Nelk

Last updated

Nelk
Nelk logo.jpg
Personal information
Origin Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
OccupationOnline Entertainment
Website www.fullsend.com
YouTube information
Channel
Location Miami, Florida, U.S.
Years active2010–present
Genre(s) Pranks, lifestyle
Subscribers8.26 million [1]
Total views1.78 billion [1]
Network Full Send Entertainment
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2019
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2020

Last updated: 8 Sept 2024

Nelk (stylized as NELK), also referred to as the Nelk Boys, [2] is a Canadian-American YouTube channel and entertainment company. Originally known for their prank videos, vlogs, and their brand Full Send Entertainment, they have since shifted to promoting right-wing political causes. [3] [4] The group's founders, Kyle Forgeard and Jesse Sebastiani, have been referred to as "two of the most recognizable personalities for young people in North America". [5]

Contents

History

In 2010, Kyle Forgeard created the YouTube channel, at the time called NelkFilmz, along with other founding members Braden Macdonald, Niko and Marko Martinovic, and Lucas Gasparini. In 2014, Forgeard met Jesse Sebastiani at an MTV Canada conference, who would soon after become a prominent member of the group. [6] All four besides Forgeard ended up leaving the group at some point thereafter.

On September 8, 2021, Nelk uploaded the first episode of their "Full Send Podcast", exclusive to YouTube and Apple Podcasts. [7] In February 2022, Forgeard was officially added to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for social media influencers. [8]

In October 2020, members of the group met with President Donald Trump on Air Force One during one of his 2020 presidential election rallies. [9] They were also seen to dance to the "Y.M.C.A." song with President Trump onstage following his rally. [10] They met Trump again in July 2021 at UFC 264, and he appeared on the Full Send Podcast in March 2022. [11] The episode went viral, receiving 5 million views in 24 hours, at which time it was removed by YouTube. Following the podcast, Full Send Podcast became the second most popular podcast in the US on Spotify. [12] Nelk supported Trump's campaign in the 2024 United States presidential election, during which Forgeard spoke at a number of campaign rallies. [13] [14] [15]

Content and brand

Nelk's videos, in addition to pranks, are themed around North American college culture. The group's videos combine vlogs of their party lifestyle with footage of their actual pranks. Nelk is known for popularizing and later trademarking the slang term "Full Send" (stylized as FULL SEND) which Forgeard defined as meaning "any activity you do, give it your absolute best". [16] The group has also popularized a number of other terms, including "Rona Season," a reference to the group's constant consumption of Corona beer. Sebastiani has referred to the group's trademark words as "Canadian-influenced slang". [17]

Nelk operates the Full Send clothing brand. The clothing is sold in one-time Supreme-style "drops", where each style of clothing has limited availability and is only available once. [18] Once the entire drop is sold out, no Full Send clothing can be purchased until the next drop, when new styles will become available. Nelk sells almost $100 million worth of apparel every year. [19]

Nelk owns a hard seltzer brand called Happy Dad, [20] [21] which is produced and packaged at Minhas Breweries & Distillery in Monroe, WI. [22] [23] In 2023, Happy Dad became a top five hard seltzer brand according to IRI data. [24] The group hosts a podcast called the Full Send Podcast. [25] Notable guests have included Donald Trump, Mike Tyson, Elon Musk, Andrew Tate, O. J. Simpson, Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, and others. The podcast was created in partnership with Shots Podcast Network.

Subsidiaries

SubsidiaryType
Full SendMain brand
NELKMain YouTube channel
SalimtheDreamYouTube channel
SteveWillDoItRumble channel
Full Send PodcastPodcast and YouTube channel
Full Send GolfYouTube channel
Full Send MMAYouTube channel
FullSend.comMerchandise and exclusive content website
Happy DadHard seltzer brand
Full Send SupplementsHealth and Fitness Supplement brand
Full Send MetacardNFT
The Dream SquadInstagram brand
Girls Love ArtistsMerchandise

YouTube channels

YouTube ChannelSubscriber Count
NELK8,260,000
Full Send Podcast2,170,000
SalimTheDream876,000
Full Send Podcast Clips538,000
Full Send MMA452,000
Full Send Golf338,000
Nelk 2294,000
One Night With Steiny160,000
Happy Dad126,000
Money Buys Happiness115,000
Full Send Metacard27,300

Rumble channels

Rumble ChannelSubscriber Count
SteveWillDoIt643,000

Most-viewed podcasts

GuestViews
Elon Musk 22,965,789
Mike Tyson 13,162,205
Donald Trump 8,853,336

Members

Current and recurring members include Kyle Forgeard, Stephen “SteveWillDoIt” Deleonardis, Salim Sirur, Gabriel Poncio, Aaron "Steiny" Steinberg, "Jimmy Gambles" (Arthur Kulik), [26] and "Cousin Jay" (Jordan Nwanne). [27] Nelk Headquarters is located in Newport Beach, California. [28] Nelk also has an offshoot location in Miami, Florida under SteveWillDoIt LLC. The group previously resided in Ontario, Canada, and Los Angeles. [29]

Jesse Sebastiani was a founding member of the group. Prior to joining Nelk, was known for his self-published documentary, Saved by the Status, [30] and his role in the MTV show Careless Teens . [31] Years after joining, he expressed his displeasure with his and the group's lifestyle. In a tweet posted on January 29, 2020, he wrote, "I hate fame... I've lost almost everything I use to love about life." [32] He eventually became less active in Nelk videos, and in late 2020, he began primarily working on the Full Send brand. In 2022, he officially took distance from the group, bought out of the company, and started his own brand called “Sunday”. [33]

Other former members of the group include Niko and Marko Martinovic, Lucas Gasparini, and Jason Pagaduan. Niko and Marko, who are twins, were members of Nelk in the early development, but left in 2015 to pursue YouTube independently. Gasparini left in 2017 citing concerns of his association with the channel's content, which consisted of public misconduct which would affect his career outlook, as well as the pursuit of educational studies as a plumber. [34] He then returned in 2021 joining the rest of the team in Los Angeles. [35] Pagaduan, who was known by his Instagram handle "905shooter" or simply "9-0," was withdrawn from the group in October 2019 for behavioral misconduct from sexual harassment allegations stemming from Pagaduan sending direct messages of a graphic and sexual nature to fans, as well as not meeting standards. [36]

Nelk Boys

MemberHometownRole
Kyle ForgeardMississauga, Ontario, CanadaNelk Co-Founder and Owner

Co-Host of Full Send Podcast

Stephen "SteveWillDoIt" DeleonardisOviedo, FloridaMember; CEO of SteveWillDoIt LLC
Salim "Salim the Dream" SirurSan Jose, CaliforniaMember; CEO of SalimTheDream
Aaron "Steiny" SteinbergDenver, ColoradoCo-Host of Full Send Podcast
Arthur "Jimmy Gambles" KulikMississauga, Ontario, CanadaContent Creator

Crew

MemberHometownRole
Gabriel PoncioAlmores, BrazilExecutive Assistant
Jordan "Cousin Jay" NwanneSacramento, CaliforniaLead Videographer

Former

MemberHometownRole
Jesse SebastianiOrangeville, Ontario, CanadaNelk Co-Founder
Jason "905shooter" PagaduanMississauga, Ontario, CanadaLead Videographer
Lucas GaspariniMississauga, Ontario, CanadaContent Creator

Corporate

MemberHometownRole
Kyle ForgeardMississauga, Ontario, CanadaOwner
John Shahidi Orange County, CaliforniaPresident of all Ventures
Sam Shahidi Orange County, CaliforniaCEO of Happy Dad Hard Seltzer
Austin "AusGod" ErmesOshawa, Ontario, CanadaDirector of Content/Lead Editor
Drew HillMississauga, Ontario, CanadaNelk Manager

Full Send Podcast

MemberHometownRole
Kyle ForgeardMississauga, Ontario, CanadaLead Podcast Host
Aaron "Steiny" SteinbergDenver, ColoradoPodcast Host
Salim SirurSacramento, CaliforniaOccasional Podcast Host
Gabriel PoncioAlmores, BrazilProducer and Portuguese Translator

Dream Squad

MemberHometownRole
Salim SirurSacramento, CaliforniaChief Executive Officer
Jordan "Cousin Jay" NwanneSacramento, CaliforniaLead Videographer

CEO of Girls Love Artists

Nick NayersinaChicago, IllinoisContent Creator
Tyler ChafeeSan Jose, CaliforniaBird Coordinator
Jason MejiaLos Angeles, CaliforniaEditor

Full Send MMA

MemberHometownRole
Shawny "The OG" MackLas Vegas, NevadaHead Reporter
Sean "Sugar Sean" O'Malley Phoenix, ArizonaAmbassador
Dana White Las Vegas, NevadaHonorary Nelk BigBoy

Throughout Nelk's career, they have been the subject of various legal issues and controversies. In January 2015, Nelk posted a video titled "Coke Prank On Cops" in which they told police officers in Los Angeles that they had "coke" in the back of the car, leading the officers to think that they were referring to cocaine when in reality they were referring to Coca-Cola. In May 2016, the video became a subject of controversy. [37] The group received a warning, and the Los Angeles Police Department released a statement informing the public that the prank was illegal and warning potential copycat pranksters against doing so. [38] The video has received 49 million views and is currently their most viewed, having almost three times as many views as their second-most viewed video.

In January 2019, Sebastiani was arrested during a prank in which he walked into a Barnes & Noble store with fake blood smeared on a white jumpsuit and asked workers for books on covering up a crime scene. He was charged by Columbus, Ohio police department, and found guilty of disorderly conduct in the Ohio Court of Common Pleas. [31] In August 2019, Nelk participated in a "spin the globe challenge", and ended up in Europe. In Ireland, Nelk planned a meetup in a public park, but failed to notify the local police. The meetup got out of control, with large mobs of fans swarming the area in an unsafe manner, causing the meetup to be cut short. [39] Afterward, Jason Pagaduan was removed from the group. In February 2020, Nelk moved into a residence in Los Angeles, California which they refer to as the "Full Send House". Salim Sirur and Cousin Jay also joined Nelk at this time.[ citation needed ] In May 2020, Forgeard, Deleonardis, Sirur, along with several other members were arrested for disturbing the peace while filming a prank at a Target store in Mississippi. They were later released on bond. [40]

In September 2020, the police department in Normal, Illinois announced an investigation into Nelk after they hosted a flash mob of about 200 people on-campus at Illinois State University in violation of COVID-19 regulations. [41] [42] Following this, YouTube announced a decision to totally demonetize the Nelk YouTube account in addition to most of their specific videos, so that no money could be earned from YouTube. They attributed the decision to the platform's Creator Responsibility Policy, which mandates that creators do not engage in “on- and/or off-platform behavior [that] harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem," claiming that Nelk had harmed YouTube users by hosting a group of people and thereby violating COVID-19 regulations. [43] Chris Koos, the town's mayor, also stated that he intended to pursue legal action against Nelk. [44] A week later, police in Seaside Heights, New Jersey broke up a gathering of about 1,500 people at a house being rented by Nelk, which violated New Jersey's COVID-19 restrictions. Nelk, despite no intentions to draw a crowd, was eventually kicked out of the house by the landlord and 8 fans were arrested. [44] Governor Phil Murphy called the event "knucklehead behavior". [45] [46]

On March 23, 2021, Nelk was unable to upload a video due to suggestions by their attorney in relation to an arrest warrant filed against Forgeard in Texas. [47] That same month, CBS reported that Nelk was responsible for a series of physical assaults at a group meet in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 15, 2021. [48]

Awards and nominations

Streamy Awards

The YouTube Streamy Awards, or commonly referred to as the Streamy's, are presented annually to recognize and honor excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing.

YearCategoryNominated workResultRef(s)
2021 Creator ProductHappy Dad Hard SeltzerWon [49]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Barbieri</span> American comedy writer and performer

Anthony J. Barbieri is an American comedic writer and performer. He is known for his appearances as the Jimmy Kimmel Live! character "Jake Byrd".

Perry Frank Caravello is an American actor, comedian, and internet personality who is best known as the star of the 2003 movie Windy City Heat and the host of the internet stream Perry Caravello Live.

A prank call is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pranknet</span> Criminal internet organisation based in Canada

Pranknet, also known as Prank University, was an anonymous prank calling virtual community that was involved in a string of malicious pranks and instances of telephone harassment, especially during 2009–2011. Their pranks were coordinated through an online chat room, and convinced others to cause damage to hotels and fast food restaurants of more than $60,000. The group was founded by a man who later referred to himself as "Dex1x1", later identified as a Canadian named Tariq Malik. The group has been linked to nearly 60 separate incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PrankvsPrank</span> YouTube channel

PrankvsPrank, also known as PvP, is a YouTube channel created by Jesse Michael Wellens and his then-girlfriend Jennifer "Jeana" Smith. In 2007, the two began to play pranks on each other and post videos of the pranks on websites, eventually forming a channel on YouTube. They became one of the most-watched channels. The channel has more than 1.8 billion video views and more than 10.2 million subscribers as of February 2017. After Wellens and Smith split in May 2016, Wellens became the sole user of the channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitaly Zdorovetskiy</span> Russian-American comedian and YouTuber

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, better known by his YouTube username VitalyzdTv, is a Russian-American YouTuber and internet content creator. He is known for his YouTube pranks and publicity stunts, some of which have culminated in him being arrested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shots Podcast Network</span> Podcast network company

Shots Podcast Network is a podcasting company founded by brothers John Shahidi and Sam Shahidi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Atwood</span> American YouTube personality

Roman Bernard Atwood is an American YouTube personality and prankster. He is best known for his vlogs, where he posts updates about his life. His vlogging channel, "RomanAtwoodVlogs", has a total of 5 billion views and 15 million subscribers. He also has another YouTube channel called "RomanAtwood", where he used to post prank videos. The channel has been inactive since 2016. His pranks have gained over 1.4 billion views and 10.4 million subscribers. He became the second YouTuber after Germán Garmendia to receive two Diamond Play Buttons for his first two channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FouseyTube</span> American YouTuber

Yousef Saleh Erakat, also known as FouseyTube or Fousey, is an American YouTuber and online streamer who produces prank videos, parodies, vlogs, comedy sketches and interviews. He also has two other channels, Fousey and DoseOfFousey. He has an IQ of 24 of which he is proud.

Trollstation is a YouTube channel consisting of, as well as collaborating with, numerous British pranksters who perform pranks and social experiments, more recently focusing on the latter. The pranks carried out by members of Trollstation are filmed covertly, often without the permission of those involved; however, they are revealed to be pranks soon after. Some of the group's stunts have led to criminal convictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Schulz</span> American comedian and actor

Andrew Cameron Schulz is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. In addition to his stand-up, he is known for his work on MTV2's Guy Code and its two spinoffs, the Flagrant podcast with Akaash Singh, and The Brilliant Idiots podcast. Schulz's first Netflix special, Schulz Saves America, premiered on December 17, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Pepper</span> English media personality (born 1989)

Samuel Nicholas Pepper is an English internet personality and reality TV contestant. Pepper appeared as a contestant on the 11th season of Big Brother in 2010. Later that same year, he started a YouTube channel, where he initially posted extreme pranks. These pranks often received backlash for featuring assault and cruelty. In 2016 Pepper shifted to vlogging and then again in 2019 shifted to comedy videos, starting a TikTok channel in 2020. In 2021, Pepper worked with FaZe Clan to promote the Save the Kids token pump-and-dump scheme as an independent contractor. Pepper also began streaming from Kick in 2023.

<i>Natural Born Pranksters</i> 2016 American film

Natural Born Pranksters is a 2016 American comedy film starring YouTuber celebrities Roman Atwood, Dennis Roady, and Vitaly Zdorovetskiy. Their film debut features the trio staging pranks that were too elaborate to put on YouTube. The movie was produced by Collective Digital Studios and distributed by Lionsgate. The trio wrote the feature and it was directed by Ben Pluimer and Atwood, in his directorial debut. The movie also has numerous cameos by social-media personalities including Jenna Marbles, Furious Pete, Jukka Hildén, Dave England and Tom Mabe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Shahidi</span> American businessman

John Shahidi is the co-founder of Full Send, Happy Dad Hard Seltzer and Shots Podcast Network, home to top podcasters including Theo Von, Nelk Boys, Maxx Crosby and many UFC fighters.

Sam Shahidi is a businessperson and co-founder of Shots Podcast Network and CEO of Happy Dad Hard Seltzer. Also, a partner of the popular YouTube group, Nelk Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destiny (streamer)</span> American streamer (born 1988)

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, known online as Destiny, is an American live streamer and political commentator. He was among the first people to stream video games online full-time. Since 2016, he has streamed political debates with other online personalities, in which he advocates for liberal and social democratic politics. The New York Times has described Bonnell as a liberal, while in 2020 Bonnell described himself as "a very big social democrat".

Joseph Peter Saladino, known professionally as Joey Salads, is an American YouTube personality and prankster from New York City. His eponymous main channel, and second channel Just Viral TV have a total of 557,066,992 video views and over 10 million subscribers combined. He became well-known on YouTube for faking viral pranks and social experiments, some with messages that many perceived as racist.

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov and Aleksei Vladimirovich Stolyarov, jointly known as Vovan and Lexus, are Russian comedians noted for their prank telephone calls to prominent individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stokes Twins</span> American twin celebrities

Alan Chen Stokes and Alex Chen Stokes, commonly known as the Stokes Twins, are American twins and influencers known for their YouTube and TikTok accounts with 100 million subscribers and 30.7 million followers, respectively. The Stokes Twins are the 12th largest YouTube channel as of December 1, 2024. They began making videos separately and then combined their following into a shared twins account.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niko Omilana</span> British YouTuber (born 1998)

Nikolas Daniel Adegbajumo Omilana is a British YouTuber, influencer, and perennial political candidate. He is known for posting prank videos on YouTube and running as an independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election and the 2024 UK general election, being unsuccessful in both elections. He is also known for being a part of the Beta Squad YouTube group. Omilana has also competed in several charity football matches, including Soccer Aid and multiple Sidemen charity matches.

References

  1. 1 2 "About NELK". YouTube.
  2. "These Popular YouTubers Are Being Investigated For Allegedly Throwing College Parties And Encouraging Students To Ignore COVID Safety". BuzzFeed News. September 11, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  3. Horowitz, Justin (February 21, 2024). "How the Nelk Boys went from viral pranksters to right-wing media stars". Media Matters for America. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  4. Gilbert, Dave. "The Trump Campaign's Rhetoric About Women Sounds a Lot Like Andrew Tate's". Wired. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  5. Fraser, Ted (August 10, 2020). "Canadian pranksters Nelk have millions of young followers. Their 'dangerous' decision to party during the pandemic is good for business". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. "Who are the NELK boys? -". couchguysports.com. June 19, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  7. "FULL SEND PODCAST on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  8. "Kyle Forgeard". Forbes. February 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. Nolan, Emma (November 3, 2020). "NELK Boys and Donald Trump meet on Air Force One in viral YouTube video". Newsweek. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  10. Page, Sam (October 23, 2020), "Donald Trump and the Potency of his Assemblage", Political Landscapes of Donald Trump, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 180–192, doi:10.4324/9780429242670-12, ISBN   978-0-429-24267-0, S2CID   225169714 , retrieved November 3, 2020
  11. Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "Who are the Nelk Boys? Why Donald Trump appeared on a frat prank podcast". Insider. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  12. "YouTube Pulls Donald Trump's Interview With 'Full Send' Podcast For Misinformation". HuffPost. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  13. Pastis, Stephen (October 22, 2024). "Trump Invites 'Nelk Boys' Onto Plane In Election's Closing Stretch—After Montage Of Pro-Trump Pranks". Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  14. Chaffin, Joshua (November 8, 2024). "How Barron Trump Connected His Father to the Manosphere". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  15. "Donald Trump Courts the Manoverse". New York Times. September 1, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  16. Lorenz, Taylor (June 29, 2021). "What Won't the Nelk Boys Do?". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  17. Heck, Alexandra (July 22, 2019). "'It was a wake-up call': Shelburne's Jesse Sebastiani on the YouTube prank that landed him in jail". Orangeville.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  18. Bluestein, Adam (March 3, 2021). "How Supreme-Style Merch Drops Took Over Corporate America". Medium. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  19. Seessel, Adam (May 24, 2022). Where the Money Is: Value Investing in the Digital Age. Simon and Schuster. p. 98. ISBN   978-1-9821-8514-5.
  20. "Nelk Boys' Happy Dad Hard Seltzer Officially Hits Shelves in California". Brewbound. June 14, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  21. Higgins, Daniel. "Wisco Hard Seltzer puts Stillmank Brewing in prime position grab a "little small fraction" of the market". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  22. "Edgy Prank Channel Nelk Launches 'Happy Dad' Hard Seltzer Brand". Tubefilter. June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  23. "We Made Our Own NELK Alcohol!". youtube.com. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  24. Ward, Tom. "From YouTube Pranks To Beverage Moguls: The Nelk Boys And Shahidi Brothers' Happy Dad Hard Seltzer Is A Huge Success". Forbes. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  25. Weiss, Geoff (August 5, 2021). "Nelk Launches 'Full Send' Podcast To Talk Business Ventures, Recount Legendary Antics". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  26. Devika (October 12, 2021). "Hilarious! Bryson DeChambeau Pranks People on a Golf Course". EssentiallySports. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  27. Mustafa, Filiz (October 29, 2020). "Celebs react to Donald Trump and Nelk Boys' video – "the funniest crossover in internet history"". HITC. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  28. Bowling in Other People's Lanes! , retrieved March 21, 2021
  29. AffiliateLabz (February 8, 2020). "Nelk Boys New Full Send House They Just Moved Into Is Huge". Famous Celebrity Homes. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  30. "Saved by the Status: across Canada in 100 days (exclusive)". BZ Film. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  31. 1 2 Halliday, Chris (January 11, 2019). "Shelburne prankster, NELK Boys YouTube star found guilty of amended charge in U.S. court". Orangeville.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  32. "Jesse Sebastiani Tweet 6:42 AM 2019-01-29". Twitter. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  33. Fowler, Kate (February 9, 2021). "What happened to Jesse from NELK? Fans confused by disappearance!". HITC. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  34. Lloydi, Baloydi (January 15, 2018). "What/Who is NELK?" . Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  35. Pretending to be an Amazon Delivery Driver! , retrieved March 10, 2021
  36. Kipling, Ella (September 9, 2021). "Nelk Boys explain brutal reason 905 Shooter left the group". HITC. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  37. Rogers, Katie (May 19, 2016). "When YouTube Pranks Break the Law". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  38. Del Ray, Marina (January 13, 2015). "LAPD Not Laughing Over Pranksters' Viral 'Coke' Gag On Officers". CBS. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  39. O'Callaghan, Gavin (September 9, 2019). "Gardai speak to famous Youtube pranksters 'The Nelk Boys' after hundreds turn up to Phoenix Park meet up". Dublin Live. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  40. "NELK on Instagram: "Its Jesse boys. Im out and good but the boys just got arrested. Keep you guys updated as soon as i know more #FREENELK"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  41. "Watch now: NELK Boys parties could bring consequences for Illinois State University students". The Pantagraph . September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  42. Schladebeck, Jessica (September 10, 2020). "Illinois State University students could face legal consequences for attending massive party thrown by YouTube stars The NELK Boys". nydailynews.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  43. Gstalter, Morgan (September 12, 2020). "YouTube stars' account demonetized after they are accused of throwing parties amid pandemic". The Hill . Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  44. 1 2 "8 Arrested As YouTube Stars' Fans Get Unruly In Seaside Heights". Patch . September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  45. Yates, Toni (September 16, 2020). "Arrests made after police break up large party outside 'Jersey Shore' house". ABC News. 6ABC Philadelphia. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  46. "Murphy criticizes YouTube stars for 'Jersey Shore' gathering". Concho Valley Homepage. AP. September 16, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  47. "Nelk Boys' Kyle Forgeard Has Warrant Issued In Texas". Pro Sports Extra. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  48. "4 Suspects Sought for Assault at Nelk Boys Meetup in Fort Worth, Police Say". CBS News . April 2021.
  49. Strause, Jackie (December 12, 2021). "Streamy Awards: MrBeast Wins 2021 Creator of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 28, 2022.