Jump to content

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 86.181.211.116 (talk) at 07:40, 5 August 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy
File:Vitaly Zdorovetskiy University Press2013.jpg
Zdorovetskiy during an interview with Florida Atlantic University's University Press in 2013.
Born (1992-03-08) March 8, 1992 (age 32)
Murmansk, Russian Federation
MediumYouTube videos
NationalityRussian American
GenresPractical jokes
WebsiteOfficial YouTube Channel

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy (born March 8, 1992), better known by his YouTube username VitalyzdTV, is a Russian American comedian. He is known for his public prank videos, which he uploads to his YouTube account. As of July 10, 2014, his videos have around 630 million views and his channel has about 6,500,000 subscribers.

Early life

Zdorovetskiy was born in Murmansk, Russia on March 8, 1992,[1] and moved to Odessa, Ukraine shortly after, where he was raised.

Early work

Zdorovetskiy attempted to become a professional skateboarder at an early age and produced his first videos featuring himself and his friends performing skateboarding tricks in order to attract sponsors. However, due to injuries sustained while skateboarding he was forced to give up this career path.[2]

In 2011 he took part in a porn clip for the adult entertainment company Bang Bros. The video was part of the Bang Bus series, in which he and his friend starred together with pornographic actress Diamond Kitty. When interviewed by the University Press of Florida Atlantic University, Zdorovetskiy commented "I needed the money. You only live once, I am trying to do everything possible" about his taking part in the video.[3]

Career

Miami Zombie Attack Prank

Zdorovetskiy received his first significant success with the video "Miami Zombie Attack Prank!" According to Bryant Eng, "Inspired by last May’s gruesome cannibal attack of a homeless man in Miami, Zdorovetskiy dressed up as a Zombie and traveled to some of the poorest neighborhoods in Miami to scare random bystanders." By January 2014 the "Miami Zombie Attack Prank!" had been viewed more than 26.7 million times. The video was also featured on the Comedy Central television show Tosh.0.[2] A sequel video prank was produced filming him in Columbus, Ohio chasing residents through the streets with a hockey mask on, wielding a chainsaw. The video made it to five million views within a week on YouTube.[4]

Russian Hitman Prank

On July 16, 2012, Vitaly and cameraman Jonathan Vanegas filmed the "Russian Hitman Prank". As part of the prank, Zdorovetskiy approached a Boca Raton man and informed him they had 60 seconds to get away from a briefcase he had placed on the ground. After Zdorovetskiy revealed the whole thing to be a prank and that there was a hidden camera nearby, the man started attacking him and his partner and called the police. Zdorovetskiy was arrested by Boca Raton police department,[5] on charges of threatening to detonate a bomb.[1] According to the Sun-Sentinel, "Police arrested Zdorovetskiy on Monday for inciting a fake bomb threat, though the prankster said that the arrest will have no bearing on future videos. 'I'm just sad the person got upset,' he told the Sun-Sentinel. 'We're pranksters, we don't fight back. That's not professional.'" At the time of the prank Zdorovetskiy's YouTube channel had only about 100,000 subscribers, however due in part this incident and other exposure, his channel grew to over four million subscribers within just over a year.[6] Following the incident the victim of the hoax stated that while he felt the joke went too far, he did not believe that the pranksters should be severely punished.[7]

Extreme Homeless Man Makeover

On July 20, 2013 Zdorovetskiy released the video "Extreme Homeless Man Makeover", in which he befriends a homeless person named Martin and provides him with new clothes and a hotel room. The video posting resulted in a job offer that Martin accepted.[8] He was also reunited with his wife. The project also included an attempt to raise money to have Martin's teeth fixed, for which Zdorovetskiy was able to raise about $10,000 online. The fundraising campaign was cancelled before it was completed, however Zdorovetskiy received several offers from surgeons to do the dental work for free.[9] The surgery and the video story was featured on television news casts including the Good Day LA Fox morning show.[10]

Gold Digger Prank

Other videos he has created include the "Gold Digger Prank", featuring a woman who rebuffs his advances until she believes he drives a Lamborghini sports car.[11] The video generated more than 18 million views in its first week of posting,[12] making VitalyzdTV the third most watched YouTube channel in the world during that week with over 45 million views.[13] Gawker wrote of the video that, "On its surface, the latest prank from YouTube jokers Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, Roman Atwood, and Dennis Roady, isn't quite as controversial as their previous stunts. But, underneath that surface, "Gold Digger Prank" will likely go down as one of the most divisive "social experiments" they've ever conducted."[14]

ATM Robbery Prank

On March 4, 2014, Zdorovetskiy along with fellow pranksters Roman Atwood, Dennis Roady, and Chase Gilroy, filmed a prank involving them jumping out of an SUV and pretending to rob a fake ATM. The ATM, belonging to Atwood, had been previously placed at diverse locations in Columbus, Ohio and filled with fake money. After a few minutes the pranksters arrived and pretend to be stealing money from the machine. After several 911-calls from witnesses, the police arrived at the location and arrested Zdorovetskiy, Atwood, Roady and Gilroy on charge of disorderly conduct and inducing panic, also confiscating their cameras and recording equipment. A public trial held in Columbus from June 24 to June 25, 2014, with the Columbus Police Department as the plaintiff resulted in the pranksters winning the case. An attorney explained the outcome by saying "They have the right to freedom of expression. The law is clear that what they were doing, basically sketch comedy, is a type of expression."[15]The ATM Robbery prank, uploaded to YouTube a day after completion of the trial on June 26, 2014, now has over 3.2 million views (as of July 2014).[16]

FIFA World Cup 2014 Final

On July 13, 2014, Vitaly ran onto the pitch of the Germany vs Argentina final in Brazil with "Natural Born Prankster" written across his torso and attempted to kiss Benedikt Höwedes of Germany.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b "Vitaly Zdorovetskiy Police Arrest Report". policearrests.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Bryant Eng (February 5, 2013). "FAU's Prank-Star: Vitaly Zdorovetskiy". University Press Online. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Eng, Bryant (February 5, 2013). "FAU's Prank-Star: Vitaly Zdorovetskiy". University Press. upressonline.com. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. ^ "The moment practical joker terrifies Columbus, Ohio residents by chasing them in the streets wearing a hockey mask and wielding a chainsaw". Daily Mail. September 22, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Clarkson, Brett; Komenda, Ed; Sentinel, Sun (July 17, 2012). "'Miami Zombie Attack' pranksters Jonathan Vanegas, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy arrested after prank fails". wptv.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Chase Hoffberger (July 17, 2012). "YouTube Rascal Vitaly Zdorovetskiy arrested for bomb hoax". Daily Dot. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ John Thomas Didymus (July 19, 2012). "Police arrest zombie prankster Zdorovetskiy for bomb hoax". Digital Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Jeff Nadel (December 8, 2013). "Youtube pranksters gone good". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Terrence McCoy (August 13, 2013). "Indiegogo Closes Vitaly Zdorovetskiy's Campaign To Fix Homeless Guy's Teeth". Palm Beach New Times. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Jeffrey Thomas DeSocio (November 6, 2013). "Vitaly: The Extreme Homeless Makeover". Fox 11. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Viral 'Gold Digger Prank' Shows Woman Reject Guy For Date…Until She Sees He Drives a Lamborghini". The Blaze. October 15, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Mike Shields (October 22, 2013). "Gold Digger Prank Nabs 18 Million YouTube Views in a Week Motorboarding for breast cancer, Aquaman round out VideoWatch ranker". Adweek. Retrieved January 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Joshua Cohen (October 26, 2013). "Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide - Week Of 10/25/13". TubeFilter. Retrieved January 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Neetzan Zimmerman (October 15, 2013). "Pick-up Prankster puts target through Gold Digger test". Gawker. Retrieved January 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Local YouTube Pranksters Face Judge For ATM Prank". nbc4i.com. NBC4I News. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  16. ^ Warren, Amanda. "Famous Prankster Arrested, Video Confiscated for 'Evidence'". activistpost.com. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  17. ^ "World Cup 2014: Moment streaker invades pitch and attempts to KISS German star". DailyMirror. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vitaly_Zdorovetskiy&oldid=619926825"