Casey Neistat: American YouTuber, Filmmaker & Entrepreneur
Verified Macro Creator — Filmmaking & EntrepreneurshipYouTuber, Filmmaker, Vlogger, Entrepreneur
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.
Career Journey
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.
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.
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.
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
Achievements & Milestones
Media & Features
Photo Gallery
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.