FouseyTube
Yousef Saleh Erakat (/ˈjuːsəf ˈsælə ˈɛrəkæt/; Arabic: يوسف صالح عريقات; born January 22, 1990), also known as FouseyTube or Fousey, is a Palestinian American YouTuber and online streamer who produces prank videos, parodies, vlogs, comedy sketches and interviews.[2] He also has two other channels, Fousey and DoseOfFousey.
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Erakat in 2016 | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | Yousef Saleh Erakat January 22, 1990 Fremont, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Education | San Jose State University | ||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | YouTuber, actor | ||||||||||||
| Relatives | Noura Erakat (sister) Saeb Erakat (uncle) Ahmad Erekat (cousin) | ||||||||||||
| Website | https://reupcrew.com/ | ||||||||||||
| YouTube information | |||||||||||||
| Also known as | Fousey | ||||||||||||
| Channel |
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| Years active | 2011–2024 | ||||||||||||
| Genres |
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| Subscribers | 10.4 million[1] | ||||||||||||
| Total views | 2.063 billion[1] | ||||||||||||
| Network | Collective Digital Studio | ||||||||||||
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Last updated: September 3, 2023 Statistics shown are representative of the main "fouseyTUBE" channel only. | |||||||||||||
Personal life edit
Yousef Saleh Erakat was born in Fremont, California,[3][full citation needed] to Palestinian parents. He has three older siblings, including Noura Erakat, who is a legal scholar and professor at Rutgers University. Erakat attended San Jose State University and majored in theatre arts. He moved to Los Angeles after graduating in 2013 to pursue his acting career.[4][5][6]
Erakat was brought up in a religious Muslim family, and has on several occasions criticized negative stereotyping of Muslims.[7]
Erakat has spoken on his ongoing struggles with depression, sex addiction,[8] anxiety and bipolar disorder, mentioning them frequently in his daily vlogs and once on VH1.[9]
Entertainment career edit
2011–2014: Beginnings, fitness and controversy edit
Erakat has had multiple YouTube channels in the past, namely ones relating to fitness. His past channels included him following a workout routine, P90X, and giving a review and before and after of his journey.[citation needed] In 2012, Erakat was listed 3rd on the list of "40 Inspiring Muslims Under 40" by MBMuslima Magazine.[10] It was not until he began making comedic skits about his Middle Eastern upbringing that his popularity grew.
He later began creating prank videos and further grew his audience. These videos have been criticized both for being dangerous and others staged.[11] Nonetheless, he is often considered one of the original YouTube pranksters.[11]
2021–present: Return to YouTube, book and streaming edit
In 2021, Erakat returned to YouTube with a new YouTube Boxing related channel named Fousey (stylized in all lowercase). On this channel he has uploaded boxing related videos with Slim Albaher, AnEsonGib and other YouTubers. He started to call himself DanaTube. In the same year, he also returned to his DOSEofFousey channel. He told that he will use his DOSEofFousey channel for clips.
In January 2021, it was announced that he was going to release a book, titled Warning: This Is Not a Motivational Story.
On August 6, 2023, while Twitch streaming at an airport, he encountered an intoxicated woman who had been a victim of sex trafficking. After flirting and kissing, he and the woman disappeared for around 20 minutes. After bragging that they had sex, however, Erakat received criticism. He then claimed the event was a prank, before starting to cry because he felt "guilty". He abruptly terminated the stream soon after. After a wave of backlash, he proceeded to take a hiatus from Twitch, citing mental health issues.[12][better source needed] The day after the incident he was banned for hateful conduct towards the LGBT community.[13][third-party source needed] Shortly after his Twitch ban, Erakat announced that he would be streaming on Kick.[citation needed]
On August 23, 2023, Erakat was arrested on livestream by police in Miami, Florida after calling 911 on himself following a dispute with another streamer.[14]
Boxing career edit
Erakat made his boxing debut against Slim Albaher on September 29, 2019, losing by a technical knockout.[15][third-party source needed] Erakat suffered a broken nose and needed two surgeries to fix it. Following that experience, he vowed never to fight again.[16][better source needed] On August 27, 2022, he faced Deji Olatunji and lost via TKO, vowing to never fight again for the second time.
Boxing record edit
Professional edit
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loss | 0–1 | Deji Olatunji | TKO | 3 (4) 1:28 | 27 Aug 2022 | The O2 Arena, London, England | MF–Professional bout |
Amateur edit
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Twin Blocke | Trevor | Short film | |
| 2016 | We Love You | Ford | ||
| Boo! A Madea Halloween | Jonathan | |||
| 2017 | Boo 2! A Madea Halloween | |||
| #Reality High | Himself |
Web edit
| Year | Series | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Experiment 88 | Himself | Episode: "HELP ME!! FIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" | [17] |
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Work | Category | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | fouseyTUBE | Pranks | 4th Streamy Awards | Nominated | [18] |
| 2015 | YouTube Comedian | Shorty Awards | Nominated | [19] | |
| YouTube Star of the Year presented by A&E | Nominated | ||||
| Snapchatter | Nominated | ||||
| Pranks | 5th Streamy Awards | Nominated | [20] | ||
| Show of the Year | Won | [21] | |||
| 2016 | DOSEofFOUSEY | First Person | 6th Streamy Awards | Nominated | [22] |
| Yousef Erakat | Entertainer of the Year | Won |
Further reading edit
- Erakat, Y. S., with Martin Svensson and Leif Eriksson (Sept 28, 2021). Warning: This is Not a Motivational Story. Brentwood, Tennessee: Permuted Press. ISBN 978-1682619858
- The Guardian
- San Jose Mercury News
- BBC News
- The Times of Israel
- The National
- The Rise, Fall, and Re-Birth of Fousey: The Untold Truth (May 17, 2021). No Focks Given podcast (28).
References edit
- ^ a b "About fouseyTUBE". YouTube.
- ^ Tomchak, Anne-Marie (April 25, 2014). "#BBCtrending: How FouseyTUBE became a YouTube star". BBC. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ DOSEofFOUSEY, "YouTube", September 6, 2014.
- ^ "#BBCtrending: How FouseyTUBE became a YouTube star - BBC News". BBC News. April 25, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ "Comedian FouseyTUBE to perform in Dearborn Jan. 17". www.arabamericannews.com. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ "The Argus: Theater Student Becomes YouTube Sensation With Funny Videos | SJSU Newsroom". blogs.sjsu.edu. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ "Yousef Saleh Erakat aka FouseyTUBE speaks out against American Sniper: "this movie is propaganda"". The Muslim Vibe. January 25, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ Khalife, Leyal (March 12, 2018). "Men asked Palestinian vlogger how to get over porn addiction ... he responded". StepFeed. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Best Speeches of the 5th Annual Streamy Awards". Entertainmentmonthly. September 18, 2015. from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "The Stories of 40 Inspirational Muslims under 40". Issuu. February 2, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ a b "Timeline: FouseyTube's rise and fall as YouTube's troubled prankster". The Tab. May 14, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ "Fousey taking streaming break after controversial airport stream with "trafficked" woman". Dexerto. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- ^ @fousey (August 7, 2023). "know how bad you want to capitalize on this because I am now friends with H3. But I got banned for using the "F" slur" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "Popular YouTube provocateur Fousey called the police on himself during a livestream, leading to an altercation with police in a hotel room". Insider. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ FOUSEY VS SLIM (full fight), retrieved May 1, 2021
- ^ "Fouseytube explains why he has "no purpose" after boxing loss". Dexerto. October 17, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the : "HELP ME!! FIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: EXPERIMENT 88! (Ep 1)". YouTube.
- ^ "4th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "Yousef Saleh Erakat - Shorty Awards". ShortyAwards. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "5th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "FouseyTube, Cameron Dallas win Streamys". USAToday. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "6th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
External links edit
- Re-Up Crew
- gofousey website September 25, 2018, at the Wayback Machine (Archive incomplete)
- fouseyTUBE's channel on YouTube