BosnianBill

The Legend of Lock Picking: Who is BosnianBill?

Bosnianbill is no doubt one of the most popular lock pickers to date, second only to the LockPickingLawyer. His YouTube channel is full of tips and tricks related to lock picks, and most of the time he has been seen playing around with different locks and lock picking tools. But, one suspicious thing is that no one knows what he looks like as he hasn’t revealed his face in any of the videos.

Let’s find out more about Bosnian Bill, his life, and his best picks.

Note: We have tried our best to collect every piece of information available about him. But, unfortunately, there’s very little knowledge available online.

BosnianBill retired from YouTube in September 2021 so he can spend more time with his family.

BosnianBill Retirement – Loss of a Lock Picking Legend

It is true BosnianBill has retired. As announced in this video from the LockPickingLaywer, he has retired from YouTube so that he will have more time to spend with his family.

This truly is a big loss to the LockPicking community and we hope that this is not the last we see of BosnianBill. He truly is a powerful figure among lock pickers and has guided and helped many new and upcoming lockpickers into the world of lockpicking.

Bosnian Bill Thank you for all you have contributed to the Lockpicking community Bill you will be missed and not forgotten.

LockJudge.com

BosnianBill’s Bio

bosnianbill bio

Bosnian Bill is a well-known YouTube Educator covering lock picking and has attracted over 550 thousand subscribers on the platform. He started in 2007 in the United States. He is commonly known as Bill Johnson.

If you’re curious to know how old Bosnianbill is? Well, he’s 56 years old.

As per Justia, the word “BosnianBill” portrays a living individual whose consent is off the record. Besides being a lock picker, he’s a retired Army man who served there for almost 28 years.

What Is BosnianBill’s Real Name? 

BonsinaBill’s real name is Bill Johnson, as referenced in his registration for his trademark on the name BosnianBill through Justia.

Where Is Bosnianbill From?  

According to Nypost, currently, he hails from Fairfax County, Virginia. This makes sense as he does live nearby to the LockPickingLawyer they have collaborated in videos before. You can find him there as well unless and until he shifts to another state in the US.

Note: Due to very little information on the internet, we couldn’t find his actual location and other personal details.

How Did BosnianBill Get Started in LockSport?

Answering questions at Pickpals, he said, “The Army taught me to pick locks as a part of my EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) training many years ago.” After retiring, he was out when his bike was stolen. It was around that time when he started lockpicking full-time along with teaching other people via his YouTube channel.

He made his first video in 2007 while holed up in a hotel room. His channel now went viral, accumulating more than a half-million audience (subscribers), and a total of 156 Million views. 

In his interview with NYpost, he said, “I never would’ve dreamed that many people would subscribe. I still don’t believe it.”

However, showing users how to pick locks could actually be aiding criminals, he admitted; actually, he claimed that most thieves don’t have the patience or are always in a hurry, so they can’t pick locks under stress.


Contacting BosnianBill

there are not many ways to get in contact with BosnianBill. He has kept himself quite well locked down so that the hoards of the internet don’t bother him. We can appreciate that but at the same time, it is good to have a way of getting in contact, especially if you have an interesting lock to send him.

Email: BosnianBill1@gmail.com

Post: If you want to send a lock to Bill then you will need to send him an email first, he gets a lot of locks and doesn’t want people to send him ones he has already done a video on.

Lastly, you could try and contact him via one of his social media accounts although this is probably the least likely to make it through to him. There has been advice from Reddit that commenting on the most recent of his videos can get his attention. But as he has now retired this is no longer an option.


BosnianBill’s YouTube Channel 

locklab bosnianbill video

BosnianBill’s YouTube Channel has gained over 550,000 subscribers, 1.5 Billion views, and over 1900 videos. Unfortunately, Bill has retired so this channel is unlikely to get any more videos.

His YouTube channel is about picking locks using lockpicking tools and also local utensils like plastic zip ties, bamboo sticks, and even cat food cans to open the locks from gym lockers to storage sheds across the US. It is entertaining to see some of the implements he uses to defeat locks but it’s also educational to lockpickers and consumers alike.

Since he started a decade ago, now Bill Johnson has been globally known as a well-mastered lock picker & opener. His series against Master Lock has gained him more popularity, where he shared ways to open the company’s padlocks with having a key.

When Did He Start making videos? 

His first video went live on 17 Feb 2007, it was one that he made in a hotel in Ecuador. The real inspiration that allowed him to pursue his career in this field was after his bike was stolen. Since then, he has amassed a massive audience of more than 548,000 subscribers and 1.5 B+ video views.


BosnianBill On Social Media 

Bosnian Bill is not so active on his social networks, yet he uses these accounts to link with his audience. Mostly we’ve seen him on his YouTube channel playing around with multiple tools to open multiple locks. His major accounts include:

BosnianBill’s bio is missing on almost all of his profiles.


BosnianBill Net Worth 

The YouTuber has always been secretive about his wealth and profit. Although, many rumors believe that he still earns more than $250 thousand per year. But that’s just the probation. A fair calculation done by networthspot shows that he earns almost $22.24 thousand/year. Recently, due to some issues, he hasn’t uploaded videos since last month, and his earnings across views have slightly decreased.

As for his Youtube account income. From last year’s statistics, he earned as much as $2,130 and as low as $191 per month. Last month he only made $537, although he left making videos for a while.

His total YouTube net worth circulates $58.8k – $ 353k. While, as per YouTube.me, it’s $ 190k approximately.


BosnianBill Website LockLab.com

Bosnianbills website is LockLab.com, through which he teaches thousands of students about new as well as traditional lock pickers, how to open any lock, which locks are strong for security purposes, and much more. He also has a giveaway series where he gives beginner kits to his followers. 

BosnianBills website Locklab.com is one of the best resources for Lock Picking know how avaialbe on the internet.

LockJudge.com

Recently, many Redditors claimed that his site had been down for some particular reasons. And his video series has stopped for the last 3-4 weeks.

About His Mission

The information found on his patron account states I’ll use your LockLab contribution to educate new lock pickers, introduce them to our sport, and offset the cost of reviewing new lock pick sets, equipment, and tools.”

After each review video, I’ll give away the item and post the winners on the Bosnianbill LockLab website: https://lock-lab.com/resources/you-won/. 

“In addition, I’ll give away three beginner kits every week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and post the winners as well.  Your contribution helps offset the kits and the delivery of the tools to the winners. A true win-win for everyone interested in locksport.”

All this goes to show his dedication to the Locksport and the lockpicking community and how he is actively trying to grow awareness about it and get more people involved.

LockLab Lockpicking Course by BosnianBill

locklab university

Besides his YouTube channel, he does offer a complete course that’s actually paid and costs $12.99-14.99 per module. In total, there are 27.

It’s a complete course that progresses from a basic introduction to locksport & lock picking to constructing different locks, unorthodox ways to quickly defeat any lock, along with his best picks. It also tells you about some necessary tools you have in your tool kit. To find the course, visit the Lockpickshop site.


What Locks Does BosnianBill Recommend?

He has always recommended locks that can’t be easily opened or proven successful in terms of a high-security barrier. Some of the Bosnian bill’s lock picks are:

  1. Bowley lock
  2. Mul-T-Lock MT-5+ (Paid Link)
  3. Mul-T-Lock pin-in pin lock (Paid Link)

What Tools Does The Bosnianbill Use? 

As we mentioned earlier, the site is currently dead, so we couldn’t find the exact tools he uses. In response to a question by Matthew S., Jameco Electronics replied that Bill uses a Panavice 301 Vise and 312 base mount. In a few of his videos, he has also used PanaVice 350 for clamping up the locks. And it’s one of the best on the market.

To bolt on heads to your vice, you can separately purchase them. Other commonly used tools are a scope, a hook, the rake, a key extractor, a tension wrench, and lock pick guns.

If you want to see some more tools we have a full list of tools used by the LockPickingLawyer.

Answers to Questions About Bosnian Bill

  • Is BosnianBill from Bosnia?
    Well Unfortunately we don’t know but we are hunting down the answer to this question that literally no one is asking. 😉
  • What is the Naughty Bucket?
    BosnianBill’s naughty bucket is a bucket full of locks that Bill has not yet been able to pick. Even the best pickers still have a bunch that stops them in their tracks.
  • Recent news about Bosnianbill?
    In this recent video, no. 60 by The Lock Sportscast says the same thing. Moreover, he says “While reading a few Reddit posts about him, he found that one of Bill’s fans commented that he sent him an email asking where he’s? And he replied that he was looking after his friend’s children.

Summary

We hope the article clears all of your concerns regarding the BosnianBill and provides you with sufficient information. If you notice anything we have missed, or you want to tell us. Then feel free to share with us by commenting.

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[…] had enough knowledge for it to become anything serious until he came across the YouTube account of BosnianBill, a fellow YouTube lockpicker that has now retired. After finding Bosnian Bill’s account he began […]

[…] that can show you the basics. One of the first channels to really take off was Lock-Lab, hosted by Bosnian Bill who retired suddenly in […]