John Allen, more widely known by his pseudonym MrBallen, has nearly nine million subscribers on his YouTube Channel, that has garnered nearly two billion views. He has roughly 8.5 million followers on TikTok – both of which he started during the pandemic, sharing true crime stories and mysteries.
The social media success led MrBallen, a former Navy SEAL who was hit by a grenade while serving in Afghanistan and earned a Purple Heart before leaving the Navy in 2017, to co-found Ballen Studios. It includes his podcast MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories, which he launched in February 2022. By October 2022, he was nominated for four YouTube Streamy Awards in the Creator of the Year, Breakout Creator and Podcast Categories. His nonprofit, the MrBallen Foundation, was nominated for the Social Good Award. Founded in 2022 its mission is to honor victims and support families of heinous crimes through education, training and financial support
More recently, in September 2023, MrBallen released MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries, described as “a podcast that shares medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are designed to be intriguing and chilling,” covering topics from unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries to strange medical mishaps and unexplainable deaths. New episodes are published every Tuesday.
Coming up, MrBallen, Ballen Studios and Ten Speed Graphic announced they’ll release the graphic novel MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious, MrBallen’s first book, on October 1, which is also MrBallen’s 36th birthday. It will contain graphic adaptations of the mysterious stories based on true events from their podcast and YouTube channel, as well as additional new, exclusive stories. And, he’s not done yet. MrBallen has plans to expand into film, television, consumer packaged goods, and books, with additional audio content to be launched in 2024. He’s also married to his college sweetheart and a father of three. And that’s just his resume. Here’s more from Austin Lifestyle’s interview with one of Austin’s most interesting men.
You moved here two years ago, why did you choose to live in Austin?
My manager and business partner, Nick Witters, was here, and it just seemed like a really cool place to live. So yes, I’m 100% one of the people who recently found Austin and totally jumped on that bandwagon.
What do you like about it?
My favorite part of Austin is being able to go swimming in the winter months. I grew up in the northeast where it was basically cold all the time so to me that’s a luxury!
When did you become interested in the true crime genre?
I met my wife Amanda in college back in 2010 and she was obsessed with this true crime investigatory TV show called Forensic Files. So, in dating her, I watched a lot of Forensic Files, and in time really developed an interest in the genre. I’ve also always been interested in the strange, dark and mysterious occurrences that happen in our world.
What were you doing between retiring from the Navy and making YouTube videos and TikToks during the pandemic?
After leaving the military at the end of 2017 I co-founded a veteran focused charity that helps connect transiting veterans with employers who are hiring. The charity is called Elite Meet and it’s still up and running today, helping lots of vets! I also co-founded another organization, called Operator’s Association, which is a mentorship group for those who want to try out for a special forces unit.
What was your initial reaction when your first video went viral?
I was so shocked. I had been trying to “go viral” for a few years but nothing had come close so I assumed it would never happen. When it did, I just stared at my phone in disbelief. I still can’t believe this many people actually want to listen to what I have to say. I’m forever grateful, and I’ll always be dedicated to raising the bar with the art of storytelling and bringing our audience really engaging, authentic stories wherever they want to tune in. Right now, I couldn’t be more excited to show our community these stories in a more visual format with the upcoming publication of my graphic novel. I want my audience to be able to see exactly what I see when I tell these stories.
What is your favorite quote?
“We do not rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” — Archilochus
I read this quote a lot during my Navy SEAL training days.