The black hair dye was supposed to be permanent, but Josh Saunders didn't seem particularly bothered when it started washing out in blotchy streaks across his face and neck.
In his famous 2013 YouTube video, the self-proclaimed "gothic bad boy" cheerfully narrated his disastrous attempt at home hair coloring, even as the dye stained his skin an alarming shade of blue.
"I look like shit," he laughed, examining himself in the mirror. "But you know what? It could be worse.”
That resilient humor in the face of chaos would become the hallmark of Joshua Fay Saunders, better known to his global audience as KingCobraJFS.
For more than a decade, Josh shared his unfiltered life with the world through his YouTube channel, building a devoted fan base drawn to his radical authenticity. Much of that was spent eating and drinking on camera, sometimes wearing a shirt, other times not.
He died of a heart attack Aug. 21 at age 34, and the world he created online is struggling to make sense of it all.
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times. 
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times. 
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times.
Web Sensation
Josh's online presence was larger than many realized.
Though his channel has more than 125,000 YouTube subscribers, his father Clint Saunders said a documentary filmmaker told him Josh's reach extended into the millions daily.
Josh "shared his world unapologetically every day on YouTube," said Clint, adding he was unafraid of looking pathetic sometimes in the process.
In his posts he talked about magic, music and strange drink combinations like "Cobra's Mist" — mixing Mountain Dew and Blue Moon beer. Then there was "Cobra's Blood," mixing red wine and Monster Energy.
His unique charisma and welcoming sense of humor drew in fans who felt like they were hanging out with their eccentric friend.
When critics and trolls pointed out Josh's flaws, he didn't budge, unwilling to let the bullies change his schtick, which made them troll Josh more.
In a Facebook tribute to his son, Clint said, "I've never met another person with the bravery to be so vulnerable, and I probably never will."
Perhaps to his fans, Josh's unwavering online presence and ability to laugh at himself was the appeal.
"People share his stuff so much, and there's a huge TikTok following that wasn't even him," Clint explained in an interview from Ireland, where he was teaching a study abroad course. "That was fans. Somebody set that up. They take his stuff and make TikToks."
But Josh's internet fame came with a high cost, one that reminded him of the tough time he had in elementary school.
From childhood, he had been what Clint called "a magnet" for bullying, but online, the harassment reached extreme levels.
"There was an entire subreddit page dedicated to harassing him," Clint said. "When they finally took it down, there were 44,000 followers on that page. Can you imagine 44,000 people dedicated to harassing you every single day?"
The harassment wasn't limited to cruel comments.
Clint said trolls got Josh fired from a job at Wendy’s, evicted from apartments, and banned from local businesses by flooding them with fake complaints.
They would "swat" him during live streams, calling 911 with false emergency reports that brought police to his door.
"The cops got to the point where they would go to his livestream first to see what was really going on," Clint recalled. "They would call me and say, 'Josh is doing a recording. Are you aware of this?'”
Authentic Voice
What emerges from the 2023 documentary "Empire of Dirt" is a portrait of someone who refused to compromise his vision, even when it cost him.
The documentary filmmaker, who goes by the online handle YourFavoriteSon, spent a week with Josh in Casper, documenting his daily life.
The film crew followed Josh to a local karaoke bar, where he sang the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” — by way of Johnny Cash’s cover of the tune.
The song goes:
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
"This was oddly fitting for Josh," the filmmaker noted, "and hearing him sing this specific song made me have a bit of a new perspective.
“It almost seems like he doesn't even like doing YouTube anymore,” added YourFavoriteSon. “It seems like a chore for him — something he only does when he runs out of alcohol or food — he forces himself to go live or make a video.”
The filmmaker also asked about how Josh lives with Asperger's syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that is part of the autism spectrum disorder.
It is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors or interests.
"It does affect me, and I learn to cope with it,” Josh told the filmmaker. “Recognizing my triggers and my signs, you know, so it's just sort of an ongoing thing. Yes, it's every day, dude."
The documentary revealed Josh's genuine care for others despite his own struggles.
At the karaoke bar, he consistently encouraged other singers and was "really into the fact that people could sing together and enjoy music as a community."
When the cameraman missed a pool shot, Josh said, "Dude, that's so f***ed up that that happened to you."
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times. 
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times. 
He invented a religion, was relentlessly bullied and died too young at 34 last month. To know Josh Saunders — YouTube’s viral gothic KingCobra — is to scroll through a troubled existence documented in video after video viewed more than 20 million times.
Music & Magic
It was the hair dye video that first drew Alex Ford to the “Cobraverse” on YouTube.
Ford is the founder of Deathbed Tapes, an indie record label that offered Josh a way to distribute the music he often played and improvised on YouTube.
“Josh and I grew together,” said Ford. “I released 10 KingCobra albums over the last six years.”
“Josh really put it all out there, probably too much at times,” said Ford.
He once flashed his genitals on camera, which led to a YouTube ban for explicit content. He also cosplayed as a troll character to infiltrate and harass online trolling groups after his original account was banned.
“He was naturally funny, kindhearted and charismatic so it’s easy to see how he grew such a cult following. There are dozens of online communities built around Josh’s videos, and I’ve met some amazing people through them,” added Ford.
Josh’s music producer also acknowledged the harassment, which came in waves alongside fan letters and “care packages.”
“I was just lucky to be along for the ride,” said Ford. “He would play a beat from YouTube and record it through his iMac’s built-in microphone on GarageBand and then record layers of guitars and harmonized vocals over it. 100% outsider music.”
If he didn’t have a guitar in his hand, Josh often held a wand.
"He really sincerely believed that he had magic powers," Clint said. "He would make a wand for himself and use it to control stoplights, to control the weather. And he really, truly believed he could."
Josh’s CobraCraftWands store on Etsy generated 476 sales over seven years and earned Josh a five-star rating.
One happy customer wrote, “I could feel its aura as soon as the UPS guy dropped it on my porch. Now I can blast my stereo while I’m blasting spells! Totally hyped for this. Cobes exceeded expectations. Praise his magic. This wand is definitely loaded.”
Sometimes Josh used sticks he found while roaming around Casper to make the wands. He’d then sometimes sell them for hundreds of dollars. As his online following grew, word spread.
"Even the cops knew that he could control stoplights," Clint laughed. "He would go outside, do some magic to the sky, and nothing would happen. I'd be like, 'You just wait.' And like, two weeks later, there'd be a thunderstorm. Josh said, 'I conjured that.'"
The Final Day
On the morning Josh died, Clint had driven to his son's trailer to take him to a counseling appointment.
"I went in, and he wasn't answering," Clint said. "I saw him, and I thought, 'Oh shit, he's definitely sick. We're going to be going to the doctor.' I was trying to get him up, and he wasn't going to get up."
The autopsy revealed heart failure as the cause of death.
"As everybody knows, Josh had a drinking problem because he was very public about it," Clint said. "Most people, including myself, assumed that it was probably related to alcohol. But the coroner said it was a heart attack."
Josh's stepmother, Tanis Lovercheck-Saunders, told Cowboy State Daily, "I am torn about what to say. I met Josh and his dad, Clint, when Josh was only 4 years old.
"Even then, Josh was funny, kind and quirky. He loved animals, music and elderly people and could talk up a storm.”
Lovercheck-Saunders turned away from Josh's online life because it was hard for her to watch the outrageous cyberbullying.
"Something I will always regret is allowing the negative side of Josh's online profile to blind me to the positive impact he had on so many people," said Lovercheck-Saunders. "We've been awed by the outpouring of grief from Josh fans around the world. I don't know if Josh felt that love in life; I hope he feels it now."
Cobra Religion
Among Josh's most endearing eccentricities was creating his own religion, complete with mythology.
"That was the Cobraverse," Clint explained. "He created his own religion where Cobra had a wife, and they gave their son these powers to control the weather and sent him to earth. That was Josh, of course. He was given the name King Cobra."
Rather than a traditional funeral, Josh's family and friends are honoring his online legacy with a YouTube livestream at 7 p.m. Sept. 21.
The celebration is timed to coincide with the fall equinox.
"I decided the best way to honor Josh would be the way Josh would want to do it," Clint said. "It should be a YouTube live video."
The memorial will feature a slideshow of Josh's life, narrated by his father — a glimpse into the private world Josh largely kept separate from his online persona to protect his family from harassment.
Perhaps Josh's own words, captured in that infamous hair dye video, best sum up his approach to his short, complicated journey: "It could be worse, you know? You spend your entire life bitching because shit didn't go perfectly well. Don't sweat it, you know what I'm saying?"
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
