Revolt, a merch company that has released drops with creators like MrBeast, Valkyrae, Tubbo, Corpse Husband, Anthony Padilla, and Nihachu, has been accused of running a “Ponzi-ish” scheme that’s left it owing significant amounts of money to an unknown number of creators. And its head, Ryan Piasente–who also manages the well-known YouTube group Misfits–is facing accusations of sexual assault and misusing money from Revolt’s company coffer.
This all comes from an exposé by Coffeezilla, who’s been looking into Revolt and Piasente for several months after receiving off-the-record tips that creators who’d partnered with Revolt were not being paid, or were being paid late, for merch that had been sold.
Revolt launched in 2019, and by 2021, had become a major business. That year, it sold $20 million worth of merch in just five drops, according to inside information Coffeezilla was able to access. The creator partners for those five drops earned $12 million collectively; Revolt’s cut of the $20 mil was around $4 million.
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The company’s financial problems originated, Coffeezilla alleges, because of Piasente’s spending habits.
In an episode of the Misfits’ podcast, Piasente said he’s “always spent money like a retard” and regularly splashes on family and friends with a “fuck it, let’s do it, let’s have fun” mentality. Coffeezilla accessed financial records that appeared to show Piasente taking six private jet trips in one month and spending $25,000 to rent a mansion, $20,000 to rent a Ferrari, and thousands on dinners.
All the spending resulted in what Coffeezilla calls a “Ponzi-ish” cycle where Revolt would do a merch deal with Creator A, promising to pay them a minimum guaranteed amount of money no matter how much merch sold. Once sales money from Creator A’s merch started rolling in, Piasente would allegedly spend enough of said money that Revolt would have a difficult time paying Creator A. So it would do a deal with Creator B, launch Creator B’s drop, and pay Creator A with Creator B’s sales money. Then it would do a deal with Creator C, and on and on and on.
This might have continued had Revolt kept on making millions in sales. But its sales began to slow down, especially as fans reported issues with the merch they’d received–if they received it at all.
In a video interview with Coffeezilla, YouTuber/Twitch streamer/Dream SMP member Nihachu said Revolt owes her $300,000 for a drop she did with them in 2022. On top of money owed, she says fans and friends alike who ordered from her drop still have not received their items, over a year later.
Things apparently got worse when Revolt began courting MrBeast for a drop. The inside financial information Coffeezilla accessed, where he saw Revolt making $20 mil off five drops, came from a Revolt pitch deck meant to sell MrBeast on working with it.
That pitch deck included projections (to the tune of $50 mil a year) which the Revolt team allegedly knew were impossible, but promised anyway. MrBeast ended up putting out his 100 million subscriber collection with Revolt, but it sold “way below expected,” a source told Coffeezilla, and didn’t make enough money for Revolt to pay the minimum amount it had guaranteed MrBeast.
To make up the difference, Revolt allegedly altered invoices from its Chinese factory to charge MrBeast more per shirt than the factory was charging Revolt. A price list Coffeezilla got ahold of showed the factory charging Revolt $9.30 to produce a MrBeast T-shirt. Handwritten on the price list in blue pen was “$12.80”–an amount that would having MrBeast paying Revolt $3.50 more per shirt than he was supposed to.
Coffeezilla points out that Revolt may have upped cost of goods to other creators without their knowledge, too.
Sexual assault allegations against Piasente
In the midst of investigating these potential financial issues, Coffeezilla was also approached with allegations of sexual misconduct against Piasente. Five people have come forward so far, including one who said he was invited to a Misfits party but at the door was “forced to inhale a substance as a condition of entry” and was later assaulted in the shower by Piasente. Another said Piasente flew him out to visit in Los Angeles, paid him $5,000 to cover missed time at work, and within hours had assaulted him in the bathroom. Coffeezilla’s video includes a screenshot of the $5,000 payment.
Another report came from a girl who said she was 17 when Piasente DM’d her asking for nudes, and even offered to pay her for them. She messaged back “that’s ILLEGAL,” and he allegedly replied, “Dw I ain’t no snitch.”
Other instances included times when Piasente allegedly did pay people for sexual material, and there are screenshots showing that money came out of Revolt’s account, not his personal account.
Coffeezilla says he reached out to Piasente for comment seven times over two months, but never received a reply. At press time, Revolt has not made a public statement addressing its reported financial issues or the allegations against Piasente.
