards, Luke (9 August 2013). "10 amazing YouTube Geek Week videos you can't afford to miss". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Knightmare remake launches for YouTube Geek Week – watch it here". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Nick Akerman (31 May 2009). "Stuart Ashen Interview – feature at Thunderbolt". Thunderboltgames.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "BBC One - The Armstrong and Miller Show, Series 2, Episode 2, The Node: Gadgets (featuring Ashens)". BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ Ashenthology 1 DVD, Dancing Yak Productions, retrieved 9 May 2020
- ^ Thair, David (17 September 2010). "Comedy Blog: Ashens returns to the Tech Dump". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "BBC – Back Space". 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ "ChannelFlip makes 10-part sci-fi series with IT giant Dell". Televisual.com. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ "Engage Awards: The magnificent winners". Marketing Week. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Collins, Katie (25 July 2013). "In depth: 90s gameshow Knightmare reborn for YouTube, may spawn new TV series (Wired UK)". Wired. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Interview with Robert Llewellyn". WUWO Magazine. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Sci-fi London. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Indiegogo. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Stuart Ashen Announces GameChild 2 at Fan Screening". Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ Ashen, Stuart. "Ashens and the Polybius Heist". Indiegogo. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ Muso, The Gaming (5 May 2020). "HUGE NEWS!! Been waiting to announce this for a while I am singing the opening theme tune for @PolybiusHeist I am extremely grateful for @ashens and @riyad_director for giving me this awesome opportunity! Can't wait for you all to hear it when you see the movie! #news #rt". @gamingmuso. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ Ashen, Stuart. "ENGAGE ANNOUNCE-O-TRON! Ashens and the Polybius Heist is coming out On Demand November 19th! Coming to iTunes, YouTube Movies, Amazon and Vimeo. You can pre-order today on Vimeo for a DRM free download". Twitter. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Ashens and the Polybius Heist: Teaser. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Perryman, Francesca (30 November 2015). "YouTuber Stuart Ashen comes to Waterstones in Reading PLUS win a signed copy of his new book". Get Reading. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ Page, Jemma (1 December 2015). "YouTube star Stuart Ashen to sign copies of debut book in Nottingham". Nottingham Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ Ashen, Stuart (2017). Attack of the Flickering Skeletons More Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of by Stuart Ashen. Unbound.com. ISBN 9781783524150. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ "Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey by SC Ashen". Fifty Shades of Grey Parodies. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Oren Bailey, "Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey" Audiobook (Part 1 of 25), retrieved 23 December 2018
- ^ "r/IAmA - I am Stuart Ashen AKA "Ashens", YouTube comedian. AMA". reddit. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Stuart Ashen (@ashens) | Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- ^ Ashen, Stuart. "www.ashens.com".
- ^ "Nerd³'s Book Update - With BIG News!" on YouTube
- ^ Dale, Laura Kate (February 2021). Things I Learned from Mario's Butt. Unbound. ISBN 9781783528905.
External links
- Stuart Ashen at IMDb
- 1976 births
- 21st-century British comedians
- 21st-century English male actors
- Actors from Norwich
- British Internet celebrities
- British animated film directors
- Comedy YouTubers
- Comedy-related YouTube channels
- English YouTubers
- English animators
- English critics
- English male comedians
- Entertainment-related YouTube channels
- Living people
- Media personalities from Norwich
- English male YouTubers