The rise of David Dobrik, a 23-year-old YouTuber worth over $7 million who got his start making 6-second videos
David Dobrik was born in Kosice, Slovakia on July 23, 1996. He has three siblings named Ester, Sarah, and Toby.
Dobrik and his family immigrated to a suburb of Chicago when Dobrik was six years old. He attended Vernon Hills High School, where he played tennis.
Source: Famous Birthdays, Chicago Tribune
Because he moved to the US when he was six, Dobrik is protected from deportation under the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, that allows undocumented minors to live and work in the country. However, under President Donald Trump, those protections could be revoked.
Source: Tubefilter
After Dobrik graduated high school, his parents gave him a choice: go to college or move out. Dobrik chose to move to Los Angeles in 2013 with a few of his friends, and the group struggled to survive on cheap groceries like peanut butter and bread.
Source: Forbes
Around this time, Dobrik discovered an app called Vine, where users could create short six-second looping videos to share with others. He started out running a few different sports accounts from which he would upload sports highlights and clips. At that point, Dobrik estimates he was making $1,500 to $2,000 a month.
Source: Forbes
But Dobrik soon transitioned over to creating comedic Vine videos. He started teaming up with other funny people on Vine — a group that's come to be dubbed as the Vlog Squad. This includes other big-name former Vine stars and YouTubers like Scotty Sire, Toddy Smith, Gabbie Hanna, Josh Peck, and Zane Hijazi.
Source: We the Unicorns
As he continued to produce videos on Vine, Dobrik followed some of the platform's creators over to YouTube in 2015. But he couldn't afford to create elaborate productions and rent out massive sets like other lucrative influencers were doing in order to produce content.
Source: Forbes
That's when Dobrik met fellow Vine star Liza Koshy, who introduced him to vlogging — essentially, online video journals. "I really liked that it was a small camera and you could just record your whole day," Dobrik told Forbes. "I filmed my first vlog and I think it worked because I wasn’t trying to make it work. I was just doing it for my own enjoyment."
Source: Forbes
By November 2015, Dobrik and Koshy were dating. "Never have I ever gotten so comfortable being around a person as quickly as I did with her," Dobrik said on the couple's one-year anniversary. "I probably sound so repetitive talking about how lucky I am."
Source: Instagram
When Vine shut down in late 2016, Dobrik switched over full-time to YouTube, where he has two channels: David Dobrik, home to vlogs, and David Dobrik Too, where he puts his content featuring members of his Vlog Squad. Between the two channels, Dobrik has over 20 million subscribers.
Dobrik launched a podcast in mid-2017 with fellow Vlog Squad member Jason Nash. Called "Views," the podcast takes people behind the scenes of their vlogs and just features the crazy antics between the two.
Source: Tubefilter
Dobrik and Koshy announced in June 2018 they had split. They filmed an emotional video on YouTube about the mutual breakup, and told fans they couldn't be together because of personal issues. Despite no longer dating, the two remain best friends and still film videos together.
Source: Insider
Dobrik has turned his success on YouTube into big-screen gigs. He starred in the animated film "Angry Birds Movie 2," and hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August 2019 alongside "Pretty Little Liars" star Lucy Hale.
Dobrik and his Vlog Squad are known for the wild pranks they play on each other, and general mayhem wherever they go. Just this year, Dobrik married the mother of Vlog Squad member Jason Nash to successfully pull off a long-standing joke of becoming Nash's stepdad. The marriage lasted a full month.
Source: E! Online
Dobrik is worth an estimated $7 million. He owns a $2.5 million home in Los Angeles, which features an in-house recording studio and a multitude of cars, including a Tesla and Ferrari.
Source: Celebrity Net Worth, Architectural Digest
Dobrik has a full-time live-in assistant, his longtime best friend Natalie Noel. Rumors have swirled that the two are dating, but the two haven't confirmed that.
Source: Cosmopolitan
It's unclear what the future holds for Dobrik, although he's said in past interviews he hopes to remain in the entertainment business. Dobrik told J-14 this year he would love to do late-night television.
Source: J-14
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