Louis Cole (YouTuber)

Louis John Cole (born 28 April 1983), better known by his original online alias FoodForLouis, then later rebranding as FunForLouis is an English-born film-maker and YouTube personality based in San Mateo, Costa Rica.[2] He has nearly two million followers on YouTube and is best known for posting a daily video blog on the channel FunForLouis, which documents his life and travels adventuring all over the globe. Cole originally found fame through filming eating stunts on another channel, FoodForLouis, but has since taken these videos down to focus on the positive message of FunForLouis. Cole has been named a top travel influencer by Forbes.[3][4]

This article is about the YouTuber. For the American musician, see Louis Cole (musician).
Louis Cole
Cole at VidCon 2014
Personal information
Born
Louis John Cole

(1983-04-28) 28 April 1983
Epsom, Surrey, England
OccupationYouTube personality
SpouseRaya Encheva
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Subscribers1.98 million[1]
Total views333 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2013
1,000,000 subscribers2014
Last updated: 5 May 2023

Early life

Louis appeared on the BBC TV show, Homefront, when he was younger.[5]

Projects

In 2007 Cole purchased and renovated a double-decker bus, equipping it as a mobile centre to help homeless youth with music and video game facilities.[6] The Boombus project now receives funding from local council wards.[7]

Cole started to post daily vlogs on to his channel FunForLouis on December 31, 2012 (2012-12-31). Discovery signed Cole to its Digital Seeker Network in 2015.[8]

In 2019, Louis restarted his FoodForLouis as a Vegan cooking channel. He created a social media travel management agency brand based on his slogan Live The Adventure, often referred to as LTA. Find The Nomads was a clothing company founded by Cole, Steve Booker and Jake Evans. It was started on 9 May 2014 and was dissolved on 28 June 2016.[9]

Beyond Borders involved flying to 22 cities with his friend and pilot Juan-Peter "JP" Schulze over a period of 60–90 days. The journey began in Kern Valley, California, US, on 21 August 2017. The journey has been concluded and the film documenting the trip can be found on discovery+[10]

In 2016, Louis co-founded The Solvey Project with Dave Erasmus with the aim of funding social entrepreneurs.[11][12]

Louis and Dave presented on stage at Social Progress - What Works? in Reykjavik, Iceland with then Prime Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson.[13]

On 22 March 2017, Cole announced on his YouTube channel that he is starting a Kickstarter campaign to fund Beyond Borders - A Film Celebrating Unity, a documentary about flying around the world with JP.[14] The £100,000 goal was reached before the kickstarter ended with a total amount of £111,563 raised by 1,666 backers.[14] The film was released in 2021 on Discovery+.[15]

Controversy

2012

In April 2012 he posted a video of himself to his YouTube channel Food For Louis that showed him eating a live goldfish. This caused the RSPCA to prepare a case against him under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Since he had previously only eaten invertebrates, the fish was the first incident in which he may have broken the law. The case was settled: he admitted his guilt and received a caution, avoiding a trial and a possible criminal record.[16] He has received death threats from some animal lovers.[17]

In the past, Cole has eaten locusts, a raw heart, maggots, roadkill rabbit, roadkill pigeon, a frog corpse, ragworms, and scorpions.[18][19][20]

Cole claims his videos are not cruel and that he kills the animals quickly to avoid any unnecessary suffering. He argues that viewers' disgust is based on ignorance of or bias against other culinary cultures.[21] He has denied that his goldfish-eating stunt caused unnecessary suffering, and claims that the RSPCA is "wasting its time" in pursuing the case.[22]

2016

At the beginning of 2016 while driving in New Zealand with his girlfriend Raya, he was pulled over for speeding 41 km/h over the speed limit. While the officer caught him travelling at 141 km/h (87 mph), he used discretion to officially register it as 139 km/h. Since he was registered under 40 km/h over the limit, under New Zealand law Cole received a NZD$400 fine instead of automatic loss of licence. The story made national headlines in New Zealand.[23][24]

In August 2016, Cole was criticized for his vlogs from his visit to North Korea.[25] He was accused of promoting North Korea and his videos were described as propaganda for the North Korean regime.[26] He has stated that he disagrees with the ideology of the regime and that the content was not funded by the North Korean government.[27]

References
  1. "About FunForLouis". YouTube.
  2. Moving to an EcoVillage in Costa Rica // Planning Our House, retrieved 20 September 2022
  3. Street, Francesca (27 June 2017). "World's top 10 travel influencers, according to Forbes". CNN.
  4. "Top Influencers: Travel". Forbes. 20 June 2017.
  5. My Jungle Bedroom | My Memories, 9 March 2013, retrieved 24 March 2017
  6. Johnathan Stayton (30 July 2007). "Louis is on the right route to help youth". Get Surrey. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  7. Poppy Bradbury. "Boom Bus offers bored youngsters something to do". Ealing Gazette. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  8. "Global Traveler Louis Cole Brings His 'Fun' to Discovery Digital Networks' Seeker". discovery.com (Press release). Discovery Digital Media. 4 May 2015.
  9. "Find The Nomads | UK Companies Register". companieshouse.gov.uk.
  10. "Beyond Borders - A Film Celebrating Global Diversity by Louis Cole". FlyBeyondBorders.com.
  11. Chhabra, Esha (22 April 2016). "YouTubers FunForLouis And Dave Erasmus Embark On Global Journey To Fund Social Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  12. "The Solvey Project". solvey.com (Press release). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  13. "Social Progress - What Works?". geothermalconference.is. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  14. "Beyond Borders - A Film Celebrating Unity". kickstarter.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  15. "Beyond Borders". IMDb.com (Documentary, Adventure). Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  16. "Should the RSPCA have pursued the man who ate a live goldfish?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  17. "Food for Louis star from Cobham to take on 'worst meal yet'". 18 August 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  18. Thring, Oliver (17 April 2012). "The man who eats live animals". The Guardian blog. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  19. Laura Hibbard (19 October 2011). "Louis Cole, Web Series Star, Eats Live Scorpion". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  20. "Food For Louis Youtube Channel". Youtube. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  21. Franklin, Marcy (17 April 2012). "The Guy Who Eats Live Animals Isn't as Cruel as You Think". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  22. Lindsell, David. "Goldfish eater denies animal cruelty". Wandsworth Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  23. "'This is why so many Kiwis get killed by tourists' - outrage over YouTube star's speeding on NZ road". 1News. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016.
  24. Walters, Laura (12 January 2016). "British YouTube star caught going 141kmh in New Zealand". Stuff.co.nz.
  25. Lawson, Richard (16 August 2016). "YouTube Stars Are Now Being Used for North Korean Propaganda". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  26. Butterfly, Amelia (18 August 2016). "Vlogger Louis Cole denies North Korea paid for videos of his trip". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  27. Cresci, Elena (18 August 2016). "YouTube star Louis Cole denies making propaganda films for North Korea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
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