Los Angeles-based musician, Nick Pfeifer, gained 50,000 followers and over 28 million video views in the past two weeks after he met YouTube star Gabbie Hanna and posted about it online. While he didn’t expect to go viral or gain thousands of followers, Pfeifer experienced increased anxiety surrounding the online attention and is opening up about his ADHD, mental health struggles, and the pros and cons of going viral online to help raise awareness during September, which is Suicide Prevention Month.
With the alarming rise of teen suicides due to viral social media exposure, we would love to arrange an interview with you and Nick to discuss his experience and advice for TikTok users.
On August 24th, Nick Pfeifer went to YouTube star Gabbie Hanna’s house. Gabbie, who has opened up publicly about her diagnosis with bipolar type 2, was posting concerning videos on TikTok. Nearly 200 TikTok videos were uploaded by Gabbie who became increasingly erratic.
Nick, who lives 10 minutes away from Gabbie, was scrolling on TikTok and saw Gabbie’s videos. Nick was concerned and recognized her traits as something he had been through and seen before. Nick, who has gone to the emergency room for drug induced psychosis in the past, had said the same things Gabbie was saying and has friends who have experienced mental illness. He has gotten help since then and has helped friends who have experienced similar situations.
Thousands of followers commented on Gabbie’s videos during her manic posting that she needed to seek help, someone needed to call the police, someone needed to check on her and commenters even tagged TikTok asking the social media company to shut her profile down due to her concerning behavior.
When Nick saw Gabbie’s videos and read the comments, he wanted to help. It felt like an emergency situation to him, so he jumped into action. Having ADHD himself and having bi-polar disorder run in his family as well, Nick had good intentions to help Gabbie, who has ADHD and bi-polar type 2. Celebrity addresses are public information and available online. Realizing that she was his neighbor, and that she lived 10 minutes away from him, Nick decided to check on her and see what he could do to help. Nick recorded himself for safety as he arrived at her house. He went up to the door to knock and the first thing that popped in his head was to ask her to use her bathroom. Gabbie invited him in her home. After Nick used the bathroom, Gabbie did not ask Nick to leave. She asked him if he wanted coffee. She started saying things to Nick as she was saying in her videos. Nick listened to her and tried to gain her trust by listening. Nick posted TikTok videos while he was at her house. Gabbie made videos with Nick willingly, posted them on TikTok, and made plans with him. Gabbie has since deleted many of the videos from that day.
Gabbie, after being friendly to Nick, changed her demeanor towards him and told him to leave her home. Nick left her home immediately. Nick did not commit any crime. When Nick got home, he live-streamed on TikTok to address people’s questions. Nick has only been able to tell his side of the story through his own TikTok posts and lives. He has received hundreds and hundreds of supportive messages from people who understand that he was just trying to help.