Ben Phillips (YouTuber)
{{Short description|Welsh YouTuber (born 1992/1993)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox YouTube personality
| image = Ben Phillips (YouTuber) in 2018 (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Phillips in 2018
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|22|2015|03|07}}
| birth_place =
| education =
| occupation = YouTuber
| children = 1
| channel_handle = benphillipsuk
| years_active = 2014–present
| genre = Pranks
| subscribers = 4.5 million
| views = 1.2 billion
| stats_update = August 2023
| associated_acts =
| silver_button = yes
| silver_year = 2015
| gold_button = yes
| gold_year = 2016
}}
Ben Phillips (born {{birth based on age as of date|22|2015|03|07|noage=1}}) is a Welsh YouTuber. He began uploading videos on Vine in 2013, gaining an online following with a series of clips featuring his son Harley. After leaving the platform in 2015, he has uploaded videos on Facebook and YouTube, primarily about pranks involving his friend Elliot Giles. Phillips went on a theatrical tour in 2016 and was given a prank-show pilot on Comedy Central in 2017. He also uploads videos to TikTok.{{Cite web|first=Jackie|last=Long|title='I only put on the internet what I want on the internet' – social media star star Ben Phillips|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/i-only-put-on-the-internet-what-i-want-on-the-internet-social-media-star-star-ben-phillips|date=20 July 2020|website=Channel 4|access-date=30 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730074057/https://www.channel4.com/news/i-only-put-on-the-internet-what-i-want-on-the-internet-social-media-star-star-ben-phillips|archive-date=30 July 2023|url-status=live}}
Early and personal life
Before becoming a Viner, Phillips worked in his mother's shoe shop in Bridgend, Wales.
Career
Phillips set up his Vine account in August 2013 and initially uploaded videos of his three-year-old son Harley. He began a "Dr Harley" series in which his son gave out spoof medical advice.{{cite news|first=Kate|last=Palmer|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/11049015/Britains-social-media-stars-making-2000-a-second.html|title=Britain's social media stars making £2,000 a second|work=The Telegraph|date=1 September 2014|access-date=12 June 2023|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605154236/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/11049015/Britains-social-media-stars-making-2000-a-second.html|url-status=live}} In February 2014, they were one of the top 5 viners in the United Kingdom with half a million followers. They were signed by social media agency GrapeStory which was co-founded by Jérôme Jarre. After he and his son's mother broke up, he began to make vines on his own and also upload videos to Facebook. The last vine he did with his son was a Ford Europe advert which he was paid £12,000 to make.{{cite web |first=Patrick |last=Smith |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/ben-phillips-vine |title=Meet The 22-Year-Old Making £2,000 Per Second On Vine |publisher=BuzzFeed News |date=2015-03-06 |accessdate=2023-06-05 |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605142900/https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/ben-phillips-vine |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Elena |last=Cresci |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/10/vine-star-ben-phillips-who-makes-12000-a-clip-says-account-was-hacked |title=Vine star who makes up to £12,000 a clip says account was hacked |work=The Guardian |date=2015-03-10 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072923/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/10/vine-star-ben-phillips-who-makes-12000-a-clip-says-account-was-hacked |url-status=live }}
Phillips' team consisted of his friends and family who would give him ideas which he called "the Peter Andre model".{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Rosney |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-31766371 |title=The 22-year-old who makes a living from Vines |publisher=BBC News |date=2015-03-07 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072542/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-31766371 |url-status=live }} In March 2015, a couple of days after being interviewed by Newsbeat and BuzzFeed News, he claimed his Vine account was hacked. Phillips moved to YouTube making videos primarily about pranking his friend Elliot Giles such as replacing his hair gel with superglue, putting Viagra in his sports drink and placing him in a lake whilst he was sleeping on an inflatable mattress.{{cite news|language=zh|url=http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/1548638|title=部落客惡整熟睡好友 讓他「放水流」漂到湖中|work=Liberty Times|date=2015-12-23|accessdate=2023-06-04|archive-date=2016-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711135244/http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/1548638|url-status=live}} He said of Vine's closure in 2017 that "Vine just didn't keep with the creator and the influencer" and that "they lost sight of what Vine actually was. YouTube and Facebook have so much more to offer the creator now."{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Rosney |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-38634170.amp |title=Daz Black, Ben Phillips and Tish Simmonds pay tribute as Vine closes |publisher=BBC News |date=2017-01-17 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604074052/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-38634170.amp |url-status=live }}
In 2016, he went on a theatrical tour in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and produced a movie featuring footage of the tour that was shown in cinemas in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.{{cite web |first=Chris |last=Longridge |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tech/internet/a800500/youtuber-ben-phillips/ |title=YouTuber Ben Phillips: "Everyone wants a slice of the pie when it's hot – and it really is hot" |publisher=Digitalspy.com |date=2016-07-07 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072910/https://www.digitalspy.com/tech/internet/a800500/youtuber-ben-phillips/ |url-status=live }} When asked about his following in Asia, he said that his philosophy was making his videos "universal so you didn't have to understand the language to get the videos".{{cite news|first=Lauren|last=James|url=http://yp.scmp.com/entertainment/article/104622/youtuber-ben-phillips-explains-why-all-he-ate-hk-was-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-and-he|title=YouTuber Ben Phillips explains why all he ate in HK was McDonald's and he's not #sorrybro|work=Youngpost: South China Morning Post|date=16 October 2016|access-date=12 June 2023|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918201445/https://yp.scmp.com/entertainment/article/104622/youtuber-ben-phillips-explains-why-all-he-ate-hk-was-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-and-he|url-status=live}} His slogan "sorry bro!" was the title of his book published in 2016.{{cite web |first=Eleanor |last=Crowley |url=https://www.unitedbypop.com/young-adult-books/ben-phillips-sorry-bro/ |title=Interview: Ben Phillips Chats Pranks And His New Book 'Sorry Bro' |date=8 November 2016 |publisher=United By Pop |accessdate=2023-06-12 |archive-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612154655/https://www.unitedbypop.com/young-adult-books/ben-phillips-sorry-bro/ |url-status=live }} In 2017, he was given a prank show pilot on Comedy Central titled Ben Phillips Blows Up.{{cite web |author=British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/2398/ben_phillips_on_comedy_central/ |title=Online prankster Ben Phillips gets TV pilot - British Comedy Guide |publisher=Comedy.co.uk |date=2017-01-17 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604074052/https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/2398/ben_phillips_on_comedy_central/ |url-status=live }}
In 2019, a video by Phillips in which Giles is blindfolded on a railway line as part of a Bird Box challenge was investigated by police.{{cite web |url=https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2019-01-14/police-investigate-bird-box-challenge-video-of-blindfolded-man-on-train-tracks |title=Police investigate 'Bird Box Challenge' video of blindfolded man on train tracks |publisher=ITV News |date=2019-01-14 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072919/https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2019-01-14/police-investigate-bird-box-challenge-video-of-blindfolded-man-on-train-tracks |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Helena |last=Horton |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/14/youtube-prankster-investigated-police-video-walking-along-train/ |title=YouTube 'prankster' investigated by police over video of him walking along train tracks blindfolded in name of 'Birdbox' challenge |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2019-01-14 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072923/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/14/youtube-prankster-investigated-police-video-walking-along-train/ |url-status=live }} The British Transport Police said that Giles was "quite literally playing a game of life and death".{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46868951.amp |title=YouTube prankster's 'Bird Box challenge' on Bridgend railway |publisher=BBC News |date=2019-01-14 |accessdate=2023-06-04 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072535/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46868951.amp |url-status=live }} In February 2021, YouTuber Jake Paul told Forbes that he had discussed creating a cryptocurrency with Phillips.{{cite news|first=Billy|last=Bambrough|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2021/02/17/exclusive-youtube-star-jake-paul-discussed-creating-own-cryptocurrency-as-bitcoin-and-dogecoin-mania-spreads/|title=Exclusive: YouTube Stars Jake Paul And Ben Phillips 'Discussed' Creating A Cryptocurrency As Bitcoin And Dogecoin Mania Spreads|work=Forbes|date=17 February 2021|access-date=13 June 2023|archive-date=13 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613211430/https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2021/02/17/exclusive-youtube-star-jake-paul-discussed-creating-own-cryptocurrency-as-bitcoin-and-dogecoin-mania-spreads/|url-status=live}} In February 2022, Phillips and Paul were named in a class-action lawsuit against SafeMoon, a cryptocurrency they had promoted, which claimed they were involved in a "pump and dump" scheme.{{cite news|last=Germain|first=Atahabih|date=February 24, 2022|title=Soulja Boy and Lil Yachty Named in Suit Accused of Misleading Crypto Buyers in 'Pump and Dump' Scheme|work=Atlanta Black Star|publisher=Diamond Diaspora Media|url=https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/02/24/soulja-boy-and-lil-yachty-named-in-suit-accused-of-misleading-crypto-buyers-in-pump-and-dump-scheme/|access-date=July 13, 2022|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922073455/https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/02/24/soulja-boy-and-lil-yachty-named-in-suit-accused-of-misleading-crypto-buyers-in-pump-and-dump-scheme/|url-status=live}}
References
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Category:21st-century Welsh comedians
Category:21st-century Welsh male writers
Category:British Vine (service) celebrities