For those of you unfamiliar with Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, I can't help but wonder: Have you ever been on the Internet?
While you may argue he's not a household name quite yet, it's almost impossible for you to tell me you haven't seen one of his signature viral pranks.
With over 7.6 million subscribers and over 840 million video views on his YouTube channel VitalyzdTV, Vitaly has reinvented the game when it comes to Internet pranking, turning a viral hobby into a full-time business.
And so we introduce the first episode of a new Elite Daily original series, #NoFilter, where we take a look inside the lives of some of the most fascinating and entertaining influencers on social media.
Vitaly is a 22-year-old Russian born YouTube personality currently living in Los Angeles, California. The Elite Daily Video Team spent a day with the rising star back in October to help get a glimpse inside his everyday life.
Much like his personality in videos, Vitaly is a friendly and outgoing guy, constantly cracking jokes and quips as he gave us a tour of his two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.
Vitaly jokingly described his life as "pretty boring," describing his daily routine as waking up in the morning, "beating his meat," drinking a coffee, going to the gym and sitting on Facebook.
Vitaly credits himself with starting "pranks in the hood"; he claims he originated the concept of doing pranks in areas where the reactions were more likely to lead to violence than in mainstream locations.
While he has yet to take a punch to the face from one of his pranks, he admits that "Vitaly Gets Knocked Out" would be a strong title on YouTube. He was quick to jokingly credit his blue eyes for the reason he's yet to take a hit.
Something many people might not know about Vitaly is that he has edited all of his own videos since day one. In addition, he often videos pranks for fellow prankster and good friend, Roman Atwood, who, in exchange, often videos pranks for Vitaly.
The prank that really got Vitaly on the map and introduced him to monetization on YouTube was his legendary Miami Zombie prank he released in June of 2012.
The terrifying, yet hilarious prank currently has almost 30 millions views, making it his fourth most viewed video of all time. Some of his other signature pranks include, picking up girls, exploiting gold diggers and running on the field during this year's The World Cup in Brazil.
While pranking has become a full-time business for Vitaly, he admits the amount of pranksters who have entered the space has become uninspiring. "There's so many pranksters on YouTube it's like I don't even wanna do this sh*t anymore," he told me.
Consequently, he found a great way to expand outside the space with a movie he is currently working on, "Natural Born Pranksters," starring himself, Atwood and prankster Dennis Roady.
Vitaly hopes the movie will help transform him from a YouTube star to a big screen star, as he's interested in eventually getting into acting and comedy as well.
Since our interview in October, Vitaly has released another banger, Chainsaw Massacre Prank, a Halloween thriller that has gained over 32 million views on YouTube. To view more of his videos, check out his channel, VitalyzdTV as well as his website where you can buy original shirts, phone cases and more.
Whether or not you're a fan of YouTube pranks, you can't deny that Vitaly is at the forefront of this unique and entertaining business.
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