After making the move from Ohio to southern California to capitalize on their rising Internet notoriety, brothers Logan and Jake Paul struck major paydirt.
“After three years of living in Los Angeles, Logan and I became the biggest daily vloggers on YouTube,” Jake, 28, said in the Thursday, March 27, premiere episode of their reality series Paul American.
Logan, 29, and Jake had already made names for themselves on the now-defunct video app Vine in their home state when they packed their bags for sunnier skies — and it didn’t take long for their fame to reach unforeseen levels.
“When I started making merch, f— me,” Logan said. “We grossed 50 million dollars in 2017. 50 f—ing million dollars.”
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While the brothers ultimately found success, their father, Greg Paul, watched them leave home with severe trepidation.
“Those guys going out to L.A., we were like, ‘F— , they’re gonna end up doing f—in’ porn because their s— didn’t work out,’” Greg, 61, recalled in the episode. “You’re thinking all the worst things.”
Logan Paul and Jake Paul attend Jordyn Jones sweet 16th birthday party at OHM Nightclub on March 13, 2016.
While his boys were certainly free of financial burdens, another obstacle reared its head as Logan and Jake began racking up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube: a brotherly feud.
“At some point, we started talking about who gets more views, who gets more subscribers,” Jake said. “And then it manifested into this real life thing.”
Logan remembered the time well, saying, “People liked this rivalry that we had. The line between reality and content starts to get blurred, especially in your early 20s when content is your entire life.”
Things came to a head when Logan featured Jake’s ex-girlfriend, Alissa Violet, in one of his videos and insinuated that he had slept with her in a diss track aimed at Jake.
“I’m not proud to say this, but my diss track on my brother is my most viewed video of all-time,” Logan said.
“The Fall of Jake Paul,” released in July 2017, has over 294 million views on YouTube.
Logan and Jake’s mother, Pam Stepnick, recalled being horrified at what was playing out in public between her sons.
“I was calling, mostly going after Logan,” Pam, 61, said in the episode. “Because he’s the older brother, you’re supposed to be taking care of your younger brother.”
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She added, “But why would they listen to me? They’re making lots more money than I’ve ever made. What am I gonna do?”
In retrospect, Logan admitted regret about what the chase for money and fame did to him and how it impacted his relationship with Jake.
“I look back on it now and I’m ashamed,” he said. “I’m truly ashamed of whatever version of myself that was.”
New episodes of Paul American premiere Thursdays on Max.
