“Two steps ahead. I am always two steps ahead. This has been the greatest social experiment of my entire life.”
So begins the return of popular mukbang YouTuber Nikocado Avocado. Mukbangs are videos where someone eats a large meal in front of a camera; the style originated in Korea. Nikocado Avocado, whose real name is Nicholas Perry, amassed millions of subscribers on YouTube (nearly four million as of publication) by documenting himself and friends eating extravagant meals.
Perry began as a lifestyle vegan YouTuber, but in 2016 decided to quit being vegan and began uploading mukbangs. Over time, Perry’s online persona morphed. He gained weight, but beyond physical appearance he also acted erratically and started “drama” with fellow YouTubers. In 2021, he told MEL Magazine that he was willing to play “the villain.”
He also claimed to start a weight loss journey, which culminated in a May 2024 video (on his second YouTube channel, called “Nikocado Avocado 2”) saying he “quit [his] ‘weight loss journey.'”
This was Perry’s last video on YouTube — until twin uploads last night. Perry uploaded “Two Steps Ahead” (above) on his main channel and “hi.” on his second channel, where he reveals he actually hasn’t recorded a video in two years and was secretly losing 250 pounds while uploading old content and conducting this “social experiment.”
In less than 12 hours, the two videos have racked up millions of views (over four million for “Two Steps Ahead” and one million for “hi” as of publication) as the internet reels over Perry’s drastic weight loss.
Perry returned with — what else? — two mukbangs, but beforehand in “Two Steps Ahead'” he rails against how internet users are hungry for drama and “stories.”
“So I am the villain,” Perry then proclaims, “because I’ve made myself one. And you will continue to consume these stories about me year after year after year for as long as I tell the internet that I am the villain.”