Connor Franta

Connor Franta, a Los Angeles resident, rose to prominence as a YouTube vlogger by cultivating a massive audience through consistent social media activity before branching into authorship and multiple business pursuits. Born in Wisconsin during 1992, he spent his formative years in Minnesota, where his teenage interest in vlog production first took hold. Starting in 2010 he uploaded confessional YouTube clips that detailed his daily experiences, personal tastes, and connections with viewers and fellow creators. By 2012 that audience had grown substantially, then expanded further when he joined the group YouTube channel Our2ndLife alongside Kian Lawley, Trevor Moran, Justin “JC” Caylen, Ricky Dillon, and Sam Pottorff. His visibility crested in 2014 with a nomination for “Web Star: Male” at the Teen Choice Awards, yet the same year brought challenges for the 22-year-old, who exited Our2ndLife and released a coming-out video announcing he is gay. After the departure he maintained his regular uploads while broadening his reach through charitable initiatives, most notably campaigns that benefited the Thirst Project and its mission to deliver safe drinking water worldwide. He also established the Common Culture lifestyle brand, which introduced a coffee line and an apparel collection. The same umbrella encompasses his Heardwell music label, home to compilation series such as 2014’s Crown, Vol. 1 and 2016’s Common Culture, Vol. 6. In 2016 he additionally published the memoir A Work in Progress, which remained on the New York Times Best Seller List for 16 weeks.