| Kevin Espiritu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Occupations | |||||||
| Website | shop | ||||||
| YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2013–present | ||||||
| Genre | Gardening brand | ||||||
| Subscribers | 2.8 million[1] | ||||||
| Total views | 465 million[1] | ||||||
| |||||||
Last updated: 10 April 2024 | |||||||
Epic Gardening is an American gardening brand with a YouTube channel operated and founded by Kevin Espiritu (born August 1987) since 2013. As of April 2024, the channel has 577 videos, 2.8 million subscribers and 465 million views.
History
Espiritu grew up in Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego.[2] In order to pay for college, Espiritu made money playing online poker.[2] In 2013, he graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara receiving a degree in accounting after having been undeclared.[3][4] To combat his addiction to video games after college graduation, Espiritu's mom suggested he and his younger brother take up gardening as a hobby.[2][4][3]
Espiritu's first video on Epic Gardening was uploaded in February of 2013, focusing on hydroponics systems.[5] In 2016, he made the decision to leave his position at a book subscription service to cultivate food in backyards while simultaneously developing a gardening blog as a full-time job.[6] As his following expanded, he ventured into YouTube and various other social media platforms, culminating in the establishment of an e-commerce website.[2] He documented online the conversion of his San Diego residence into an eco-friendly smart urban homestead: raising chickens for eggs, reusing rainwater and greywater, composting food and yard scraps,[7] and installing solar panels.[8]
In 2019, Espiritu was selected by Timberland as one of their 8 "Heroes for Nature" in an international sustainability campaign.[9] In 2021, Espiritu was featured on the Today Show on multiple occasions throughout the year.[10][11][12]
In January 2022, TCG invested $17.5 million in Epic Gardening.[6][13] At the end of 2022, Epic Gardening reached 2 million subscribers.[14] The company now has over 80 employees.[3] In 2022, Epic Gardening added Jacques Lyakov of Jacques in the Garden as a guest star on the channel. In January 2023, Epic Gardening acquired Botanical Interests.[15] In February 2023, Epic Gardening posted a video of their greenhouse build at Carrie Underwood's 400-acre home in Nashville, Tennessee.[16]
Bibliography
- Field Guide to Urban Gardening (Cool Springs Press, May 2019)[17]
- Grow Bag Gardening (Cool Springs Press, March 2021)
- Epic Homesteading: Your Guide to Self-Sufficiency on a Modern, High-Tech, Backyard Homestead (Cool Springs Press, January 2024)[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b "About Epic Gardening". YouTube.
- ^ a b c d Ianni, Jennifer (September 1, 2023). "If You Grow It, They Will Follow". San Diego Magazine.
- ^ a b c Williams, Dana (September 19, 2022). "This 35-Year-Old Makes 6-Figures Gardening and Teaching About Plants in San Diego". NBC San Diego.
- ^ a b Laporte, Nicole (March 5, 2023). "Epic Gardening's epic quest to win the booming grow-your-own and homesteading movements". Fast Company.
- ^ Navpreet, Dhillon (March 16, 2022). "Every Raised Bed Gardening Question You Didn't Even Know You Should Ask". Sunset Magazine.
- ^ a b Mullin, Benjamin (September 13, 2022). "A $100 Million Bet on Finding the Next 'Mr. Beast'". New York Times.
- ^ Deines, Tina (February 5, 2024). "Seasoned gardener shares how weeds could actually save you money: 'One of the best ways to take advantage of your garden'". The Cool Down.
- ^ "This Guy Transformed His House Into A Sustainable Homestead, And TikTok Is Officially Obsessed". Yahoo News. January 13, 2023.
- ^ Richards, Katie (September 10, 2019). "Timberland is the latest brand to tout sustainability with forest restoration project". Glossy.
- ^ "Tips to care for your house plants". Today Show. March 31, 2021.
- ^ "How to make your own container garden". Today Show. July 7, 2021.
- ^ "How to keep a colorful garden through the fall". Today Show. September 17, 2021.
- ^ "Epic Gardening Receives $17.5 Million in New Financing". Greenhouse Product News. January 26, 2022.
- ^ Zevely, Jeff (September 5, 2022). "YouTube Gardener closing in 2,000,000 subscribers across the world". CBS8 News.
- ^ "Broomfield's Botanical Interests acquired by San Diego gardening media platform". Daily Camera. January 12, 2023.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood's never-ending garden at 400-acre family home will make your jaw drop – best photos". HELLO! Magazine. June 6, 2023.
- ^ Lockwood, Diana (June 9, 2019). "Gardening: Book's sage advice for tight-space gardening plants seeds of bigger ideas". The Columbus Dispatch.
- ^ "Review of Epic Homesteading". Publishers Weekly.
External links
This page was last edited on 18 April 2024, at 21:50