For over 15 years, Eric Blandford, the face behind the popular YouTube channel Iraqveteran8888, has been a staple in the firearms community, delivering reviews, shooting tips, and passionate commentary to over 2.7 million subscribers.
But recently, many loyal followers have been asking the same question: where has he been?
In his latest video, titled “Where is Iraqveteran8888?”, Eric provides a heartfelt update, letting his audience know that, yes, he is alive and well. After a prolonged break, the longest in the channel’s history, Eric shares an important message about the personal challenges he’s been navigating and the steps he’s taken to refocus his mental and physical health.
Eric openly discusses his difficult year, which included going through a divorce and letting go of a portion of his beloved gun collection. While these transitions were tough, Eric explains how they ultimately helped him find a renewed sense of clarity. He emphasizes the importance of purging unnecessary burdens in life, both physically and mentally, and how this process has allowed him to feel more grounded.
“Sometimes it’s okay to relieve yourself of the burden of ownership,” Eric says, encouraging others to take steps toward their own personal reset.
While his absence has been notable, Eric assures his fans that he is gearing up for a return.
With his mental health back on track, he’s in “full boss mode” and ready to dive back into content creation. Fans can look forward to a slew of new gun videos, including cleaning tutorials, reviews of new firearms from Henry, Kimber, and more.
To those concerned about his well-being, Eric expressed immense gratitude, acknowledging the outpouring of support he’s received not only from his viewers but from colleagues across the industry. He reminds us all to “guard your mental health,” and shares how taking a break and getting back to basics—like spending time in nature and hitting the gym—has been transformative for him.
Eric’s story reminds us that even public figures sometimes need to step back and focus on their personal lives. Iraqveteran8888 isn’t going anywhere, and with Eric feeling better than ever, the future of the channel looks brighter than before.
AmmoLand News wishes Eric the best as he continues to navigate this new chapter. We can’t wait to see the exciting content he has in store. Keep an eye out for more updates and videos from our friend Iraqveteran8888 soon!
- FACEBOOK: iraqveteran8888
- INSTAGRAM: @iraqveteran8888_offical
- TWITTER: @iraqveteran8888
I got divorced at 25 years old and never remarried or even lived with another women . Had girlfriends but never let any of them move in . I hunt and fish at will and never have to listen to any bitching . I am 62 now and life is great and I pittty my friends who have thier old ladies bitching at them all the time . LOL
Your comment brings something to mind of when I was a child. My mother literally nagged my dad to death and nagged at me and I was not born a girl which she wanted and I was never as good as any of the other children that we knew and i was an accident. Her nagging was the beginning of my for hatred for her because if I did something wrong, I would get spanked at school, spanked with a wooden spoon by her when I got home and then she would nag dad to the point that he would… Read more »
I liked the older ones with Barry (may he rest in peace). The two of them were a good pair.
A bad divorce? Guys, stay single. Your life will be so much more rewarding and fulfilling than being married. When you are single, you can ride motorcycles and dirt bikes, ride snowmobiles, go hunting, go fishing, go out target shooting and plinking, run a trap line, pan for gold and have a cabin up in the mountains. If you want to hear horror stories about being married, just talk to some of your divorced buddies and they will tell you stories about the ex wife and scare the hell out of you! About the time, they were in bed sleeping,… Read more »
Gee, I thought it was bad when my wife broke her ICESCRAPER on my head or when she met my face with her fist and gave me an abcess where the dentist had to CUT it out with a knife, or when she decided to move out for about 3 years while our two daughters lived with me. Thank God she mellowed out and came back.
You didn’t change the locks? Or better yet, move three states away? File for abandonment? The last thing you should want is for your daughters to inherit crazy.
Now that your ex is back, do you sleep with one eye open at night?
Silver Creek wrote: When you are single, you can ride motorcycles and dirt bikes, ride snowmobiles, go hunting, go fishing, go out target shooting and plinking, run a trap line, pan for gold and have a cabin up in the mountains. Man, count my blessings. We rode Harleys Ultra, Quads and horses while camping and doing the Rubicon, went snowmobiling almost every weekend when we had snow and even spent the night in the camper in the snow a few times, rented a cabin where we stayed with the snowmobiles overnight and did Yellowstone on snowmobiles, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming… Read more »
awaiting and there is no valid reason why. Maybe it’s because I said God.
Nope, that’s not it.
Actually, I’ve considered that the “awaiting moderation” might just be a result of random selection. At first I though they wanted to check the safety of included links, but then I had messages delayed which contained no links.
I’m pretty sure they either don’t have the time to check every message, or they do and it would take too much time away from other things.
Maybe it’s just luck of the draw.
A lot of it has to do with posting too fast in one thread, seems to me.
I do know that there are ‘certain ones’ of us who are awaiting due to our handles. We be bad boys and girls, sometimes.
cut and paste will get you too. I have noticed that when I use the word Aland that it gets held out for review.
I am glad to hear he’s gotten through the dark times. “I been to the edge, an’ there I stood an’ looked down. You know I lost a lot of friends there baby, I got no time to mess around.” I’ve been to his channel a few times. Keep working the positive! I wish him well.
I watched a couple of his video’s. He came across as a gun company rep, not a reviewer.
When I last looked at Leviathan’s website, he’s still listed as one of their “tribe”. Leviathan’s a PR/Agent for gun tubers.