YouTuber Nikocado Avocado has revealed an elaborate yearslong prank, disclosing that he lost 250 pounds while leading his millions of followers to believe he remained dangerously overweight.
Nicholas Perry, who is known online as Nikocado Avocado and gained fame as the “King of Mukbangs,” made this announcement in a new video titled “Two Steps Ahead.” Mukbang, a genre that originated in South Korea, involves individuals consuming excessive amounts of food, often junk food, while interacting with viewers. Perry, 32, used this format to both entertain and deceive his audience.
In the video, posted on September 6, Perry unveiled his dramatic weight loss transformation and described it as “the greatest social experiment of my entire life.” “Today, I woke up from a very long dream, and I also woke up having lost 250 pounds off of my body. And just yesterday, people were calling me fat and sick and boring and irrelevant,” Perry said. “People are the most messed-up creatures on the entire planet, and yet I’ve still managed to stay two steps ahead of everyone. The joke’s on you.”
Perry, who wore a giant panda mask throughout part of the video, likened his Mukbang career to “monitoring ants on an ant farm.” He explained that his experience demonstrated how people will consume “anything they are told to consume.”
“I am the villain because I’ve made myself one,” Perry added, before removing the panda mask to reveal his slimmed-down physique.
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The video quickly went viral, amassing over 30 million views. Fans were astonished and took to the comments section to question how Perry had managed such a significant transformation while his recent videos had portrayed him as much larger.
In an interview with NBC News, Perry disclosed that he had meticulously planned the ruse. He revealed that two years ago he weighed 411 pounds and now weighs 158 pounds. Perry admitted to strategically posting pre-recorded videos on YouTube and TikTok, which were edited to appear recent, while he focused on his weight loss privately. He also shaved his head to avoid recognition in public and enlisted the help of fellow YouTubers to maintain his secret.
Perry explained that the panda mask symbolized the idea that the “world of social media is not as black-and-white as it appears” and aimed to encourage viewers not to take online personas too seriously. “While everybody pointed and laughed at me for over-consuming food, I was in total control the entire time,” he said. “In reality, people are completely absorbed with Internet personalities and obsessively watch their content. That is where a deeper level of over-consumption lies — and it’s the parallel I wanted to make.”
Following the reveal, Perry resumed his usual Mukbang content by eating a large plate of noodles on camera. The comments section of his video was flooded with reactions from viewers expressing disbelief at his transformation. Many fans expressed relief that Perry had managed to get healthy.
“Let’s be real. This is what we hoped for rather than facing his passing due to complications caused by his heavy weight,” one fan commented. Another added, “He gained weight. Became a multimillionaire. Lost weight. Biggest comeback ever.”
One follower expressed regret for previous negative comments, writing, “I was one of the people who said he’ll die soon. I deeply regret it. Congratulations!”
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Another commenter reflected on the complexity of Perry’s deception, noting, “The fact he was able to keep this entirely private, with no one in the world telling his secret, while actively creating rumors of heart attacks and failed weight loss is so complex I can’t even wrap my head around it.”
