BY DC CUEVA
It is the holiday season, and we are in the midst of what is by far the most lucrative season for both consumers and retailers... that means, money, money, money for the retailers and buyers. But imagine, what if you were given the opportunity to win $10,000? Cool, you might say almost 99% of the time especially with how pressed for time we are right now. But in this instance, there's a catch to this: you have to face your fears to win valuable spending money to buy those last-minute Christmas gifts with not many shopping days left until Santa Claus delivers those gifts under the tree coming the morning of December 25th.
For this story, it involves the man who’s arguably the most notorious man in all of YouTube: one-half of a set of brothers who have generated millions of followers and dollars, and even greater buzz both positively and negatively. The other person of our focus was part of the only cast in history of her original show to not win money, was part of the inaugural class of singles of the newest member of MTV's reality schedule and has more exes of those who’ve been on these shows than your usual sweetheart next door. And the challenge they are facing is having to go into a pool usually used in the summer that's freezing cold, with the last person standing winning that pile of Benjamins.
So, what happens when these two worlds collide all for the sake of Internet glory? This is what happens when they answer the question, "What would you do for Ten Grand?" The answer - three words: "Ice, Ice Baby."
It was at the age of 16 while still in high school that Jake Paul would find his calling: making videos for Vine when social media had begun to become the rage in 2013. All it took for him to become famous was to condense everything he wanted to include in six-second bursts of humor on a square sized screen. And those who had the app in its heyday who were part of his 5.3 million Vine followers saw his videos 2 billion times before Twitter took over its operations, and before other apps like Instagram, SnapChat and Periscope took its idea into eventually taking it out of business.
YouTube would be next for Jake to conquer, where not only did they offer an expanded screen size and more time for him to make his craft, he would become a superstar. His videos encompass the whole gamut: comedy, parodies, action sports, stunts and adventures in the world of craziness that only he can offer. With 17.5 million subscribers and over 5 billion overall views of over 700 videos, whenever Jake posts anything there it's always must-see viewing - whether fans like him or not.
Shortly after, Disney came a calling when Jake was offered a role as Dirk Mann on Disney Channel's Bizaardvark, which featured two friends who post internet funnies for the world to see. Dirk's role mirrored what Jake does in real life in some of his posts: taking requests for dares that gets to perform on the show, Dare Me Bro. Last year while filming Season 2 of that show, him and Disney agreed to part ways as he turned his attention to building what's now become an Internet empire.
Using the large exposure he's garnered that brought him to worldwide stardom, as a 19-year-old Jake used $1 million in financing to launch Team 10. The company is to help teen influencers gain more exposure and security by having a management & creative company just for them. A recent survey places Jake as the second highest paid star of the YouTube universe, garnering a total net worth of $21.5 million – placing him ahead of iconic trick shot perfectionists Dude Perfect and just behind 7-year-old toy whiz kid Ryan Toys Review.
For someone whose brother was involved in a potentially career-ending blunder last year when Logan Paul posted a video depicting a dead Japanese man, the younger Paul has also had his controversial moments. Up until last week's release of this year's YouTube rewind retrospective, Jake had the second most disliked video in its history when his music video bearing his signature slogan "It's Everyday Bro" featuring him and Team 10 led users to press the dislike button over 4 million times.
In the last days of the Obama administration, he being an invited guest at a White House event focusing on social media prior to the Trump cyclone landing ashore. That night, Jake decided to hide out in a bathroom before sneaking out of 1600 PA Avenue escaping guards… all for YouTubers to see. After his Disney split, Jake's Beverly Grove neighbors called the cops to declare his residence a public nuisance after he publicly posted his address and saw throngs of fans outside his house like Michael Jackson. And a video in January of Paul revealing that had lost his virginity was rapped for being too sexually explicit, part of an ongoing debate of whether or not his content is kid appropriate.
That episode has been part of what's been a trying 2018 for Jake, leading Atlantic magazine to declare that his internet star had begun to fade away. This summer, he fought YouTube brother Deji on the undercard of this summer's biggest boxing card, an amateur bout pitting Logan against fellow brother KSI, spurred by their longstanding rivalry which, after the bout ended in a draw seems headed for a rematch. It's the bright spot in what's been a rough year: controversy over bullying and racism among those in the web community, him and YouTuber Erika Costell breaking up after a 7-month relationship, internal rift among Team 10 in members leaving the clique & investors pulling their financial support, and other matters behind the scenes too many to even mention here.
And last month, Jake was the subject of an 6-hour, 8-part YouTube docu-miniseries where fellow YouTuber Shane Dawson was granted unprecedented access to the magic and his life. Over 100 million viewers got to witness this candid portrait of a figure who has become a superstar in the space of five years, and who has had to endure a wrath of controversy to become one of the biggest stars in the pop culture universe who continues to make headlines every day with videos and whatever goes down in the lives of both him and brother Logan... and all of this before turning the legal age of 21 exactly one month from this weekend.
The video also garnered him unwanted criticism from a section of the YouTube crowd: those who stan YouTube star Mr. Beast wrote in the comment box and on Twitter that Jake stole his idea. Their claim was of doing a viral, last-man-standing challenge based around who can last the longest to win a prize, something that those who watch The Challenge have been used to for years. It's no surprise that so many people do challenges like these that take place either on YouTube or not documented for public fancy just for sake of fun around friends, and this case glory.
The figures who joined him to face this cold fear included friend Chad Tepper, who has become a MTV star this fall as one of the many who joined internet prankster Zach Holmes on Too Stupid to Die, a modern-day version of MTV's most controversial hit Jackass. Also with Chad and Jake to try their luck at winning those ten G's in the garage of this YouTube superstar was someone who the MTV crowd has gotten to know in the course of the past two years, for which it was at this time in December 2016 that the countdown to her debut was in full swing.
Taylor then made her way to the Ex On The Beach villa earlier this year where, as one of the ten original singles that moved into the Hawaiian house Justin Bieber once called him in, she clicked from the outset with Cory Wharton, Real World alum and several-times Challenger. And this came just after he had found out before he left for Hawaii and then revealed in internet-breaking fashion last Christmas that he was the father of the baby of fellow AYTO alum and his crush from the Rivals III Challenge, Cheyenne Floyd... which ultimately brought them to Teen Mom OG this fall as co-replacements to all-time bad girl Farrah Abraham - who ironically is on the Season 2 cast.
It was after Romeo Miller broke the news to her and the house of what the show would be about that Taylor knew she had to face the music... not once, but three times. She had to endure seeing Dre once again after a few months' fling that ended badly after AYTO, followed by Cameron Kolbo from Season 4, and then someone who she dated before even thinking about going on MTV. Many months prior, Taylor flew to New Orleans as part of the annual invasion of ex-boyfriends & girlfriends to the AYTO house, as beforehand she had previously dated Season 6 housemate Joe Togerson.
And while Ex On The Beach was airing came troubling news from the past. Her vendetta Alicia Wright - who dated Cory before going to Hawaii and who Taylor spat on in an argument late in the season - revealed on AfterBuzz TV what's now become an all-too-familiar sight these days: past tweets of Taylor using racially-insensitive language earlier in her Twitter life that led the blonde to delete her account. Because of this revalation, many friendships she had vanished just as quick as the chances her AYTO cast had at winning that fateful spring night a year ago.
Going into this, only a handful of her fellow AYTO5 castmates have won money: Kam Williams after her stellar rookie showing making the final on The Challenge Vendettas, and Hayden Weaver who pulled a Bananas (and now Ashley) in stealing money from his perfect match Carolina Durate on AYTO's spin-off series Second Chances following Season 5. And the cast has recovered a bit since their collapse in Derrick Henry being on two Challenges and that EOTB season, Hayden & Gianna Hammer having a baby, and Casandra Martinez appearing on last summer's The Proposal.
Below, find out how Taylor fares against Jake, Chad, a regular of Logan's vlogs in Olga Safari - now a briefcase holder on the CNBC reboot of Howie Mandel's NBC game show Deal or No Deal, and Jake's friend & member of Team 10 Anthony Trujillo III --- all of whom look to outlast each other and be the last one in the pool and have an early Christmas present worth $10,000. Take note of the flirting between the girls and Jake, especially in light of his recent breakup with Erika which, of course, was covered greatly by the tabloids & gossip sites.
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If you like this post or what this site offers, feel free to tell us what you think by tweeting your thoughts to @DC408Dxtr and include the hashtag #DCBLOG and our slogan #SeeForYourself in your posts. And you're always free to share these links on your favorite social media platforms so everybody - hardcore fans & casual viewers - can enjoy our acclaimed, high-quality content.
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