Later, haters! Hollister tapped YouTube sensation Brent Rivera to lead All Equal, a campaign against bullying. The social media personality, who has more than 2.3 million subscribers on the video-sharing site, revealed that the mission is more than just a business opportunity to him.
“This partnership with Hollister allows me the opportunity to help spread much needed awareness around bullying and cyberbullying, something I have actually dealt with on my personal social channels,” Rivera, who goes by MrBrent98, tells Stylish exclusively. “I am hopeful that the content I have created in collaboration with Hollister will resonate with my fans and teens around the world.”
Aside from raising awareness, Hollister’s campaign is also a means to raise money for the cause as well. “Since launching the initiative in 2013, the Company has donated more than $1,000,000 to supporting philanthropic efforts, reached over 1,750,000 students, and awarded scholarships to 30 deserving students who have overcome bullying in their own lives,” the release continues.
A 10-minute video clip with Rivera will be distributed to more than 20,000 schools across the United States and the United Kingdom. In it, Rivera drops some knowledge about statistics (one jarring fact: nearly 100,000 students miss school because of bullies) and also opens up about his own experiences.
“For me, when I started making videos online, I was getting a lot of comments in person and online about being weird, and that’s being bullied,” Rivera said. “But I stayed strong and stayed positive, and over time, my videos caught on.”
And, of course, Hollister will promote the message in style too. The brand created a line of graphic tees printed with messages such as “Everybody should be nice to everybody.” They’ll be available for grabs on Thursday, September 29.
