History of ASMR

Interview with Zarbondb, one of the first ASMR artists on YouTube

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Tony (full name withheld) is currently an IT technician at a multinational company in Spain.

In 2009 though, Tony was finishing his studies in Spain, working as a Service Desk employee, and also creating whisper videos as “Zarbondb”.

He was one of the first ASMR artists, perhaps the third one, and was referred to as a “whisper artist” or “whisperer” because the term “ASMR” hadn’t been coined and widely used yet.

In my interview with Tony he shares how he discovered whisper videos, why he started his channel, his memories of the whisper community, and why he chose the name “Zarbondb”.

Below are my questions in bold, his replies in italics, a link to his whisper videos, and a link to his Twitch channel of retro gaming.

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Interview with Mysterious_Goo, one of the first ASMR artists on YouTube

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Jenny (full name withheld) is currently a drama teacher in London, England.

In 2009 though, Jenny was a Theatre studies student in London who was also creating whisper videos as “Mysterious_Goo”.

She was one of the first ASMR artists, perhaps the second one, and was referred to as a “whisper artist” or “whisperer” because the term “ASMR” hadn’t been coined and widely used yet.

In my interview with Jenny she shares how she discovered whisper videos, why she started her channel, her memories of the whisper community, and why she chose the name “Mysterious_Goo”.

Below are my questions in bold and her replies in italics.

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Interview with CrisperWhisper, one of the early ASMR artists on YouTube

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Andrew (full name withheld) is currently a Senior Software Engineer working for a fortune 200 company in Colorado, US.

In 2009 though, Andrew was a college student studying computer networking and also creating whisper videos as “CrisperWhisper”.

He was one of the early ASMR artists who were commonly called “whisper artists” or “whisperers” because these individuals were creating whisper videos before the term “ASMR” was coined and widely used.

In my interview with Andrew he shares how he discovered whisper videos, why he started his channel, vivid memories of the whisper community, and one of his biggest regrets.

Below are my questions in bold, his replies in italics, and a link to his new ASMR channel.

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Interview with Jennifer Allen, the woman who coined the term, ‘Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response’ (ASMR)

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian ResponseJennifer Allen currently lives just outside Plattsburgh in upper state NY, USA. She has attended the University of Southern Maine and is currently a Red Team Manager for a cybersecurity company.

Jennifer is also the person who coined the term, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

But that is not all. She has been a significant contributor to the ASMR community from the start.

Here is an incomplete list of her incredible involvements and achievements:

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History of ASMR: Interview with WhisperingLife, the first ASMR artist (podcast episode #6)

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityThis is the audio version of my interview with WhisperingLife.

This audio recording gives a short overview of WhisperingLife and then I read the transcript of the interview which I initially posted on February 8, 2016.

Subscribe to the ASMR University Podcast to hear all of the past and future episodes or listen to this one episode right here:

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Interview with WhisperingLife, the first ASMR artist

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian ResponseWhisperingLife has her Bachelors of Science degree in Ophthalmic Dispensing and is currently a Dispensing Optician in Nottingham, England.

WhisperingLife is not her real name, she prefers to keep that private.  But this was the name she chose as her alias in early 2009 when she created the first whisper-dedicated channel on YouTube.

For this historical milestone, she is often referred to as the first ASMR artist.

Before jumping into the interview I want to provide more context and background about WhisperingLife.

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History of ASMR: About WhisperingLife, the first ASMR artist (podcast episode #5)

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityOn March 26, 2009, a young woman started posting videos of herself whispering on YouTube.

She shared some information about herself on YouTube, but she never revealed her exact identity.

Most people refer to her by the name of her YouTube channel, WhisperingLife – and credit her with starting the first whisper channel on YouTube.

Today’s podcast will focus on WhisperingLife and address the following questions:

  • How old was she and where was she from?
  • What inspired her to start posting whisper videos?
  • Did she intend to relax listeners with her whispering or was that just an unexpected outcome?
  • What did she whisper about?
  • Was she just a ‘whisper artist’ or was she an ‘ASMR artist’?
  • Did she ever show her face in her videos?
  • What did she use for a camera?
  • How many videos did she post?
  • Why did she stop posting videos?

The podcast will also include comments she received in the first year she started her channel in 2009, and include comments posted on her last video she uploaded in 2014.

Subscribe to the ASMR University Podcast to hear all of the past and future episodes or listen to this one episode right here:

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History of ASMR: the early ASMR-type videos (podcast episode #3)

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityMany people initially discover their ability to have ASMR through real world experiences.

These experiences may include having their hair being played with by a friend, hearing someone whisper, being examined by a clinician, listening to someone nearby turn the pages of a magazine, or watching someone perform a dedicated task like painting or origami.

Surprisingly, it has turned out that just hearing and/or watching these experiences in a recorded format can also stimulate ASMR.

In 2009, several individuals on the internet began intentionally simulating some of these popular ASMR triggers in videos – giving rise to intentional ASMR videos and ASMR video channels.

But these were not the first videos that people were watching to purposely trigger their deep relaxation and tingles.

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History of ASMR: Birth of the ASMR Community (podcast episode #2)

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityOctober 29, 2007 could be viewed as the birth date of the ASMR community.

On this day, an individual by the username of “okaywhatever” started a forum thread at the website http://www.steadyhealth.com.

The title of the thread was, “Weird sensation feels good” and attracted over 300 replies.  The content of these initial replies quickly created a clear and consistent description of ASMR which still accurately describes ASMR today.

Some of the participants in the thread, such as Jennifer Allen and Andrew MacMuiris, spawned out and developed resources which were monumental to the growth and understanding of ASMR.

Overall, this forum thread lead directly to the following ASMR milestones:

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