YouTuber Nikocado Avocado revealed he just pulled off a perennial prank, losing 250 pounds. while assuring his millions of followers that he was still dangerously overweight.
The 32-year-old – whose real name is Nicholas Perry – shot to fame on the platform calling himself the “king of mukbang”. Mukbang, which originated in South Korea, is a video genre in which people show themselves eating excessive amounts of food, usually junk food, while interacting with viewers.
In a new video titled “Two Steps Ahead,” released Sept. 6, Perry shocked fans by debuting his drastic weight loss transformation, sharing that he had just completed “the biggest social experiment of my entire life.”
“Today I woke up from a very long sleep, and I woke up having lost 250 pounds. from my body. And just yesterday people were calling me fat and sick, boring and irrelevant,” he said in the video. “People are the most messed up creatures on the entire planet, and yet I managed to stay two steps ahead of everyone. The joke is on you.”
Wearing a giant panda mask on his head, Perry explained that making Mukbang videos over the past seven years has been like “following ants in an ant farm” and taught him that people will consume “whatever they’re told to consume.
“I’m a villain because I made myself one,” he added, removing his panda mask and showing off his weight loss.
The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!
The viral video has since garnered more than 30 million views. Fans of the content creator poured into the comments questioning how he managed to achieve such a drastic weight loss transformation as all of his recent videos over the past year have featured him bulking up.
Perry told NBC News that he had it all planned out, revealing that two years ago he was at his heaviest at 411 lbs. and now weighs 158 lbs.
“For two years, I’ve been strategically posting pre-recorded videos, both on YouTube and TikTok. I edited the videos to look recent, which allowed me to focus on healing my body behind the scenes,” he told the news outlet. “I shaved my head so people wouldn’t recognize me in public. A few fellow YouTubers also helped keep my secret.”
The YouTuber also explained that the panda symbolizes how “the world of social media isn’t as black and white as it seems” and hopefully encourages people not to take the internet too seriously.
“While everyone was pointing fingers and laughing at me for overeating, I was in complete control the whole time,” added Perry. “In reality, people are completely absorbed by Internet personalities and obsessively watch their content. There lies a deeper level of overconsumption — and that’s the parallel I wanted to make.”
Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After the shocking revelation in his viral video, Perry casually returned to his usual Mukbang content by pulling out a large plate of noodles which he consumed on camera.
In the comments section, followers shared their disbelief at the transformation, with many admitting they were relieved the star was able to recover.
“Let’s be realistic. This is what we were hoping for, not to face his death due to complications caused by his heavy weight,” one fan wrote, while another added: “He’s put on weight. Became a multimillionaire. Lost weight. Biggest comeback ever.”
One follower also commented: “I was one of the people who said he was going to die soon. I deeply regret that. Congratulations!”
“The fact that he managed to keep this completely secret without anyone in the world finding out about his secret, while actively creating rumors about heart attacks and failed weight loss, is so complex I can’t even imagine,” another person wrote.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education