Jake Joseph Paul (born January 17, 1997) is an American professional boxer, YouTuber, and actor. He initially rose to fame on Vine, before playing the role of Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark for two seasons.
Paul's boxing career began in August 2018 when he defeated British YouTuber Deji Olatunji in an amateur contest via TKO in the fifth round. Turning professional in January 2020, Paul beat the YouTuber AnEsonGib, via TKO in the first round. Between 2020 and 2022, Paul won fights against retired basketballer Nate Robinson by second round KO, retired mixed martial artists Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva by 1st-round TKO, twice by SD and 6th-round KO, and UD, respectively. Tommy Fury handed him his first professional loss via SD in February 2023. In August 2023, he defeated 38-year-old UFC Star Nate Diaz by UD.
In January 2023, Paul announced that he would be making his professional MMA debut with the PFL.
Early life
Paul was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Westlake, Ohio, with his older brother Logan, who is also a YouTuber and internet personality. They started filming themselves when Jake was 10. Their parents are Pamela Ann Stepnick (née Meredith) and realtor Gregory Allan Paul.
Entertainment career
2013–2016: Vine, YouTube and Bizaardvark
Paul began his career in September 2013 posting videos on Vine. By the time Vine was discontinued by Twitter Inc., Paul had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views on the app. Paul launched his YouTube channel on May 15, 2014. His channel became known for pranks, controversies, and his hip hop music.
After gaining acclaim on Vine and YouTube, Paul was hired onto the set of the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark, playing a character who accepted dare requests that he would then perform. On July 22, 2017, during the middle of filming the second season of Bizaardvark, the Disney Channel announced that Paul would be leaving the series. The announcement followed a news report from KTLA about public complaints from Paul's neighbors regarding the noise generated by Paul's pranks, parties, hazards and large crowds of fans congregating in their neighborhood. Paul later confirmed the news on his Twitter page, saying he would now focus more on his personal brand, YouTube channel, business ventures, and more mature acting roles. Paul later revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was actually fired from Bizaardvark by Disney, which wanted to expedite the process of weaning him off the show due to the KTLA segment.
2017–2019: Music, business, and Team 10
Paul launched entertainment collective Team 10 in 2016. On January 17, 2017, his 20th birthday, it was reported that he had launched media company TeamDom with $1 million in funding to create an influencer marketing management and creative agency around teen entertainment. Investors included Danhua Capital, Horizons Alpha, Vayner Capital, Sound Ventures & A-Grade Investments and Adam Zeplain.
Paul released the single "It's Everyday Bro", featuring Team 10, on May 30, 2017. It featured vocals from members of the team at the time, consisting of Nick Crompton, Chance Sutton, Ivan and Emilio Martinez and Tessa Brooks. It drew over 70 million views in one month and became the Youtube's third most disliked video. The song debuted and peaked at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its title refers to how Paul at the time posted a video every single day. In 2017, Paul released and later deleted singles including "Ohio Fried Chicken," "Jerika," "No Competition," "That Ain't on the News," and "Litmas." The singles were deleted for various reasons, including his 2018 break-up with Erika Costell.
On November 22, 2017, Paul released a remix of "It's Everyday Bro," featuring American rapper Gucci Mane in place of Team 10, alongside the new music video for it. On April 27, 2018, he released the single and music video for "Malibu" with now-former Team 10 member Chad Tepper. On May 11, he released another single and music video for "My Teachers", featuring now-former Team 10 members Sunny Malouf and Anthony Trujillo, along with the music video. On May 24, he released two singles, "Randy Savage" and "Cartier Vision". The former song features Team 10 and hip-hop duo Jitt & Quan, featuring vocals from Team 10 members at the time, consisting of Anthony Trujillo, Sunny Malouf, Justin Roberts, Erika Costell, and Chad Tepper; it was released along with the music video. The latter song features Anthony and the duo as well; the music video was released later on September 12.