Logan Paul: Underrated, Undervalued, Underloved
The Biggest Maverick in Media & Entertainment
Logan Paul is a 25-year-old YouTuber with a net worth of $19 Million. He also has a lot of haters. Let me tell you why they’re wrong, why I’m a Logan Paul fan and why you should be one too.
Heroes and Villains
The first time I ever heard the name ‘Logan Paul’ was January, 2018.
Here’s what I knew at the time — he was some 23-year-old American YouTuber bro who filmed a controversial video in Japan in a place called Aokigahara forest. That location is also known as the “Suicide Forest,” since hundreds of people attempt suicide in Aokigahara every year.
In the heat of the moment, Logan Paul recorded a video for his YouTube channel walking around the forest and showing the body of an actual person who committed suicide. This caused immense backlash — YouTube removed Logan’s ability to monetise and several brands pulled out of deals with Logan.
In response, Logan issued several public apologies, including this one:
That was the story I read online. Logan Paul already had a poor reputation of being a silly YouTuber who did crazy stunts to get views. I briefly expressed some disgust and thought I would never hear the name Logan Paul again.
But what happened to Logan Paul next…?
Logan Paul went from being one of the most hated Youtubers in the world in 2018 to rehabilitating his image and simultaneously hosting a successful podcast, launching a clothing line, creating a digital fan club, headlining major boxing events, and even more. Let’s dive in.
Son of Ohio
Logan Paul grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. From an early age, he and his younger brother Jake would spend a lot of time making funny videos on the internet. When the short video app Vine came out in 2013, Logan started amassing a following and became one of the biggest Vine stars in the world. This breakout success allowed Logan to build a following on YouTube, where he started posting vlogs and growing a channel that accumulated 15 Million subscribers right before the 2018 ‘Suicide Forest’ incident.
During that same time period, Logan’s younger brother Jake created Team 10 in 2016, a collaboration of YouTubers who filmed content and lived together in an LA mansion. Team 10 was one of the first content houses and helped make Jake one of the biggest YouTubers in the world. Jake developed his own reputation as a YouTube bad boy, faced several lawsuits, and was called “The Worst Person on Earth” by Deadspin.
Jake and Logan would often collaborate — releasing diss tracks making fun of each other, featuring in each other’s videos, and doing stunts together. They were two of the world’s biggest social media stars and they weren’t always liked.
After the ‘Suicide Forest’ incident, Logan seemed destined to crash and burn. The public gleefully witnessed his struggle and it was really easy to see Logan Paul as the biggest villain in the world of social media. And that’s what I used to think as well…
Being A Maverick
In May 2020, I stumbled upon YouTuber Paddy Galloway, who creates videos explaining the business strategy behind different YouTubers. Paddy’s latest post was about Logan Paul and he began the video by saying, “Let me be honest. I’ve never been a huge fan of Logan Paul.”
In the 11-minute video, Paddy Galloway explained Logan Paul’s redemption arc that allowed him to gain millions of new YouTube subscribers. After the low of the ‘Suicide Forest’ incident, Logan Paul made a comeback. He began rehabilitating his image through work with charities on suicide prevention and a slew of other good deeds. His content on YouTube became more mature, kind, and self-aware. Going into 2020, Logan Paul built up one of the world’s biggest podcasts, a new clothing line, and a digital fan club.
The idea of Logan Paul reinventing himself and overcoming adversity was absolutely fascinating to me. I wanted to learn more.
I started off by checking out his podcast Impaulsive. It’s actually incredible. Logan interviews guests along with his two co-hosts George Janko and Mike Majlak. You will be surprised by their open-mindedness and earnestness, and the episodes can get pretty serious. Although Logan made his career through funny, silly videos, Impaulsive episodes are surprisingly raw:
- Jake Paul breaks down crying describing getting sued
- Mike Majlak describes his struggles with drug addiction
- Charlie Rocket turning his life around after a brain tumor
While Joe Rogan’s core audience is beginning to age and is limited to Spotify, Impaulsive has the opportunity to become the Joe Rogan Experience for the younger generation.
When the WallStreetBets subreddit initiated a short squeeze of GameStop stock in January 2021, that was arguably the biggest event in popular culture at the time. And the founder of WallStreetBets specifically chose to come onto the Impaulsive podcast as a guest rather than any other podcast.
Logan Paul rebranded his Maverick clothing line in May 2020, which made $30-$40 Million in its first year. Much like Logan’s need to rebrand himself after the ‘Suicide Forest,’ the rebranding of Maverick clothing aimed to recast Logan as a hardworking, independent thought leader who can inspire young people to chase their dreams and be different.
Logan Paul’s commercial for the Maverick brand is one of the best ads I have ever seen. Check it out below.
“My failures made me smarter. My shortcomings made me stronger.” — Logan Paul
Logan also created the Maverick Club, a digital fan club that allows people to access exclusive content, special events, and personal interactions with Logan. It’s like Logan Paul’s own version of Only Fans, Cameo, and Patreon combined. By choosing to create his own platform, Logan is making sure to own a direct relationship with his fanbase rather than relying on another platform.
The podcast, clothing line, and digital fan club have all been incredibly lucrative for Logan Paul. And these were all launched after the 2018 ‘Suicide Forest’ incident. The controversy in Japan wasn’t the end of Logan Paul’s career, despite what the media might have you believe.
Breaking Down The Haters
A hot topic in media today is authenticity. This comes from a macro shift in consumer behavior. Consumer trust in brands is at an all time low. People trust other people more than they trust brands. That’s why influencer marketing, composed of people like Logan Paul, continues to grow. Influencers perceived as ‘authentic’ perform better.
You frequently hear Logan describe himself as ‘just a kid from Ohio,’ constantly reminding people of his origins. Jake Paul tells a similar story. The Paul brothers are just two kids from Ohio who worked their assess off and made it to Hollywood. The constant repetition of Logan’s origin story allows you to relate to him. You might not like Logan, but you have to admit that he’s being authentic.
I went to college in Ohio and have my own sentimental feelings about the state. A friend from Toledo, Ohio once told me, “Everyone from Ohio just works really hard so they can get out.”
Logan Paul is another kid from Ohio who worked really hard, believed in himself, and got out of the state to pursue his dream. Despite his flaws and mistakes, I have immense respect for Logan Paul putting himself out there.
What’s funny is that whenever I bring up Logan Paul, I find myself being criticised and forced to defend his character. Thankfully, I’m at the stage in my life where I care less and less about what other people think.
It’s natural to find satisfaction in cutting down Logan Paul. It feels good to see people fall when they fly too close to the sun, especially young social media wunderkinds. For me, there’s something invigorating about trying to truly understand someone that the majority of the world seems to misunderstand. We can all agree that everyone, even Logan Paul, deserves a shot at redemption.
That’s what makes Logan Paul’s story even more powerful. On paper, he’s one of the most unlikely people to deserve the respect of the public. But Logan Paul is at the forefront of the new media economy.
Underrated, Undervalued, and Underloved
You may not realise it, but Logan Paul is building one of the world’s greatest media empires. Most people miss this because his biggest claim to fame is still the ‘Suicide Forest’ incident from Japan. He’s criminally underrated as a pioneer in the world of entertainment.
Logan Paul Sports
In 2018, Logan Paul fought a boxing match against KSI, another famous YouTuber. It was the largest non-professional boxing match of all time, selling 1.3 million pay-per-view buys around the world. The YouTubers injected new life into an old sport. The Logan Paul vs. KSI rematch took place a year later at Staples Center in LA, and became the third highest streamed boxing match of the year.
This year, Logan is scheduled to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., the most successful boxer of the last two decades.
Think about that for a second. Thousands of boxers around the world have been training their entire lives and will never get a chance to fight Floyd Mayweather. Meanwhile, a 25-year-old YouTuber from Ohio comes along and gets in the ring with Floyd Mayweather.
Why? Because Logan has clout. He has eyeballs. He gets attention. He has an audience. And you have to realise that the business of sports, media and entertainment is the business of monetising attention. Logan Paul realises this better than anyone else.
Logan Paul Music
Logan Paul has released several songs, many of which have gotten hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. Logan Paul’s “Help Me Help You” has 277 Million views.
Jake Paul’s “It’s Everyday Bro” got to #2 on the iTunes charts in 2017 and has 278 Million views on YouTube.
The brothers are simultaneously making money from Spotify streams, YouTube ad revenue, live events and more. Logan Paul recently released a song called “2020” and Jake Paul released four singles last year. Music is a legitimate and large revenue stream for both of the Paul brothers. And it’s really just the beginning of their music career.
Logan Paul Collectibles & NFTs
Over the last few months, Logan Paul has been vlogging about his hobby of buying, collecting, and selling Pokémon cards. He started recording videos of himself unboxing new cards and racking up millions of views. Pokémon cards have experienced a 500% increase in price over the last year and Logan Paul is largely responsible for that.
On top of cards, Logan has been diving into the world of non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs. This is a new asset class of digital collectibles that are secured on the blockchain, and Logan sold $5 Million worth of NFTs in February.
What’s Next?
At this point, literally nothing would surprise me about Logan Paul’s future business ventures. If Logan decided to start a shoe company or build a mobile app, it would probably do really well. This playbook of launching your own products is a becoming more popular as you see other creators like David Dobrik and Mr. Beast pursue a similar strategy.
The Wikipedia entry for Logan Paul describes him as a “YouTuber, internet personality, actor, podcaster and boxer.’ The title that’s missing is entrepreneur. Logan Paul is a savvy businessperson. There are millions of talented creators and influencers around the world but very few people can pull off the work of Logan Paul.
If I told you at the age of fifteen that I wanted to be a ‘YouTuber, internet personality, actor, podcaster, and boxer,’ I’m sure you would have been delighted to tell me how that’s not possible. It’s a lot like how people delight in the downfall of Logan Paul. Society is quick to bring down the nonconformists that don’t fit into specific boxes and categories.
And that’s why I like Logan Paul. I get inspired by his story of redemption. I feel a new sense of possibility in the world of media and entertainment. I get excited for what could come next.
Logan Paul…the Media Mogul?
Logan Paul already has several profitable businesses generating millions of dollars in cash flow. The next step for him could be to raise $100 million and start buying stakes in media companies, record labels, and sports brands. That’s how Logan Paul could become a media mogul. That’s how Logan Paul could become the next Ted Turner.
Over the next twenty years, Logan Paul is poised to become one of the most powerful people in media. Right now, he’s only 25-years-old and has already proven himself to be one of the most savvy media entrepreneurs in the world.
Whether you like him or not, you should buckle in and enjoy the ride. He’s just getting started.
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