Arthur Chichester bald and bankrupt Bald and Bankrupt is an English travel vlog YouTube channel operated by Benjamin Rich , also known as Mr Bald . [ 1 ] The Bald and Bankrupt YouTube channel enjoys global popularity, as of May 2026 [ update ] , the channel had 227 videos, 4.52 million subscribers and 727 million views. [ 2 ] Rich has been described as a "British YouTube star". [ 3 ] Although one of the defining characteristics of Rich's channel was his interest in Russia , Rich was deported and banned from the country in 2022, having openly declared his support for Ukraine , and fundraised for Ukraine. [ 4 ] The name of Rich's channel derives from the business he was running before he started his channel going bankrupt. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] One of the defining characteristic of Rich's channel is his interest in the post-Soviet states , which Bald has explained by stating: " I chose the Soviet Union , because I began to be fascinated by the USSR when I was roughly 15–years–old with the Wall coming down , perestroika , all that kind of stuff. It was always my dream to travel across the former Soviet Union ." [ 7 ] [ 5 ] For his channel, Rich has produced videos around the world. Rich's video about a trip to Patamanta in Bolivia was reported by Gizmodo Español as "more scary than entering Chernobyl ". [ 8 ] In the video, he informed a local woman that he was a tourist, prompting her to warn him that "they burn people" in the area. [ 8 ] Two men later approached Rich, inspected his passport, and gave him 30 minutes to explore and leave the area. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Following a November 2019 video filmed on a train to Chechnya , Rich was forced to apologise on camera by Chechen authorities for making comments about Chechen women which the Chechen authorities claimed were disparaging. This marked the start of Rich's problems in Russia. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] In May 2020, after exploring no-lockdown areas during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia , Rich uploaded a video to his channel stating that he could not walk to the bathroom or breathe by the time he sought medical attention, that he had low blood oxygen and was suffering from multiple organ failure, and complaining about his primitive level of medical treatment in a Serbian hospital. He then deleted the video, and it was later reported that his level of care had been upgraded after an appeal to the Russian authorities. [ 5 ] [ 13 ] He later urged his followers not to make the same mistakes as he had, and to take the virus seriously. [ 13 ] Rich did many videos from Belarus up to 2020. At the time of the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests Rich was highly critical of president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko , and took parts against the Belorussian government and president from Prague, where it was reported he had moved to live. Rich stated in an interview in September 2020 that he believed after this he was blacklisted from Belarus, and would be unable to return. [ 5 ] Rich was in Kyiv at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, immediately fleeing Ukraine with fellow travel vlogger F, Johnny . [ 14 ] Rich then went to Kazakhstan , and on 7 May 2022, Rich and his girlfriend, Alina Tselupa, were detained at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for unsanctioned entry to a guarded site and reported as being under police investigation, to determine "the exact level of participation in illegal activities" of him and his Belorussian partner. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] Rich himself downplayed the incident, stating that he had paid a "£60 administrative fine just like hundreds of foreign adventurers before me", and had been questioned for Russian police a few hours for going to see the Buran spaceplane without permission. [ 3 ] [ 19 ] On 1 September 2022, Rich posted a video from Russia, announcing he had been arrested and subsequently ordered to leave the country. Rich stated that it would be his final video covering travels through Russia, as he had been banned from returning. [ 1 ] [ 20 ] Other channels posted a video of Rich apparently being questioned by Russian policemen, asking why he had called Vladimir Putin "crazy" and had fundraised in support of Ukraine. [ 4 ] Rich's content has attracted coverage in various national media, particularly publications in the towns and regions he visits. New Delhi publication The New Learn reported on Rich's travels in India in January 2019. [ 21 ] They praised his visits to refugee camps for Hindus in North Delhi stranded after the crisis in Pakistan, describing his videos as "introducing the world to an India that is real and authentic, where people still open up their lunch boxes to strangers, where tea is the beginning of lifelong associations, where trust means more than money and where there is vibrancy everywhere". [ 21 ] In March 2019, Hindustan Times reported on how he exposed scams against tourists in Delhi Airport, from inflated prices to rickshaw drivers and false claims. [ 22 ] In June 2019, Rich was discussed in the Slovak press for his visit to Luník IX , which he described as "Europe's largest poor Roma neighbourhood". [ 23 ] The article described how, despite warnings about the estate being among the most dangerous in Europe, he was welcomed by local people who spoke fluent English and invited him to their homes, which he described as "better than [his] apartment in Britain". [ 23 ] Afisha Daily journalist Lyubava Zaitseva wrote about Rich's choice of Russian destinations in September 2019, stating that even its Russian readers had "not seen such Russia" [ 24 ] and praising him for "trying to distance himself from tourist places" and showing cities "from the inside, communicating with local residents". [ 24 ] Chichester, Arthur (2018). The Burning Edge : Travels Through Irradiated Belarus . Independently Published. ISBN 978-1-9807-8751-8 . OCLC 1107791946 . 1 2 "Brighton YouTuber 'kicked out and banned from Russia' after being 'arrested' " . SussexLive . 2 September 2022 . Retrieved 5 September 2022 . ↑ "bald and bankrupt – YouTube" . www.youtube.com . Retrieved 16 November 2025 . 1 2 "Benjamin Rich: British YouTube star behind Bald and Bankrupt detained at Russian space centre" . Sky News . 8 May 2022 . Retrieved 21 December 2025 . 1 2 "Why was Bald and Bankrupt 'kicked out of Russia'?" . Indy100 . 21 September 2022. 1 2 3 4 " "Prague is the most liveable city"–YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt on his new home and Soviet fascination" . 12 September 2020 . Retrieved 21 December 2025 . ↑ Rayamajhee, Veeshan; Professor, Assistant (23 April 2020). "Spotlight on Economics: Economics lessons from Bald and Bankrupt" . Jamestown Sun . Archived from the original on 25 August 2020 . Retrieved 16 August 2020 . ↑ "The British journalist is wildly delighted with Moldova" . TATIANA VLADIMIR . 15 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020 . Retrieved 24 January 2020 . 1 2 3 "Cuando una excursión a la montaña en Bolivia da más miedo que adentrarse en Chernóbil" . Gizmodo en Español (in European Spanish). 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . ↑ " 'DangerTubers' Are the World's New Amateur Explorers" . VICE . 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020 . Retrieved 16 August 2020 . ↑ "Chechnya: practice of public apologies spread to foreign tourists" . Caucasian Knot . Archived from the original on 26 June 2020 . Retrieved 24 June 2020 . ↑ "Английский блогер извинился за то, что назвал чеченок "цыпочками" " . RFE/RL (in Russian). 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . ↑ EurasiaTimes (8 January 2020). "Chechnya markets warfare tourism" . EurasiaTimes . Archived from the original on 24 January 2020 . Retrieved 24 January 2020 . 1 2 O'Sullivan, Eilish (11 July 2020). "YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt shares his 'COVID-19 nightmare' after exploring no-lockdown areas" . The Daily Dot . Archived from the original on 12 August 2020 . Retrieved 16 August 2020 . ↑ F, Johnny (28 February 2022). "HOW I ESCAPED WAR IN UKRAINE 🇺🇦" . YouTube . Retrieved 21 December 2025 .

↑ "British vlogger Benjamin Rich and his girlfriend Alina Tselupa detained in Baikonur" . 7 May 2022 . Retrieved 21 December 2025 . ↑ "British YouTube star "Bald and Bankrupt" arrested in Kazakhstan" . BNO News . 7 May 2022 . Retrieved 7 May 2022 . ↑ "На Байконуре задержали известного блогера, ведущего канал Bald and bankrupt, и гражданку Беларуси" . ZERKALO.IO (in Russian). 7 May 2022 . Retrieved 7 May 2022 . ↑ "Рогозин заявил о задержании на Байконуре британского блогера" . Meduza (in Russian). 7 May 2022 . Retrieved 7 May 2022 . ↑ "Benjamin Rich: British YouTuber denies reports of being arrested in Kazakhstan" . Deutsche Welle . 8 May 2022 . Retrieved 8 May 2022 . ↑ Rich, Ben (September 2022). "The Journey Is Over" . YouTube . Retrieved 1 September 2022 . 1 2 Says, Piki (19 January 2019). "Meet Mr. Bald and Bankrupt: when an 'Outsider' Sees More Than an Insider |" . The New Leam . Archived from the original on 28 December 2019 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . ↑ "There's no such thing as a free elephant, and other tourist scams being busted on YouTube" . Hindustan Times . 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . 1 2 " "Toto je Slovensko?" Pozrite sa, ako známy britský youtuber predstavil svetu košický Luník IX" . style.hnonline.sk (in Slovak). 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . 1 2 "Британец снимает свое путешествие по всему СНГ. Такой России вы еще не видели" . Афиша . Archived from the original on 12 April 2021 . Retrieved 28 December 2019 . Bald's second channel Bald's official website English YouTubers English travel writers YouTube travel vloggers 21st-century British people 20th-century English people Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use British English from May 2020 All Wikipedia articles written in British English Use dmy dates from September 2022 Articles with hCards Social media pages with Wikidata Articles containing potentially dated statements from May 2026 All articles containing potentially dated statements CS1 European Spanish-language sources (es-es) CS1 Russian-language sources (ru) CS1 Slovak-language sources (sk)