SteveWillDoIt Hopes Donald Trump Can Help Him Get Back on YouTube

The world came crashing down for YouTuber SteveWillDoIt (real name: Stephen Deleonardis) on Aug. 1, 2022, when he was notified that his channel, known for its wild challenges alongside his fellow NELK Boys, was removed from the platform. Both his second channel and shorts channel were also banned. It was a tough blow for Steve, who had amassed over 4 million subscribers and given away hundreds of thousands of dollars to those in need.

YouTube notified Steve that after reviewing his content, they had found "severe or repeated violations of [their] Community Guidelines," leading to the removal of his channel — gone from YouTube, but never forgotten. Now, he's taken to X (formerly Twitter), asking the platform for another shot, especially with former President Donald Trump in office, who may be able to pull some major strings. But what exactly led to SteveWillDoIt being banned from YouTube in the first place?

SteveWillDoIt's YouTube channels were banned and content was deleted because he broke gambling rules, John Shahidi revealed in a video shared to Steve's X account on Jan. 21, 2025. John is the president and co-founder of Full Send, the NELK Boys's official clothing brand. Steve also added a text overlay in the video, clarifying, "From our understanding, this is the exact policy Steve broke," as that's what YouTube told him and his team over the phone.

Gambling? We thought Steve's content was all about wild challenges. Well, it was, but Steve also had a second YouTube channel, SteveWillDoIt Two, where he'd upload clips of him gambling in places like Mexico and the Bahamas. Steve's mom, who was featured in the "mini-doc," explained that an editor accidentally uploaded a gambling URL without blurring it out.

While that video was taken down, the channel was still deleted. However, John added that after the ban, Steve "went and made a second channel right away." Perhaps that wasn't the best course of action, but Steve, his friends, and his family all believe YouTube's actions were unreasonably harsh.

Now, fellow NELK Boys members and Steve's family are speaking out, expressing how much they'd love to see him get his channel back, especially since much of his content was about giving back to people in need. Steve's mom called YouTube's actions "unjust" and "not right." She added that Steve put "a lot of years of hard work" and "no sleep" into his channel just to have it all taken away in a single day.

In an effort to get his channel back, SteveWillDoIt is essentially calling on Trump for help. Steve tagged Trump in a post on X, saying, "It's a new year, Donald Trump is back in office, and it feels like if there's a time YouTube will give me a second chance, it's now. I put my whole life into my channel and want nothing more than to have it back. If you support me, please share and spread the word."

As for Trump, many in Steve's camp believe it was his early support of the President that landed him on YouTube's bad list. As you know, many of his peers now support Trump and were spotted at his inauguration. It should be noted that the leaders of several Social Media companies were in attendance too.

Time to give it back to him?

To further encourage YouTube to reinstate his account, Steve's mom reconnect with the people he’s helped, all of whom showed the progress they've made since receiving support. "It’s not just the giving, it’s what it does after," his mom explained to one of them. Perhaps YouTube and Trump can come together to find a way to get Steve back on the platform.