Apetor

Tor Eckhoff (22 November 1964 – 27 November 2021), also known as Apetor, was a Norwegian YouTuber known primarily for his videos where he drank vodka while performing daring activities on frozen waters, like ice skating, swimming in ice holes and diving.

He died in 2021 after he fell through the ice of a lake west of Kongsberg, Norway, while recording a video.

At the time of his death, he worked at a paint factory in Sandefjord run by the chemicals company Jotun.

Tor Rathje Eckhoff was born in Kristiansund, Norway, on 22 November 1964 to professor Johan Arent Rathje Eckhoff and secretary Kari Elisabeth Anderssen.

He was the second of three brothers, Jan and Ulf.

He moved to Sandefjord at the age of 6.

He was fond of the Volvo 240 and 142 series of cars, owning a 1968 model of the latter.

Despite the frequent appearance of winter swimming in his videos, he rarely did it in his spare time, nor did he drink alcohol often outside of his videos.

Eckhoff studied history, philosophy, and nordic literature at the University of Bergen, graduating in 1993 with a cand.mag. On 17 December 1993, he had a child with his partner, Tove Skjerven, whom he met while studying in Bergen.

His mother died in 1994, and his father in 2008; his brother Ulf died of cancer in October 2021.

Eckhoff and Skjerven moved to Sandefjord after living in Bergen for some years.

They first lived in a cabin before moving into a house in the city.

After a while, Eckhoff grew tired and irritable from his traditional life and moved out into a cabin again.

They lived separately after this, but still retained a relationship.

Eckhoff worked at a paint factory in Sandefjord, which was run by the chemicals company Jotun.

One of his pictures at Yxney in Sandefjord was included in the 1994 photo-book Uniquely Norway (Jeg så, jeg så Norge).

His YouTube career lasted from 2006 until his death in 2021, though his channel first started gaining popularity in 2011.

His videos, in which he remained mostly silent, were popular worldwide, especially in Poland.

The ones he recorded during the winter were his most well-known, though also being controversial in nature due to their perceived danger—drinking alcohol before swimming near-naked in below-freezing temperatures—but some also characterised them as artistic for their presentation and content.

Despite his success, he did not make a living out of his videos, creating them primarily for his own enjoyment.

Eckhoff joined YouTube on 10 October 2006 and posted his first video a day later.

This happened the same year he moved out into his cabin to escape family life.

The moniker he used online, Apetor, consisting of the word ape and his given name Tor, stemmed from his aforementioned interest in the close relationship between humans and apes.

He used his channel to document his trips, sharing footage of wildlife and scenic views, both domestically and abroad.

This would remain his long-term place of employment from 2008 until his death in 2021.

Eckhoff had an interest in evolutionary biology, being fascinated with the close genetic relationship between humans and apes.

He had an affinity for the outdoors, often going camping during the Summer, along with mountain climbing, especially around Jotunheimen.

He enjoyed running and outdoor bathing, and had an interest in photography; his partner estimated that he took tens of thousands of pictures.

At first, his videos were filmed with a compact camera, before upgrading to a higher quality video camera in 2009, when he also started editing his videos in an effort to get more views.

In June 2013, Eckhoff reported that he had been robbed of his recording and camping equipment after he left them at a quay to moor his boat.

He suspected two men piloting a large motorboat of the theft, noting that their boat had run full throttle into the port when he was gone.

He reported the incident to the police, though he did not notice the brand of the boat.

A few days later, he wrote on Facebook that his belongings had been returned, and that they had been taken unintentionally by someone from Kongsberg.

In his 20s, Eckhoff was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, but chose not to get operated because he believed the result would be too restrictive for his lifestyle.

He kept the disease secret from his friends.

In March 2018, Eckhoff told his family that he had been diagnosed with cancer; he underwent surgery later in June.

In November, Eckhoff uploaded a video to YouTube divulging his diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

He clarified in the video that it was not due to lifestyle choices, but from chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

After the surgery, he had to use a colostomy bag.

He was focused on enjoying the small things in life through his videos, a feeling reinforced by his survival from cancer.