Logan Alexander Paul (born April 1, 1995) is an American actor, professional wrestler and internet celebrity. Paul first gained fame through videos shared on former internet video service Vine. Paul's television and film work includes guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Weird Loners, and roles in films The Thinning and The Space Between Us. His younger brother Jake Paul is also an actor and Internet personality.
He received mainstream infamy after December 31, 2017, when he uploaded a video of himself visiting Japan's infamous Aokigahara forest with some friends, a place known for its high suicide rate, and coming across the corpse of a man who had hung himself. Long story short, this caused a lot of backlash.
On August 25, 2018, he fought against British YouTuber and rapper KSI in a very hyped-up amateur boxing match at Manchester Arena in Britain. The lead-up to this match began on February 3 when KSI, after beating YouTuber Joe Weller in a match at London's Copper Box Arena, called out the Paul brothers to fight him. Later that month, the Paul brothers agreed to fight the Olatunji brothers (KSI and his younger brother Deji) in a two-part boxing match; one part held in the UK, the other in the U.S., with the elder brothers fighting on main card and the younger brothers fighting on the co-main card. The first part of Logan and KSI's fight ended in a majority draw, with two judges calling it a tie and one judge calling KSI the winner. The second part was planned for either February or May 2019, but it was later announced in September that year to be held on November 9, 2019, this time as a professional boxing match (i.e. no headgear). Paul lost the rematch in a split decision (not helped by a blow to the back of KSI's head that deducted two points from Paul's score). The two would later go on to establish a partnership and found the sports and energy drink brand Prime Hydration.
On June 6, 2021, Paul fought against 50-0 undefeated professional boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. in a hyped-up, eight-round catchweight exhibition match that went the distance. Since the match was an exhibition match, it was not judged and the match didn't affect either man's official record. Both the match and the hype that lead up to it were criticized for a multitude of reasons, ranging from the weight differences to the stark differences in the men's tales of the tape,note with boxing observers calling it a bastardization of the sport.
Besides his vlogs and filmography, Logan Paul is also the host of Impaulsive, a podcast where he discusses current topics with other notable figures. He's also been featured in WWE in 2021 before signing-up in 2022, going on to win the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio in November 2023.
At the tail end of 2022, Logan Paul was caught in a controversy when an NFT based game he released entitled Cryptozoo was covered by Coffeezilla. A fellow YouTuber who covers scams and does investigative journalism based on his findings and his video implicated Paul and his company in a large NFT-based scam. Paul has since offered to give back money to the people who bought it, but his fanbase had a negative reaction when he threatened to take Cofeezilla to court on a slander charge.
Logan Paul incorporates the following tropes:
- Air Jousting: In the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble, Logan and Ricochet engaged in the closest modern real-life humans can get to this, jumping at each other from the top ropes and colliding mid-air over the center of the ring.
- all lowercase letters: Used for the video "ksi vs. logan paul..."
- Broken Win/Loss Streak: After getting two draws against both KSI and Floyd Mayweather and losing the rematch against the former, he finally won his first boxing match against Dillon Danis on October 14, 2023.
- Christmas Songs: A not so wholesome example. He's made a The Diss Track towards Santa Claus.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Developed a friendship with KSI after their years long feud.
- Groin Attack: When filming a video for his Vine channel in 2014, Logan attempted a stunt during which he landed onto a chair and damaged part of his right testicle.
- I Hate Past Me: He has stated in an Instagram story that he detests his younger self, and that he let money and fame turn him into "an intolerable asshole".
- Internet Safety Aesop: Discussed, Logan Paul's incident at the Aokigahara forest taught him the very hard lesson about surrounding yourself with enablers and carelessly uploading content without thinking about the repercussions. To this day, he still regrets what he did and has learned to humble himself.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Logan accepts PewDiePie's call for help in his subscriber battle against T-Series.Logan Paul: I'll play your game, Mr. Pie. After all, you are my colleague, my peer, my compadre. We make money, the same way. We even make mistakes, the same way. We're not so different after all, Mr. Pie.
- Referenced by...: He's referenced by PewDiePie in some videos. Logan Paul has a video that mentions when PewDiePie referenced him.
- Santa Claus: He's on the receiving end of a diss track in one song.
- Yes-Man: Discussed on his podcast, Logan admits that before he gained infamy for his actions in the suicide forest, he had an entourage who never said no to him and just tagged along with him for fame. Ever since the incident, he got new people who are brave enough to say no to him and challenge his ideas. He has gone on record to say that he prefers to be in a box where his ideas are challenged and restricted since he won't do anything that stupid ever again.
- Youtuber Apology Parody: His apology video for the Aokigahara forest incident is often the one parodied or referenced when this trope is in place.
