A YouTube star known for his gluttonous “Mukbang” eating videos that he has lost 250 lbs. — all while convincing his millions of fans he was still dangerously overweight.
Nikocado Avocado, who has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube where he posts videos showcasing himself and others eating excessive amounts of food, unveiled his much slimmer physique in a video he posted Friday titled “Two Steps Ahead.”
The video also included a rant in which he referred to his followers as “ants” and derided them for watching his videos and commenting on his size when he was obese.
Nikocado Avocado called the stunt his “greatest social experiment,” and he pulled it off by hiding himself from his videos for months and posting only old videos he had recorded before the weight loss.
The content creator, whose real name is Nicholas Perry, revealed the drastic change three months after telling fans he “quit his weight loss journey” and would be taking a hiatus.
“Two steps ahead, two steps ahead,” Nikocado Avocado began the video, showing himself wearing a panda head mask.
“This has been the greatest social experiment of my entire life. It’s worrying, it’s compelling, it’s gripping to observe all these unwell, disorientated beings roam the internet in search of stories, ideas, rivalries where they feel encouraged, engaged,” he continued.
Nikocado Avocado said he felt like interacting with fans over his seven-year career making Mukbang videos was like “monitoring ants on an ant farm.” He said it taught him that people will consume “anything they are told to consume.”
Perry then removed the mask, fully showing off his weight loss transformation.
“I am the villain because I’ve made myself one. And you will continue to consume these stories about me. Year after year, after year, for as long as I tell the internet that I am the villain. Stories that permeate and linger, and infect the minds of the ants. Influence the ants. Brainwash the ants,” he said, before telling viewers directly: “You are the ants.”
The YouTuber continued: “Today, I woke up from a very long dream and I also woke up from having lost 250 pounds off of my body. Yet, just yesterday, people were calling me fat and sick and boring and irrelevant. People are the most messed up creatures on the entire planet.”
In a separate video, uploaded to another channel Perry runs, he explained he had been posting years-old content in order to maintain his channel while working on his health.
Perry, however, wasted no time returning to his roots for viewers’ enjoyment, pulling out a large plate of noodles to slurp down.
While his shocking transformation took many fans aback, most were happy to see the creator in good health, with one person writing, “Let’s be real. This is what we hoped for rather than facing his passing due to complications caused by his heavy weight.”
Another fan wrote: “This feels almost not real, he managed to play us like a violin, this redemption arc feels surreal.”
“He gained weight, became a multi-millionaire, lost weight, biggest comeback ever,” another added.
