Brian maps / Brian Maps.

• Biography

The blogger's real name is Maxim Sergeevich Tarasenko. He was born on September 25, 1999. According to various sources, his birthplace is either the city of Kinel in the Samara region or Uzbekistan—his family later moved to Russia. After finishing school, Maxim moved to St. Petersburg and studied at the Film and Video Technical College at the St. Petersburg State Institute of Cinematography and Television, graduating in 2019.

• How it all began

As a child, in 2010–2011, Maxim and his friend Dmitry Baratashvili created the internet show "Tiger Show." It was a parody of the then-popular show "+100500," except the characters were stuffed animals. Not all episodes survive.

On July 10, 2011, Maxim created his first YouTube channel under the name Maxutko99. It featured Let's Plays, tutorials, and reviews of internet videos. Some of the content was later removed, and the channel currently contains approximately 30 videos. The last of these was uploaded in June 2012.

On June 4, 2012, TheBrianMaps channel was launched—it became the main channel and remains active to this day. At first, Maxim filmed Minecraft Let's Plays, but then began experimenting with different formats: blogs, podcasts, comedy sketches, TV show parodies and music videos, and later, lifestyle and vlogs.

• Growing popularity

The channel quickly gained an audience. By April 2014, it had 100,000 subscribers, by November 2015, 2 million, and by April 2019, 10 million, for which Maxim received a YouTube Diamond Play Button.

In 2016, the channel was temporarily blocked. Maxim then created a backup channel, "Brain," and posted his main videos there. About two months later, the main channel was unblocked.

• Creative projects

Over time, Brian Maps developed its own recognizable universe of characters: in addition to Brian himself, Nerd and Olivia frequently appeared in sketches. This story culminated in two short films.

• What formats are there?

Brian has quite a diverse palette. I've grouped the main trends:

Sketches. These are comedic skits featuring recurring characters (Olivia, Nerd, Sassy Nanny, and others). The sketches have their own "universe" and even story arcs. The channel has a separate playlist, "SKETCHES (all seasons)," which is convenient if you want to immerse yourself in a specific story.
Let's Plays. Brian plays various games and provides commentary on the process. He's also explored horror titles (e.g., Fears to Fathom, The Kidnap).
Vlogs and lifestyle. Recordings from everyday life: travel (there were episodes about China, Hong Kong, and Korea), moving, and everyday situations.
Conversational and reaction videos. Brian discusses various topics, reacts to online content (often on TikTok), and shares his thoughts.
Thematic experiments and challenges. For example, "Brian tries to cook," "Pretending to be fake accounts," and game challenges.
Unboxings. These are often parcels from subscribers, sometimes with comical situations.
Short films. A key part of the channel's history: "The Last Button" (2019) and "The Last Button 2" (2021). These are no longer just sketches, but full-fledged stories in the horror and comedy genres, which provide closure to several storylines.

Real friends and colleagues:

Anastasiz (Anastasia Burchuladze). One of their closest friends. They've been friends for a long time, often making videos together—for example, vlogs or games (including horror games). Fans have sometimes theorized about a romance, but the bloggers themselves emphasize: they're simply very close friends.
Diana Naykova, a blogger who also regularly appeared in Brian's sketches and Let's Plays, including games like Minecraft.
Dania Kashin (DK). They collaborated: for example, in 2024, they released a joint track, "Don't Sow Love," and its accompanying music video.
Ian Reisen. Another blogger who participated in Brian's sketches.
Diana Azhbieva. She not only appeared in sketches (for example, playing the role of Elena), but is also friends with Brian in real life.

Brian Maps's father is Sergey Tarasenko.

There's little information about him publicly: he's not a media personality and doesn't blog, but he occasionally appears in his son's videos. Maxim holds his father in high regard.

It's well known that Sergey set a good example for his sons (Maxim has an older brother) from childhood, instilling in them a love of outdoor activities, such as fishing and nature walks. The family generally emphasizes a healthy lifestyle: Sergey doesn't drink or smoke, a stance shared by Brian Maps himself.

Sergey occasionally appears in Maxim's videos, most often in humorous skits or challenges where the family members test each other's knowledge of youth slang or perform various funny tasks. In these videos, he appears as a calm, level-headed person with a sense of humor—and this bears a certain resemblance to how Brian Maps conducts himself in his videos.

Brian Maps's (Maxim Tarasenko) real mother is Natalia Tarasenko.

She was born on June 24, 1970, in the Uzbek SSR; her maiden name was Rostova. Natalia is married to Sergei Tarasenko. Besides Maxim, the family includes a son, Denis, and a niece, Olesya.

Natalia occasionally appears in her son's videos. For example, she can be seen in the videos "Horror Movies in Real Life!" and "Rap from a Daring Nanny!" Personal details indicate that she particularly likes the colors green and white.

It's important to distinguish the real mother from the comedic character "Brian's Mom" ​​(sometimes called Marina Maps) from the sketches on TheBrianMaps channel. In the videos, she's a deliberately exaggerated, hot-tempered, and eccentric character—it's created for humor and doesn't reflect the real Natalia's personality.

Tigger is one of the most recognizable characters on TheBrianMaps channel. He's a red tabby cat with green eyes, which is where he gets his name—he looks a lot like a tiger.

According to the story told by Brian Maps (Maxim Tarasenko) himself, he found Tigra as a kitten in a garbage dump and took her in. In his videos, Tigra is a very colorful and charismatic character: he is depicted as domineering, explosive, and even vengeful. The channel featured a whole series of sketches called "My Cat Is Trying to Kill Me," in which Tigra constantly plays tricks on his owner—throwing a bowl at him, mixing something into his food, or playing a high-stakes prank. In these sketches, the cat often served as the main antagonist, and this "feud" became their duo's signature move.

Over time, the storyline changed: Tigra seemed tired of fighting Brian, and their rivalry fizzled out. And in "The Last Button" and "The Last Button 2," viewers were treated to a surprising twist: it turned out Tigra had been a robot all along. In another episode, the cat even got his own channel: "Tigra is Watching."

Tigra has developed a real fan base: fans have come up with various nicknames for him, like "Red Beast" or "Satan's Cat," and even created several fan games based on him—for example, parodies of "Five Nights at Freddy's" and other projects. Tigra's image has become a meme and has spread far beyond the channel: social media, including international ones, have been creating memes about him, including using neural networks—thus giving birth to all sorts of "neurocats." Brian himself once joked that Tigra went "from cat to pillow, from pillow to neurocat."

There's also a real, non-game story: Brian eventually developed an allergy to the cat, and he gave Tigra to his parents so he wouldn't suffer from the reaction. Brian, however, continued to see Tigra, so the bond between them was not severed.

As a result, Tigra is no longer just a pet, but a true meme character with his own history, personality, and army of fans.

• What else is important to know

Maxim always loved experimenting with formats. For example, he made videos in the style of "Icebergs": he explored little-known or "dark" aspects of his channel, sharing old videos, Easter eggs, and funny behind-the-scenes stories. Fans loved this because it allowed them to peek behind the scenes.

He also created an entire fictional universe with its own characters. This story culminated in two short films: "The Last Button" (2019) and "The Last Button 2" (2021). These films effectively completed a storyline he had been developing for years and served as a kind of finale to a larger chapter.

Maxim continues to actively film: he produces lifestyle videos, vlogs, Let's Plays, and periodically tries out new formats. His channel has long since moved beyond "just funny videos"—it's now an entire media universe with its signature humor, its own characters, and a devoted audience.

• Past

Maxim was born on September 25, 1999. There are various accounts of his birthplace, but it is certain that his family later moved, and he spent most of his youth in Russia. After school, Maxim went to St. Petersburg to pursue video blogging in earnest. There, he enrolled in college at the Institute of Film and Television and graduated in 2019 with a degree in projectionist—ironically, this profession is directly related to video, which is what he works with.

His creative journey began long before his major success. As a teenager, he and a friend created an online show featuring stuffed animals—a parody of popular entertainment formats of the time. His first YouTube channel appeared in 2011, featuring Let's Plays, reviews, and educational videos. On June 4, 2012, he launched TheBrianMaps, which became his main project. Initially, it featured Minecraft Let's Plays, but the format gradually expanded to include blogs, podcasts, sketches, and parodies.

In 2016, a difficult moment occurred: his main channel was temporarily blocked. To maintain his connection with his audience, Maxim quickly created a backup channel and continued producing content. Later, the main channel was unblocked, and everything returned to normal, but this episode demonstrated his composure and ability to cope under pressure.

He sometimes shared personal stories about difficult times. For example, he had a relationship with a girl named Katya, which ended due to her infidelity. Maxim experienced this painfully, and some of his emotions even showed through in his videos from that time.

He has a family: parents and an older brother. He also has a ginger cat named Tigra—they even made a very popular video about him, where the cat seems to be trying to "conspire" against his owner. This video has become a true classic on his channel.

• Interests and hobbies

He has a fairly wide range of interests, and almost all of them are somehow related to content creation or something that can be filmed. One of his main passions is video games. For example, he really loves The Sims 3 and periodically makes videos about it. He also enjoys horror games: he specifically looks for dark, strange, and unexpected moments in them to share with viewers.

Besides gaming, Maxim loves challenges and quests: trying something extremely spicy, taking an unusual route, completing a task against the clock—he enjoys it all. Off-screen, he enjoys outdoor activities and fishing, and he also enjoys cooking, often sharing his cooking routine in his lifestyle videos.

But his most important hobby is video creation. He doesn't just record; he immerses himself in the process: he writes the scripts, designs the direction, and edits them himself. For him, it's not just a job, but a way to tell stories and share humor.

• Friends and creative partners

Maxim has several close friends with whom he regularly collaborates. His collaboration with Anastasiz (Anastasia Burchuladze) is particularly notable: their videos consistently garner millions of views, and fans adore their on-camera chemistry. Both bloggers have always emphasized that their relationship is purely friendly and creative, and there's no need to over-exaggerate.

He also worked with Diana Naykova—their joint videos were a favorite among fans, and fan communities often paired them together. Another blogger he knows is Dania Kashin: they've collaborated on projects together, and they always turned out to be a fun, chaotic affair, which viewers appreciate.

• Character and personality

Maxim is calm and level-headed by nature—he's not prone to sudden emotional outbursts; he's more of a think-before-action type. However, in his videos, he reveals a completely different side: he loves irony and self-mockery, and he knows how to take everyday situations to the extreme and turn them into a genuine comedy routine.

He's a master of transformation: his sketches feature dozens of vibrant characters, each with its own distinct personality. For example, the aggressive Olivia, the awkward Nerd, or the cheeky nanny—they all seem to have a life of their own, yet they clearly adhere to Brian Maps' signature style: funny, slightly chaotic, and recognizable. Maxim isn't afraid to laugh at himself, and it's this genuine self-irony that truly captivates viewers.

He communicates openly with his audience, jokes a lot, but doesn't spill his personal life on the slate: there are topics he deliberately keeps off-camera. It strikes a balance: you feel like you know him as a friend, but he also maintains a sense of privacy.

• Appearance

Maxim has short dark hair, but his appearance can vary slightly from video to video—he might wear glasses, have a slightly different hairstyle, or have slightly longer hair. He's 171 cm tall and weighs 58 kg. In everyday life, he prefers simple, understated clothing without flashy logos, but in sketches, he deliberately selects details to highlight his character's personality.

There's even a funny moment he played up himself: if he doesn't comb his hair for a couple of days, he starts to look a lot like his character, Nerd. This detail perfectly demonstrates how he can make fun of his own appearance and turn ordinary details into humor.