Logan Alexander Paul (born April 1, 1995) is an Americaninfluencer,professional wrestler,entrepreneur,boxer, andactor. He has over 23 million subscribers on hisYouTube channelLogan Paul Vlogs and has ranked on theForbes list for the highest-paid YouTube creators in 2017, 2018, and 2021.[6][7][8] He is the co-founder of beverage companyPrime andsnack brandLunchly. Paul has also run theImpaulsivepodcast since November 2018, which has over four million YouTube subscribers.[9] As a wrestler, he has been signed toWWE since June 2022[update] where he performs on a full-time basis as part of theRAW brand and is a formerWWE United States Champion.
In 2013, Paul gained a following by posting sketches on the now-defunct video-sharing applicationVine.[10] He registered his first YouTube channel,TheOfficialLoganPaul, on October 18, 2013, where he started posting regularly following the closure of the Vine app.[11] He later created theLogan Paul Vlogs channel on August 29, 2015, which has since become his most-subscribed YouTube channel.[12] As of August 2023, the channel has received 23.6 million subscribers and almost 6 billion views.[13][12]
Paul has been involved in several controversies, most notably in relation to a trip toJapan in December 2017, during which he visited theAokigahara forest (a notorioussuicide site), filmed himself finding the corpse of a suicide victim, and uploaded the footage to his YouTube channel.[16] Others include his promotion of scams and failed ventures, includingCryptoZoo—in which he failed to compensate more than $1.5 million to investors despite promising to do so.[17][18]
Early life
Logan Alexander Paul[19] was born inWestlake, Ohio, on April 1, 1995,[20] to Pamela Ann Stepnick (née Meredith) and realtor Gregory Allan Paul.[21][better source needed] He claims Irish, Welsh, Jewish, French and German ancestry.[22][23] He was raised in Westlake with his younger brotherJake (born 1997), who is also a media personality.[24] Paul began creating videos for a YouTube channel called Zoosh when he was 10 years old.[25][26] He attendedWestlake High School, being namedThe Plain Dealer's All-Star football linebacker in 2012,[27] and qualifying for the state-levelOhio High School Athletic Association 2013 Division I Wrestling Individual Championships.[28][29]
YouTube career
2015–2017: YouTube beginnings
Paul in 2016
By the time Paul began attending college, his YouTube channel had attained a modest following via the platformVine.[28] He took classes inindustrial engineering atOhio University before dropping out in 2014 to pursue a career as a full-time social media entertainer inLos Angeles,[24][30] moving into an apartment complex in the city with other Vine stars.[25][24]
Paul rose to fame as a member on the Internet video sharing service Vine.[31] In February 2014, he had over 3.1 million followers on various social media platforms.[32] By April 2014, he had attained 105,000Twitter followers, 361,000Instagram followers, 31,000 likes on hisFacebook page and about 150,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. A YouTube compilation video of his Vine work garnered more than four million views the first week it was posted.[28] In 2015 he was ranked as the 10th most influential figure on Vine, with his six-second videos earning him hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue.[24] By that October, his Facebook videos alone had more than 300 million views.[25] Logan refers to his following as the "Logang", aportmanteau of "Logan" and "gang".[33]
In early 2015, Paul appeared onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.[34] He also appeared on theFox TV seriesWeird Loners, where he appeared in the role of the Paul Twins. He starred in two episodes of theFreeform seriesStitchers. In 2016, he starred in theYouTube Red movieThe Thinning oppositePeyton List. In early 2016, Paul trained with drama coaches and the comedy troupesThe Groundlings andUpright Citizens Brigade.[25] Paul wrote the screenplay for an adult comedy,Airplane Mode, which has been described as "American Pie forGen Z", and by Paul himself as "Expendables with Internet stars".[25][35] The film was originally planned to be released in 2017, but was eventually released on August 2, 2019, after being delayed. He was also involved in a number of advertising campaigns, including forHanes,PepsiCo, andHBO.[25] In 2016,Comcast purchased a short form digital TV series from Paul calledLogan Paul VS.[36]
In February 2017,Dwayne Johnson released a YouTube video entitled "Logan Paul has been cut from, like, all of The Rock's movies", in which he informs Paul that he has been cut from all of Johnson's films, and subsequently consoles him by making him the "ambassador" to his upcomingBaywatch feature film.[37] On November 23, 2017, Paul released his new single, "No Handlebars", a track that draws heavily on an interpolated sample of the song "Handlebars" by the American alternative hip hop groupFlobots. The song was heavily criticized for its perceived sexual objectification of women, including a scene in its music video where Paul rides several women like a bicycle. Flobots frontmanJamie Laurie lambasted Paul for both the "sexist" lyrical content of the song and for unauthorized use of the sample, calling him the face of "douchebag entitlement". Laurie would later go on to release a track with lyrics deriding Paul, titled "Handle Your Bars". Paul did not respond to Laurie's comments nor the backlash towards "No Handlebars".[38] After Flobots sued Paul for copyright infringement in 2019, he deleted the song from YouTube.[39]
On December 31, 2017, Paul uploaded avlog to hisYouTube channel depicting the recently deceased corpse of a man who had died byhanging himself inAokigahara at the base ofMount Fuji in Japan, known as the "suicide forest" due to its infamy as asuicide site. Initially intended to be part three of his "Tokyo Adventures" series, Paul and his group had planned to camp in the woods, but in response to finding the corpse, decided to notify the authorities and cancel their plans. The video gained 6.3 million views within 24 hours of being uploaded.[16] Paul's video depicting the corpse, whose face wascensored, and his group's reactions to it, were criticized by celebrities and politicians.[40][41] In addition, he was accused by other members of theYouTube community of being insensitive to suicide victims.[42] He was also criticized for other misbehavior he was captured taking part in during the trip, including climbing onto a moving forklift truck at theTsukiji fish market, removing his clothing on a crowded street and then proceeding to fight with one of his traveling companions, and throwing a giantPoké Ball plush toy at passing citizens, including an officer of theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department.[43] Several petitions were posted toChange.org urging YouTube to delete Paul's channel in light of the controversy, the largest of which received more than 720,000 signatures as of February 9, 2018.[44]As a result of the backlash, Paul removed the video from his YouTube channel, following up with a written apology on Twitter on January 1, 2018. The following day, on January 2, a subsequent video apology was released to YouTube in which Paul admitted to making "a severe and continuous lapse in [his] judgement" and described his behavior as a "coping mechanism", asking his fans to stop defending his actions in the process.[45][46][47] On January 9, YouTube issued a statement via Twitter condemning Paul's video: "It's taken us a long time to respond, but we've been listening to everything you've been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we'll have more to share soon on steps we're taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again."[48] On January 10, YouTube announced it was removing Paul's channels fromGoogle Preferred, its preferred ad program, andNew World Order, the sequel to his YouTube filmThe Thinning, was placed on hold,[49][50] with the airing ofLogan Paul VS. being halted as well. He was also cut from season 4 of the YouTube Red seriesFoursome and the role of Alec Fixler was terminated.[51]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer postponed the release of the filmValley Girl, featuring Paul, following the controversies.[52] On January 15, Paul was seen atLAX by reporters fromTMZ. He said that he has learned a lot from his mistakes and believes he has been treated "fairly". When asked whether he deserves a second chance, Paul replied, "Everyone deserves second chances, bro."[53] In response, he donated $1 million tosuicide prevention agencies, a quarter of which is going to theNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline.[54] In response to the controversy, Paul hired Mike Majlak, a former marketing manager at furniture companyLoveSac, to "make sure that no bad things happen" and work with Logan to help improve his reputation.[55] On February 4, Paul officially returned to his daily vlogs on YouTube after taking a 3-week-long hiatus.[56] YouTube CEOSusan Wojcicki said on February 12 that Paul did not violate YouTube's three-strike policy and did not meet the criteria for being banned from the platform.[57] In the wake of the controversy regarding the suicide video, Maverick Apparel, a brand for juniors and children, threatened Paul with legal action for giving his clothing line a similar name ("Maverick by Logan Paul"), believing shoppers are confusing their line with Paul's, resulting in a deep decline in sales.[58][59]
2018–present: boxing, podcast, and further controversies
Paul in 2018
On February 9, 2018, YouTube suspended alladvertising on Paul's channels due to his "pattern of behavior", referring to a joke he tweeted about theTide Pod challenge, removing a fish from his pond to "jokingly give itCPR", andtasering two dead rats.[60] His revenue was temporarily halted as a result,[61] and as a result of the suspension, he broadcast live onTwitch for the first time.[62] Two weeks later, on February 26, YouTube restored ads on Paul's channel; however, his channel was still on a 90-day "probation period" during which time content from his channel was not eligible to be on YouTube's trending tab.[63]
Paul in 2019
On November 20, 2018, the first episode of Paul'sImpaulsive podcast was aired.[64] In January 2019, Paul remarked on the podcast, "What is it, male-only March? We're gonna attempt to gogay for just one month." He received widespread criticism for implying that being gay is a choice, withLGBTQ+ organizationGLAAD responding to Paul's statement on Twitter, writing, "That's not how it works, Logan Paul."[65] In March 2019, Paul released what has been described as amockumentary exploring theFlat Earth Theory. In the video, he interviewed many self-proclaimed "Flat Earthers", and spoke at the 2018 Flat Earth International Conference, which took place inDenver, Colorado.[66] Logan Paul was sued by Planeless Pictures in December 2020 for the aforementioned 2017 incident in Aokigahara, when he posted a video including a recently deceased suicide victim. Planeless Pictures accused him of posting the video in order to escape a movie deal he had with them where he would star in, write, and produce their filmAirplane Mode. They also claimed that the video led toGoogle suspending their contract with them, leaving them $3 million in debt.[67]
In September 2021, Paul released anNFT-based game calledCryptoZoo,[69] which was mocked for usingstock images and was poorly received.[70][69] In December 2022, YouTuberCoffeezilla released adocuseries exposing the game's lack of functionality despite substantial funding.[71] Criticisms included marketing towards children and pre-launch cryptocurrency purchases by the team. Paul disputed these allegations, threatened legal action against Coffeezilla, and later deleted his response video.[72] In January 2023, Paul apologized and promised a $1.3 million refund for NFT holders.[73] By February 2023, Paul faced a class-action lawsuit from investors.[74] A refund program began in January 2024, where Paul offered refunds to those agreeing not to sue,[75] and he also filed a counter-claim against co-defendants.[76] In June 2024, Paul decided to sue Coffeezilla for defamation, despite his earlier apologies.[76][77] Coffeezilla responded that the lawsuit was filed in response to him asking Paul for a new investigation into Liquid Marketplace, a company co-owned by Paul and being accused of multi-layered fraud by Canadian authorities.[78]
Paul was criticized in January 2023 when his former pet pig, named "Pearl", was found abandoned byThe Gentle Barn Sanctuary in California, USA.[79] Rescuers said she was "lucky to be alive" after being diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening uterus infection, which they said has since healed. Despite facing online criticism, Paul denied any wrongdoing, stating that he responsibly re-homed the pig in 2021 when he moved toPuerto Rico, and that the pig was subsequently re-homed again unbeknownst to him at a later date.[79] In August 2024, theBBC, wanting to cover Paul's cryptocurrency controversies, was asked to fly into Puerto Rico in the middle ofHurricane Ernesto, and instead of Paul turning up at his gym for the interview, a lookalike came instead. This was followed by a crowd which shouted abuse at the BBC. The BBC then received a letter from Paul's lawyer, who warned the BBC not to publish what they had found.[80]
On February 3, 2018, following hiswhite collar amateur boxing match with Joe Weller, British YouTuberKSI challenged Paul to a boxing match.[82] On February 24, 2018, it was announced that Paul and his brother would be fighting KSI and his younger brother, Deji, in two white-collar boxing matches.[83] The fight ended as a majority draw, with two judges scoring the fight even at 57–57 and a third judge scoring 58–57 in favor of KSI.[84]
On September 4, 2019, it was announced that Paul would be making his professional boxing debut in a rematch against KSI, which would be broadcast exclusively onDAZN in the United States.[85] The fight was scheduled to take place on November 9 at theStaples Center.[85] At the UK press conference for the rematch, Paul again stirred controversy as he accused KSI of having five abortions, before remarking, "Five babies dead. I might return the favor and kill you." He received criticism fromabortion rights activists, who described his comment as "horrific", whileanti-abortion activists came to his defense. Paul responded by stating, "I said something distasteful and insensitive."[86]
The rematch, which consisted of six three minute rounds, resulted in a win for KSI viasplit decision, with two judges scoring the fight 57–54 and 56–55 for KSI, and one judge scoring it 56–55 in favor of Paul.[87]
On December 6, 2020, it was announced that Paul would face formerfive-division world championFloyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition bout on February 20, 2021.[88] The fight was postponed, and took place on June 6, 2021, atHard Rock Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida.[89] On May 6, 2021, Mayweather and Paul met for the first time at a press conference at Hard Rock Stadium, where the latter's brother,Jake Paul, became involved in an angry brawl with Mayweather when he removed Mayweather's hat from his head.[90] A visibly irate Mayweather was captured on video saying, "I'll kill you motherfucker! Are you crazy? I'll fuck you up, motherfucker. I don't play motherfucking games. I'll fuck you up."[91]
The bout consisted of constantclinching initiated by Paul and went the full distance to the sound of boos from the crowd, with no winner being announced.[92] Mayweather's superior boxing was reflected by theCompuBox punch stats, with Mayweather having landed 43 punches of 107 thrown (40.2%), compared to Paul's 28 landed of 217 thrown (12.9%).[93]
In his post-fight interview, Mayweather praised his opponent, saying: "He's better than I thought he was ... he's a tough, rough competitor." Paul appeared to harbor some doubt about how seriously Mayweather had taken the fight, saying: "I'm going to go home thinking, 'Did Floyd let me survive?'"[94] Mayweather later stated that he did hold back saying "If it was a real fight, it would've been a blowout in the first round."[95]
Paul and Danis moments before the start of their bout
Danis repeatedly shared pictures of Paul's fiancéeNina Agdal with other men and sometimes partially or fully nude during the build-up to the fight, and he was served with a lawsuit as a result.[99] The bout ended in the sixth round when Danis attempted a takedown and an illegal choke. Several members of security entered the ring and a brawl broke out, resulting in Danis being disqualified and Paul was declared the winner.[100]
Professional wrestling career
WWE
Early beginnings (2021–2023)
On the April 2, 2021 episode ofSmackDown, Paul made hisWWE debut as a guest ofSami Zayn for his red carpet premiere of his documentary, with Zayn later inviting Paul to be at ringside for his match atWrestleMania 37 againstKevin Owens.[101] On Night 2 of WrestleMania 37, after Owens defeated Zayn, Paul celebrated with Owens before being hit with the Stunner by Owens.[102] On the September 3 episode ofSmackDown, Paul made his return asHappy Corbin's special guest on '"The KO Show'", where Paul helped Corbin attack Owens, establishing himself as aheel.[103]
On April 2, 2022, on Night 1 ofWrestleMania 38, Paul made his in-ring debut, teaming withThe Miz to defeatThe Mysterios. After the match, Miz attacked Paul, turning Paulface.[104][105] On June 30, 2022, Paul signed a multi-event contract with WWE.[106][107] Following this, Paul wanted to avenge the attack from Miz at WrestleMania 38 and subsequently defeated him atSummerSlam.[108] Paul then challengedRoman Reigns on the September 16 episode ofSmackDown,[109] and the two faced each other atCrown Jewel for Reigns'Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Paul was unsuccessful in defeating Reigns, despite interference from hisImpaulsive entourage and his brother Jake. The match against Reigns received universal acclaim, with critics highly praising Paul's wrestling skills.[110] It was initially reported that Paul had suffered a torn meniscus, MCL, and ACL during the match, however, it was later revealed that Paul had only sprained his meniscus and MCL.[111]
On January 28, 2023, Paul made his return from injury at theRoyal Rumble in theRoyal Rumble match at #29. During the match, Paul had an encounter with Ricochet that led to both men leaping off the top rope from both sides of the ring, and colliding with each other mid-air. The spot garnered a massive crowd and social media reaction, with many deeming it one of the best moments of the match. He would go on to eliminateSeth "Freakin" Rollins before being eliminated by the eventual winnerCody Rhodes.[112] AtElimination Chamber on February 18, Paul snuck into theElimination Chamber match and cost Rollins theUnited States Championship, thus turningheel.[113] On Night 1 ofWrestleMania 39, Paul lost to Rollins; the match also saw an appearance from Paul's Prime co-owner KSI, who was dressed as a Prime bottle.[114][115] Like his match against Reigns the year prior, the match received high praise from critics, and initially, it was the final match of Paul's initial contract. However, a week later, Paul signed a new multi-year contract with WWE. The new contract would see more involvement and appearances from Paul with Paul himself stating he wanted to win a championship.[116] In the2023 WWE Draft in late April–early May, Paul was deemed a free agent, allowing him to appear on bothRaw andSmackDown. Paul then made his first appearance since Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 on the June 19, 2023, episode ofRaw, where he announced that he had been added to the men'sMoney in the Bank ladder match, which took place at thenamesake event.[117] During the match, in which Paul was unsuccessful at winning, Paul and Ricochet wouldbotch aSpanish fly from the top rope.[118] This led to a match atSummerSlam, where Paul defeated Ricochet after usingbrass knuckles.[119]
On October 14, 2023, after defeatingDillon Danis in a boxing match atMF & DAZN: X Series 10 – The Prime Card, Paul called out United States ChampionRey Mysterio.[120] After Mysterio accepted Paul's challenge for a title match atCrown Jewel,[121] Paul won the United States Championship at Crown Jewel, after using brass knuckles on Mysterio, thus winning his first professional wrestling championship.[122] Paul made his first appearance as champion on the December 1 episode ofSmackDown, where he announced a tournament to determine his first challenger at theRoyal Rumble, which was won byKevin Owens.[123] During the match at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2024,Austin Theory andGrayson Waller gave Paul brass knuckles to use on Owens, only for Owens to use them on Paul instead. However, the referee caught Owens with the brass knuckles in his hand, giving Paul the victory by disqualification to retain the title.[124] On the February 16 episode ofSmackDown, Paul defeated The Miz in his first televised match in WWE to qualify for the men'sElimination Chamber match atElimination Chamber: Perth. At the event, he was eliminated byRandy Orton but later returned to hit him with brass knuckles, costing him the match.[125] On Night 2 ofWrestleMania XL, Paul successfully defended the United States Championship against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton in atriple threat match[126] after an assist byIShowSpeed.[127]
On the May 10 episode ofSmackDown, SmackDown General ManagerNick Aldis announced that Paul would be the next opponent againstUndisputed WWE ChampionCody Rhodes and aChampion vs. Champion match was scheduled forKing and Queen of the Ring.[128] On the following episode, during the contract signing for the match, the contract stated that the match would be for both titles. However, when Paul was about to sign the contract, he tore it up, before bringing out his own contract, which stated that only Rhodes' title would be on the line. After Paul mocked Rhodes, he signed the contract, confirming that the match would only be for Rhodes' title.[129] At the event on May 25, Paul failed to win the title from Rhodes after interference from special guest ring announcer Ibrahim Al Hajjaj.[130] AtSummerSlam on August 3, Paul lost the title toLA Knight, ending his reign at 273 days.[131]
In October 2015, Paul lived in the same apartment complex onHollywood and Vine inHollywood, California as other social media celebrities includingAmanda Cerny,Juanpa Zurita, andAndrew Bachelor, with his roommates Mark Dohner andEvan Eckenrode. This proximity facilitated various collaborations on their respective videos.[31] In October 2017, Paul and Eckenrode relocated to an estate inEncino, California.[141] In a 2020 episode ofImpaulsive, Paul described himself as a Christian who was "not overly religious".[142] In February 2021, Paul announced that he would be moving toDorado, Puerto Rico from Los Angeles. He stated that the high taxes in California were the main motivator for the move.[143] As of June 2021, he was renting a $13 million mansion there for $55,000 a month.[144]
Relationships
From 2016 to early 2017, Paul dated influencerAmanda Cerny. He then had an on and off relationship with actressChloe Bennet, with whom he was photographed making out in Hawaii on a break from filming their movie,Valley Girl, in July 2017. The two officially broke up in October 2018. Paul and Josie Canseco started dating in January 2020 and broke up in November 2020. Besides, Logan was romantically linked withAmerica's Next Top Model contestantJessica Serfaty in 2015, influencerAlissa Violet in 2017, actress and modelOlga Safari from late 2017 to early 2018, and actressCorinna Kopf in 2019.[145][146][147]
Paul began a relationship with Danish modelNina Agdal in 2022. They announced their engagement on July 9, 2023.[148] On April 15, 2024, Paul revealed that he and Agdal were expecting their first child, a daughter born in September 2024.[149][147] They were married on August 15, 2025, inLake Como, Italy, the location of their engagement.[150]
Health
Paul said in an episode ofImpaulsive that he tore the cartilage in his knee playing football, requiring him to stay out of school for 3 months.[151] In February 2019, Paul said that he has long-termbrain damage, which he sustained from playing high school football. He stated thatDaniel Amen, the doctor who diagnosed him, says it affects his ability to haveempathy and a human connection with others.[152][153] When filming a video for his Vine channel in 2014, Paul attempted a stunt during which he landed on a chair and damaged his right testicle.[154]
^abc"High School Sports Cleveland".How national Vine video star Logan Paul went from Westlake standout athlete to master of 6-second comedy (videos). April 22, 2014.Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. RetrievedMay 2, 2017.
^Blake, Emily; September 17, Noelene Clark Updated; EDT, 2015 at 12:00 PM."Streamy Awards 2015: The full winners list".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. RetrievedApril 29, 2022.{{cite magazine}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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