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Dhar Mann

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Dhar Mann
Mann in 2018
Born
Dharminder Mann

(1984-05-29) May 29, 1984 (age 40)
United States
Occupations
PartnerLaura Avila
Children2
Parents
  • Surinder Mann (father)
  • Baljit Singh Mann (mother)
Websitedharmann.com

Dharminder "Dhar" Mann (born May 29, 1984) is an American entrepreneur, film producer and YouTuber. He is best known for his video production company, Dhar Mann Studios, that creates short films for social media platforms such as YouTube. The films target a young audience and typically feature a turn of events that teaches the antagonist a moral lesson.[1]

In 2010, Mann and stockbroker Derek Peterson founded the weGrow store that sold hydroponics marketed for growing medical marijuana. weGrow was closed two years later amid lawsuits between the business partners. In 2013, Mann was convicted of defrauding the city of Oakland, California, through his real estate company MannEdge Properties.[2][3][4]

Early life

Dharminder Mann was born on May 29, 1984,[5] to Surinder Mann and Baljit Singh Mann, who emigrated from India to the United States.[1][6][7] The Singh family owns Friendly Cab, a taxi cab operator based in Oakland, California.[7][8] They have owned several local real estate companies since 1980, and more than 130 properties.[6][9]

Mann recalls growing up in a one-bedroom Bay Area apartment which was shared with three other families. As his parents were focused on managing their company, he has said that rather than "give me their time, they gave me money to do things".[1]

At the age of nineteen, Mann started a real estate company and founded other, often failed, companies within the decade[1] including ventures in luxury car rental services and mortgage refinancing.[10]

Mann founded weGrow, a retailer of cannabis-growing hydroponics, with former stock broker Derek Peterson in January 2010. Mann and Peterson rented a supply store in Oakland to sell hydroponics equipment, and aimed to open franchises in eight other states.[1][11] In early 2011, the weGrow store was closed and Peterson filed lawsuits against the company, citing unpaid debts.[1] He accused Mann of running a "hydroponzi scheme" in a Mother Jones interview.[12] A spokesman for Mann said that Peterson fabricated the allegations in retaliation for Mann's decision to downsize their partnership;[12] Mann successfully countersued Peterson for a cash settlement and stocks in Peterson's own company.[1]

In 2012, Mann was charged with thirteen felony counts of fraud for allegedly defrauding a city beautification program while operating his real estate company MannEdge Properties in 2008 and 2009.[2][3] Prosecutors reduced the charges to five felony counts in August 2013, and later that year Mann pled no contest to the five counts.[13] He was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and restitution.[4] Mann told The New York Times in 2021 that the conviction was later expunged.[1]

Dhar Mann Studios

Dhar Mann
YouTube information
Channel
LocationLos Angeles, California, U. S.
Years active2018–present
GenreMorality plays
Subscribers23.2 million[14]
Total views16.02 billion[14]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2020
10,000,000 subscribers2021
Last updated: October 14, 2024

In 2018, Mann founded Dhar Mann Studios, a video production company that produces films for social media platforms such as YouTube.[1][15] When he began publishing videos on YouTube in 2018, his output consisted of motivational videos and later shifted focus to morality plays.[16] In 2021, Mann started a contract with the Creative Artists Agency[15] and launched a mobile app where users can watch videos produced by his studio.[17]

Videos

The studio's videos feature often recurring actors.[18] A New York Times profile of Mann described his YouTube videos as "timely narratives about police-calling Karens and Covid-19 hoarders" told in the fashion of "1980s after-school specials and the educational short films of the '50s". It noted their often "thin and absolutist" moral philosophy and "openly click bait" titles.[1] Vulture called them "feel-good" videos intended to "encourage people to be decent to one another."[19]

In 2023, the studio announced Jay & Mikey, a comedy kids show based on the titular characters from Mann's previous short film series with Shaun Dixon and Kaido Lee Roberts reprising their roles as the titular middle-schoolers.[18]

By mid-2023, the studio's YouTube videos had more than a total of 11 billion views.[18]

Workplace scandal and actors' protest

In February 2023, multiple actors employed by Dhar Mann Studios said on social media that they have poor working conditions and unsustainable pay.[20] Many of the actors took to protesting outside of one of Mann's studio lots, with the protests happening abruptly. Actor Charles Laughlin revealed that many actors requested a meeting with Mann about working conditions, but he declined to meet with them. Laughlin also accused Mann of firing actress Jessica Ruth Bell after the actors asked for the meeting. Laughlin and actor Colin Borden said that actors who spoke out against the working conditions were immediately let go. Borden stated that many of the actors employed by Mann could not afford rent.[21][22][23] After the protests, Mann issued a statement on his YouTube channel and Instagram account disputing the claims of the protesting actors and accusing them of "spreading false information" about his studio, family, and himself. He explained how the studio operated and disclosed hourly rates for actors.[20][24]

Other activities

In 2022, Mann announced a new podcast, Dhar & Jay Show, hosted with podcaster Jay Shetty with guests including Charli D'Amelio and Winnie Harlow.[25]

Personal life

In 2014, Mann was in a relationship with businesswoman Lilly Ghalichi, known for participating on the reality television series Shahs of Sunset.[26][27] He met his fiancée Laura Avila in 2015. Together the couple manage LiveGlam, a cosmetics company which Mann began in 2015.[1] They have two daughters, born in 2020 and 2021.[28][29]

In late 2020, Mann purchased a mansion in Calabasas, California, previously owned by media personality Khloé Kardashian.[30] Along with his family's real estate activities in Oakland, Mann and his brother Harmit own property across the city.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Marcus, Ezra (August 19, 2021). "The Moral Philosopher of YouTube". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bulwa, Demian; Kuruvila, Matthai (May 18, 2012). "Oakland pot entrepreneur charged with fraud". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Indicted Oakland Pot Entrepreneur Leaned on Political Relationships". NBC Bay Area. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Tucker, Jill (February 1, 2014). "'Ganja-preneur' of Oakland sentenced, fined $10,000". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  5. ^ Mann, Dhar [@dharmann] (May 29, 2021). "Today's not only special because it's my 37th bday- it's also the 3-year anniversary of Dhar Mann Studios. I'm not always the best at describing my feelings, but from what I've been told I am pretty good at telling stories. [Read more on my Instagram]" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b c Orenstein, Natalie (September 14, 2021). "Oakland landlord hit with $3.9 million penalty for hazardous housing conditions". The Oaklandside. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (April 28, 2014). "FBI agents' sting tried to lure more S.F., Oakland officials". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Harkinson, Josh (December 11, 2013). "How a local "Ganjapreneur" bummed Oakland's high, and cheated the city out of thousands". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  9. ^ BondGraham, Darwin (April 24, 2015). "Oakland Taxicab Family Hit with $37,500 Fine for Defrauding Oakland". East Bay Express. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Harkinson, Josh. "Weedmart: Marijuana Superstores. IPOs. Reality TV". Mother Jones. No. January/February 2011. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  11. ^ McLean, Kate (July 18, 2010). "Proposal for Marijuana Factories Prompts a Battle for Control". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Harkinson, Josh (March 1, 2011). "WeGrow's "Joint Venture" Goes Up in Smoke". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  13. ^ Artz, Matthew (December 10, 2013). "Oakland "ganjapreneur" pleads no contest to fraud charges". Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "About Dhar Mann". YouTube.
  15. ^ a b Vlessing, Etan (April 7, 2021). "Filmmaker Dhar Mann Signs With CAA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Kaiser-Schatzlein, Robin (August 4, 2021). "The Internet Demands Uplifting Videos. So He Stages Them". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Weiss, Geoff (October 22, 2021). "YouTube Moralist Dhar Mann Launches His Own Video App, Rockets To No. 1 On Apple". Tubefilter News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Gutelle, Sam (June 9, 2023). "Dhar Mann universe expands with new series, upcoming feature film". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  19. ^ Burney, Lawrence (March 3, 2021). "Watching YouTube Through My Daughter's Eyes". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Hayes, Rob (February 14, 2023). "Actors for popular Burbank-based YouTube channel protest for better wages, work conditions". Burbank, California: ABC7. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Allen, Joseph (February 9, 2023). "Actors in Influencer Dhar Mann's Videos Have Gone on Strike Over Low Wages". Distractify. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  22. ^ "Beskyldninger mot YouTube-gigant". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  23. ^ "YouTube's Dhar Mann Studios Accused Of Paying Actors Unfair Wages". www.cgmagonline.com. February 10, 2023. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  24. ^ Gutelle, Sam (February 14, 2023). "Moral video creator Dhar Mann responds to the protest launched by some of his regular actors". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  25. ^ Seitz, Loree (October 27, 2022). "Jay Shetty to Launch New Online Series Dhar & Jay Show". TheWrap. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  26. ^ Johnson, Zach; Sobol, Beth (April 4, 2014). "Shahs of Sunset's Lilly Ghalichi Engaged to Entrepreneur Dhar Mann—But Will She Keep the Ring?". E! Online. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  27. ^ Webber, Stephanie (December 19, 2014). "Lilly Ghalichi, Dhar Mann Split: Shahs of Sunset Star Ends Engagement". E! Online. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  28. ^ "Meet Ella Rose + Life Update | Dhar and Laura". YouTube. July 23, 2020.
  29. ^ "Our Labor & Delivery | Myla Sky". YouTube. July 13, 2021.
  30. ^ McClain, James (November 3, 2020). "Khloe Kardashian Sells $15.5 Million Calabasas Mansion to Dhar Mann". Variety. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
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