BREAKING DAN
What happened to Dan Bilzerian?
See how the playboy's incredible journey made him believe in monogamy
DAN Bilzerian's pleasure-seeking lifestyle earned him the nickname 'King of Instagram' and the envy of lads all over the world.
But he took a hiatus from posting to his nearly 32million followers for almost a year — here we take a look at what the man himself has said about why.
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What happened to Dan Bilzerian?
Dan Bilzerian has opened up about his journey of overindulgence and the lessons he learned along the way in a 2024 interview.
A new episode of Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson featuring Bilzerian dropped on YouTube on August 22.
The King of Instagram discussed how spending almost a decade pursuing nothing other than adventure and pleasure without any financial constraints brought him to a number of life-changing realisations.
He grew tired of throwing extravagant parties, travelling the world with a harem of women and living a rock and roll lifestyle, realising this did not bring him happiess.
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Bilzerian said: "You can’t buy happiness. You can buy pleasure though. I can’t buy happiness anymore. I’ve bought everything that I ever wanted. There’s not really anything I want anymore."
He came to realise that he was much happier surfing with his buddies and living the simple life he enjoyed before finding fame and fortune.
Bilzerian said: "When people ask why rich people aren’t as happy, I just think it’s because they’ve upped the bar so far that only the best things satisfy them."
"The sweet is never as sweet without the bitter. Once you achieve a level of success where material possessions don’t mean anything anymore, then you can ask, 'What do I enjoy?'"
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He came to discover that he was stuck in an addiction cycle, with pleasure functioning like a drug, requiring more and more to achieve the same high.
Bilzerian believes he had to live through it all himself before learning these lessons, as reading about it wouldn't have convinced him, and says he now values the journey of life more than reaching a specific goal or "peak".
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Why hasn't he been active on Instagram?
Bilzerian has a staggering 31.6million followers on Instagram, but none of them heard from him for the best part of a year.
The influencer famously documented his hedonistic lifestyle on the platform, but didn't post anything between August 16, 2023, when he shared a snap of his private jet, and May 30, 2024, when he added a pic of himself getting a haircut.
In the interview with Williamson, he made it clear he took this break after coming to the conclusion that the endless pursuit of pleasure wasn't making him happy.
He used the time to make changes to his life, including developing a new product line, enjoying healthy activities — such as mountain biking, paintballing and working out — with friends, and moving away from constantly being surrounded by large groups of women.
You can’t buy happiness. You can buy pleasure though. I can’t buy happiness anymore. I’ve bought everything that I ever wanted. There’s not really anything I want anymore
Dan Bilzerian
On the last subject, Bilzerian said it got to the point where he couldn't physically have sex with all of the women propositioning him, before coming to a somewhat surprising realisation — at least for him.
He admitted: "I was having sex with three girls a day on average, at least, at a minimum.
"I mean, like if I only had sex with two girls in a day, that was like, we're having some real off day, or something… what I kind of landed on was I think it's like better to have a monogamous relationship, as strange as that is coming from me.”
This isn't the first time Bilzerian has taken a break from social media.
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He also stepped back in 2022, saying at the time: "I just lived in the circus for so long that I kind of just — I really needed a break.
"I’ve said this before, but I feel like it’s like a video game that I beat five years ago and I’m tired of playing it."
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