Casey Neistat

Born in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, in 1981, Casey Neistat left home and went out on his own at the age of 15. By the age of 17, he was a father and on welfare. When the mother of his child left him, Neistat decided to turn his life around, focus on the new world of digital home video, and moved to New York City. In 2003, he gained his first taste of notoriety when he released a video criticizing Apple for failing to have a battery replacement program for the iPod. A few months later, the company started a replacement program. In 2010, Neistat and his brother Van appeared in the HBO documentary series "The Neistat Brothers" (HBO, 2010), which followed the pair around the world for six weeks of adventure and aired for one season. Neistat also started his YouTube channel in 2010, but his first hit for the new medium came in 2011 when he released a video called "Bike Lanes," critical of the NYPD for citing cyclists with a $50 fine for riding outside of the bike lanes, even though the lanes themselves were frequently unrideable and full of obstructions. In 2012, Nike hired Neistat to make a video about what it means to #makeitcount. Using the money budgeted for the commercial, Neistat and his friend Max Joseph traveled around the world for 10 days and documented their adventure. Nike released the edited footage in their online campaign and the video went viral. Another viral video, in 2016, focused on Neistat on a snowboard as he was towed through the nearly deserted New York City streets during a blizzard. In 2016 Neistat was named GQ's New Media Star of the Year.