Dhar Mann

American entrepreneur, film producer and YouTuber (born 1984)Template:SHORTDESC:American entrepreneur, film producer and YouTuber (born 1984)

**Dharminder "Dhar" Mann** (born May 29, 1984) is an American entrepreneur, film producer and YouTuber. He is best known for his video production company, Dhar Mann Studios, that creates short films for social media platforms such as YouTube. The films target a young audience and typically feature a turn of events that teaches the antagonist a moral lesson.

In 2010, Mann and stockbroker Derek Peterson founded the weGrow store that sold hydroponics marketed for growing medical marijuana. weGrow was closed two years later amid lawsuits between the business partners.

In 2013, Mann was convicted of defrauding the city of Oakland, California, through his real estate company MannEdge Properties.

## Early life

Dharminder Mann was born on May 29, 1984, to Surinder Mann and Baljit Singh Mann, who emigrated from India to the United States. The Singh family owns Friendly Cab, a taxi cab operator based in Oakland, California. They have owned several local real estate companies since 1980, and more than 130 properties.

Mann recalls growing up in a one-bedroom Bay Area apartment that was shared with three other families. As his parents were focused on managing their company, he has said that rather than "give me their time, they gave me money to do things".

## Early career and legal issues

At the age of nineteen, Mann started a real estate company, and founded other, often failed, companies within the decade, including ventures in luxury car rental services and mortgage refinancing. Mann founded weGrow, a retailer of cannabis-growing hydroponics, with former stock broker Derek Peterson in January 2010. Mann and Peterson rented a supply store in Oakland, California, to sell hydroponics equipment, and aimed to open franchises in eight other states.

In early 2011, the weGrow store was closed, and Peterson filed lawsuits against the company, citing unpaid debts, and accusing Mann of running a "hydroponzi scheme" in a *Mother Jones* interview. A spokesman for Mann subsequently accused Peterson of fabricating the allegations in retaliation for Mann's decision to downsize their partnership, and Mann successfully countersued Peterson for a cash settlement and stocks in Peterson's own company.

In 2012, Mann was charged with thirteen felony counts of fraud for allegedly defrauding a city beautification program while operating his real estate company MannEdge Properties in 2008 and 2009. Prosecutors reduced the charges to five felony counts in August 2013, and later that year Mann pled no contest to the five counts. He was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and restitution. Mann told *The New York Times* in 2021 that the conviction was later expunged.

## Dhar Mann Studios

* Dhar Mann

In 2018, Mann founded Dhar Mann Studios, a video production company that produces films for social media platforms such as YouTube. When Mann began publishing videos on YouTube in 2018, his output comprised motivational videos, and later shifted focus to morality plays. In 2021, Mann started a contract with the Creative Artists Agency and launched a mobile app where users can watch videos produced by his studio.

### Videos

The studio's videos feature often recurring actors. A *New York Times* profile of Mann described his YouTube videos as "timely narratives about police-calling Karens and Covid-19 hoarders" told in the fashion of "1980s after-school specials and the educational short films of the '50s", and noted their often "thin and absolutist" moral philosophy and "openly click bait" titles. *Vulture* called them "feel-good" videos intended to "encourage people to be decent to one another."

In 2023, the studio announced *Jay & Mikey*, comedy kids show based on characters appearing previous short film series with Shaun Dixon and Kaido Lee Roberts portraying middle-schoolers Jay and Mikey, respectively.

By mid-2023, the studio's YouTube videos had more than a total of 11 billion views.

### Workplace scandal and actors' protest

In February 2023, multiple actors employed by Dhar Mann Studios stated on social media that they had poor working conditions and unsustainable pay. Many of the actors took to protesting outside of one of Mann's studio lots, with the protests happening abruptly. Actor Charles Laughlin revealed that many actors requested a meeting with Mann about working conditions, but Mann declined to meet with them. Laughlin also accused Mann of firing actress Jessica Ruth Bell after the actors requested the meeting. Laughlin and actor Colin Borden stated that actors who spoke out against the working conditions were immediately let go. Borden stated that many of the actors employed by Mann could not afford rent. After the protests, Mann issued a statement on his YouTube channel and Instagram account disputing the claims of the protesting actors and accusing them of "spreading false information" about his studio, family and himself. He explained how the studio operated and disclosed hourly rates for actors.

## Other activities

Mann published the book *Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Everyday* in 2020, and it became a *New York Times* Best Seller. In 2022, Mann announced a new podcast, *Dhar & Jay Show,* hosted with podcaster Jay Shetty that would feature Charli D'Amelio and Winnie Harlow as guests, among others. As of 2022, he is set to publish a second book *8 Rules of Love*.

## Personal life

In 2014, Mann was in a relationship with businesswoman Lilly Ghalichi, known for participating on the reality television series *Shahs of Sunset*. Mann met his fiancée Laura Avila in 2015. Together, the couple manage LiveGlam, a cosmetics company that Mann founded in 2015. The couple had their first child in 2020.

In late 2020, Mann purchased a mansion in Calabasas, California, previously owned by media personality Khloé Kardashian. Along with his family's real estate activities in Oakland, Mann and his brother Harmit also own property across the city.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Marcus, Ezra (August 19, 2021). "The Moral Philosopher of YouTube". *The New York Times*. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Bulwa, Demian; Kuruvila, Matthai (May 18, 2012). "Oakland pot entrepreneur charged with fraud". *SFGate*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Indicted Oakland Pot Entrepreneur Leaned on Political Relationships". NBC Bay Area. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Tucker, Jill (February 1, 2014). "'Ganja-preneur' of Oakland sentenced, fined $10,000". *SFGate*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
5. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Orenstein, Natalie (September 14, 2021). "Oakland landlord hit with $3.9 million penalty for hazardous housing conditions". *The Oaklandside*. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (April 28, 2014). "FBI agents' sting tried to lure more S.F., Oakland officials". *SFGate*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harkinson, Josh (December 11, 2013). "How a local "Ganjapreneur" bummed Oakland's high, and cheated the city out of thousands". *Mother Jones*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
9. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>BondGraham, Darwin (April 24, 2015). "Oakland Taxicab Family Hit with $37,500 Fine for Defrauding Oakland". *East Bay Express*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harkinson, Josh. "Weedmart: Marijuana Superstores. IPOs. Reality TV". *Mother Jones* (January/February 2011). Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>McLean, Kate (July 18, 2010). "Proposal for Marijuana Factories Prompts a Battle for Control". *The New York Times*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harkinson, Josh (March 1, 2011). "WeGrow's "Joint Venture" Goes Up in Smoke". *Mother Jones*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
13. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Artz, Matthew (December 10, 2013). "Oakland "ganjapreneur" pleads no contest to fraud charges". *Oakland Tribune*. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 About Dhar Mann. YouTube.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Vlessing, Etan (April 7, 2021). "Filmmaker Dhar Mann Signs With CAA (Exclusive)". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Kaiser-Schatzlein, Robin (August 4, 2021). "The Internet Demands Uplifting Videos. So He Stages Them". *The New York Times Magazine*. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
17. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Weiss, Geoff (October 22, 2021). "YouTube Moralist Dhar Mann Launches His Own Video App, Rockets To No. 1 On Apple". *Tubefilter News*. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Gutelle, Sam (June 9, 2023). "Dhar Mann universe expands with new series, upcoming feature film". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
19. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Burney, Lawrence (March 3, 2021). "Watching YouTube Through My Daughter's Eyes". *Vulture*. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Hayes, Rob (February 14, 2023). "Actors for popular Burbank-based YouTube channel protest for better wages, work conditions". Burbank, California: ABC7. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
21. ↑ Allen, Joseph (2023-02-09). Actors in Influencer Dhar Mann's Videos Have Gone on Strike Over Low Wages (en-US).
22. ↑ Beskyldninger mot YouTube-gigant (nb) (2023-02-09).
23. ↑ YouTube's Dhar Mann Studios Accused Of Paying Actors Unfair Wages (en-CA) (2023-02-10).
24. ↑ Moral video creator Dhar Mann responds to the protest launched by some of his regular actors. Tubefilter (February 14, 2023).
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Seitz, Loree (October 27, 2022). "Jay Shetty to Launch New Online Series Dhar & Jay Show". *TheWrap*. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
26. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Johnson, Zach; Sobol, Beth (April 4, 2014). "*Shahs of Sunset*[[:Template:Apostrophe]]s Lilly Ghalichi Engaged to Entrepreneur Dhar Mann—But Will She Keep the Ring?". *E! Online*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021. URL–wikilink conflict (help)
27. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Webber, Stephanie (December 19, 2014). "Lilly Ghalichi, Dhar Mann Split: *Shahs of Sunset* Star Ends Engagement". *E! Online*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>McClain, James (November 3, 2020). "Khloe Kardashian Sells $15.5 Million Calabasas Mansion to Dhar Mann". *Variety*. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
29. ↑ Videos.
30. ↑ Videos.
31. ↑ Videos.
32. ↑ Behind-The-Scenes.
33. ↑ Dhar Mann Studio Challenges.
34. ↑ Pranks.
35. ↑ Dhar Mann Reactions.
36. ↑ Yippie Yay!.
37. ↑ Dhar & Jay Show.
38. ↑ Videos.
39. ↑ Videos.
40. ↑ Videos.
41. ↑ Videos.
42. ↑ Videos.
43. ↑ Videos.
44. ↑ Videos.

## External links

* Official website
* Dhar Mann at IMDb

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