FPSRussia

FPSRussia was a YouTube channel featuring firearms and explosives. The videos feature Kyle Lamar Myers, an American man from Franklin County, Georgia, playing the fictional role of Dimitri, a heavily accented "professional Russian" from Moscow. The channel reached the 1-million-subscriber mark in June 2011. Myers ceased producing new videos in 2016 following the unsolved death of one of his associates and an ATF felony charge. As of January 30, 2021, his channel has still garnered over 6.96 million subscribers and 939 million views.[1]

"FPS Russia" redirects here. For the former section of the Russian border patrol, see Border Guard Service of Russia § Old FPS structure.
Kyle Lamar Myers
YouTube information
Channel
LocationFranklin County, Georgia, United States
Years active2010–2016
GenreFirearms/Weaponry
Subscribers6.9 million
(January 2021)
Total views939 million
(January 2021)
Updated: January 30 2021

Each video on the channel generally has Myers (as Dimitri) explaining the characteristics of the weapons he will use in that video (occasionally telling the history behind it and sometimes explanations of its purpose), before he demonstrates their abilities on random targets such as fruits, drink bottles, zombie mannequins, and even photos of Justin Bieber in his earlier videos.[2][3] Myers has used largely varying pieces of equipment along with weapons that have been featured in his videos, such as a golden AK-47, an armored troop carrier,[4][5] a .50 BMG rifle and a Bofors 40 mm automatic anti-aircraft cannon.

History

Before Myers started FPSRussia, he ran a YouTube channel called "klm5986". Centered around Call of Duty gameplay commentary, this channel often featured videos with other YouTube personalities, such as xSocrates. He later wanted to show how guns worked in real life and to compare them to how they are portrayed in video games, films, and television shows.[6] He got the idea for a Russian accent while working at a car dealership. One of his co-workers was Russian and he took an interest in impersonating his accent. His uncle was also a prankster and used to use the accent while talking to Kyle when he was five years old. He used the accent to create the character Dimitri and what followed was him filming himself shooting guns on his family farm in Georgia.[7] After a nine-month hiatus, on January 10, 2014, FPSRussia returned to YouTube.[8] The channel has been inactive since April 2016.

Appearances in other media

Due to the success of FPSRussia, Myers opened up a second channel, MoreFPSRussia. Myers collaborated with Epic Meal Time in July 2011.[9] The collaboration has earned over 8.8 million video views on YouTube as of October 14, 2020.

Myers' character hosted the live fire section of Machinima.com Prime's web series, The Controller: Medal of Honor Warfighter.[10][11]

On October 29, 2012, Myers had a cameo appearance as his character, Dimitri, in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II live-action trailer directed by Guy Ritchie.[12]

After an announcement video in December 2012 and a successful Kickstarter campaign, FPSRussia released "FPS Russia: The Game" on the App Store for iOS devices in March 2013 with developer Zaah.[13]

In 2010, Myers co-founded the podcast Painkiller Already (PKA) with YouTubers WoodysGamertag and WingsOfRedemption, a show now hosted by Myers, WoodysGamertag and MurkaDurkah.[14]

In 2013, Myers founded another gaming channel named "FPS" that has been inactive since 2014.[15]

In 2014, FPSRussia was listed on NewMediaRockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #78.[16]

Death of Keith Ratliff

On January 3, 2013, Kentucky man Keith Ratliff, the co-owner of FPS Industries (a custom firearms fabrication and testing company) and a member of the FPSRussia's production team, was found shot dead in his home in Carnesville, Georgia.[17][18][19] Ratliff was a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder and responsible for obtaining the firearms used in the videos.[20] Following Ratliff's death, the production of FPSRussia's videos went on hiatus until February 19, 2013.[21] In March 2013, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said it was still investigating.[22] However, as there have been no official updates since the initial reports following Ratliff's death,[23] the case has become the subject of numerous conspiracy theories.[24]

ATF raids

On March 29, 2013, Myers' Franklin County residence was searched by upwards of 40 members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alongside officers from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The investigators also searched Myers's father's nearby farm, a frequent filming location for FPSRussia. ATF spokesman Richard Coes said the justification for the search was "that [Myers] was using explosives and getting paid for it via YouTube."[25][26]

In August 2017, Myers' residence was again raided[27] after Myers was alleged to have received 25 grams of butane hash oil through the mail. The federal courts prosecuted on the grounds that illegal drug possession while owning a firearm is a federal offense. Myers was arrested for felony possession of a restricted substance with intent to distribute and 50 of his weapons were confiscated under a federal law that prohibits illegal drug users from possessing firearms. He later pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Butane Hash Oil, with all other charges dismissed.[28] On June 19, 2019, Myers was sentenced to two years' probation and two months in prison, which he served later in 2019, as well as a fine in the amount of $7500. Since his release from prison, Myers has spoken about the case on his YouTube podcast Painkiller Already.[29]

See also

References
  1. Joshua Cohen (June 22, 2011). "FPSRussia Breaks 1 Million YouTube Subscribers, Blows Things Up". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  2. Gabriel Beltrone (September 13, 2011). "Marketing With a Fake Accent and Real Guns". Adweek. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  3. Curtis Cartier (March 30, 2011). "FPS Russia, Crazy Russian Gun Freak, Shoots and Blows Up His Xbox 360 (VIDEO)". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  4. Jeremy Korzeniewski (August 29, 2011). "FPS Russia takes an armored troop carrier through a drive thru". Autoblog. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  5. Kevin Fernandez (September 23, 2011). "Viral: THE MINIGUN - FPS Russia Background". The One Nut Review. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  6. Justin Massoud (November 8, 2010). "Gamer and Gun Enthusiast Imitates Crazy 'Call of Duty' Stunts". Asylum. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  7. Robert Snow (October 17, 2011). "EpicMealTime, FPSRussia and the Secret to Mass Appeal on YouTube". Professionally Incoherent. Wordpress. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  8. Slowik, Max (January 10, 2014). "FPS Russia is back with a Bullpups Unlimited 12-gauge (VIDEO)". Guns. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  9. Marc Hustvedt (July 19, 2011). "Quick Clicks: Rebecca Black Un-Auto-Tuned, 'Yam Roll', YouTube View Counts, 'Epic Meal Time' w/ FPSRussia". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  10. Sam Gutelle (September 20, 2012). "Machinima Prime's 'The Controller' Is A New Spin On Jock/Nerd Pairing". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  11. Matthew Manarino (September 21, 2012). "NMR'S EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT EP. 3 OF MACHINIMA'S 'THE CONTROLLER: MEDAL OF HONOR WARFIGHTER'". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  12. Tim Nudd (October 29, 2012). "FPSRussia Leads All-Star Cast in Guy Ritchie's Killer 'Black Ops 2' Spot". Adweek. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  13. James Plafke (December 12, 2012). "Gun-obsessed YouTube star FPS Russia is making a video game". Geek. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  14. "What Happened to FPSRussia – What's He Doing Now Update". www.gazettereview.com. December 5, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  15. "Let's Get Started!". YouTube. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  16. "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 100-76!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  17. Matthew Manarino (January 7, 2013). "Pro-gun blog claims that murdered man is the manager of FPSRussia". New Media Rockstars.
  18. MJ Kneiser (January 6, 2013). "GBI to help investigate Kentucky man's shooting". Independent Mail. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.Dillon, Denise (January 8, 2013). "Man behind popular FPSRussia YouTube channel found dead". Fox 5. My Fox Atlanta. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  19. Muir, Juliet. "No arrests six years after Keith Ratliff found shot to death in his Georgia home". NBC News. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  20. Robbie Brown (January 11, 2013). "Gun Enthusiast With Popular Online Videos Is Shot to Death in Georgia". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  21. Chris Callahan (February 20, 2013). "FPSRussia Returns from Hiatus (VIDEO)". Guns.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  22. MJ Kneiser (March 7, 2013). "Ratliff murder investigation is active, GBI says". Independent Mail. Archived from the original on March 11, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  23. "What Happened to FPSRussia – What's He Doing Now Update". www.gazettereview.com. April 23, 2016.
  24. Luke Plunkett (January 18, 2013). "Wild Conspiracy Theories Abound In Death Of FPS Russia Producer". Kotaku. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  25. Hunter Stuart (March 29, 2013). "FPSRussia Raid: Kyle Myers's Property Searched By Federal Agents". Huffington Post.
  26. MJ Kneiser (March 29, 2013). "ATF Agents Search Two Properties in Connection with Ratliff Homicide". 92.1 WHLR.
  27. Ford, Wayne (August 23, 2017). "Gun-shooting video maker in Carnesville arrested; feds search property for guns, explosives". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  28. "United States v. MYERS (3:18-cr-00049)". Court Listener. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  29. "PKA 459 THE RETURN OF KYLE". YouTube. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
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