Jimmy Donaldson, also known as Mr Beast, recently emerged out of 20,000 pounds of dirt after being ‘buried alive’ for seven days as part of his latest YouTube stunt.
The 25-year-old got into a highly specialised ‘coffin’ that had a transparent lid and was packed with water, freeze-dried food, and cameras to record his reactions and ensure his safety. It also allowed a supply of air.
The ‘coffin’ did not have any means of entertainment, but Donaldson could speak to his friends and team overground. It had just enough space for him to sit slightly upright but not stand.
As he was being pushed under the ground, Donaldson said, “I’m entrusting my life to this coffin for the next seven days.” During his underground stay, he broke into tears of frustration multiple times, even as his game plan was to sleep or ‘hibernate’ as much as possible.
On Day 4, he said, “I hope tomorrow’s easier. It’s a weird feeling. I am very tired, but for some reason, I can’t sleep. I don’t know. I’ve never had this happen before. Why am I crying? I don’t know.”
When he finally emerged, his friends and followers welcomed him with a banner that announced that his subscribers had already crossed 200 million. As of today, he has 213 million subscribers, making him the biggest individual content creator on YouTube. He is behind only T-Series, an Indian music label and production company that has 253 million subscribers.
Donaldson shared an 18-minute video of this elaborate stunt on his channel on November 18. The clip has gathered nearly 64 million views so far.
This was not the first time Mr Beast spent time underground. In March 2021, he was buried for 50 hours in similar circumstances.
In recent years, he has courted much popularity and some controversy for his extravagant stunts and philanthropic projects such as Tipping Pizza Delivery Guys $10,000”, I Put 100 Million Orbeez In My Friend’s Backyard, and 7 Days Stranded At Sea. Some of his videos, such as sponsoring sight-restoring cataract surgery for a thousand people or building 100 wells in Africa, have been criticised for using poverty and deprivation for clout.
In response to some of these criticisms, Donaldson recently tweeted: