MrBallen

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. 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. As of February 2024, the podcast is freely available across multiple platforms including YouTube, Amazon Music, TikTok, and Spotify, among others.

Early life Allen was born in Quincy, Massachusetts to Jessie Thuma and Scott Allen, a reporter and editor with The Boston Globe. 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. and met his wife, Amanda, in college. He is the father of three children.

Allen was ranked 21st on the 2026 Forbes Top Creators list, with reported earnings of $24 million.

Career Military service After graduating from the UMass Amherst, Allen visited a recruiting office in Quincy, Massachusetts and enlisted in the United States Navy, intending to become a Navy SEAL. Allen joined SEAL Team Two in Virginia Beach in 2012. During his service, he was deployed to Afghanistan and later South America. In 2014, his team was attacked in Afghanistan and a grenade hit Allen, with shrapnel impacting his hips and legs. He was medically retired from the Navy in 2017. He was noted for his storytelling style that builds suspense throughout his videos.

Allen started experimenting with TikTok the same year he started his YouTube channel in 2020. His first viral video was about the Dyatlov Group. The video gained five million views the same day it was posted, prompting him to make additional TikToks about other unsolved mysteries. Additionally, Allen and his nonprofit organization, MrBallen Foundation, were nominated for the Creator for Social Good Award.

Awards and honors Allen’s awards include: