Video: Chick or Treating with LadBaby (Video: LadBaby)
A Nottingham man who wanted ‘to meet other dads who are just normal blokes’ ended up creating internet sensation LadBaby.
Mark Hoyle, 30, born and raised in West Bridgford, is the man behind LadBaby Official, a YouTube account set up to show the lighter side of becoming a parent for the first time.
He currently lives in Hertfordshire and works as a graphic designer in London but travels up to the city every other weekend to watch Nottingham Forest.
Mark has posted dozens of videos on his YouTube channel since March 2016 which have been viewed collectively more than 3.2 million times.
His latest video called ‘Chick or Treating’, where Mark dresses as Colonel Sanders with one-year-old son Phoenix dressed as a chick to trick or treat a KFC on Halloween, was the 46th highest trending video in the world a day after its publication.
His wife Roxanne filmed the video.
Mark told Notts TV: “We had to do the KFC video as a follow-up to the video we did of choosing Halloween outfits for our son.
“It came about as we were trying to find the perfect Halloween outfit for my little boy and we came up with a compromise between what my wife wanted and taking things over the top.
“The KFC jumper came up on eBay one morning while I was at work and I just had to order it.
“I kept it hidden until the big reveal in that video.”
Video: ‘When dad chooses the Halloween outfits’ inspired the KFC video (Credit: LadBaby)
Mark says the ideas are spontaneous, rather than planned.
He said: “They’re just ideas that come to me as and when.
“Like with this one, we weren’t planning it but after the incredible response to the first video, we had to do it – we want to make people laugh while sharing our experiences.”
Mark never expected the YouTube channel to get as big as it has.
Video: Mark says he gets most recognition because of the Forest video (Credit: LadBaby)
He said: “It really is mad how big this has got – we’ve done a few videos now and it’s hard to gauge what’s best.
“The one that got us all of the recognition though was the one at Nottingham Forest – that’s what most people come up and talk to me about.
“The response has been unbelievable – the videos have had far more views than I ever thought we would have.
“I set it up when my wife was pregnant because I wanted to find a few of the other dads who are just normal blokes who are going through a similar stage in life.
“I shared experiences to find mates along the way but it then kept getting bigger and bigger.”
