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Brandon "Bashurverse" Asher (better known online now as "TOASTY") was a Minecraft YouTuber who disappeared from the internet a couple of years after his video addressing and explaining his criminal felony for unlawful transaction with a minor.
Asher began his YouTube channel in early April of 2010. He didn't get his call to fame until a few years later when he started a survival-roleplay Minecraft series called: "The Legend of the Hobo."
The series was watched and praised by another popular Minecraft YouTuber known as Sky Does Minecraft. He told the budding creator that he liked his videos and gave him an opportunity to collaborate with him and other popular Minecraft creators such as ASFJerome and CaptainSparklez.
From there, Asher's fan base boomed with new members. He reached one million subscribers on April 9th, 2014.
Asher's online success seemed boundless; however, that hit a brick wall on March 4th, 2015 — when he uploaded a confession video. The video detailed the story of his life, the severity of his hardships in the past, and explained his criminal charges.
This confession video was ultimately the beginning of the end for the Minecraft creator. He was unable to reclaim his online presence after releasing the video. As his uploads became more sporadic and his mental health deteriorated; Asher eventually gave up trying and left.
Brandon Asher's confession video
Asher's first confession video was debatably the most important when comprehending the pressure he was under at the time.
On March 4th, 2015, he uploaded a confession video explaining the story of his life; with emphasis on one specific event that kept getting brought up and threatened to be thrown out in public. In his own words, he explained that he simply wanted to get the story off his chest.
Asher revealed that he never knew who his father was and that his mother took very poor care of him when he was younger. He went on to describe his mother as: "not a good person." When his mother ended up in court, his relatives took it upon themselves to raise him.
He lost interest in academics as a teenager. He was put in a school for undesirables because of this and was physically bullied by other students daily.
He met the girl that would become his first love when he was 17. She was the younger sister of one of Asher's best friends. When he would come over to their house, she would talk to him and comfort him.
They later became a couple after developing feelings for each other. Asher was 18 at the time, and she had just turned 15.
Her parents didn't approve of their relationship, so much so that they hired a private investigator to keep an eye on the two in case anything went south. The couple would talk online through online messaging services but never got intimate physically.
Asher was then woken up one day with a knock on his door. He was introduced to the private investigator and then arrested for the chat history with his 15-year-old girlfriend. He was legally charged with a first-degree felony for unlawful transactions with a minor under 16 years of age. Asher was apprehended but later released on bail.
His computers were confiscated, and he was sent to a therapist's class for pedophiles. He was later released from the mandatory therapy after his therapist stated to the court that he didn't belong in the class.
Asher stated that he didn't leave the house for nearly 10 years after the event. Even when he moved, he became a shut-in and would only occasionally leave to see his adoptive mother. He claimed that he was incredibly suicidal during this time.
It was during this time that he started his own Minecraft series, which would later be his call to fame.
Controversy
After Asher's confession video went live, there was a torrent of both hate and love.
Asher's fans saw the strife their favorite creator was going through and wanted to provide encouragement and advice. There were others who saw him for his criminal charges and nothing else.
On April 8th, 2015, Asher uploaded another video in reply to rumors being spread about him raping a 10-year-old girl when he was 23. It was clear from his tone and the constant cursing that the rumors annoyed him. He repeatedly told the camera that "he was done."
The video was taken down 30 minutes after it was uploaded but was reuploaded by several other users.
It was during this time that a popular creator known as Keemstar began to get involved in Asher's situation. Keemstar is known for his videos on YouTube news and controversies. He often does interviews with those under fire, and Asher was no exception.
Many of Asher's fans directed their hate towards Keemstar, as he had made quite a few videos about the initial pedophilia controversy and had made more about the split between Asher and his wife, Clara Swan.
What angered fans was that before the initial interview between the two about the controversy, Keemstar seemed to throw hate towards Asher. Despite this, he showed respect to the latter during the interview, even apologizing for his previous comments. Whether or not this apology was genuine is still a debate amongst both creator's audiences.
Viewers believe that Keemstar's constant coverage and exposure of Asher's situation kept rubbing salt in wounds that didn't need to be exposed. He is attributed as one of the factors that led to Asher's rapid mental health deterioration.
April 18th, 2015, Asher uploaded a short video talking about his plans for the near future. He stated that he's going to continue working on YouTube but would be doing more vlogs on his vlogging channel rather than regular Minecraft uploads. He unveiled what he refers to as "a bittersweet gift," being his gold plaque for surpassing one million subscribers.
Despite showing physical signs that he had been crying before filming the video, he stated that he would be pursuing professional help.
Quitting YouTube
On April 24th, 2017, Bashur had been wrestling with the controversy for years, and the controversy won. He completely erased himself from the internet. He changed the screen name of his YouTube channel to just a dash. The profile picture and banner of his channel had been blacked out as well.
His social media accounts, including his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, had been deleted.
His absence left fans devastated and worried. There had been rumors of suicide and even a couple of imposters making look-alike accounts and claiming to be Asher. There was no telling how long this hiatus would last or if there would ever be a return for the Minecraft creator.
Bashurverse ("Toasty") returns
On September 17th, 2019, Asher's fans were surprised to find a new tweet from his old Twitter account. The tweet told his fans to meet him over on his new account: "T0astyTime." He began streaming under this new name and even uploaded content to the rebranded channel.
Though he's returned to doing what he loves, it's clear that he's still struggling with the past. In February 2020, Asher attempted suicide. His release from the hospital sparked an outpouring of love and support towards him and his rehabilitation for life, even from Keemstar.
He's been doing much better since as has moved himself to Australia amidst the pandemic. He has also begun working on a show that he deems is his passion project.
Despite the hardships in the past, it seems like Brandon Asher, now known as Toasty, has found some solace. It's safe to say that he has his fans' unconditional love and support through thick and thin.
