Adam Pacitti

Adam Pacitti
Pacitti in 2012
Born
Adam Joseph Pacitti[1]

(1988-08-21) 21 August 1988 (age 36)
Alma materUniversity of Winchester
OccupationYouTuber
Years active2008–present
Known forThe Girl of My Dreams, Employ Adam, WhatCulture, Cultaholic

Adam Joseph Pacitti[1] (born 21 August 1988) is an English YouTuber, best known for his publicity stunts and for founding professional wrestling infotainment company Cultaholic.[2]

Career

2008: The Girl of My Dreams

In August 2008, while studying English at the University of Winchester, Pacitti launched an appeal to find "the most beautiful girl he has ever seen" in a dream of his.[3] After the dream, he woke up 'immediately' in the early hours and drew a sketch of the girl, which has drawn comparisons to Ugly Betty.[4] He subsequently created a website where people could log sightings of who they believed were his dream woman, or girls who believed they were her could contact him.[5] The campaign garnered publicity on British television, including The Graham Norton Show, Richard & Judy, and GMTV, and even Australian breakfast program Sunrise.[6]

2013–2015: Employ Adam billboard

Adam Pacitti with the Employ Adam billboard

In January 2013, when he was an unemployed graduate, Adam spent the last £500 in his bank account on a billboard in Shoreditch, London, in hopes that he would find work from it.[7][8] It promoted a dedicated campaign website, aptly-named employadam.com. The website hosted a tongue-in-cheek video promoting his marketing skills, including his first-class degree in Media Production, to potential recruiters. In one part of the video, Pacitti stated: "I am looking for work in the ultra-competitive, cut-throat and slightly vacuous industry that is the media."[9] He was successful with the stunt, being employed soon after by production company KEO Digital, where he landed a post as a junior producer.[10][11] In February, one month after, he bought another billboard space, this time thanking people for helping him. It read: "I spent my first wage packet on this billboard. Thank you for helping me." This saw The Times dub him "the poster boy for jobseekers" in a headline.[12]

2015–2017: WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW)

After departing from KEO, Pacitti joined WhatCulture in 2015. He became a well-known figure on their wrestling YouTube channel, WhatCulture Wrestling, alongside co-presenters Adam Blampied, Sam Driver, Jack G. King and Ross Tweddell. Following the success of the channel, the brand decided to launch their own independent wrestling promotion, named WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW).[13][14] Pacitti served as the inaugural general manager,[15] before it was sold and rebranded as Defiant Wrestling, which saw Stu Bennett named as his successor,[16] before it finally folded as a promotion in August 2019, one year and 11 months later.[17]

2017–present: Cultaholic launch and GB News prank

On 29 September 2017, just one day before WCPW rebranded as Defiant, WhatCulture issued a statement on Twitter announcing that Pacitti, Blampied, Driver, King and Tweddell had all made the decision to part ways with them, and that they would be leaving "in the coming weeks".[18] One month later, on Monday, 16 October, the group launched a new professional wrestling infotainment website and YouTube channel of their own, named Cultaholic.[19] Shortly after the channel was announced, Pacitti's then-colleague Adam Blampied had his contract with Cultaholic terminated "with immediate effect",[20][21] amidst news of sexual misconduct claims, which Blampied later publicly admitted to in an op-ed for The Independent.[22]

On 13 June 2021, a new opinion-orientated television channel named GB News launched. The channel has a right-wing political bias,[23] and upon launching, CNN reported the station were aiming to "take on woke warriors".[24] Four days after its launch, on 17 June, Pacitti – a Labour Party supporter, who has shown support for Jeremy Corbyn[25] and previously criticised the Conservative Party[26] — pranked the station. He appeared live on Tonight Live with Dan Wootton via video chat during a segment with former actor Laurence Fox and political commentator Dan Wootton whilst they were taking questions from the public. Pacitti exclaimed: "Hello. I am a great fan of your work and also a great fan of comedy. I am a man that loves to laugh. I am of the belief that either one can joke about everything or nothing at all because somebody will always be offended by a joke. What are your thoughts on that?", as he was standing directly in front of a mirror and mooning the hosts in the reflection. They did not notice the prank, though viewers did.[27][28]

C U Next Tuesday

In 2020, Cultaholic began creating content on Twitch, with Pacitti hosting a unique streaming series titled "C U Next Tuesday," which airs every Tuesday. Initially conceived as a one-off stream, "C U Next Tuesday" gained popularity as Pacitti presented classic British TV programs for viewers to enjoy alongside him. Despite the apparent deviation from wrestling, the show garnered a substantial and loyal following.

Pacitti largely attributed the show's popularity to the comedic moments that can be found when reacting to the cringeworthy, problematic and poorly aged content in these shows, saying "If you're passionate about something then that'll come across and it makes things more enjoyable to watch and I'm genuinely quite passionate about this stuff" and that there's "a level of unpredictability that only 90s British TV shows can offer.”[29]

The title of the series is a backronym for the word "cunt", in line with other similar uses of the phrase “See You Next Tuesday”. Those who tune in are often referred to as “cunts” by Pacitti in a playful and endearing manner. The phrases “feel good cunt” and “cunt classic” are also used when referring to uplifting or particularly funny episodes of whatever Adam is watching that week.

Personal life

Pacitti lives and works in the Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne area.[30] He was born and raised in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Adam Pacitti". Wrestling Data. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023. "Real Name: Adam Joseph Pacitti".
  2. ^ Stubbs, Mike. "How Wrestling YouTube Channel Cultaholic Found Twitch Success With Unique Streams". Forbes. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Richard (11 October 2008). "Man searches for beauty in his dreams". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Help me to find my dream girl – Ugly Betty". Southern Daily Echo. 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  5. ^ "I'm determined to find my dream girl, says student". Hampshire Chronicle. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  6. ^ Saban, Rosie (4 January 2013). "Adam tries his luck with billboard promotion". On The Wight. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  7. ^ Jones, Alice (4 January 2013). "You need a job. But are you shouting loud enough? (Like Adam Pacitti, who used a billboard)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  8. ^ Harper, Tom (4 January 2013). "Billboard jobseeker Adam Pacitti blew £6,000 searching for 'Ugly Betty' bride". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b Rankin, Ben (3 January 2013). ""I am getting desperate": Unemployed graduate spends his last £500 on a billboard to try and get a job". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  10. ^ Wakefield, Lawrence (24 September 2014). "Job-hunt stunts: how far would you go to get your dream graduate job?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  11. ^ Bryant, Miranda (7 January 2014). "Lovelorn landscaper uses sign language in search for a girlfriend". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Poster boy for jobseekers does it again after finding work". The Times. 16 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  13. ^ Stone, Danny; Rams, Robert (13 July 2016). "Introducing What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW)". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  14. ^ Cooling, Will (6 October 2016). "WhatCulture Pro Wrestling's Adam Clery on their first iPPV & star-studded weekend". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  15. ^ Barr, Gordon (12 July 2016). "Wrestling fans in for a treat with two shows at O2 Academy Newcastle". Chronicle Live. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  16. ^ Currier, Joseph (30 September 2017). "WCPW rebranding as Defiant Wrestling, Wade Barrett to be new GM". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  17. ^ @DEFIANTwres (1 August 2019). "It has been an absolutely incredible journey over the past three years, but it is with a heavy heart that we today announce that the journey must come to an end. To each and every one of you who worked on a show, attended a show, or watched a show… thank you" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @whatculture (19 September 2017). "WhatCulture announces staff departures" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (16 October 2017). "Former WhatCulture Wrestling Crew Debut "Cultaholic" In New Video". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  20. ^ @Cultaholic (27 October 2017). "As of Friday, October 27, 2017 Adam Blampied's employment with Cultaholic Ventures LTD has been terminated with immediate effect" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 January 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (28 October 2017). "Adam Blampied Officially Out Of Cultaholic". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  22. ^ Blampied, Adam (19 January 2018). "My life and career were ruined when I was called out for sexual harassment. I'm glad – I deserved it". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  23. ^ Sweney, Mark (17 January 2023). "'Proud to be a disruptor': GB News faces growing pains as it tries to clean up image". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  24. ^ Horowitz, Julia (12 June 2021). "GB News launches in Britain to take on 'woke warriors'". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  25. ^ Belam, Martin (24 August 2016). "Passengers on Jeremy Corbyn's train journey: 'I've never once not got a seat'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  26. ^ @adampacitti (21 October 2020). "Just a quick reminder that the tories don't give a shit about you or your family" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Hill, Rose (17 June 2021). "GB News in chaos as comedian trolls channel by mooning Laurence Fox live on air". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  28. ^ Evans, Greg (17 June 2021). "GB News suffers more embarrassment after airing a question from a man with his bum out". Indy100. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  29. ^ Stubbs, Mike. "How Wrestling YouTube Channel Cultaholic Found Twitch Success With Unique Streams". Forbes. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Adam Pacitti Personal Appointments". Companies House. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
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