Charles Trippy

For the American football player, see Charley Trippi.

Charles Trippy
Charles Trippy in 2019
Born	Charles Paul Trippy III (1984-09-02) September 2, 1984 (age 40) Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Occupations	YouTuber musician comedian
Spouses	Allie Marie Trippy (2014–present) Allison Rose Speed (2011–2014)
Children	2
YouTube information
Channel	CTFxC
Years active	2008–present
Genre	Vlog
Subscribers	1.37 Million[1]
Total views	815 Million 2010 2013[1]

Charles Paul Trippy III (born September 2, 1984) is an American musician, vlogger and internet personality based in St. Petersburg, Florida.[2] He is a member of Bradenton-based rock band We the Kings.[3] Trippy recorded his first album with We the Kings, titled Somewhere Somehow in 2013. The album peaked at no. 44 on Billboard 200.[4] He is also the creator of Internet Killed Television, a web series aired on YouTube.[5]

Early life and education

Trippy was born to Charles Paul 'Chaz' Trippy II and Marlene Trippy, in 1984, in Sarasota, Florida.[6] He is of Sicilian Italian, German, and Native American descent. His father was a member of the Gregg Allman Band where he played percussion. As a youngster, Trippy often toured with his father's band. His younger sister, Melissa Trippy, is also an internet personality.[7][8]

Trippy attended Lakewood Ranch High School where he completed his early education.[9] Later, he attended and graduated from the University of South Florida where he majored in communications.[10]

Career

As a YouTuber

Trippy started his YouTube channel CTFxC in 2008, although the daily vlogs only started on May 1, 2009.[11] Initially, Trippy planned to do daily video blogs for one year, however, he continued to create videos daily after completing the first year. As of 2020, Trippy's daily vlogs is in its 11th year. Calling his daily vlogging series Internet Killed Television, it chronicles his daily life with his wife Allie Marie Trippy (born Wesenberg) and their pets, friends and family.[12] The series formerly featured Trippy's ex-wife, Allison Speed, who would vlog with him for almost six years before they separated in 2014.[13][14]

Trippy was featured in the documentary film Vlogumentary which was developed by Shay Carl in 2016.[15] One of the channel's video was covered by Good Morning America in 2016.[16]

As a musician

Trippy began his music career in 2001 as a bassist for the Bradenton-based post-hardcore band, Funny Looking Kid. He took part in 2002 and 2003 Warped Tour with the band.[9] Funny Looking Kid broke up in 2005.

In 2011, Trippy joined We the Kings as the bass player replacing Drew Thomsen who left the group earlier that year. He recorded his first studio album with the band, Somewhere Somehow, in 2013.[17] The album debuted at no. 44 on the Billboard 200 and at no. 6 on the Top Rock Albums charts.[4] In 2014 and 2015, Trippy recorded Stripped and Strange Love respectively, with We the Kings. Self Titled Nostalgia and Six were released in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Trippy has performed across the United States on the Vans Warped Tour as the bass player for We the Kings.[18] As a member of the band, We the Kings, Trippy has received Platinum record by Australian Recording Industry Association. In 2016, he received Platinum certification from RIAA for "Check Yes Juliet". In 2017 and 2018, Trippy received Gold certifications for Strange Love and "Sad Song" from RIAA.[19]

Personal life

In March 2012, Trippy was diagnosed with a benign oligodendroglioma brain tumor after having a seizure at the end of February. After the successful resection of the tumor, it recurred in September 2013 and was diagnosed as anaplastic oligodendroglioma brain cancer. His wife at the time, Alli Speed, helped him through this surgery. In October 2013, Trippy started oral chemotherapy to combat the remaining 5% left after his second resection. In July 2020, he underwent a third brain surgery that removed 100% of the tumor. Trippy filmed and uploaded his brain surgeries on his YouTube channel.[20] His videos received coverage from Salon.[21]

Trippy married Allie Marie Wesenberg in 2017. They have 2 daughters together. The couple was profiled by PETA on May 2, 2018.[22]

Awards and recognitions

Year	Organization	Nominated work	Category	Result
2009	Twitter Shorty Awards	@CharlesTrippy	Humor[23]	Won
	Mashable Open Web Awards	Internet Killed Television	Best Online Video Web Series[24]	Won
		Surprise Marriage Proposal in Spain!	YouTube Video of The Year[24]	Won
		Internet Killed Television	Best Brand Use of YouTube[24]	Won
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Charles Trippy	Choice Web Star[25]	Nominated
2011	Twitter Shorty Awards	@CharlesTrippy	Travel[26]	Nominated
		@AlliSpeed	Weird[26]	Won
2012		@CharlesTrippy	Travel[27]	Won
	O Music Awards	We the Kings	"Most Innovative Music Video"[28]	Won
2013	Twitter Shorty Awards	@CharlesTrippy	Videoblogger[29]	Nominated
	Guinness World Records	Internet Killed Television	Most days of consecutive vlogging[30]	Won
2015	Guinness World Records	Internet Killed Television	Most days of consecutive vlogging 2200 days "updated"[31]	Won
2016	Ripley's Believe it or not	Internet Killed Television	Most days of consecutive vlogging[32]	Won

References

1. "About CTFxC". YouTube.
2. The Good Stuff. "Why Does Charles Trippy Put His Life on the Internet?". PBS. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
3. Pettigrew, Jason (May 2, 2018). "Look how awesome We The Kings' Charles Trippy's rescue dogs are". ALT Press. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
4. "We the Kings – Chart history (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
5. Molloy, Mark (May 4, 2018). "How creator burnout became a ticking timebomb for YouTube stars". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
6. "ABOUT CHARLES". Charles Trippy. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
7. Strong, Martin Charles (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-860-6.
8. Guzzo, Paul (April 13, 2020). "St. Pete YouTuber broadcast his brain surgery. Of course he's filming self-isolation". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
9. Springer, Debi (August 8, 2002). "Funny Looking Kid stops in Tampa on Vans Warped Tour". Google News. Sarasote Herald Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
10. USF Alumni Association. "Charles Trippy, '08, Launches "Internet Killed Television"". USF Alumni. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
11. Gutelle, Sam (August 28, 2015). "Charles Trippy Vlogs His Life, No Matter The Direction It Takes". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
12. Solsman, Joan E (June 6, 2018). "When breaking up is a public affair". CNET. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
13. Weigle, Lauren (April 8, 2014). "Charles and Alli Trippy Split: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Chron. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
14. Schumann, Rebecka (April 10, 2014). "Where Is Alli Trippy? CTFxC Fans Question Vlogger's YouTube Absence After Charles Trippy Split". International Business Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
15. Gutelle, Sam (October 26, 2016). "Shay Carl Releases 'Vlogumentary,' A YouTube Red Doc About Web Video Stardom". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
16. Good Morning America, ABC (December 5, 2016). "YouTube Stars Charles Trippy and Allie Hike With Llamas". ABC News. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
17. Jenke, Brittany (September 7, 2020). "Can you remember lyrics from We The Kings?". The Brag. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
18. Knopper, Steve (July 20, 2016). "We the Kings make the Warped Tour their own". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
19. "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
20. Fox News (September 20, 2013). "YouTube star video logs own brain surgery". Fox News Channel 1. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
21. Schroeder, Audra (September 20, 2013). "YouTube star Charles Trippy vlogs his own brain surgery". Salon. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
22. "Charles Trippy and Allie Wesenberg-Trippy: 'Treat Animals How You Would Want to Be Treated'". PETA. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
23. "The Shorty Awards – The best producers of short content on Twitter". 1st.shortyawards.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
24. Cashmore, Pete (December 16, 2009). "OPEN WEB AWARDS 2009: The Winners". Mashable. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
25. "Teen Choice Awards 2010: Second (Giant) Wave Of Nominees Announced!". November 5, 2013. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
26. "The Shorty Awards – Honoring the best of Twitter and social media". 3rd.shortyawards.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
27. "The Shorty Awards – Honoring the best of Twitter and social media". 4th.shortyawards.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
28. Depland, Michael. "O Music Awards: 5 Winners (Primarily Tokio Hotel) We're Especially Stoked About". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
29. "The Shorty Awards – Honoring the best of social media". 5th.shortyawards.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
30. Guinness World Records 2015. Guinness World Records. September 9, 2014. ISBN 978-1-908843-63-0.
31. Guinness World Records (June 6, 2019), Charles Trippy: Most consecutive days vlogging! - Guinness World Records, retrieved July 10, 2019
32. "Vlog Champion Visits Ripley's Believe It or Not HQ". Ripley's Believe It or Not!. September 3, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2019.