Bald and Bankrupt

The defining characteristic of Rich's channel is his interest in the post-Soviet states.{{cite web|url=https://www.kp.md/daily/26966/4022064/|title=The British journalist is wildly delighted with Moldova|date=15 April 2019|work=TATIANA VLADIMIR|access-date=2020-01-24|archive-date=24 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124234331/https://www.kp.md/daily/26966/4022064/|url-status=live}} However, he first started vlogging from India after filing for bankruptcy in the UK due to a failed business venture, which (alongside his shaved head) inspired the name of his channel.{{cite web | last1=Rayamajhee | first1=Veeshan | last2=Professor | first2=Assistant | title=Spotlight on Economics: Economics lessons from Bald and Bankrupt | website=Jamestown Sun | date=23 April 2020 | url=https://www.jamestownsun.com/business/agriculture/6272676-Spotlight-on-Economics-Economics-lessons-from-Bald-and-Bankrupt | access-date=2020-08-16 | archive-date=25 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825020423/https://www.jamestownsun.com/business/agriculture/6272676-Spotlight-on-Economics-Economics-lessons-from-Bald-and-Bankrupt | url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=McEnchroe |first1=Tom |title="Prague is the most liveable city"–YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt on his new home and Soviet fascination |url=https://english.radio.cz/prague-most-liveable-city-youtuber-bald-and-bankrupt-his-new-home-and-soviet-8691809 |access-date=17 August 2021 |date=9 December 2020}} Ever since he ventured into Eastern Europe, the attention to his videos has increased.

Rich's video about a trip to Patamanta in Bolivia was reported by Gizmodo Español as "more scary than entering Chernobyl".{{Cite web|url=https://es.gizmodo.com/cuando-una-excursion-a-la-montana-en-bolivia-da-mas-mie-1839249102|title=Cuando una excursión a la montaña en Bolivia da más miedo que adentrarse en Chernóbil|website=Gizmodo en Español|date=22 October 2019 |language=es-es|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=28 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228235015/https://es.gizmodo.com/cuando-una-excursion-a-la-montana-en-bolivia-da-mas-mie-1839249102|url-status=live}} In the video, he informed a local woman that he was a tourist, prompting her to warn him that "they burn people" in the area. Two men later approached Rich, inspected his passport, and gave him 30 minutes to explore and leave the area.{{cite web | title='DangerTubers' Are the World's New Amateur Explorers | website=VICE | date=14 May 2020 | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/extreme-travel-youtuber-bald-bankrupt-indigo-traveller/ | access-date=2020-08-16 | archive-date=13 September 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913032343/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/qj44b5/extreme-travel-youtuber-bald-bankrupt-indigo-traveller | url-status=live }}

Following a November 2019 video filmed on a train to Chechnya, Rich was forced to apologise on camera by Chechen authorities for referring to a Chechen woman as a "chick", which the Chechen authorities claimed was disparaging.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/49042/|title=Chechnya: practice of public apologies spread to foreign tourists|website=Caucasian Knot|access-date=24 June 2020|archive-date=26 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626115804/https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/49042/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.kavkazr.com/a/30259771.html|title=Английский блогер извинился за то, что назвал чеченок "цыпочками"|website=RFE/RL|date=8 November 2019 |language=ru|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=29 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229042059/https://www.kavkazr.com/a/30259771.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurasiatimes.org/en/08/01/2020/chechnya-markets-warfare-tourism/|title=Chechnya markets warfare tourism|last=EurasiaTimes|date=8 January 2020|website=EurasiaTimes|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-24|archive-date=24 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124224127/https://www.eurasiatimes.org/en/08/01/2020/chechnya-markets-warfare-tourism/|url-status=live}}

In May 2020, after exploring no-lockdown areas during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, Rich disappeared for two months.{{cite web | title=YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt shares his 'COVID-19 nightmare' after exploring no-lockdown areas | website=The Daily Dot | date=11 July 2020 | url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/youtube-bald-and-bankrupt-covid-19/ | first=Eilish | last=O'Sullivan | access-date=2020-08-16 | archive-date=12 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812013140/https://www.dailydot.com/irl/youtube-bald-and-bankrupt-covid-19/ | url-status=live }} He later revealed that he had caught COVID-19, and that he could not walk to the bathroom or breathe by the time he sought medical attention. He learned that he had low blood oxygen and was suffering from multiple organ failure before spending a week in an intensive care unit. After uploading a video about his illness, treatment, and recovery, he urged fans not to make the same mistakes and to take the virus seriously.

On 7 May 2022, Rich was detained at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for unsanctioned entry to a guarded site, an administrative offence that was punished with a fine of up to 5,000 roubles.{{cite web |title=На Байконуре задержали гражданина Великобритании и гражданку Белоруссии |url=https://iz.ru/1331640/2022-05-07/na-baikonure-zaderzhali-grazhdanina-velikobritanii-i-grazhdanku-belorussii|website=Izvestia |access-date=8 May 2022 |language=ru |date=7 May 2022}}{{cite web|title=British YouTube star "Bald and Bankrupt" arrested in Kazakhstan| date=7 May 2022 |url=https://bnonews.com/index.php/2022/05/british-youtube-star-bald-and-bankrupt-arrested-in-kazakhstan/|publisher=BNO News|accessdate=7 May 2022}}{{Cite web |date=7 May 2022 |title=На Байконуре задержали известного блогера, ведущего канал Bald and bankrupt, и гражданку Беларуси |url=https://news.zerkalo.io/world/13915.html |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=ZERKALO.IO |language=ru}}{{cite web |title=Рогозин заявил о задержании на Байконуре британского блогера |url=https://meduza.io/news/2022/05/07/rogozin-zayavil-o-zaderzhanii-na-baykonure-britanskogo-blogera |website=Meduza |access-date=7 May 2022 |language=ru |date=7 May 2022}} Rich denied the reports and stated he was fined by Russian police after being questioned for a few hours for going to see the Buran spaceplane without permission.{{cite web |title=Benjamin Rich: British YouTuber denies reports of being arrested in Kazakhstan |url=https://www.dw.com/en/benjamin-rich-british-youtuber-denies-reports-of-being-arrested-in-kazakhstan/a-61720595 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=8 May 2022 |date=8 May 2022}}

On 1 September 2022, Rich posted a vlog to his Bald and Bankrupt YouTube channel announcing he had been arrested and subsequently ordered to leave Russia; he announced that it would be his final video covering travels through Russia, as he had been banned from returning.{{cite web |last1=Rich |first1=Ben |title=The Journey Is Over |website=YouTube |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyB1l-89KEk&t=1261s |access-date=1 September 2022}} Months later Rich confirmed on Instagram that his ban had been lifted.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} He previously called Vladimir Putin "crazy" and posted a link to fundraise for Ukraine.{{cite news |title=Why was Bald and Bankrupt 'kicked out of Russia'? |url=https://www.indy100.com/viral/bald-and-bankrupt-benjamin-rich |work=Indy100 |date=21 September 2022}}

Rich's content has attracted coverage in various national media, particularly publications in the towns and regions he visits. New Delhi publication The New Learn reported on Rich's travels in India in January 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://thenewleam.com/2019/01/meet-mr-bald-and-bankrupt-when-an-outsider-sees-more-than-an-insider/|title=Meet Mr. Bald and Bankrupt: when an 'Outsider' Sees More Than an Insider {{!}}|last=Says|first=Piki|date=19 January 2019|website=The New Leam|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=28 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228202153/https://thenewleam.com/2019/01/meet-mr-bald-and-bankrupt-when-an-outsider-sees-more-than-an-insider/|url-status=live}} They praised his visits to refugee camps for Hindus in North Delhi stranded after the crisis in Pakistan, describing his videos as "introducing the world to an India that is real and authentic, where people still open up their lunch boxes to strangers, where tea is the beginning of lifelong associations, where trust means more than money and where there is vibrancy everywhere".

In March 2019, Hindustan Times reported on how he exposed scams against tourists in Delhi Airport, from inflated prices to rickshaw drivers and false claims.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/travel/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-free-elephant-and-other-tourist-scams-being-busted-on-youtube/story-XJMbqg0z09LC7L8fkGv2gO.html|title=There's no such thing as a free elephant, and other tourist scams being busted on YouTube|date=16 March 2019|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=18 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818025032/https://www.hindustantimes.com/travel/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-free-elephant-and-other-tourist-scams-being-busted-on-youtube/story-XJMbqg0z09LC7L8fkGv2gO.html|url-status=live}} In June 2019, Rich was discussed in the Slovak press for his visit to Luník IX, which he described as "Europe's largest poor Roma neighbourhood".{{Cite web|url=https://style.hnonline.sk/cestovanie/1978319-toto-je-slovensko-pozrite-sa-ako-znamy-britsky-youtuber-predstavil-svetu-kosicky-lunik-ix|title="Toto je Slovensko?" Pozrite sa, ako známy britský youtuber predstavil svetu košický Luník IX|website=style.hnonline.sk|date=22 July 2019 |language=sk|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=28 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228235016/https://style.hnonline.sk/cestovanie/1978319-toto-je-slovensko-pozrite-sa-ako-znamy-britsky-youtuber-predstavil-svetu-kosicky-lunik-ix|url-status=live}} The article described how, despite warnings about the estate being among the most dangerous in Europe, he was welcomed by local people who spoke fluent English and invited him to their homes, which he described as "better than [his] apartment in Britain".

Afisha Daily journalist Lyubava Zaitseva wrote about Rich's choice of Russian destinations in September 2019, stating that even its Russian readers had "not seen such Russia"{{Cite web|url=https://daily.afisha.ru/infoporn/12913-britanec-snimaet-svoe-puteshestvie-po-vsemu-sng-takoy-rossii-vy-esche-ne-videli/|title=Британец снимает свое путешествие по всему СНГ. Такой России вы еще не видели|website=Афиша|access-date=2019-12-28|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412234704/https://daily.afisha.ru/infoporn/12913-britanec-snimaet-svoe-puteshestvie-po-vsemu-sng-takoy-rossii-vy-esche-ne-videli/|url-status=live}} and praising him for "trying to distance himself from tourist places" and showing cities "from the inside, communicating with local residents".

• {{Cite book |last=Chichester |first=Arthur |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1107791946 |title=The Burning Edge : Travels Through Irradiated Belarus |date=2018 |publisher=Independently Published |isbn=978-1-9807-8751-8|oclc=1107791946}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB2GbNXOsy3VBksSD58NvhQ Bald's second channel]

Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:English YouTubers

Category:English travel writers

Category:YouTube travel vloggers

Category:Russophilia

Category:21st-century British people

Category:20th-century English people