MrBeast bought an entire supermarket in North Carolina, put dozens of random people inside, and told them that the last one out would get $250,000. What he did not calculate is that among the participants was a 56-year-old father from Hidalgo, Mexico. That is destroying all the success projections of its rivals.
The supermarket as a coliseum. Last April 18 MrBeast posted a 42-minute video on his channel, ‘The last one to leave the store wins $250,000‘. The mechanics of this new test by the YouTuber was as simple as it was extreme: he had bought a supermarket in Greenville, North Carolina, filled it with products and invited real customers to participate in an endurance contest. With only one rule: the last one to leave wins the prize. Those who did not want to compete could take their already full cart for free. It’s not the first time that does something like this: MrBeast has been perfecting the “last to leave” scheme for years in different scenarios (circles painted on the floor, islands, closed rooms…)
Strategies. Inside the establishment, participants began to build sleeping structures with empty shelves, improvised showers with hoses from the fruit section and organized themselves into factions with their own names (the Dream Team, the Innovators, Fort Freezy near the frozen ones). The rules allowed sabotage and alliances, which turned the competition into something that was very close to psychological warfare.
Juan García, hero of the people. Among all the contestants, one was gaining ground among MrBeast fans. Juan García, 56 years old, originally from the state of Hidalgo, who had entered the supermarket accompanied by his son Ángel. After 15 days, the young man had to retire to return to school and work. When MrBeast asked Juan if he also had pending obligations, the response was: “I’m going to ask for a vacation and stay a little longer.”
From that moment on, Juan advanced practically alone: he was excluded from the initial alliances after his son left, which left him without a support network in the always wild environment of reality competitions. However, he withstood the isolation, the constant noise, the cold at night and the confrontations. The moment that ended up making it go viral was one of the simplest: when another contestant threw his pots and pans outside the establishment, Juan simply told him “Don’t do that, friend.” The other’s response was “I don’t respect you at all.” Five days later, that participant dropped out.
Day 67. At the end of the video, we see how four contestants remain inside and refuse to come out. They have made alliances, they get along well, and they can hold out indefinitely. MrBeast decided to offer the four a new mission: become a team and consume the entire supermarket inventory to win a million dollars, with the store refurbished with beds, showers, a gym and a nutritionist. The group accepted. The volume of product available suggests that the confinement could be extended for several additional months, and in fact, MrBeast says goodbye for another year.
Vote for Juan. When the video was released, messages of support began to multiply on social networks: “Juan already won”, “All of Latin America with Juan”, “I am not Mexican but I support Juan.” Danay Escanaverino, digital monetization specialist, explained that Hispanic audiences respond with special intensity when they find someone on screen with whom they emotionally identify. The figure of Juan (father, older, calm, without allies) connected with an audience unprepared for his frankness.
Up Mexico. A comment that is repeated among many Mexicans is, precisely, that Juan may have unknowingly blown up the MrBeast concept: locked up for a year with expenses paid and all you have to do is eat and relax? A vacation and a million in perspective? Is a humble Mexican, finally, the perfect fit for MrBeast?
In Xataka | MrBeast has discovered a much more lucrative business than making videos on YouTube: selling chocolate
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was originally published in
Xataka
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John Tones
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