I can’t touch these videos that I’m making. Yes, I have however many millions of followers, but I can’t touch that. “I think that’s the beauty of growing up. Naturally, brand collaborations followed and, at just 20 years old, he developed his own brush set, highlighter palette, and eyeshadow kit. He soon fell in with the rapidly rising industry of beauty YouTubers. He gained popularity for his expertise with makeup when male beauty gurus were just breaking ground.
But to me, I'm just coping.”īretman's personality came into full display when he began posting videos on YouTube in 2015. “Me just putting on whatever I want to wear today, people find confidence in that. “It's my coping mechanism to be unapologetic, not giving a f*ck, to be loud,” he says. Being brown, gay, and an immigrant on the internet opens him up to trolls and critiques. “My family has always supported me.”īut Bretman admits that his flamboyant persona is also a defense mechanism. He often comments about not having needed to come out to his parents. ”įrom the outside, Bretman's confidence seems like a product of early self-awareness. How do you feel the eyes of 2.5 million when you’re serving lunch at school, running track, and going to student council. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around it when you grow up on such a small island. This was buoyed by innate comedic talent, an endearing personability, and a striking confidence that rendered him almost immune from the insecurities that usually afflict the teen spirit. Already a veteran of earlier iterations like Myspace and Facebook, Bretman navigated the internet with an effortlessness that would have puzzled creators just five years his senior. Like many of his Gen-Z peers who grew up in the digital boom, he took easily to the mechanics of social media. Bretman, a true child of the internet, swiftly mastered the elements of virality. ” Although he may have been blindsided by overnight success, his early slew of content reveals an often-overlooked deftness to content creation. “How do you feel the eyes of 2.5 million when you’re serving lunch at school, running track, and going to student council. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around it when you grow up on such a small island,” he says, recalling the contradiction of his digital life and IRL reality. When I asked how it felt to be thrust into the spotlight so quickly, Bretman concedes that he didn’t notice the fame. Maisie Wilen top, The M Jewelers necklace and ring. Because the truth is, as Bretman says, “I always knew I was going to be a star.” And while influencers and internet celebrities are now a dime a dozen, Bretman’s ever-widening influence is no mere blessing from the algorithm gods. Yet chalking his success up to mere manifestation belies Bretman’s indefatigable work ethic and shrewd understanding of the mechanics of the internet.
In between his budding television career, he’s been collecting brand collaborations and lucrative sponsorship deals and growing his fan base-which, based on our last tally, stands at 17 million followers on Instagram, 11.9 million on TikTok, and 8.6 million on YouTube. Before that, he was named People’s Choice Awards Beauty Influencer of the Year and one of Time’s 30 Most Influential Teens.
"We will never stand back and stand by! Together for 25 years with two amazing children," Dan Ort-Patrick wrote.“I really don’t think there’s anything in my life right now or any accomplishments that I have that I didn’t manifest.”īeyond his reality show, this year it was announced he is a face of Nike’s Pride-themed Be True campaign, he was named MTV’s 2021 Breakthrough Social Star, and another reality show ( 30 Days With: Bretman Rock) debuted. Brotherhood."Īt least one of the many tweets from gay men using the #ProudBoys hashtag referenced Trump's debate words. The SLPC maintains, however, that the group, founded in 2016, affiliates with extremists and is known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.ĭuring a debate exchange between Trump and moderator Chris Wallace about white supremacists, Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by." Following the debate, members of the group celebrated Trump's reaction, using "stand back" and "stand by" in their logo and posting videos from the debate with the caption "God. The Proud Boys referenced in the debate are "self-described 'western chauvinists' who adamantly deny any connection to the racist 'alt-right,' insisting they are simply a fraternal group spreading an 'anti-political correctness' and 'anti-white guilt' agenda," according to civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center. #ReclaimingMyShine- George Takei October 1, 2020 What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys. I wonder if the BTS and TikTok kids can help LGBTs with this.