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Dhar Mann (born May 29, 1984) is an American entrepreneur. Mann founded Dhar Mann Studios, which produces short films for social media such as YouTube, in 2018.
In 2010, Mann and stockbroker Derek Peterson received significant media coverage for founding the weGrow store, which sold hydroponics marketed for growing medical marijuana. weGrow was closed two years later amid lawsuits between the business partners. A year later, in 2013, Mann was charged for allegedly defrauding the city of Oakland, California while running his real estate company MannEdge Properties.
Contents
[edit]- 1Early life and career
- 2weGrow and legal issues
- 3Fraud charges
- 4Dhar Mann Studios
- 5Personal life
- 6References
- 7External links
Early life and career
[edit]Awas born May 29, 1984, the son of Surinder and Baljit Singh, who emigrated from India to the United States. Mann's parents own Friendly Cab, a taxi cab operator based in Oakland, California. The East Bay Express reported in 2015 that the Singh family owned an "extensive portfolio of real estate in Oakland".
Mann recalls growing up in a one-bedroom Bay Area apartment that was shared with three other families. As his parents were focused on managing their company, rather than "give me their time, they gave me money to do things." At the age of nineteen, he started a real estate company, and founded other, often failed, companies within the decade, including ventures in luxury car rental services and mortgage refinancing.
weGrow and legal issues
[edit]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, California to sell hydroponics equipment, and aimed to open franchises in eight other states.
In early 2011, the weGrow store was closed, with Peterson filing lawsuits against the company citing unpaid debts and accusing Mann of running a "hydroponzi scheme" in an Mother Jones interview. A spokesman for Mann subsequently accused Peterson of fabricating the allegations in retaliation for Mann's decision to downsize their partnership, and Mann successfully countersued Peterson for a cash settlement and stocks in Peterson's own company.
Fraud charges
[edit]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. Prosecutors reduced the charges to five felony counts in August 2013, and later that year Mann pled no contest to the five counts. He was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and restitution. Mann told The New York Times in 2021 that the conviction was later expunged.
Dhar Mann Studios
[edit]| Dhar Mann | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube information | ||||
| Channel |
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| Years active | 2018–present | |||
| Subscribers | 13 million | |||
| Total views | 5.78 billion | |||
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Updated: October 24, 2021 | ||||
In 2018, Mann founded video production company Dhar Mann Studios. The studio produces films for social media such as YouTube. When Mann began publishing videos on YouTube in 2018, his output comprised motivational videos, and later shifted focus to morality plays. In 2021, Mann started a contract with the Creative Artists Agency. Later that year, he launched a mobile app where users can watch videos produced by his studio.
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", noting their often "thin and absolutist" moral philosophy and blatantly clickbait titles. Vulture called them "feel-good" videos intended to "encourage people to be decent to one another."
Personal life
[edit]In 2014, Mann was in a relationship with businesswoman Lilly Ghalichi, known for participating on the reality television series Shahs of Sunset. Mann met his fiancée Laura Avila in 2015. Together, the couple manage LiveGlam, a cosmetics company that Mann founded in 2015. The couple had their first child in 2020. Later that year, they purchased a mansion in Calabasas, California previously owned by media personality Khloé Kardashian.