There are three different things that make up a vlog, David Dobrik, a rising YouTube star, explained to a veteran YouTuber and filmmaker. The camera pans to show a swimming pool, where a member of Dobrik's ensemble, the Vlog Squad, balances on a jet ski, attempting to toss a basketball from half-court distance over his shoulder and into a hoop. This is not funny if someone gets hurt.
David's stunts became more elaborate as his following grew. People were hurt. It was not funny.
The older, wiser YouTube star wanted to capture the phenomenon of David Dobrik, the then-22-year-old and fifth most-viewed creator, when he began filming his first feature-length documentary. As Dobrik moved into multi-million dollar homes, Neistat followed him and bought his friendsTeslas as casually as if they were going to lunch at a burrito joint.
He set out to document a different story than the one he is telling now. He threw out two years of post-production work after his muse became a persona non grata online.
I started the process of making this movie in good faith. David's phenomenon was obvious. It was clear that his content, I think to say it generously.
At the time, Dobrik was on top of the world, filming prank videos with celebrities and making guest appearances on late night shows. Dobrik went far enough that it fell over.
Dobrik was at the center of two serious scandals within two years. Insider reported in March of 2020 that a woman in one of his videos claimed to have been sexually assault by a member of the Vlog Squad.
Dobrik lost sponsorship with brands like Hello Fresh, SeatGeek and DoorDash, he was demonetized on YouTube, and he stepped down from Dispo, the venture-funded social photo-sharing app that he co-founded. The early investors in the app committed to donate any potential profits from their investment to organizations that help survivors of sexual assault.
A risky stunt went so wrong that Dobrik's friend and co-conspirator Jeff Wittek almost died.
The image was created by Casey Neistat.
Dobrik's stunts were dangerous. Dobrik greets Neistat at the door with a flamethrower, which he wields around his home as though it's a nerf gun, when he first visits his mansion in 2019.
I never thought that everything was perfect in my relationship with David.
It is arguably its own flavor of sensationalism to document the highs and lows of Dobrik.
In the beginning of the documentary, when he is called "Jonah Hill" because he looks like the actor, he drives a motorbike over a ramp.
A member of the Vlog Squad told Dobrik that they should get the footage into editing.
This near-miss didn't appear to be a wakeup call for Dobrik, who continued to pursue the next biggest stunt, regardless of whether it could put his friends in danger.
One of the first questions I asked David was, "Are they your friends or your coworkers?"
Dobrik was able to do riskier stunts because of his newfound wealth, but he didn't have to hire safety professionals because he wasn't required to.
It is an understandable suggestion to draw parallels between the content that David made and Jackass, but there is one extraordinary, bold line between the two. They know how much it will cost them physically. They know what their liability is, they know what their return is, and they know what the transaction is. It is consensual, and I think that is the difference between what you see on the internet and what you see in real life.
There is no way that a platform could regulate what happens during filming, even if it wanted to.
The guideline is usually only enforced to stop people from participating in potentially deadly viral challenges. The company mentioned trends like people eating Tide Pods or trying to light themselves on fire when it added the rule.
Dobrik's videos weren't removed from YouTube despite the fact that his prank could cause serious injury.
For example, a home invasion prank or a drive-by shooting prank, we don't allow it.
Many of YouTube's biggest stars have followed the same formula, starting with low-budget prank and as their channels pick up steam and bring them wealth, there's no limit to the potential for their antics. If you and your friends lived in a big mansion with unlimited cash, what would you do?
I think someone like David lives in this endless pursuit of sensationalism. The crazier the stunts, the more views it had.
Jimmy Donaldson buried himself alive for fifty hours after a similar pursuit of sensationalism, though he did hire a medic to keep an eye on him.
The consequences for prioritization shock value over his responsibility as a creator were faced by another prominent YouTuber. In a conversation with TechCrunch, Neistat brought up Paul's suicide forest scandal, in which the YouTuber visited a Japanese forest known to be a common site of suicides and made jokes about a dead body he encountered. Paul said his poor judgement was a result of being shocked and awe.
In the wake of the sexual assault allegations against a member of his Vlog Squad, Dobrik's channels were demonetized. Dobrik said on his show that he still isn't making money on the internet. Dobrik's channels were demonetized, but did not receive a response from YouTube.
There is something gross about a guy using his social media platform and his influence to attract young women, and then you make a video out of it. Did any of that happen in a wrong way?
Dobrik admits in the documentary that he never considered how his position was. It's really gross, looking back at it now.
The image was created by Casey Neistat.
A month after the Insider article was published, another bomb dropped, this time from a member of the Vlog Squad who said that Dobrik swung him around on an excavator the previous year. Dobrik didn't have a license to operate the construction equipment, and he didn't have any other safety supervision for the stunt.
Dobrik lost control of the heavy machinery and, as depicted in a horrifyingly gory scene, Wittek slammed into the side of the crane and broke open the side of his face. Wittek has had at least nine eye surgeries and cut ties with Dobrik, who continues to pay his medical bills.
In the film, Wittek says he shouldn't be here anymore.
Dobrik has seen the documentary, but they haven't spoken about it since their final interview, which took place after Insider published sexual assault allegations against Dobrik. Dobrik's team was not able to comment on the film before it was published.
The impact of Jeff's accident on how I conduct interviews and my professional relationship with David was significant.
It was very heavy, and you can hear in the tone of my voice that it became more contentious, and I became more aggressive with him. One of the first questions I asked him was, "Do you feel responsible?"
Dobrik expressed remorse for the egregious incidents that would be the subject of the documentary. He doesn't seem to comprehend the consequences of his mistakes in the documentary.
TheInsider article was written because the company was going to look after the victim and make sure she was okay.
A few weeks ago, Wittek made a show about why he was no longer friends with the person who propelled him to fame.
I will have life-long brain injuries, and I saved him. He could have been deported, he could have been put in jail for manslaughter, and he could have been sued for everything.
Dobrik's career has taken a hit, but he still has 18.3 million subscribers on YouTube. He has a Discovery show called "Discovering David Dobrik" in which he travels the world with his friends. The show was made after the scandals came to light.
The young star looked tired andhaggard in his first interview. It's not a coincidence that many top YouTubers like Dobrik, Donaldson and Paul follow the same path: they strive to make each video more engaging than the last, but eventually, there seems to be just two paths. Either you burn out or you make a career-changing mistake.
I think that there is always a pursuit. It's relevant for a musician, how do you keep your music interesting? How can I be more sensationalist? It's a very dangerous pursuit, because the minute you achieve something that was crazy, you have to go past that.
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