Named on Forbes 30 under 30 as far back as 2017, the videos Shetty has posted online over the years on various platforms have been viewed a mind-blowing 10 billion times, according to his podcast publisher IHeartMedia.

So who exactly is the 36-year-old Brit who Russell Brand once described as “ridiculously handsome” on his podcast, and who’s conquered the world by “making wisdom go viral”?

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Jay Shetty grew up in the UK

Shetty was born and raised in London’s suburbs by a Yemeni mother and an Indian father, who had moved to London in search of a better life, according to Shetty’s interview with The National. “They put in so much hard work to provide for me and my younger sister, so that we could have opportunities,” he said.

But Shetty has admitted he wasn’t always so grateful. In fact, he was a rebellious teen who did drugs, got into fights and drank too much. He told The Guardian: “I was lost at that time. I really didn’t know what I valued.”

He used to be a monk

Ironically, it was at Cass that Shetty’s friend dragged him along to a lecture being given by a monk – and something finally clicked that would lead him to alter his behaviour once and for all, per Guardian.

“Hearing a monk speak for the first time at age 21 changed my life,” he wrote on his website. “For the next three years, I spent half my summer vacations working for a large financial organisation … and the other half living as a monk in India wearing robes, sleeping on the floor.”

After that, he became a monk full time and committed to the ascetic lifestyle by waking at 4am and meditating all day, per his website. Three years later, he said he knew it was time to take what he’d learned and apply it to the real world instead.

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He’s now a podcaster, Calm ambassador and author

These days, Shetty is a one-man meditation and mindfulness powerhouse who’s turned his learnings into a multimillion-dollar business.

He also runs the Jay Shetty Certification School that, according to the LA Times, has enrolled more than 3,500 people since it started in 2020 and charges US$6,800 for 120 hours of instruction.

He’s married to Radhi Devlukia

Those who follow them on Instagram will know that the love of Shetty’s life is fellow Brit Radhi Devlukia, who he regularly gently roasts on his account (and vice versa). Married in 2016, the two both have piercing green eyes and joke that they are often mistaken for brother and sister, as seen on video interview clips posted online.

Most recently, the pair did a couple’s ad campaign for Gap.

He’s friends with some of the biggest stars on the planet

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Two of his biggest fans are Will Smith – who he spent hours studying Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita with in 2021 – and Jada Pinkett Smith. “I got the opportunity to build a friendship with you that was based on nothing else but healing, growth and the divine,” Shetty said to Pinkett-Smith on his podcast, adding, “It’s really special.”

He has also been photographed out shopping with Eva Mendes and was asked by Joe Jonas to lead weekly meditation sessions for him and his friends during the pandemic, per the LA Times.

He officiates celebrity weddings, too

“I had to just pull myself together because … every part of me just wanted to sob full of love.”