(Warning: Strong Languages, fat jokes and gross description of filth and sexual references ahead)
For the past few weeks, I've dug into some of the most heinous stories of all time, I almost had no time to pull myself back up to create more light-hearted stories for the readers to enjoy, to be laughed at, or at worst, to be offended. But as I look back on things that I wrote for this past three to four years, almost all subjects of my stories weren't Internet personalities (until that streak was broken by Chris Chan and his demented antics). And today, as the time of the writing, boy do I have a juicy one for you to indulge. This one is about an infamous YouTuber who was once a healthy, aspiring violinist who was sick of his vegan lifestyle, turned into a panzer-sized mess while doing nothing but mukbang videos (and his OnlyFans, this will be relevant later). I am doing this while also researching about that particular troll who ruined Chris Chan's life, aside from being a walking landfill herself.
Before diving in to the person of the story, many of you might be unfamiliar with what the word "mukbang" (먹방, meokbang) is about. The word itself is a result of two Korean words being fused together, which are 먹는 (meongneun, which means eating) and 방송 (bangsong, which means broadcaster). The practice itself defined as an audio-visual broadcast where a host consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience, most cases being a rather large meal instead of one or two dishes. It is said that the mukbang trend started to gain popularity in 2009, being first introduced on real-time internet TV service AfreecaTV. This is due to the fact that Koreans in general have strict culture consists of healthy eating and table manners. One article posted in The Economist contended that the popularity of eating shows can be attributed in part to the widespread anxiety and unhappiness in Koreans due to their country's long-term economic slump. There are few theories on why this type of content is so popular. It is reported that alleviating the feelings of loneliness associated with eating alone may be the primary reason for mukbang's popularity. Another reason for mukbang viewing could be its potential sexual use. There are arguments that supports the statement that mukbangs can be viewed to satisfy fetishes regarding women eating, further emphasizing why many mukbang hosts are traditionally attractive women. Other reason being that individuals who watch mukbang do so for entertainment, as an escape from reality, or to get satisfaction from the ASMR aspects of mukbang such as the eating sounds and sensations. Mukbang contents are also credited for allowing others to eat vicariously through hosts while they are on a diet and in need of satisfying cravings.
The story centers around an internet personality with the name of Nikocado Avocado, real name Nicholas Perry. He was born on the 19th of May 1992 in Ukraine and was adopted shortly thereafter by an American family as an infant, consequently moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. There is very little info about his childhood life, but for one, he learned about his adoption relatively early, and in turn, struggling to cope with that fact. He then started acting out for attention. He received mental health treatment as early as 5 years old, and by the age of 7, was prescribed with antidepressants. He was later diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He attended Lower Dauphin High School and graduated in 2010. He majored in acting in college and is an aspiring violinist with impeccable skills. I have to admit, with my (mostly) limited skills on the guitar and a form of ring rust, he would have smoked me easily if we had a contest. He then moved to New York City in 2013 to pursue a career in music, working as a freelance violinist. By his own admission, despite his musical talent, it is hard to live in a city where competition is always constant. Before he became the famous (or infamous, depending on the angle of the opinion) Internet star we know today, his early days on the platform consists of solely video blogs, violin covers of popular songs, and contents about veganism. He even met his now husband Orlin Home, thanks to a Facebook group for vegan men. The two began communicating intensely before meeting up in New York. By Orlin's accounts, the two started out as friends, but their relationship evolved after their travelling trips together in Central America, subsequently married in 2017.
Nikocado Avocado got his internet name from a video back when he was a vegan. He started posting videos in 2014, and one of those videos which gave the name we all know today was when he single-handedly ate 30 avocadoes in one sitting. He currently has just under 6 million subscribers across 6 YouTube channels, with the combine views of 1.15 million. His turning point was somewhere in 2016, where he posted a video declaring that he was no longer a vegan, citing health reasons and his distaste with the vegan community, which he viewed as "toxic". With his current life trajectory now, I see this as a deadly irony. After 2016, he started uploading mukbang contents, garnered 50.000 views in a couple of weeks. He became the first ever American man to partake in this trend, as previous contents of this kind are mainly done by women. But the way he gathers his viewers is the one that grinds my gears. When he uploads a video, a melodrama is guaranteed. He can be seen crying, screaming, and losing his temper in front of a heaping pile of food, and once shave his head into a tray of fried noodle topped with eggs. As someone of Asian ethnicity, I must say that it's a cardinal sin to waste food like that, especially if it's a delicious plate of fried noodle. He admitted that his unusual antics and "clickbait" titles generate the highest number of views.
Consequently, when you engage with mukbang contents, particularly if the food in question is mainly junk food, weight issue became the main focus. To paint this into the light, Perry started doing mukbang weighing somewhere between 72 kg (160 pounds) or lower. Nowadays, his weigh range is somewhere around the 163 kg (350 pounds) to 181 kg (400 pounds) mark, maybe even more. This, in turn, changes the viewers perspective from "my God, he's fucked in the head" to "holy shit, he's eating himself to death". In this stage, only Tammy Slaton, from the TLC series 1.000-pound Sisters who outweighs him, last updated sitting on 240 kg (530 pounds). From obesity, came a slew of health problems associated with it. he once said that his sex life took a toll from his content creating madness citing erectile dysfunction, although there is no scientific evidence to back this up. Other problems including diarrhea (he also has some instance across his videos and social media platforms of defecating himself), gas, bloating, and stomach pains, the latter in particular tent to exacerbate after he gorge on spicy noodle. Current updates revealed that Perry now suffers from sleep apnea and requires to wear oxygen masks to help with his sleep, and apparently broke three of his left ribs from "excessive, forceful coughing", which later confirmed by his medical diagnosis. The disturbing part of this whole ordeal is he used this to further boost his Internet popularity, declaring himself "disabled", and proceeded to upload series of videos under one title: "My New Diet as a Disabled Person" with various thumbnails ranging from funny to total cringe. And this is not limited to his physical health. His mental health reportedly deteriorates whenever he indulges himself to this dangerous part of YouTube, from declaring himself as Jesus (this is fucked up just on its own) to the point of jeopardizing his marriage with Orlin. The couple sometimes collaborated together, but not for a wholesome eating video, but a series of insults and putdowns involving calling each other fat, hitting one another, to some occasions where Orlin intentionally spills food to provoke Perry's wailing and crying. Hell, his mental breakdowns could also serve as meme materials. He also sparked feuds with other mukbang YouTubers, accusing him of being toxic.
And his online present could only expand to a more disgusting level. In late 2020, he officially set up an OnlyFans account, where he charged US$ 15 (around IDR 214.000) for subscribers to see pornographic materials of himself and Orlin. I won't dive into further details, but from all the information I've gathered, it is considered as the most repulsive OnlyFans the Internet has ever seen. It even birthed the "Nikocado Avocado Ass Pic" meme, used for posts with shock value in it. Seriously, if you have balls of steel, you can spend that huge amount of money to see two men with the size of a hauler truck fucking each other in the ass. But for me? Even if you offer me all of the fortune in the world, I won't trade my sanity for any wealth just to watch Nikocado Avocado flash his black hole of doom in front of the horrified members of the Internet. I might just spew all the contents of my stomach at best or going blind at worst. I said this with no intention of discrediting the LGBT community, consider that Perry and Orlin are members of said community, but even some people inside the spectrum would view this as disgusting materials and should be purged.
When we look at his condition now, one must have thought, "what a waste of talent". He could have easily made almost the same amount of money in music if he worked just a little bit harder. But instead, he sacrificed his own health and wellbeing as he fell into an endless hole of gluttony, burying himself with unhealthy food while at the same time, horrified the preying eyes of the masses with his other, more disturbing content. One YouTuber said it the best, that Nicholas Perry is eating himself to death.
I guess this story alone could sums up the reason why I'm not into mukbang contents on any platform. Although I could find it satisfying, people like Nikocado Avocado serves us as a warning of unfortunate implications not just for the physical health aspect, but mental wellness as well. I am genuinely hoping that he would find a much needed and well-deserved help sooner rather than later. Like I said before, I've lost too many people to weight-related issues, and this, quite frankly doesn't help the case at all. In the end, we can't make decisions on behalf of others, all it needs to do is for that person to see the error of his ways and correct it for the sake of his future ahead. Stay safe, get those jabs, and stay alert.
No comments:
Post a Comment