The prankster whose videos are a huge hit on internet
MEET the Welshman who has more Facebook followers than Lily Allen, Simon Cowell and The Royal Family.
Ben Phillips, 23, from Bridgend, started making videos online less than two years ago and already has more than eight million “likes” on Facebook.
“I never thought that a group of Welsh guys mucking about with a camera would attract millions of people,” he said.
“Two years ago I was working in my mum’s shoe shop in Bridgend and was just making videos for a laugh.”
Ben started out making six-second videos on the social network Vine in 2014 and hit one million followers within a year.
Now, his most popular videos are of him pranking his best friend Elliot Giles, 19.
“We are like Laurel and Hardy - if they had an iPhone,” he said.
At the start of every video, Ben tells his audience what he’s got planned for Elliot.
“The best prank I ever did on him was when I put superglue in his hair gel before he went out on a date.
“The hairbrush got stuck to his hair and his hand and we had to take him to A&E in Bridgend. They didn’t know what to make of us.
“I couldn’t believe his reaction, he went absolutely nuts.”
The prank notched up 500 million views across the world, he said.
“Every single time I prank Elliot it goes viral and gets at least 100,000 likes on Facebook,” he said.
The two friends grew up together in Bridgend, where Ben still lives and records videos.
“I get a lot of people coming up to me on the street.
“It makes you realise that all those millions of followers are actually people watching.
“They see me as more of a friend than a celebrity, I’m always stopping to have a chat with people out and about.”
He said he still loves having a laugh with his followers online and has never gotten any internet abuse.
“What people don’t realise is I talk to people online just as much now as I did when I only had a couple of thousand followers,” he said.
His videos have landed him major company sponsorship deals and he was once paid £2,000 a second to record a six- second video for Ford. But he denies being rich.
“I’m no millionaire, by any standard,” he said.
“I still have a little panic when I have to pay to put more data on my iPhone.”
Last week he arrived in Cardiff for the final leg of his sellout UK tour - where he has been showcasing his first feature film.
He said: “It’s a film but also a live experience.
“The screen is talking to you, there’s a floating wedding dress screaming at you and you can even smell the Welsh countryside.”
His next tour will take him across the world to the US, Australia and Asia.
“To be a success online you’ve got to show people a way of life they’ve never His videos have been viewed three billion times in the last month He also has:
8.4 million followers on Facebook;
250,000 followers on Twitter;
1.4 million subscribers on YouTube;
350 million loops on Vine;
1.3 million followers on Instagram seen before,” he said.
“When I started social media, I didn’t even know how to share a Facebook post. Anyone with a clear vision can do it.”