If you are a parent of children or teens — or a teen yourself — chances are you know Dylen Dror. He is only 17, yet he has 580,000 YouTube subscribers, more than 370 million views on the platform and 796,000 followers on TikTok. Dror is one of Israel’s most successful online creators, alongside his work as an actor, model, host, singer and entrepreneur. He stars in the YES series Roni and Tom, and this Hanukkah he will appear onstage in the show SoulStars, which will feature the wild challenges he performs on YouTube, live.
Entering Dylen’s YouTube channel, you’re greeted with the banner: “Love it or hate it — the craziest content on Israeli YouTube.” And indeed, whether you connect with it or not, his videos are outrageous, unusual and pulse-raising — the kind that also make you smile. Since posting his first video at age 12, Dylen has invested in creating clips that attempt to break Guinness World Records, such as baking the world’s largest croissant, spending 50 hours inside a crane-suspended car and producing a real-life “Squid Game” challenge that went viral worldwide, drawing more than 107 million views. But for us design lovers, what truly amazed us was his bedroom — and especially his closet, every teenager’s dream.
'I designed a slat wall like in stores'
Because Dylen performs frequently, both online and onstage, his wardrobe is massive: thousands of clothing items (including many Adidas tracksuits — he is an ambassador for the brand), hundreds of pairs of sneakers and hundreds of hats, along with non-fashion collections. After struggling to fit everything into a standard closet, he designed a custom, store-style wardrobe.
“I love fashion, but my closet became way too cramped, until I found a solution. We have a small unit in the yard of our home on the moshav that I’ve taken over, and inside it, there’s a long hallway. I decided that would be my closet,” he said. “I bought a slat wall — a large panel with horizontal grooves. You can insert hooks, shelves and hangers into the grooves and move them easily along the wall. It’s very common in stores. The advantage is flexibility — you can adjust the layout as needed. It saves a lot of space and lets me see all my clothes and shoes clearly. I still sometimes have clothes thrown on the chair like any teen, but with the new closet, everything is much more organized.”
Alongside clear, modular boxes that each hold a single sneaker (he says he has around 300 pairs), Dylen has two hanging levels arranged by color and category — jeans, anime shirts, music shirts, jackets, pajamas and more. Additional deeper, wider shelves display hats, just like in a shop. The unit features glossy black marble-style walls with white veining and a large dark sofa familiar to his followers from his videos. There is also a small white kitchenette with a silver fridge and an attached bathroom. “It took us two days to build the closet, and it ended up cheaper than buying one ready-made,” Dylen explains in a video. Outside, he enjoys a spacious yard with games.
What is your favorite item?
“I have ripped jeans I bought abroad that I love wearing to events. I’m not a big brands guy. I’m a huge fan of vintage and 1980s style. I have old-school shirts and a Casio watch. I got into that style because of my parents — they have great taste.”
If it seems odd that a 17-year-old is so attached to the 1980s, Dylen is so into that era that he has a collection of props from Back to the Future. “Our family watches movies all the time, and we do marathons once a week. The film I connected with most is Back to the Future. It recently marked its 40th anniversary, and I went to a special screening. I have Marty’s hat, the skateboard and other items from the movie,” he said.
Alongside his Back to the Future collection, Dylen also has an anime collection, a 1990s hip-hop vinyl collection and an extensive collection of Funko Pop figurines. “It’s a crazy collection shared by me and my brothers. We started collecting casually without realizing what it would become. We just bought figures we liked and slowly it grew. Now I have five shelves full of them. It adds a lot of color to the room. We have South Park characters, Marvel superheroes, Suicide Squad and more. I even have a custom Funko Pop of myself.”
No shouting, no cursing, no violence
Until five years ago, Dylen lived the completely ordinary life of a boy at the start of adolescence. He lives in the agricultural moshav Gan Hadarom and is the eldest of three children. Everything changed during the COVID period, when at age 12, he asked a friend to film him for a YouTube video. He uploaded a humorous clip, and over time his popularity grew to the point where today he can hardly walk down the street without boys and girls asking for a selfie — often accompanied by screams. “It all hit me at once. I think the secret to my success is that I was a kid speaking to kids and now a teen speaking to teens. I talk to my audience at eye level and do things other creators haven’t done,” he said. “Other YouTubers used to ask me early on, ‘Why do you put so much effort into your videos?’ But I loved it then and still love it today.”
Some of your videos show risky challenges. What do the parents of your young viewers think?
“I’m always careful and keep things safe in my videos, and I warn kids not to try anything at home. When I meet parents, they tell me they let their kids watch only me because my content has no violence. I don’t shout, and I don’t curse. My videos sometimes teach something, but mostly they’re funny and fun.”
How do you balance your career with school?
“School and matriculation exams are very important to me. I don’t show up to class every day, but I try to catch up and meet my obligations. When I’m at school, I’m a student like everyone else. I also plan to enlist in the army and do meaningful service, hopefully alongside my career.”
Do you feel there is a price to fame? Did friends distance themselves once you became famous?
“Some friends did drift away, but it happened during the transition from elementary to middle school. I have friends, and there are others who just don’t like me. When people ask if I lost my childhood, I say no, because my childhood is what I chose to make it. It’s a bit hard to walk down the street without being approached, but I enjoy it.”
What about dating? Do you worry that girls might want to go out with you just because of your fame?
“I really want a relationship, and sometimes I do feel that some girls reach out only because I’m well known. But I can spot it right away, even in the first chat, and I know how to avoid it.”
These days, Dylen is busy rehearsing for the Hanukkah show SoulStars, alongside filming his online content. The show, hosted by Liron Weizman, will feature Dylen performing with other teen stars such as the Saltiz, Stephane Legar, Ilai Chapman, the Hype Crew and Yehonatan Shtivi. “It’s going to be a huge show with onstage challenges, pyrotechnics, interactive screens, dancers and effects — something crazy,” Dylen said excitedly.
Finally, if you could, would you want to be anonymous again?
“I think about it sometimes, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m doing what I love. I chose this path, so I’m committed to it completely.”