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A recent claim about Russian-American YouTuber and prankster Vitaly Zdorovetskiy went viral on social media, concerning some of his fans. Facebook user Nathan Shanks shared a reel on Sunday (July 7) with “RIP” written on a picture of the internet personality. A second snippet showed a car with its front part smashed into pieces. The subtext read:
“Had an accident on the way home from the club.”
The video was likely posted on TikTok and made it to other social media platforms. However, there has been no news of Vitaly’s death nor any reports about him being involved in a car crash. However, some fans believed the information in the video and began writing “R.I.P” on the 32-year-old’s last Instagram post.
A few others inquired if Zdorovetskiy was actually dead.
Some people said Vitaly was not dead and a bot might have spread the news. They also pointed out there was no media coverage regarding the YouTuber's supposed death. Thus, the claim in the circulated video is false and the prankster did not die in a car crash.
A brief look into Vitaly Zdorovetskiy's internet journey
Vitaly Zdorovetskiy gained online fame through his fearless stunt performances and outrageous pranks on random strangers. He now has over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, and around 635K followers on Instagram.
Zdorovetskiy’s pranks often push the other person’s boundaries and draw controversies. One such prank is the Miami zombie attack video. It showed a staged zombie attacking pedestrians, and leaving them startled.
In a daring stunt, Zdorovetskiy got pepper sprayed 28 times at once and made it to the Guinness World Record. He has collaborated with other popular YouTubers, including Dennis Roady and Roman Atwood. Zdorovetskiy is also the founder of the clothing line “Vitaly”.
In 2014, Zdorovetskiy was arrested for invading the field during the match between Argentina and Germany at the FIFA World Cup final. He gained some notoriety due to the extensive media coverage.
The Russian-American explored his career beyond his YouTube focus and has appeared in two films — Ride Along 2 and Natural Born Pranksters.
