Ben Phillips on becoming a social media megastar: “It’s crazy – people turn up at my house!”

He's literally hilarious and gets the heat stamp of approval

Ben Phillips

by Jadie Troy-Pryde |
Published on

Ben Phillips has taken the internet by STORM over the last couple of years. And it's SO easy to see why: he's hilarious, doesn't take himself too seriously, and his poor, unsuspecting brother, Elliot, is unintentional comedy gold.

The 23-year-old may have started simply by uploading Vines of himself pranking his brother, but these days you can't scroll through Facebook without seeing him giggling as Elliot writhes around in jeans that have been washed in stinging nettles.

But what goes on inside the mind of a social media star who has become so famous he's off touring the world? Is Elliot REALLY that angry in real life? And what should you NEVER do on a date with him?

heat met up with the Welsh lovely to find out all about life as a viral mega star. And it was JOKES.

"I think I've always been a prankster, I was inspired by my nanny," he tells us.

"Before the videos I used to do the whole clingfilm on the toilet thing. One time I did it, and my dad had been out the night before – you know when you get up in the morning you're a bit hazy – so he went for a number two all I heard was, "BEEEEEEEEN!" I was like, "Yeah, sorry Dad."

But it's his cheeky charm and relatable vids that have gained him over 8 million likes on Facebook, 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube, and almost 360 MILLION loops on Vine.

Erm - WOW.

And although nowadays his pranks have evolved from the classic clingfilm capers, he laughs at how dangerous his earlier videos were. Like when he set fire to Elliot. Almost.

"I didn't really think that one through – I was more fascinated with the lighter which was in the shape of a fish," he admits.

"I remember thinking, 'This will be funny'. But it wasn't even the fact that it went wrong on him, I wasn't worrying about Elliot burning to death – I was worried about the house burning down."

EEK. Sorry, bro.

Ben Phillips

The pair have become a worldwide sensation, and although Elliot appears in a constant state of fury, the brothers are besties really. Ben puts it down to his brother being a bit of a drama queen.

"That's just what he's like. We went trampolining and he was shouting, 'I've broken my leg! I'm going to A and E!' He hadn't - he just wanted a wheelchair for attention. So farmer Chris pushed him down the hill in it."

Who is farmer Chris?! Well, he's an actual farmer (we think) who occasionally pops up in Ben's videos.

And what about when Ben's taking time out from annoying Elliot by pretending to pierce his nipples or giving him the runs on a roundabout? He's wining and dining the ladies. Sort of.

"The worst date I've ever been on happened in Nando's. I thought I could smell something, and the next thing I know she'd let out a big, loud fart. But I thought, you know – everyone gets a bit of wind, be a gentleman about it, carry on."

And did he still tuck in to his piri piri rice?

"Well, then she asked for a selfie while I was eating my chicken."

AWKS.

Although, we'd probably just whip out the old selfie stick without even asking TBF. He can't thank the selfie-loving fans enough for the support, though, because they're responsible for pushing some awkward fish pics to the bottom of the Google images pit.

"The first time I ever Googled myself I was about 16 and there was a picture of me with a fish and I thought it was really cool at the time," Ben confesses.

"But I Googled myself this year just to find out what was going on, and it was crazy. I was worried about clicking on Google images but it was actually full on selfies on point, you know. Eyebrows were on fleek."

So he's swapped herring for HD brows, but what else has changed for Ben?

"We get a lot of people turning up at our house – it's the second bus stop after Tom Jones' house on the tour to Wales," Ben laughs.

"And we get sent amazing things. All our fan mail goes to Nana's house, which is incredible and she loves opening it. But I've warned her to be careful – I mean, what if she got sent one of those letters that knock you out in seconds? Then what am I gonna do? She hasn't got one of those red cords!"

Ben and Elliot recently embarked on their HUGE round-the-world tour, where they'll be meeting fans and undoubtedly causing havoc across the globe.

"We don't get out much, so it's going to be great to meet the bros [followers and fans]. I'm really excited about Asia – we've gone off the hook there! Our videos got translated, it's crazy!"

We decided to put Ben Phillips and his pranks to the test …

Would you rather a moustache glued to your face, or a brush glued to your hair?

I'd rather the moustache glued to my face, I can pull that off I think. Depending on how big it was. And I don't want a bald patch.

Would you rather have your clothes washed in stinging nettles or have your drink spiked with laxatives?

I'd rather spend the day in the crapper, if I'm honest with you! The stinging nettles rash lasted 12 hours. It was terrible.

Would you rather have a wax strip stuck to your face or the knob shock?

Hang on, are we on the right channel here? I can't remember what one the knob shock is!

The one with the door handle and Elliot wet himself…

Sorry I was thinking of something else there - this isn't an 18+! Title wise, wax strips if I'm honest with you!

Would you rather fight 100 tiny ducks or one horse-sized duck?

Ah see, if it was a hundred tiny ducks I'd have to just lie in it, they're little cuties like WOOWOO–

No, but they're fighting you!

Oh right, sorry – then the horse-sized duck. Feed him Elliot.

Ben is currently touring the UK with his live cinematic experience before shooting off around the world to spread the chaos.

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