Casey Neistat: American YouTuber, Filmmaker & Entrepreneur

Casey Neistat: American YouTuber, Filmmaker & Entrepreneur

Verified Macro Creator — Filmmaking & Entrepreneurship

YouTuber, Filmmaker, Vlogger, Entrepreneur

New York City

A dishwasher and short-order cook at 17, a trailer-park father, a $2M HBO deal for a homemade documentary series, and by 2016 a $25 million exit to CNN for the video app he co-founded.

About Casey Neistat: American YouTuber, Filmmaker & Entrepreneur

Casey Neistat dropped out of high school in Connecticut at 17 and was living in a trailer park with his infant son when he decided to move to New York City. He and his brother Van began making short films with artist Tom Sachs, and in 2003 his three-minute film 'iPod's Dirty Secret' — criticizing Apple for not replacing dying iPod batteries — became a national story; Apple announced a battery replacement policy weeks later. HBO bought the Neistat brothers' autobiographical series for nearly $2 million in 2008. He started posting to YouTube in February 2010 with a video about the New York subway's emergency brake, and built a daily-vlog audience that peaked around his viral 2012 Nike short 'Make It Count', filmed on a round-the-world trip after he walked off the official commissioned edit. In 2015 he co-founded the video app Beme, which CNN acquired for a reported $25 million in November 2016; he and co-founder Matt Hackett parted ways with CNN in January 2018. He went on to found 368, a Tribeca creative studio for other video creators, which closed in February 2024. His YouTube channel has passed 12.7 million subscribers, and he has a chapter of advice in Tim Ferriss's book Tools of Titans.

Date of Birth1981-03-25
ProfessionYouTuber, Filmmaker, Vlogger, Entrepreneur
NationalityAmerican
Zodiac SignAries
Gendermale
LanguagesEnglish

Career Journey

2003–2008
iPod's Dirty Secret and HBO's The Neistat Brothers

His 2003 short film criticizing Apple's iPod battery policy became a national story after The Washington Post and CNN covered it; Apple changed the policy weeks later. In 2008, HBO bought an eight-episode autobiographical series about Casey and his brother Van for nearly $2 million.

2010–2012
YouTube daily vlogging and Make It Count

Neistat began posting to YouTube in February 2010. His 2012 short film for Nike's FuelBand, 'Make It Count' — shot on a round-the-world trip after he abandoned the brand's official commissioned edit — became one of the most-cited viral branded films of its era.

2015–2018
Beme and its acquisition by CNN

Neistat co-founded the video app Beme in 2015; within eight days of launch, users had shared 1.1 million videos. CNN acquired Beme for a reported $25 million in November 2016; Neistat and co-founder Matt Hackett severed ties with CNN in January 2018.

2018–2024
368 and continued YouTube growth

In April 2018, Neistat opened 368, a Tribeca studio space for creators to collaborate. It closed in February 2024. Through this period his main YouTube channel kept growing, passing 12.7 million subscribers by mid-2026.

Top Categories

Lifestyle

Achievements & Milestones

12.7M
YouTube subscribers
$25M
Reported CNN acquisition price for Beme (2016)
2016
Shorty Award, YouTuber of the Year
1.1M
Videos shared on Beme within 8 days of launch

Media & Features

The New York Times The Washington Post Wall Street Journal Variety TechCrunch Fast Company GQ

Videos

FAQs

Who is Casey Neistat?

Casey Owen Neistat (born March 25, 1981) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker and entrepreneur from Gales Ferry, Connecticut, best known for his daily-vlog era on YouTube and for co-founding the video app Beme, which CNN acquired in 2016.

What happened to Casey Neistat's app Beme?

Beme launched in July 2015 and was acquired by CNN for a reported $25 million in November 2016. Neistat and co-founder Matt Hackett left CNN in January 2018, and the Beme app itself had already shut down a year earlier.

How can brands work with Casey Neistat?

Neistat does not publicly list a management contact or media kit; enquiries are typically made through his verified Instagram (@caseyneistat) or his personal site, caseyneistat.com.

Latest News

In February 2024, Neistat's Tribeca creative studio 368 announced its closure on Instagram, six years after he opened it as a shared workspace for video creators.