- Luke Nichols spoke at George Mason University law school commencement.
- The "Outdoor Boys" creator worked as lawyer before making adventure videos in Alaska.
- Nichols advised graduates to prepare for the future by saving money.
Before he was the guy on the wildly popular ‘Outdoor Boys’ YouTube channel, Luke Nichols was a lawyer.
He graduated from the George Mason University law school in Virginia and practiced law there before moving his family to his home state of Alaska, where he made his outdoor adventure videos.
Nichols returned to his alma mater Thursday to deliver a commencement speech at the Antonin Scalia Law School.
“Some people call me a survival expert. Well, as a survival expert, I want to clear up a common misconception. Survival is not something we just do in the woods. Something each and every one of us has to do every single day. Whether you’re building a fire or gutting a moose or drafting a motion, we’re just trying to survive as best as we can with the resources we have,” he said.
Nichols said he doesn’t know what the next 40 years hold, but no one is going to get through them without seeing “terrible and amazing things. We don’t know what these changes are going to be, but we do know they’re coming.”
Nichols, 47, offered graduates some pragmatic advice to prepare for whatever lies ahead: Save money.
“It’s pretty simple, but it’s not. The best, the most important things are often simple but hard to do. Money is freedom. Money is power. Money is flexibility. When change happens, those people who can afford to adapt can prosper and take advantage of those opportunities. And those who cannot afford to be flexible get crushed,” he said.
What happened to “Outdoor Boys?”
Nichols entertained millions of people with his extreme camping, fishing and hunting exploits in the Alaska wilderness for 11 years, the first year as “Catfish and Carp” and the last 10 with “Outdoor Boys.” His videos often included his three boys — Tom, Nathan and Jacob — and his wife Rebecca.
Nichols practiced law in Virginia for 10 years, specializing in criminal defense. During that time, he started posting fishing videos on YouTube. Traveling and fishing eventually became bigger than his law practice. The family moved to Alaska where his “Outdoor Boys” channel on YouTube took off, gaining 18 million subscribers, two-thirds of them in an 18-month span.
He pulled the plug on the channel in May 2025, citing the unwanted attention it brought his family.
“The sheer volume of fans trying to contact me, trying to take pictures with me or just trying to come up and talk to me in public can be a bit overwhelming at times,” he said last year.
“My wife and I, we both have real concerns about what this will do to our family if I keep growing my YouTube channel at this pace. And the time to stop is before this problem gets so out of hand that my family and I can’t live normal lives.”
Last November, he posted three videos he had been working on before he shut down the channel.
A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nichols earned a political science degree from church-sponsored Brigham Young University before going to law school.
Last December, the church called him to serve on its Young Men General Advisory Council, which assists the Young Men General Presidency as its counsels with general and local church leaders to teach, serve and watch over the young men of the church.
Save for success
“I cannot honestly say I deserve the success I have. All I can say is that I did not waste the opportunities that were gifted to me. If you are fortunate enough to be given a chance to earn some money and to survive out there, please, please do not waste that opportunity that you’ve been given. When you have money in the bank, you have options,” Nichols said.
Those who live paycheck to paycheck, he said, have two options: work every single week or go bust.
“People who are not saving money are one problem away from disaster, and the only thing I can guarantee you about your future is problems will come,” he said.
Nichols credited God, his parents, family, other people and “things out of my control” for much of his success. He described himself as a “hot mess” in law school and the guy who went fishing instead of studying.
“I was blessed with opportunities, and the best I can say is that I didn’t screw it up. I don’t know what opportunities and dangers are going to come, but if you are fortunate enough to get a paycheck, don’t you screw it up either, OK? Save as much as you can as quick as you can because some amazingly wonderful opportunities are coming your way.”
