Nash Grier
Age: 26
Birthplace: Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
Nash Grier (born December 28, 1997) is an American internet personality. He became known for his online Vine videos in early 2013.
Early life
Nash Grier was born and raised in North Carolina, by mother Elizabeth Floyd and father Chad Grier, who is now one of his managers. He is the second-oldest child with an older brother, Will Grier, who is a quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers; a younger brother, Hayes, who also posts vines; and a younger half-sister, Skylynn, which his mother had with her current husband, John Floyd.
Nash Grier was a freshman at Davidson Day School when the mobile app Vine was released, which allows users to post looping 6-second videos for others to view. Grier began to post comedy-related videos for friends and classmates and quickly amassed a wider fanbase.
Career
Shortly after Grier's rise to internet fame, he joined the touring group Magcon (Meet and Greet Convention), a convention where fans could meet and interact with Internet personalities. There were multiple shows in the major cities of the U.S. between 2013 and 2014. Other Vine celebrities on the tour included Cameron Dallas with whom he met over the app, Matthew Espinosa, Jack Gilinsky, Jack Johnson, Aaron Carpenter, Taylor Caniff, Shawn Mendes, Jacob Whitesides, Carter Reynolds, Mahogany Lox, and his brother Hayes Grier. In early 2014, Grier along with a few other members quit Magcon as they felt that it limited their future careers and were interested in pursuing other goals. In summer of 2014 at 16 years of age, Grier moved to Los Angeles, California where he bought his first apartment with Dallas so they could be closer to their management (26MGMT) and to also pursue careers in acting. The two along with their photographer Bryant Eslava lived there for nine months until they were evicted. Grier currently lives in a new house located in Beverly Hills. After moving to California, Grier started online schooling to complete his high school education which he has recently graduated from.
In April 2013, Grier posted a Vine in which he said, "Yes, it is! FAG!" in response to an OraQuick at-home oral HIV test ad which stated, "Testing for HIV... It's not a gay thing." Grier later deleted the vine after it resurfaced but it had already spread online. Towleroad stated Grier had a history of "making homophobic remarks on social media (and then deleting them)." Grier posted an apology on Twitter noting that he was "young, ignorant, stupid and in a bad place. I've moved on and learned from my mistakes and I am so truly sorry to anyone I have offended."
In December 2013, Grier appeared in a nine-minute long video YouTube video entitled What Guys Look for in Girls with JC Caylen and Cameron Dallas; the three prescribed traits that girls should exhibit in order to attract guys, and criticized physical traits they disliked. The video "gathered major backlash over what many viewers felt were the boys' reinforcement of horrible beauty and behavioral standards in young women who already battle with low self-esteem" and was deleted after five days but it was reposted by other users.
Grier and other members of his management have released mobile games and social media apps including Cash Dash, Mobli and Challenged. Grier has his own website where fans can buy his merchandise as well as an Aéropostale clothing line called "UnitedXXVI," designed in part by Grier, Dallas, and younger brother Hayes. Aéropostale faced backlash for partnering with Grier due to his 2013 controversies. BuzzFeed News noted "the backlash highlights the challenges brands face in working with today’s new breed of celebrity in a supremely competitive landscape."
In January 2015, Grier and Dallas signed on for a movie deal with Fullscreen where they would be acting alongside each other in an upcoming film called The Outfield which premiered November 10, 2015 worldwide on the iTunes Store. The film revolves around Jack Sanders (Grier), the star center fielder of the Peoria Owls, who is going to play baseball for State. But when a new teacher recognizes his gift for art, Jack's future is suddenly thrown in limbo. With the help of his best friends, Frankie (Dallas) and Austin (Joey Bragg), Jack must deal with the aspirations of his father and the pressures of the entire town as he struggles to discover what's important to him and who he wants to be. The film is Grier's first major acting role. Grier also directed a music video for singer Bera called "I Look Good On You" which was released on Grier's YouTube Channel.
Grier has stated that he is mostly self-taught on how to edit videos, and his 'apparent spontaneity' is actually shrewdly crafted and scripted, with clips refilmed many times and sometimes edited for hours. As of May 2016, Nash has over 12.7 million Vine followers, 4.78 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, 4.8 million Twitter followers and over 9.1 million followers on his Instagram account. His second Vine account, "Nash Grier 2", where he posts less scripted videos, has more than 2.4 million followers. Grier's management has confirmed that major brands will pay Grier anywhere between $25,000-$100,000 to advertise their products in his Vines. Because of his popularity, Grier has appeared on various news shows including Good Morning America and The View.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | "Mmm Yeah" by Austin Mahone | Himself | Lyric video |
2014 | Good Morning America | Himself | Guest |
2014 | Fox News | Himself | Guest |
2014 | "Work For It" by Poo Bear | Himself | Music video |
2015 | The View | Himself | Guest |
2015 | Good Morning America | Himself | Guest |
2015 | "I Look Good On You" by Bera | Himself | Featured in video as well as directed |
2015 | The Outfield | Jack Sanders | premiered November 10, 2015 |