10 years, 4 million YouTube followers – meet the internet's favourite mad scientist

Colin Furze has come a long way from his first videos, posted 10 years ago on his YouTube channel. That same channel now has over 3.9 million followers, making Furze one of the internet's favorite inventors/adrenaline junkies/mad scientists.

Furze lives in a house with a big backyard in Stamford, Linconshire, which is basically where he builds most of his inventions. I went down there to meet with Furze and speak with him about his online longevity, and, hopefully, try out some of his creations. 

Furze welcomed me in through the backyard, where his homemade hoverbike and jet-powered go-kart lay. He then set off to go change into his trademark checkered shirt and tie outfit. Kind of like a thinner, sprightlier and British version of Jack Black in School of Rock.

Speaking inside his shed and then moving on into his bunker, dug underneath his backyard, Furze and I discussed has path to YouTube stardom, which he mostly shrugged jokingly. 

"I never went to university, I used to be a plumber – a very good job, but it's not really that useful when you're trying to make jet bikes or bunkers. It did come in handy when I built the world's fastest toilet." Now, he said, he's just happy that he can "fly the flag for plumbers." 

But, ten years later, Furze's videos are more than just about wacky, at times dangerous, inventions. Some are straight out of the science fiction world and are mind-blowing in their simplicity and effectiveness. 

Take his magnetic shoes, inspired by Magneto from X-Men, that allowed him to walk on a ceiling. Or his toaster knife, which toasts bread as it slices it and comes right out of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

But it's his latest project that is also his most colossal – and somewhat topical in light of the upcoming 'Rogue One' premiere– Furze built a gigantic Star Wars AT-AT garden den. 

And in that video I noticed something has changed in Furze's video repertoire – a cameo by his sons, eagerly climbing up to defend the AT-AT from impeding alien intruders. 

Can we expect an entire family of Furze inventors? We'll just have to wait and see.