Bobby Misner knows people don't like him, and he is more than OK with it — he's still raking in views.
The 23-year-old YouTuber went viral in late 2018 when his video "LIFE of a BILLIONAIRE'S SON" became the subject of popular reaction vloggers. It's something between a travel vlog and a movie trailer, flaunting a rich kid's glamorous, privileged life across yachts on tropical beaches and helipads in major cities. Hate him as much as you want, but the video has more than 4.6 million views and Bobby now has 188,000 subscribers.
SEE ALSO:YouTuber perfectly parodies pretentious Genius videosHere's the TL;DR so you don't have to watch all eight minutes and 31 seconds of millennial flexing: Bobby was born into a financially comfortably family in Australia, but it all changed when he was 15, because his father sold his company for $300 million. From there, he bounced between schools, partied with celebrities, and lived the life of the nouveau riche.
"I've always hated that how just because someone is born into a family of wealth, people automatically label them as a spoiled brat," Bobby said in the video, bizarrely lit so that he appeared like a disembodied head. "Yes, my dad has a private jet. And I love flying it. Yes, my dad has a mansion and cars, and I love making videos with them."
It's difficult to take anyone seriously when they list "fast cars and beautiful girls" as their major interests. Bobby comes off as incredibly out of touch throughout the video — he even pulls the classic, "I'm not rich, my parents are!" while bragging about attending a party with Kate Moss.
"But I never pretended that those things were something Iowned," Bobby's floating head continued in the video. "And I recognize that my dad is the one who worked hard for them."
Can someone really be so oblivious, though? During a FaceTime call with Mashable, Bobby clarified that it was mostly an act to catch views.
"Basically I see 'Bobby' as a character," the real Bobby said, calling from London. He bounces between cities, and is currently looking to set up a base in Los Angeles. "My name on paper is Robert. Realistically, no one's portraying themselves, everyone pretends they're on holiday the whole time, doing these nice things. If I'm gonna do that, I might as well create a character who ... lives in this dream world."
'I feel like a lot of people think that from that video, I'm living this ridiculously lavish lifestyle but I'm actually quite a simple boy.'
He has a point. In a twisted way, it's refreshing to see a YouTuber who doesn't rely on being relatable to build an army of subscribers. If anything, he's the embodiment of everything unattainable but highly desired in this capitalist hell. As much a dick as he appears in his videos, Bobby is surprisingly self aware — he notes that he isn't "disadvantaged in any way," and clarifies that he is in fact "a really down to earth guy."
At times, Bobby does seem like he getshow most people actually live. In a recent Instagram story, he complained about paying $43 for cucumber Juul pods. During the FaceTime call, he notably opted for traditional (wired!) earbuds over the current meme marker of wealth, Airpods.
"I don't necessarily wake up and drink champagne or something," Bobby laughed. "I feel like a lot of people think that from that video, I'm living this ridiculously lavish lifestyle but I'm actually quite a simple boy."
But then again, it's hard to believe that when he captions his Instagram photos with "Money is the drug and I'm a junkie." He even uploaded a video that's a cross between a flex and a manifesto called "RICH KID'S rule book to WEALTH," instructing his followers to avoid getting scammed by "keeping your friend circle tight and small."
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"When there's someone like me, who has everything and everything appears to be perfect, it's prime," he responded when questioned about being the subject of scathing reaction videos. "It's easy to hate on me because you can."
It really is too easy to hate on him, because he seems so stuck in his own world. Search "billionaire's son" on YouTube, and you're sure to find titles with his name adjacent to spoiled, arrogant, and cringe.
"It sounds so weird to brag about something your dad did," YouTuber Danny Gonzalez joked in a reaction video. "My dadstarted bringing really pretty girls around. My dadhas a really good work ethic. And I was also there."
It's clear that Bobby idolizes his father, School of Audio Engineering (SAE) founder Tom Misner. The institute has private, for-profit college campuses worldwide and was sold in 2010. He talks about the elder Misner reverently in his vlogs, and his IMDb bio says he's "learnt the most important aspects of life from his father, and that is to follow your dreams and work hard at attaining them."
His father still bankrolls Bobby's lifestyle, to an extent. Bobby receives "an allowance" from his old man, but "it's nowhere what people think." He noted that he now makes more money than what his father gives him.
"My dad knows how to do it, right," Bobby said during the call, explaining his channel's goal. "I'm not gotta sit here and tell people, 'I know how to make you millions.' I don't know. I'll just tell you certain philosophies and stuff that I go by, but what I can tell people that when you're here, living this life, there are things that I know."
He doesn't believe that other YouTubers put in the same amount of effort into making a video that he does. In a subtle dig to the Vlog Squad's style of quick cuts and daily video diaries, Bobby said other vloggers will "just use iMovie and put together some stuff from a day and be like, 'This is it," while his videos involve higher production quality.
"Longevity is much more important to me than clout," Bobby said. "Each video I put out, I want to watch it myself."
Even if it means being YouTube's most arrogant influencer — maybe even usurping the Paul brothers from their asshole throne — Bobby is committed to his channel. While other YouTubers strive to be personable, Bobby does the opposite, basking in surreal luxury. He derides the more "authentic" social media stars who FaceTune their photos, perfect themselves with makeup, and then "tell you to be secure in yourself."
"I'm quite narcissistic," Bobby concludes at the end of our call. He says this with like it's a fact of life instead of a brag. "I like myself. I like the life I live and I'll tell you straight up in my videos. As long as you're honest about that, your viewers — even if they don't like you — will feel like you're telling the truth and they'll follow your story."
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