Two steps ahead: The shocking transformation of Nikocado Avocado

Nicholas Perry, better known as Nikocado Avocado, forever changed the YouTube community on Sept. 1, 2016, when he shifted from vegan content to – what were then – new and exciting mukbang videos. Then, on Sept. 6, 2024, he changed the online world once again. In a video entitled “Two Steps Ahead,” Perry stunned his 4.5 million subscribers by revealing he’d secretly lost 250 pounds and had been posting pre-recorded videos for the past two years as part of “the greatest social experiment of [his] entire life.” But let’s backtrack a bit so we can all digest (haha…get it?) just how mind-boggling Perry’s secret weight loss really is. 

Who is Nikocado Avocado?

The name Nikocado Avocado stems from his vegan days because, well, vegans and avocados seem to go hand in hand. His early content was typically centered around healthy lifestyle advice with the occasional hello from his husband, Orlin Home, and pet bird, Mr. Noodles. He was, if you can believe it, widely loved for his upbeat personality, even after leaving the vegan community and categorizing them as “imbalanced, hostile militant, and mentally unstable,” in the description of his oldest video entitled, “Why I’m No Longer a Vegan Youtuber“ in 2016. But as he began to gain popularity as a newfound mukbanger, viewers began to notice a shift in the types of food he was eating and a drastic change in his attitude. 

“My first time eating meat in 10 years,” published Oct. 28, 2016, was categorized by many in the YouTube community as “the beginning of the end.” 

While his content was still widely accepted at the video’s publication date, with comments like, “At 37:00 mins I really needed that pep talk more than you know & I’m grateful! Love you, have a safe trip and PLEASE keep being you!!! Love from Ireland x,” said user @TickleEmma. 

Commenters from later years have returned to this video to highlight just how stark the difference between his old and new persona is. 

Three years ago, user @nightbring777 commented, “This is the beginning of the end. The guy just fucking broke after this video. I am truly sorry for him, hope he finds his way.”

On Dec. 28, 2016, Perry uploaded a video entitled “How Fat Will I Get in the Future,” which many users, like @raintow3457, are now using as evidence that his secret weight loss was “planned all along.” 

However, around a year later, when Perry began posting more concerning and – rather personal – content with titles like “What My Husband Did to Me,” users began to notice something off about the YouTuber’s online personality. His content quickly and drastically moved from reasonable and comforting mukbang content to wildly uncomfortable personal stories, constant physical fights with his husband, and even going as far as defecating on camera, just for more user engagement. To top it all off, weighing 411 pounds at his heaviest, Perry made his rapid weight gain his main attraction. And, well, it worked, with his net worth reaching $3.8 million in 2022. And just when people began to tire of his endless antics, he slowed down his uploads, posting primarily on his third channel until Sept. 1, 2024.

Then, on Sept. 7, 2024, he grabbed the attention of the mukbang community for — hopefully — his last hurrah with the video “Two Steps Ahead.” 

After calling himself “too fat that I’m ripping my shirts” in 2022, Perry shocked his audience in 2024 by revealing his 158-pound self, laughing, as the joke was indeed on us.

How did Mr. Avocado trick 4.5 million subscribers for two years? 

In an email to the New York Times, Perry detailed the elaborate editing process that would allow him to focus on his weight loss while the rest of the world believed he was still “eating himself to death.” 

“I shaved my head so that people wouldn’t recognize me in public. A handful of fellow YouTubers also helped to keep my secret,” Perry wrote to the Times.  

The opening monologue of his “Two Steps Ahead” video closely mirrors a Feb. 4, 2022, video he has since renamed “Two Steps Ahead Original, 2022,” which, as he told the Times, marked the start of his weight loss journey.

In both the original and current reveals of his experiment, Perry details the real reason for secretly hiding his weight loss: to show his viewers how they’ve fallen victim to consumer culture. “People will consume these stories year after year…stories that influence the ants, stories that brainwash the ants. You are the ants,” he said.

In his email to the Times, he elaborated further: “In reality, people become completely absorbed with internet personalities and obsessively watch their content. That is where a deeper level of over-consuming lies, and it’s the parallel I wanted to make. ” 

How does this affect the widespread mukbang community?

Instead of viewers really digesting (see, I did it again, hehe) Perry’s real intentions in tricking the YouTube community, online hate has only moved towards new victims. Many “netizens” have taken their critiques to a new mukbang account gaining traction on TikTok, Jelly Bean Sweets. Online users have accused her of producing the same feeder content as Perry, dubbing her “the new Nikocado,” and even creating similar “before and after” videos, as she primarily posted dance content before switching to mukbangs.

Jelly Bean Sweets responded to the hate with a heartwarming TikTok video highlighting joyful moments from her life. Like Nikocado, she proves we can’t assume to know what happens behind closed doors.

As Perry’s social experiment fades from the online spotlight like all trends eventually do, let’s carry his lesson with us. While YouTubers offer us glimpses into their lives, we should resist the urge to pry beyond what’s shared and appreciate the moments they let us experience. After all, as the creators of their own content, YouTubers will always be two steps ahead.