Felipe Mendes Castanhari (; born December 20, 1989) is a Brazilian
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
,
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
er and
television presenter
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...
, best known for his YouTube channel Canal Nostalgia (since 2011) and for
creating
Creation or The Creation or Creations, may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Creation'' (1922 film), a British silent drama
* ''Creation'' (unfinished film), 1931
* ''Creation'' (2009 film), about Charles Darwin
Literature
* ''Creation ...
and presenting the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
limited series
In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
on December 20, 1989, and raised in the neighboring city of
Osasco
Osasco () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo area and ranking fifth in population among São Paulo municipalities. According to the IBGE 2015, Osasco currently has the ninth highest gross do ...
. He is of Portuguese and Italian descent. Beginning his career working as a
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...
and 3D animator at the post-production department of a São Paulo-based
advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
, he started a
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel in 2011, motivated by the fact that, one day, while researching about media he grew up with as a child during the 1990s on YouTube, "couldn't find any satisfactory results". His first successful video was about the Brazilian version of the show ''
Disney Club
''Disney Club'' is the name of many television shows associated to Disney productions aired mostly in Europe, Latin America and Asia during the 1990s and early 2000s (decade). Some versions used the opening and instrumental from ''The Disney Afte ...
'', but as time went by Castanhari shifted the focus of his videos from nostalgic media and popular culture to also comment on history, science and politics.
In 2014, Castanhari's channel received strikes from
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
and
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
. Following backlash and a series of
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
s from fans and other YouTubers, the strikes were subsequently revoked. A 2016 video, in which he discussed the 1964–85 Brazilian military dictatorship from a self-described "
apolitical
Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...
perspective", received criticism from
right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
and
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
sympathizers. In March 2016, he was featured in the "
Forbes 30 Under 30
''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists published annually by ''Forbes'' magazine since 2011 consisting of 30 notable people under 30 years old in various industries. The American list consists of 600 people, with 30 selected in each of 20 sect ...
" list by '' Forbes Brasil''.
In February 2017, he appeared in ''
Internet – O Filme
''Internet – O Filme'' is a Brazilian comedy film directed by Fillipo Capuzzi Lapietra, written by Rafinha Bastos, Dani Garutti and Mirna Nogueira, and starring several Brazilian YouTubers. Paris Filmes announced the release of the film on Sept ...
'', written and produced by
Rafinha Bastos
Rafael Bastos Hocsman (), better known as Rafinha Bastos () or simply Rafi Bastos (born December 5, 1976) is a Brazilian comedian, actor, journalist and television personality.
Biography
Rafinha Bastos was born to a Jewish family in Porto Alegr ...
, alongside several other Brazilian internet personalities, playing the character Mateus. In October 2017, Castanhari hosted a
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
for the
History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
based on journalist Leandro Narloch's book ''Guia Politicamente Incorreto da História do Brasil''. Controversially, the series' producers misled the several
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
s interviewed for the series by omitting the subject of the show. Disagreeing with Narloch's views, several of the interviewed historians asked for their interviews to be removed following the show's premiere. Castanhari later clarified that he had no control over the show's production except for his own lines.
In November 2019, alongside several other YouTubers, he took part in a Black Friday
livestream
Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. At the time, it was YouTube's longest livestream, lasting for over five hours. In April 2019, his first book, ''Almanaque Nostalgia'', was published through Editora Planeta. In May 2019, he announced he began work in a
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
limited educational series, '' Mundo Mistério'' (released in English-speaking territories as ''Mystery Lab''), which eventually premiered on August 4, 2020. In 2021, he made a brief 10-second cameo as a photographer in ''Monica and Friends: Lessons'', the sequel to 2019's '' Monica and Friends: Bonds'', both films based on the famous '' Turma da Mônica'' comic books by
Mauricio de Sousa
Mauricio Araújo de Sousa (; born October 27, 1935), known artistically as Mauricio de Sousa or mononymously just as Mauricio, is a Brazilian cartoonist and businessman who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's co ...
.
In April 2020, amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Castanhari asked for other YouTubers to divulge information about the disease. In December 2021, he was legally made to financially compensate a sum of R$25,000 to
humorist
A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way.
Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...
Marcius Melhem after directing a series of insulting posts towards him on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
; earlier that year, Melhem was accused of
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
by several women. In December 2023, his year-end video guest starringKevin O Chris was criticized for supposedly associating singer
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
with the figure of the
Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.death of Ana Clara Benevides. The video was further criticized for paying tribute to fellow YouTuber PC Siqueira, who had committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
amidst allegations of
pedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...
.
Personal life
From 2020 to late 2023 Castanhari was in a relationship with fellow digital
influencer
A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...
Nyvi Estephan; their breakup, however, was only made public a year later.
In a 2015 video on his channel, he described himself as
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
.
Awards and nominations
Castanhari was featured in the " UNDER 30" list by '' Forbes Brasil'' in March 2016, and in December 2019, the
market research
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...
firm Instituto QualiBest rated him as the 7th most influential Brazilian YouTuber.