Northernlion

Submission 543

About

Ryan "Northernlion" Letourneau is a Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber primarily known for his let's play content. A full-time YouTuber since 2011, Northernlion amassed a significant online following in the 2010s and 2020s and is known among his audience for his distinctive voice, eloquence and sense of humor. Clips of Northernlion's philosophical observations amid gaming streams have frequently gone viral on social media.

Online History

Northernlion created his YouTube^[1] channel in 2006 for a school project.^[2] On September 22nd, 2010, Northernlion uploaded the oldest video on the channel, a let's play video of Super Punch-Out!! for SNES (shown below).

On September 28th, 2011, Northernlion started his let's play series of the indie roguelike game The Binding of Isaac, which helped the YouTuber build his initial following. The first episode^[3] of the lasting series garnered over 1.8 million likes in 13 years (shown below, left). As of July 1st, 2024, the first episode of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth let's play series was the most viewed upload on the channel with over 2.5 million views on YouTube^[4] in nine years (shown below, right).

On August 5th, 2010, Northernlion launched his Twitch^[5] channel, where he hosts his tri-weekly Nortehrnlion Live Super Show, talking with his friends and playing games together.

A variety streamer, Northernlion played a multitude of games of various genres through his career as a streamer and YouTuber, with roguelike series such as The Binding of Isaac and Slay the Spire being some of his most popular playthroughs.

As of July 2024, Northernlion had over 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube and over 700,000 followers on Twitch.

On August 2nd, 2022, the fan-curated YouTube^[6] channel The Library of Letourneau was established, collecting notable clips and humorous moments from Northernlion's streams (examples shown below). The viral spread of some clips created by the channel and posted on YouTube and X (via the @NorthernIion_LP account) ultimately led to a notable rise in Northernlion's popularity online.^[7]

Online Presence

Online, Northernlion is known for his witty humor and insightful, almost philosophical musings during his streams. Clips of Northernlion's speeches and remarks repeatedly went viral on social media in 2023 and 2024 following the establishment of The Library of Letourneau YouTube channel (example^[8] shown below).

The streamer's proclivity for casually making insightful remarks while gaming has been reflected in memes shared on social media numerous times over the years since he began making content (examples shown below).

Personal Life

Nortnernlion was born in Kingston, Ontario. He attended Queens University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology. In 2011, Norhenrnlion spent a year in South Korea working as an English teacher.

In September 2020, Northernlion and his wife, YouTuber Kate LovelyMomo, welcomed their daughter Luna.