The Prankster's Downfall

Okay, buckle up folks because this is one wild ride. Or more like a wild fail. I mean, we've all been there, right? Thinking we're the smartest, funniest person in the room, only to realize we're just the biggest, dumbest *ss.

So this happened about two years ago but it's still so fresh in my mind that I cringe every time I think about it. At the time, I was part of a YouTube channel that thrived on pranks. Yeah, I know, I know, not my proudest moment. But hey, a dude's gotta make a living somehow.

We mostly focused on harmless stuff like whoopee cushions and fake spiders. But then we thought of upping our game a little. We wanted to do something that would get us more views and more subscribers. Classic rookie mistake.

We thought we'd pull a 'robbery prank' on a convenience store. Yes, you read that right. A robbery prank. I mean, we knew that's not exactly the most ethical prank but we figured we'd just film the whole thing, make it clear it was a prank, and boom – viral video.

At first, everything went according to plan. I went in, started the 'robbery', people were scared and then I was going to reveal it was a prank. But before I could, someone else revealed their own surprise.

Turns out, one of the customers in the store was an off-duty cop. And he did what cops are trained to do when faced with a supposed threat – he took action. He tackled me to the ground, handcuffed me, and called for backup. All while my camera guy was filming, frozen in shock.

The real police arrived and I was arrested. The 'robbery' was explained to be a prank and after a lot of begging and pleading, they let me off with a stern warning, a hefty fine, and a promise to never pull such a stunt again. Which, trust me, was not something I needed to promise. Lesson learned the hard way.

But oh, the story does not end here, my friends. The video footage of the whole incident somehow leaked online (we suspect the camera guy, but he swears it wasn't him) and went viral. But not in the way we had intended. It was now being shared as a 'prank gone wrong' video and I became the laughing stock of the internet overnight.

The convenience store video, the arrest video, the video of me crying in the police station begging to be let off — it was all over the internet. My prank, instead of getting me subscribers, got me infamous. And let me tell you, being infamous is not as cool as they make it sound in songs.

Totally destroyed the channel and my online presence. I had to go off the grid for a while, change my name on social media, and take up a job at a call center (which, by the way, is a whole different level of hell, but that's a story for another day).

So here's the moral of this painfully embarrassing story, kids: don't do stupid pranks. They don't make you funny, they make you a fool. And also, always check if there are any off-duty cops around before you fake a robbery.