Who is Jon Vlogs, the influencer who boasts luxurious life and accumulates controversy on the internet

Jets, luxury cars and trips abroad. Pictures on speedboats, helicopters, parties and access to places that even money does not buy. Friendships with famous personalities are not lacking either: Neymar, Virginia Fonseca, Vini Jr. This is the reality shown in Jon Vlogs on social networks.

This is the nickname that is known Luan Kovarik, 22, which broadcasts live to over 10 million followers his “real” day to day life. The influencer is also the mind behind Hypebud, a content creator agency created in 2021, which earned more than $ 100 million in the first year.

The influencer, who has been on the Internet since he was 16 years old, has faced several controversies, from troubled dating to the suspicion of association to illegal bets and mismanagement accusations by creators who have passed their company.

“I was not born to be an influencer, I grew up being a normal teenager who dreamed of attending medicine and one day the internet happened to me,” he tells F5.

Coming from a family of oil tankers, Jon Vlogs was born in Macaé, a region famous for the production and extraction of the natural resource. In childhood spent much of his time in the United States, where he ended up wanting to finish his studies.

Far from his grandparents, who continued to live in Brazil, he began to record pieces of his routine and post on Youtube in order that they could accompany him from afar. “My grandmother had a very severe Alzheimer. So when I went to live outside, her memory was getting pretty bad and when I received videos from her watching the vlogs, I wanted to record more,” he explains.

“It all started with the family,” he says. “The internet makes many judgments for the photos I put with women, at parties, but I’ve always been a family guy.”

The first video went viral in 2016. With the title “Going to American School on the Yellow Bus”, Luan displays in his teens, already performing as Jon Vlogs, showing his routine before and during school classes.

Lastly 20 minutes, the video generated curiosity and reached more than 200,000 people (today it has almost 1 million views). “I won over 10,000 subscribers overnight, this in 2016 was an absurd milestone,” he explains.

The numbers continued to grow each video, which became the “key turn” that led the influencer to understand that showing his routine could no longer be a hobby and become a profession.

“I studied a lot to understand how the YouTube algorithm worked, bet on the topics on the rise and kept the constancy. So my channel grew organically and people really got to know me, following my boy’s evolution in the US to adulthood.” , reports the youtuber.

Jon Vlogs grew not only on the platform, but also in the eyes of the public. Throughout hundreds of videos, she showed parties with friends, flirts, jokes with her mother and even school problems. For him, this transparency created a bond with the audience, which also matured along with him.

In 2020, at the age of 19, the influencer decided to move to Brazil, with millions of followers and a constant audience. That’s when Hypebud came up, an agency that advises content creators.

“The company came from a boring but very common experience for those who work with advertising. I closed a job that, without me, was worth $ 200,000, but I received only $ 30,000. For me, this was the combined budget, But later I found out that the person who brokered the business, got mostly and passed me only one fraction, “he says.

With this he decided to create Hypebud, in partnership with his friend Gabriel “Semnick” Moraes, with whom he already had a trusting relationship. The business model was simple: to ensure that influencers receive most of their marks closed contracts.

“Our focus was to position the influencer in the right way. He got 80% of the value, and Hypebud earned 20% by intermediating the contract, connecting with companies and making the business happen,” he explains.

Jon says the company started with only ten streamers performing platform activations, but in just over two years, the number of contracts has jumped for two hundred and revenues reached almost $ 300 million.

“It was a success because we were in full pandemic and many companies wanted to sponsor influencers. The contracts were around $ 5,000 [cerca de R$ 28 mil no câmbio atual]. Also, some brands of mysterious boxes – where you can get a sneakers, a clock or a gift card – were investing heavily in this market and some of that money came to us. “

Today Hypebud has worked for brands such as Amazon, Globeplay, Pepsico and has success cases such as the child influencer of 09, which already has more than 10 million followers and several closed partnerships with companies.

Bets and controversy

During Jon Vlogs’ career, there was no shortage of controversies either. A very commented case on social networks was the end with the influencer Emilly Garcia. The former couple, who shared moments of the relationship, had a separation full of indirect and public outbursts.

In addition, your company, Hypebud, has been the target of mismanagement charges by influencers who passed the agency. Content creators such as Mauricio Martins, known as Maumau, have already claimed problems in the administration of contracts.

Jon was also involved in discussions in the political field, especially during the 2024 elections. He was criticized after publishing a photo alongside Pablo Marçal, businessman and former candidate City Hall of São Paulo. The post generated repercussion and caused polarization among his followers at the time.

However, the largest controversy involving the influencer refers to its connection with the online betting market. He became the owner of Jonbet, a betting platform he got from a gift from one of Blaze’s partners, a website that became the target of investigations in Brazil on suspicion of irregularly operating gambling. Jon Vlogs was cited at the sports bets CPI.

When asked about it, he denies the accusations and states that his company is regularized and following all government rules. “Thanks to my work, today no longer depends on this [apostas]my focus has changed, “he says.” Casino is something that, in the end, only money is lost unless you get quick and out soon. Gradually, I’m moving away from this universe. “

Among controversy, ostentation and betting it is impossible to deny the size of the influencer for the entertainment and games sector in Brazil. With over 10 million followers, today his millionaire projects are supported by a faithful audience who has been with him since his teens, to which he says he is very grateful.

“For those who do not accompany me, I may just look like a spoiled playboy. But my audience knows that Jon Vlogs on the internet is a more agitated, more euphoric version – almost a character.”