| MrBallen | |||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Jonathan Bartlett Allen | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | October 1, 1988 Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Education: | Bachelor's degree in Philosophy | ||||||||||
| Alma Mater: | North Quincy High School, UMass Amherst | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Internet personality Storyteller Podcaster US Navy SEAL (formerly) | ||||||||||
| Known For: | Storytelling, charity work, military service (discharged) | ||||||||||
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Jonathan Bartlett Allen (born October 1, 1988), known professionally as MrBallen, is an American internet personality and a former United States Navy SEAL. He is best known for his victim-oriented true crime stories and mysteries on YouTube.[1] He co-founded Ballen Studios, and the exclusive rights to his podcast MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories were licensed to Amazon Music in September 2022.[2] However, as of February 2024, the podcast is freely available across multiple platforms including YouTube, Amazon Music, TikTok, and Spotify, among others.[3]
Allen was born in Quincy, Massachusetts to his parents Jessie Thuma and Scott Allen, a reporter and editor with The Boston Globe.[4] He graduated from North Quincy High School in 2006. That year, he attended UMass Amherst for one semester before dropping out. He later returned to UMass Amherst and graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 2010.
He was raised Catholic[5] and met his wife, Amanda, in college.[1]