UFC boss Dana White just delivered some of the rawest life advice we’ve heard from a celebrity in a long time — and he did it on a random sidewalk, no publicists in sight.
White was walking down the street when he ran into Peter Fouad, a street photographer with 1.7 million followers on TikTok who’s built a massive audience with a dead-simple concept.
Fouad catches celebrities off guard, asks them one question — what’s the best life advice you’ve ever received? — snaps a Polaroid on his Fujifilm camera, and lets them keep the print.
The resulting video, shared on February 28, has now racked up more than 1.7 million views. And White’s answer? It hit different.
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“What’s the best life advice you’ve ever received that you could share with someone like me or someone who’s watching?” Fouad asked.
White went right in: “Listen, if you’re miserable when you’re broke, you’re gonna be really miserable when you make some money, trust me.”
He continued: “The key to life is to be happy. Figure out what you like to do, get up and do it every day and be as happy as you can possibly be.”
Then came the line that really landed: “Some of the happiest times of my life was when I was broke. Money changes everything.”
When Fouad asked if money changes things for the better, White’s reply was blunt. “Not always.”
“If you’re happy when you’re broke, you should be happy when you have some money,” White added.
Fouad thanked White for being humble and taking the time to answer before handing him his Polaroid.
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Here’s what makes the whole exchange so compelling. White isn’t some motivational speaker riffing on abstract ideas about wealth. According to Forbes, his net worth is estimated at more than $600 million.
He bought the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for $2 million back in 2001 and led the organization from near-bankruptcy to a multi-billion dollar global enterprise, according to CBS News. In 2016, the UFC sold for $4 billion.
Last year, Paramount-Skydance agreed to pay nearly $8 billion to stream UFC on Paramount+, as well as on broadcast television.
As such, White is credited with transforming MMA into a mainstream sport and co-creating the hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
So when he says some of the happiest times of his life were when he was broke — and that money doesn’t always change things for the better — that’s coming from a man who turned a $2 million investment into a multi-billion dollar empire.
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And now he joins a pretty stacked lineup of stars who’ve stopped for Fouad’s Polaroid treatment.
Some of the celebrities featured in his recent videos include Chris Rock, Sauce Gardner, Post Malone, A$AP Rocky, Lamar Odom and Grant Cardone.
The format works because it strips away all the usual layers between a celebrity and the camera. No scripted interviews, no media-trained responses. Just a question on the sidewalk and whatever comes out.
White’s appearance proved no different — no publicists, no teleprompters, no carefully crafted talking points.
