Social media star MrBallen talks new book, Navy SEALs, mental health

John Allen makes it look easy.

With his backwards cap, seemingly endless number of flannel shirts and casual on-camera manner, the popular YouTuber and podcaster known by the moniker MrBallen is adding author to his resumé.

His first book, "MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark and Mysterious" (Ten Speed Graphic, 208 pp.), available now, is a graphic novel consisting of nine stories, written in collaboration with novelist Robert Venditti and illustrated by Andrea Mutti.

Allen, 36, started posting on social media in earnest in 2020, telling tales on TikTok and then YouTube about true crime, supernatural stories and twisty spooky yarns while wearing the aforementioned cap and flannel and giving campfire vibes. His following has grown to more than 9 million subscribers on YouTube, more than 8 million followers on TikTok and an exclusive deal with Amazon for his podcast, which launched in 2022. He's also created a team at Ballen Studios, producing his own projects and others, too.

He has also embarked on a live tour this fall, telling stories across the U.S.

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Navy SEALs and nicknames

But the former U.S. Navy SEAL was telling stories and captivating audiences long before that. "When I was in the military, my nickname was Shakespeare," Allen says. "I constantly was yapping."

Allen liked reading stories as much as he liked telling them. In the introduction of his new book, he shares how his mother used to send him chapters from Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels while he was in boot camp in 2010.

But he enjoyed sharing stories, most of all the strange, dark and mysterious tales that would become the foundation of his channel, podcast and, now, his book.

When his fellow SEALs would ask him to tell stories, "the ones that would get the best reaction were stories that were unsettling, scary," Allen says.

After his time in the Navy, a new nickname was created by accident. As Allen set up his social media accounts and offered advice to potential sailors, some misread his name and addressed him as Mr. Ballen. His new persona was born.

How MrBallen structures his stories

While Allen is an engaging storyteller, what he shares isn't fanciful fiction but real and often tragic events from people's lives. How does he find the right balance and respectful tone?

"If I'm going to tell a story about this horrible thing that's happened to someone, and it's this real story, I need to operate as if the family members or friends are going to see this video," Allen says. "They can at least feel like, 'Yes, he's doing this for his YouTube channel or his podcast, but he's doing it the right way.'"

A good story shouldn't be exploitative, Allen says, and it should connect the audience to the victim.

"You put (listeners) in that emotional moment," Allen says. "They will feel how tragic and awful it was, and they'll walk away from that story remembering it because they felt the impact it had on the victim, not the shock of the violence and gore. So it's also a powerful storytelling technique."

Among the stories in his book are two adapted tales of his own, one an eerie experience when he was a teen and a second from his time in the military.

MrBallen's storytelling family

Allen isn't the only storyteller or wordsmith in his family. And when he speaks of his family, his face lights up, his voice full of awe.

"My family's super smart and academically gifted," Allen says. "The idea that years later I would be in the same boat telling stories for a living and employing my family is so out of the realm of what I would've considered possible."

His older sister, Evan Allen, is the head of creative for Ballen Studios and a former investigative reporter for the Boston Globe, where she was part of a team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Allen says her work only cemented his desire to tell true stories responsibly.

Allen's father, Scott Allen, who also works with his son, was an editor at the Globe. And his mother, Jessie Thuma, is "is quite possibly the most gifted writer in our family," he says. Thuma helped Allen with his writing when he first started his podcast.

While Thuma was working at a library in Quincy, Massachusetts, she was writing podcast episodes with her son for the first year.

Allen now has a team that helps with the writing and research, and Thuma is a lead writer. "I don't think that we would be able to have the podcast get to where it was without her," Allen says. "I wouldn't have been able to do both YouTube and podcasts. I was getting burned out hard."

Opening up about mental health, sobriety

Allen's success may seem simple, but it's been a balancing act. He has three children with his wife, Amanda. He's spoken about mental health, feeling lost after leaving the military and the importance of therapy. As his following grows, Allen also has been more open with his audience about his life.

He revealed that he has been sober since May. "When I came out and said that I was sober, that's actually because I was completely spiraling. I was having issues with substance abuse," Allen says. It was having an impact on his life and relationships, and "one of the ways that I've dealt with that and with other things that are traumatic in my life is to be open and honest about them. That's how I am in real life."

Allen says feedback has been largely positive, as others who are struggling reached out to him to thank him. "I think I share more of that as I go," Allen says. "And I hope it helps people along the way."