Sophomore Blake Costello can usually be found in the halls making electronic music on his iPad Mini or writing rock songs for his live band. A well-known student on campus because of his semi-successful YouTube channel ‘blakethechemist’, he has racked up over 200 subscribers and 8,300 views since its creation a little over a year and a half ago.

However, his dream far exceeds a couple hundred YouTube subscribers.

“One million is the ultimate goal, but 10 million would be nice too,” he said.

He initially joined YouTube to make money, but instead he found a love for making videos.

“What I got was something completely different. I made more than money, I had a fan base,” he said.

COSTELLO uploads gaming videos, videos from school rap cyphers, nerf gun battles, and school music performances with his band “Blake and the Chemists.”

Music is an important part of Costello’s life.

“I got piano lessons from my neighbor in first grade along with my brother, Aidan,” he said.

Both brothers are talented musicians and have near perfect pitch according to multiple students in the music department.

On stage, Costello astounds audiences tri-annually in the Little Theater during the Performance Workshop night time shows. His act consists of various costume changes, dance moves, and loud synth rock.

Recently, he pulled off a hat he was wearing mid-set to reveal he had dyed his hair bright green to resemble his ‘fursona’. Each show is filmed and uploaded to his YouTube channel.

“I listened to a lot of rock music when I was growing up. My dad played a lot of classic rock by bands like Van Halen and Pink Floyd,” he said.

His music is only getting more complex.

“Yeah, his stuff is hard to play sometimes. The most recent song he wrote is pretty crazy,” said junior Jake Walsh, lead guitarist of Costello’s band.

Also an active member of the “furry” community, he considers his true form to be a fox as opposed to human. Costello affiliates as a three tailed fox named “Chemfyre.”

On stage, he dresses in his ‘fursona’ costume with a fox tail, fuzzy ears, face paint, and a custom lab coat.  

Furries often get a bad wrap from online users but, Costello’s  experience with the community is different from most.

“Most people here are very accepting which is nice. All I want is for people to have respect for the culture.” he said.

Costello’s next concert is Tuesday, May 22, in the Little Theater during the Performance Workshop spring concert.