Like many other creators, fitness influencer has TikTok to thank for his rise to prominence. Within a year after making his debut on the app, the shredded bodybuilding enthusiast garnered five million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. However, Li disappeared just as rapidly as he had ascended to social media stardom. The last time he uploaded content was in January 2023. So today we’ll trace William Li’s short-lived journey to understand why he abandoned the life of a social media celebrity.
While William Li became famous for his bodybuilding and fitness content, he started his content creation journey as a kid. The Canadian native started his YouTube channel on August 21, 2011. Like most kids in 2010, Li was a massive Minecraft fan and joined the ranks of countless Minecraft YouTubers. However, he also uploaded videos of other games like League of Legends, under the handle, William Coconuts. Yet, things were about to change.
The rise of William Li, the fitness influencer
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The gaming YouTuber phase wouldn’t last long as Li stopped uploading videos and went silent for years. He finally returned to social media in 2021. While the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided then, many were still confined to their homes. Short-form content was on the rise, and the bodybuilder capitalized on it.
The former Minecraft content creator returned to social media with a new persona and a ripped physique. While he experimented with the style of content in the beginning, Li settled into making training and motivational content. The bodybuilder’s ripped physique made people pay attention and most of his shorts centered around exercises on how to grow muscle.
In short videos, William Li utilized the limited time he had to work with to communicate his advice in a unique style. Taking a marker, he would point to specific muscle groups like the chest or biceps. He then immediately showed people a handful of workouts to target those muscles. Seeing someone as ripped and muscular as Li, many jumped on the bandwagon. Soon, his subscriber and view count rocketed upwards and Li expanded beyond TikTok.
Besides fitness advice, Li also capitalized on the bodybuilding transformation trend. His transformation from a regular guy to a shredded and strong lifter inspired others. By the end of 2021, the bodybuilder had also started his online business with Shredded Kings. Li released The Shredding Blueprint 1.0, an eight-week training and diet program, and the Hype Blast smelling salts.
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With his follower count and business growing rapidly, William Li decided to return to YouTube and expand to Instagram as well.
Instagram, YouTube, and criticism
William Li followed the same strategy he had for TikTok. Although YouTube was a platform for long-form content and Instagram was primarily for sharing pictures, short-form content was taking over the internet. Li’s concise fitness content did well on both platforms, and he crossed a million followers on both platforms in no time. However, trouble began to brew on YouTube.
Maintaining a presence on three social media platforms exposed Li to a wider audience. While TikTok might be a relatively new platform, YouTube had no dearth of established, veteran fitness content creators. These popular fitness creators started noticing William Li and began making videos of him. Soon Li found himself on a natty or not video by Greg Doucette.
However, it was fitness influencer James Smith’s video that had the biggest impact. Smith criticized Li’s advice and also questioned the bodybuilder’s always-shredded physique, questioning how sustainable it was. The videos led to Li’s social media channels being hit by negative comments and fake natty accusations. However, he handled the criticism gracefully.
Li responded to James Smith’s video saying his content was aimed at helping others. He believed that genetics wasn’t the only limiting factor in bodybuilding and that anyone dedicated enough could get shredded. Li even collaborated with content creators like Greg Doucette. However, he wasn’t as composed as he seemed to be on the surface.
William Li struggled with depression
In October 2022, William Li uploaded a video that made everyone realize the gravity of the situation. While the fitness influencer was dealing with the criticism fairly well and seemed happy, he confessed to battling depression. In 2021, the bodybuilding enthusiast said he was “going through some dark times”. In an October 2022 video, the fitness influencer said the “same thing is happening again.”
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In the video, William Li also shared his insecurities. The fitness influencer said he felt insecure about his height and wore riser insoles to appear taller. People began speculating if Li got shredded because he felt insecure about his body image as well. The bodybuilder also said he felt unmotivated to train, let alone make content in the gym.
Shortly after this video, William Li’s online presence started declining sharply. The number of videos reduced, and by February 2023, he stopped making content. On top of this, he disappeared from social media altogether. Other fitness influencers like Greg Doucette, Jonni Shreve, and others even offered help but got no response.
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While no know knows for sure, it seemed like William Li couldn’t take the pressures of content creation anymore. The fame and criticism, and constant need to put out catchy content might have worsened his already fragile mental health. For over a year now, Li has shown no signs of returning to social media.
However, the Shredded Kings website is still running, indicating that William Li still maintains his business. Will the viral fitness influencer return? Only time will tell.
