In the crowded true-crime media space, MrBallen has kept his approach pretty simple. He appears on his YouTube channel wearing a flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap in every video, speaking directly to his audience, as if he’s telling them a story. That style continues on his podcasts, where he notes that he never adopts a “dark and scary voice” to amp up the fear factor, though he does build the suspense nevertheless.
Rather, MrBallen, or John Allen, says that the character of MrBallen is only a slightly exaggerated version of himself, presented in a way that’s meant to feel relatable. It’s an approach that’s paid off, with Allen at the center of a media empire that includes the MrBallen YouTube channel, with more than 9 million subscribers; the popular MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories; a production company; and a first-look deal with Amazon Music.
“This really is who I am,” Allen tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m the dude who wears flannels and backwards hats and tells stories.”
Allen started his content-making career around 2020 after serving as a U.S. Navy SEAL. After some initial failed attempts, he posted a TikTok about the Dyatlov Pass group, nine ski hikers who died mysteriously in 1959 in Russia; it went viral, leading Allen to create a YouTube channel — under the MrBallen banner — that centers on “strange, dark and mysterious” stories. (The name MrBallen came out of his Instagram username, johnballen, which glued his first and last name and middle initial together and led to DMs from kids addressing him as MrBallen when they asked about his time as a Navy SEAL.)
After bolstering his video channel and connecting with talent manager Nick Witters, who helped grow the brand, Allen said the logical next step was podcasting, with true crime identified as the first area in which to invest. His audience on YouTube helped cut down on the discoverability issue facing many podcasters, he noted.
“I really wanted to do a podcast, just being a storyteller. And we identified true crime as a really good vertical to be in, because it’s very popular,” Allen said. “There’s lots of source material. I also just feel big connections with people I’m telling stories about.”
MrBallen stories are sourced by a creative team led by Allen’s sister, Evan Allen, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The Boston Globe who helps verify narratives through multiple sources, including court transcripts, case files and newspaper articles.
Ballen Studios also is in the process of building out an investigative team, led by Evan and Scott Allen, father to Evan and John and also a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who led an investigative unit at the Globe. The team will be focused on finding their own stories through reporting and leading Ballen Studios’ first in-depth investigative docu-series, soon to be announced.
Allen’s flagship podcast, which tops the true-crime podcast charts, led to a first-look deal with Amazon Music in October 2022, and that sparked another Allen-hosted podcast, MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries.
The company’s production arm, Ballen Studios, run by Witters, also includes three other podcasts: the paranormal-themed Bedtime Stories, Wartime Stories and Run, Fool!, home to modern ghost stories. Ballen Studios also has a management division for storytellers in the genre.
As for what draws listeners to Allen, Marshall Lewy, chief content officer at the Amazon podcast studio Wondery, attributes it to his upbringing surrounded by journalists, his point of view as a Navy SEAL and his focus on the “strange, dark and mysterious,” rather than on the grisly.
“I think he really knows who he is and what his strengths are and what his audience wants, and he’s really good at delivering these great stories and finding that underlying compelling storytelling style that he’s managed to bring, so he stays true to form,” Lewy said.
As his empire has grown, Allen acknowledges that he benefits from victims’ stories. His empathetic approach to telling their tales also has been touted as one reason for his popularity, but, when launching the podcast, he started a nonprofit foundation that he says has given more than $1 million to victims of violent crime and their families.
As it stands, Allen says he does several major recordings a week, with one story for the Strange, Dark & Mysterious podcast, two for Medical Mysteries, one or two YouTube videos and some shorter content for TikTok in between. His deal with Amazon is for three years, and Lewy said he foresees being in business with Allen for a long time, with the potential to do live events, consumer products, video and more podcasts. Allen will also launch his first live tour this fall.
Above all, he plans to keep making content. “I feel like it’s my calling in life, and to do that professionally is so much fun,” Allen adds. “I have no intention ever of stopping.”
This story appeared in the Aug. 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
