Liam Kyle Sullivan — YouTuber Behind ‘Shoes’ and ‘Muffins’ Videos — Talks Early Success and What He’s Up to Now (Exclusive)

• Liam Kyle Sullivan, the man behind the popular “Shoes” and “Muffins” videos from 2006, still remains one of the most celebrated creators on YouTube
• Sullivan is perhaps best known for his Kelly videos, a character he revived in 2020 following a years-long hiatus from YouTube
• Now, Sullivan is reflecting on his early YouTube success with PEOPLE in honor of the 20th anniversary of the platform

Liam Kyle Sullivan was one of the biggest breakout stars from the early days of YouTube, producing some of the first videos to go viral on YouTube like “Shoes” and “Muffins,” which have garnered tens of millions of views all over the world.

Sullivan, 51, first joined YouTube in 2006, about a year after the site launched in February 2005 — yes, the platform is now 20 years old — which almost instantly launched the then-budding comedian into the spotlight.

Eighteen years later, Sullivan — who is also married to wife Ilana Cohn Sullivan, a director and podcast host with whom he shares two kids — is reflecting on going viral, both with PEOPLE and in a brand new stage show he’s performing in Los Angeles, which he says is “still a work in progress.”

Sullivan says he had “kicked around Hollywood” for about 10 years before the opportunity to create his own content online presented itself. Once he “switched gears” to focus on YouTube, which was quickly growing in popularity at the time, his career “blew up.”

One of his most popular characters is Kelly, a sassy and angsty blonde with a gothic, punk rock vibe amplified by her vibrant pink-and-black stockings and snug leather jacket. Kelly rose to prominence after Sullivan’s video “Shoes,” a song follows the beloved character who doesn’t take “no” for an answer as she and her friends gawk at all kinds of stylish (and sometimes not-so-stylish) footwear while shopping around town.

Sullivan relished the ability to create his own characters that he resonated with — especially after getting in touch with his effeminate side — rather than the more stereotypical roles he was often typecast for.

“For a while, I think I was trying to butch up,” Sullivan explains. “Once I found me, things came a lot easier.”

Tapping into his own anger helped bring Kelly’s character out, Sullivan explains. In fact, Kelly’s rage and angst resonates with him most.

“I get really uncomfortable with anger, it’s hard for me to express it because I just kind of get scary,” he adds. “But when Kelly does it, there’s something about it that connects because there’s a lot of injustice in the world, and we’ve got to address it.”

Sullivan has since revived Kelly’s character. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan donned his Kelly costume for a video encouraging people to wear masks in a reprise of “Shoes.”

Over the years, many people have told Sullivan that the first video they ever saw on YouTube was either “Shoes” or his other popular video, “Muffins.”

Sullivan says he modeled the main character in “Muffins” — a bonnet-wearing older woman who insists she bakes some of the most delicious pastries, which come in a variety of unusual flavors — after his own mother.

“She was studying gourmet cooking, and sometimes she would make something that wasn’t that great, but she’d play it off as like, ‘No, this is going to be good, kids.’ And we were kids, so gourmet food to us was gross,” he explains.

“So she would put it in front of us and she’d say, ‘You’ll eat it. You’ll eat it and like it!’ So that stuck with me for years,” he adds.

Some of the muffin flavors highlighted in the viral clip — apple, banana, raspberry, pecan, carrot, and so on — were much more traditional than others — bird, ink, paperclip, newspaper and even an Israeli-Palestinian conflict muffin.

Sullivan tells PEOPLE he was inspired to sprinkle in “erudite or intellectual” jokes into his work by comedian Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live. “He used to do that a lot on Wayne’s World … which was really funny,” he recalls “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a really good device.’ ”

Sullivan is also thankful for the support he received from comedian Margaret Cho, who booked him for her tour in 2007 and gave him the opportunity to perform at Radio City Music Hall. “She was amazing to me,” he says. “She helped me so much.”

In 2013, Sullivan took a break from creating content. He posted just one video to his YouTube page in 2016 called “Ten Years Later” to mark his 10th anniversary on YouTube.

The break, Sullivan tells PEOPLE, allowed him to regroup and take care of his mental health. “I just couldn’t keep doing it,” he explains, “and I pivoted to editing.”

During that break, Sullivan got married and together the couple welcomed two kids, a daughter, who is now 12, and a son, who is 5.

Sullivan’s daughter is now following in his footsteps as a creative. He says she enjoyed performing in plays and recording her own short films.

“She definitely has an eye for what works,” explains Sullivan, who is impressed with his daughter’s comedic, acting and directing abilities.

He adds, “We’re just encouraging her and supporting her and we’ll see where it takes her. If she doesn’t end up going into entertainment, that’s fine. We’re not trying to push, but just support.”

Sullivan is now opening up about going viral with his own videos in his new stage show, where he talks about the pros and cons of his experience. One big con? Back in the early days, content ccontent creators weren’t making money off their videos as they do today.

“People have brought that up to me and said, ‘Do you realize you’d be a multimillion? Oh my God, the millions of views you’ve got.’ And I’m like, ‘Yep, yep. I know,’ ” Sullivan says, “But [there] was so much positive stuff. I mean, I got this buzz about me.”

However, ultimately Sullivan tells PEOPLE that he’s just grateful for the support — and has loved hearing stories from viewers in real life.

“I’ve been so happy to meet you,” Sullivan says. “I’ve met many of you and it’s been inspiring to me to hear your stories of how this funny video did a little more for you. Not just made you laugh, but maybe inspired you and you’re inspiring me right back. So just thank you so much.”

The next performance of Sullivan’s stage show will take place at the Lyric Hyperion in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. local time.