Ethan Palazzo is a 25 year old artist and entrepreneur who began a simple ritual to document his everyday life. His video has now been viewed over 12 million times. This project, which meticulously documented his life by taking a self-portrait every day for several years, attracted an international audience.
Palazzo, inspired by an online project which tracked ageing in real-time and was able to see the results of this type of work in action, decided that he would photograph himself daily starting 2021. His intention was to use the project for documentaries and create engaging and entertaining content.
Results far exceeded expectations. Original 2021 compilation video gained a lot of popularity. It has been viewed over 21,000,000 times on popular social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and TikTok. The annual updates of this ongoing project continue to be a huge hit with millions of viewers. Palazzo’s most recent annual update was released on December 31st, 2024. It included every daily image from the beginning of the project in 2021.
I’m happy with the results! Palazzo was clearly delighted with how well the public received his post.
Palazzo says that the scrutiny the video received by viewers was one of its most amusing and surprising aspects. Many people analyze the minute details of his video, commenting about his daily surroundings, changing outfits and even deconstructing a cleverly manipulated frame that shows him taking a self-portrait in front of a mirror.
He said: “I’m surprised at how many people caught the frame, and how they commented on how I did it.” “People turn into detectives trying to decipher whether I got a new phone, if I relocated to a new house or merely painted my bathroom, or if I repeated an outfit – It’s been so funny to see everyone debating over so many things.”
The comments from viewers were humorous and insightful. A particular viewer asked: “Wait, you’ve never been on vacation?” You will notice the familiar and consistent background that runs throughout the entire video.
Jacob said “the best video I’ve seen!” Expressions of a more basic level.
Others expressed their appreciation for the seemingly mundane. Another commenter wrote “So, you get dressed every day ?????”
Palazzo is delighted to see how the new versions of the video are received and attract a whole new group of viewers. A special guest was included in the update this year, which delighted viewers.
Palazzo said, “It was fun to read all of the comments that were made about my wife’s playful appearances in the picture.”