The Rise Of NELK, Donald Trump & Global Chaos - Kyle Forgeard (4K)
Chris Williamson (host), Kyle Forgeard (guest), Narrator
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Kyle Forgeard, The Rise Of NELK, Donald Trump & Global Chaos - Kyle Forgeard (4K) explores kyle Forgeard on Trudeau, Trump, Nelk’s empire, and online rebellion Kyle Forgeard discusses Canadian politics post‑Trudeau, the global shift against hyper‑woke culture, and his close-up experiences with Donald Trump and Dana White. He explains how NELK grew from broke pranksters to a merch and alcohol empire, driving huge voter registrations and shaping young male internet culture. The conversation covers the power of independent media versus legacy news, the rise of streaming and platforms like X and Meta, and the behind‑the‑scenes grind of building NELK, Full Send, and Happy Dad. Kyle also reflects on leadership pressure, burnout, loyalty, and staying authentic while managing massive influence and responsibility.
Kyle Forgeard on Trudeau, Trump, Nelk’s empire, and online rebellion
Kyle Forgeard discusses Canadian politics post‑Trudeau, the global shift against hyper‑woke culture, and his close-up experiences with Donald Trump and Dana White. He explains how NELK grew from broke pranksters to a merch and alcohol empire, driving huge voter registrations and shaping young male internet culture. The conversation covers the power of independent media versus legacy news, the rise of streaming and platforms like X and Meta, and the behind‑the‑scenes grind of building NELK, Full Send, and Happy Dad. Kyle also reflects on leadership pressure, burnout, loyalty, and staying authentic while managing massive influence and responsibility.
Key Takeaways
Cultural backlash is reshaping politics and platforms.
Kyle describes Canada as having ‘lost its identity’ under Trudeau through hyper‑political correctness and poor immigration management, and links the recent election results in the U. ...
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Independent creators now rival legacy media in political influence.
NELK helped register hundreds of thousands of young voters through ‘Send the Vote’ and saw Trump’s internet strategy outperform traditional networks, highlighting how podcasts and YouTube now ‘own’ the 18–35 male attention that TV used to command.
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Ask widely and read the room: Trump’s decision style is highly social.
Kyle notes that Trump constantly polls everyone around him—from top advisors to caddies and YouTubers—asking, ‘What do you think? ...
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Longevity beats virality; build a foundation, not a moment.
NELK took ~10 years of steady grind, road‑tripping, fan couch‑surfing, and incremental growth rather than going viral overnight, which Kyle contrasts with short‑lived ‘internet moments’ who lack the experience, judgment, and infrastructure to sustain success.
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Revenue is vanity; profit and control are what matter.
Despite a $30M merch drop in 30 minutes, Kyle stresses how production costs, lawsuits, and splits drastically reduce take‑home pay, and warns creators against giving away equity or signing with the wrong managers, advocating moving slowly and treating partnerships like marriages.
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Platform rules shape creator strategy and even friendships.
YouTube’s bans on SteveWillDoIt and Andrew Tate forced NELK to keep friends off their main channel to avoid deletion, revealing how opaque moderation decisions can directly rewire content, collaborations, and business models—even for top creators.
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Leadership in a creator collective is lonely and demanding.
Kyle talks about being forced into ‘buzzkill’ decisions, babysitting talent, and balancing being the ‘fun scumbag’ on camera with being the responsible boss off camera, illustrating the hidden emotional and managerial load behind a seemingly carefree brand.
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Notable Quotes
““Canada is not the same country that I knew growing up.””
— Kyle Forgeard
““The secret to Nelk is there was never one moment that made us. It’s just been like this the whole time.””
— Kyle Forgeard
““Revenue sounds nice, but when you talk about profit, it’s a whole different story.””
— Kyle Forgeard
““Shutting people up is a good fucking feeling.””
— Kyle Forgeard
““People are really desperate for authenticity. You can’t inauthentically be authentic.””
— Chris Williamson
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much responsibility should large creators like NELK accept for shaping young men’s political views and voting behavior?
Kyle Forgeard discusses Canadian politics post‑Trudeau, the global shift against hyper‑woke culture, and his close-up experiences with Donald Trump and Dana White. ...
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Is the current ‘anti‑woke’ wave a genuine correction or just another pendulum swing that will overshoot in the opposite direction?
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Given YouTube’s power over careers, how should creators diversify to protect themselves from sudden bans or demonetization?
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What’s the right balance between leaning into drama for growth and refusing to engage in public beefs even when attacked?
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How can creator collectives maintain the fun, authentic ‘house vibe’ as they scale into multi‑million dollar, multi‑brand businesses?
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Transcript Preview
Trudeau is out. Talk to me.
Right away, we're just getting into it?
Dude. This is it. This is the biggest thing that's happening.
Bro, I feel like we all knew it was gonna happen. Um, but yeah, just to see it finally go down is just, it's refreshing. I mean, like you guys know I grew up in Canada. Um, I moved to the States about 10 years ago when I was around 20. I'm 30 now. And it's just like the last 10 years what's happened has just been devastating, honestly. Like, Canada is not the same country that I knew when I was grow- like growing up.
How much do you lie at the feet of Trudeau?
What do you mean?
How much is it directly, he directly responsible for what's happened?
I mean, if you're the commander-in-chief, you gotta, you gotta take some blame for sure. And yeah, I think all Canadians agree, it's just, it's just a totally different place.
How so?
I think Canada just lost its sense of identity a little bit, you know. I think being a little too politically correct, you know, whether it's not letting people say Merry Christmas, or we have a poppy that people wear every November, Remembrance Day, which is supposed to, like, support the fallen troops. Just, like, things that make us Canadian and, like, little bits of Canadian culture are just getting lost and stuff like that. There's obviously just, you know, a lot of immigration. I think immigration could have been done a little better. Um, but yeah, I think we're gonna see something in Canada really good. I'm really optimistic about it. I think you see... It's happening all over the world, right? Not just the US. We saw the results of this election, and I think Canada's going to be following suit. I think Canada's in for a big comeback. I'm really excited about it.
You're bullish on Canada?
I'm bullish on Canada, yeah. I think, I think it's gonna make a big comeback. I think Trudeau is just a complete loser.
(laughs)
Like, I don't know. I don't know what's up with that guy. I don't know if he just wanted to stay in power, but, I mean, his wife left him. I mean, that guy just needed to get the hell out of the, out of parliament.
I saw him correct somebody's language for saying "mankind".
Shit like that. That's what I mean. So that, that's what I mean.
"We, we, we don't want to use that. We need to use 'peoplekind'."
That, so that type of shit has been happening just all over Canada.
It feels like a Babylon Bee sketch. It doesn't feel like a real politician saying something.
Yeah. That's what I mean. It's just like you need someone that's gonna stand up for Canada, um, and I think there's, there's some good choices. The Pierre Poilievre, I think he would do a really good job at kind of giving Canada a big comeback.
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