Primitive Technology: From Mowing Lawns to 11M Subscribers

Channel: Primitive Technology   Who: John Plant, Far North Queensland, Australia   Subscribers: 11M (as of 23 October 2026)   Niche: building tools, huts and kilns in the bush from natural materials

Primitive Technology has a simple rule, set out on the channel itself: build things in the wild "completely from scratch using no modern tools or materials." If you want a fire, use a fire stick. If you want an axe, pick up a stone and shape it. A man in cargo shorts, a creek, some clay and no talking. That formula has pulled in more than a billion views.

Huts by the creek at age 11

The man behind the channel is John Plant. He told CNBC in 2017 that his interest started at 11, when he made small huts by a creek behind his house using only what he could find. By 18 he could light a fire with sticks and leaves. He went to university and earned a Bachelor of Science, but, in his words, "didn't do anything with it." Instead he mowed lawns for a living, self-employed, and spent his spare time in the bush practising his hobby.

A blog, a channel and no words

He uploaded his first video on 1 May 2015 and started a WordPress blog in June 2015 to explain each project in more detail. The videos had no narration, only the sounds of the bush and the creek, with captions explaining each step. He told CNBC he left out speaking because, when he watched tutorials, he usually skipped ahead to the demonstration anyway.

Each build used tools from earlier videos: stone axes, then a tiled-roof hut, then a kiln, pottery, a forge and eventually iron. His tiled roof hut video alone shows more than 91 million views on the channel. For the first two years he stayed anonymous. In June 2017 he identified himself as John Plant when he complained that people were reposting his videos on Facebook, which he said had cost him thousands of dollars.

From mowing lawns to full-time

By September 2017 the channel had 5.4 million subscribers, and Plant told CNBC he was now making videos full time because they paid "more money than mowing." Ad revenue was only part of it. Fans also backed him on Patreon, pledging per video, and by August 2017 that support had passed $5,700 per video. By September 2018 the channel had 8.7 million subscribers.

In October 2019 he published a book, Primitive Technology: A survivalist's guide to building tools, shelters, and more in the wild, with 50 step-by-step projects. Then the channel went quiet. After a video in December 2019 nothing new appeared for more than two years while he worked on a project for a cable network. He came back on 2 March 2022 with Thatched Workshop. As of 23 October 2026 the channel had 11 million subscribers and 108 videos.

What other creators can take from it

Primitive Technology breaks most of the usual YouTube advice. There are few uploads, no talking, no face-to-camera hooks and long gaps between videos. It works because each video is genuinely worth waiting for, and because the fans who love it were given a direct way to pay for the next one. Supporter income doesn't care how often the algorithm shows you, and it can keep paying while you take time to make something good.

You don't need 11 million subscribers to try that. On Yaff you can sell build notes, behind-the-scenes posts, photo dumps, videos and ebooks behind monthly tiers, take tips, and talk to supporters in group chats and DMs. Starter is free with a 5% platform fee, and payouts go to your bank daily via Stripe. Start your free Yaff page, or see pricing.

More origin stories: From Plumber to 13M Subscribers: The Colin Furze Story, From NASA to 84M Subscribers: The Mark Rober Story and From Crashed Audi to 7 Million Subscribers: The Mat Armstrong Story.

Watch Primitive Technology on YouTube