Who I Am: From Navy SEAL to Storyteller
I'm MrBallen. These days I tell strange, dark and mysterious stories, but I didn't start out behind a camera. Here is the short version of how I got here.
Where did I start?
College first: I graduated from UMass Amherst in 2010.
Then the Navy: I served as a Navy SEAL from 2010 to 2017 and joined SEAL Team 2 in 2012. I deployed to Afghanistan, was wounded there, and was medically retired.
How did the stories begin?
One video: in 2020 I posted a TikTok about the Dyatlov Pass mystery. It went viral, with about five million views.
Then YouTube: I began posting on YouTube in March 2020, and the channel grew from there.
What kind of stories do I tell?
Strange, dark and mysterious: true crime, mysteries, the unexplained and scary stories.
From the victim's side: I tell each story from the victim's point of view, not the perpetrator's.
What came after the channel?
A podcast: MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories launched in February 2022, with new episodes on Mondays.
A studio: I co-founded Ballen Studios, and Ballen Management works with other storytellers.
Graphic novels: the stories have also become graphic novels.
Where does the merch come in?
Same mood, new place: the designs in our shop carry the look of the stories, from the Strange, Dark & Mysterious script to a campfire scene deep in the woods.
Want the story behind the podcast? Read how Strange, Dark & Mysterious became a podcast.