Credits: Social Media
Influencer with 22 million followers lived in his car and vlogged for 7 years before finding fame
Brandon Farris is a mega social media star. His presence on different platforms – YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter – is hard to go unnoticed.
Although he boasts over 22 million followers across all his channels, life wasn’t the same a decade ago, when he was living in his car, “hungry for success”, determined to establish himself in the virtual world.
The Focus caught up with Brandon to learn more about his journey from homelessness to stardom and we present to you the inspirational story of one of the biggest social media stars.
How it all began for Brandon Farris
Born in Ohio and brought up in Arkansas, Brandon moved to Los Angeles in his ’20s to pursue his dreams of being a comedian.
He started vlogging on YouTube in 2011 while living in his car. However, he did not resort to homelessness because of bad times, but it was a conscious choice he made in an attempt to save rent in LA, so he could use the same to pay for his acting lessons.
Brandon said: “I soon realized that even living in my car in LA was expensive, and I shifted my focus to content creation to make money and a name for myself.”
“I started vlogging every day and wanted to vlog my way to success. I was dedicated to finding this success, and was willing to live in my car for however long it took for me to be able to live my dream of making comedy full time.”
Although he spent close to a decade making videos for his channels on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, his work was barely noticed and much less well-received.
“The first video I ever made on my comedy channel did pretty well. It got over 70,000 views, but it was something like 90% disliked so it wasnt a great start for my ego. I didnt see anything close to that success in views for the next 7 years,” Brandon shared.
He found his niche with each passing day by understanding what worked and what didn’t to keep his audience hooked to his content.
Life as a mega social media star
Brandon is undeniably one of the biggest social media stars today. As for his personal life, he is a husband and father of two children.
One may think life has changed drastically for the comedian with growing popularity, but Brandon perceives success differently.
When asked what he misses the most about his humble past, the influencer told The Focus:
“I keep my life fairly similar to how it was before. I dont live in my car and money isnt an issue like it was back then, but for the most part, Im doing the same things. Theres not much I miss about my past compared to my life now. I really am doing what I love and have an amazing family.”
But, he does wish he had the same hunger for success as he did when he was homeless. “I loved how hungry for success I was back then. Now I guess it just comes down to finding a goal that drives me as much as this dream drove me back then,” he said.
However, he believes he’s “lucky” to be doing comedy full-time and entertaining his fans on social media.
In addition to his social media channels, Brandon also has his own merch line with a range of products. You can check out his shop here.
