Gottfried was born and raised in Australia and learned to face and overcome challenges at a young age. After graduating from high school, he found work on a local farm. With his earnings, Lacclan invested in video equipment and started his own videography business, filming weddings and ads for clients.
Gottfried now calls the Gold Coast home, living with friend and fellow celeb, Jackson O’Doherty, a social media juggernaut in his own right with more than 2.5 million YouTube followers and 1 million followers on Instagram.
The two spend a great deal of time together, according to Gottfried. “We’ve been working together every day for the last two years.” he says, noting the recent shift in his function in the partnership.
“I’ve gone from filming to making my own videos. Now I’m creating, starring in, and editing the content.”
Gottfried is enjoying the fruits of his labor, watching his number of followers skyrocket — he currently has over 200,000 followers on TikTok, nearly 80,000 on Facebook and 324,000 on Instagram.
Yet, Gottfried is taking his fame in stride, attributing his success to hard work and staying true to himself and his own unique style. And, he says he derives great pleasure in watching an idea become a video, then a phenomenon, as was the case with his recent prank on O’Doherty in which Gottfried had the entire exterior of his partner’s home painted hot pink.
He admits pulling elaborate pranks can be a gamble.
“It cost me over $3,500 to paint his house then paint it back,” Lacclan confessed. “and sometimes you lose money — but it’s really rewarding when you create a video that does well after you put such a big investment into it.”
Does well may be an understatement. Gottfried’s house painting prank video has gone viral, garnering 5.4 million views on Facebook since its posting.
Gottfried and O’Doherty recently spent several months in L.A. collaborating with big- name American social media stars like Logan Paul and Riley Reid. An L.A. move may be in Gottfried’s future at some point but, for now, he continues to grind in Australia — building his social media empire and creating exciting new content.
When asked what he tells young want-to-be content creators, Gottfried shares a few pieces of sage advice.
“Be consistent and stop caring what other people think. You need to find a way to monetise what you love to do, so be original, pick your niche and focus on it.”
Ultimately, Lacclan Gottfried, offers advice which suggests a level of wisdom beyond his 21 years:
“You can’t do this to please anyone else. Accept positive feedback, but don’t change what you love to do for someone else.”
Wise words, indeed. You can find Gottfried online using the social media handle @itslacci.