Believe me when I say that I didn’t expect to be writing a review on a documentary about Jake Paul. In fact, I was one of the true haters of the “Disney kid” and his uprise into boxing.
Maybe it’s the fact that he just won’t go away or the wholesome embrace from his recent opponent Nate Diaz after beating him in a 10-round war, but I’m becoming a convert to the ‘Problem Child’ story.
Inevitably, I found myself watching the new Netflix sports documentary Untold: Jake Paul The Problem Child and decided to write this review. So keep reading to learn whether it’s worth a watch.
Table of Contents
Why watch it
I decided to give the documentary a go, partly because of Jake Paul’s name being fresh in my mind after his recent fight with one of the Diaz brothers, but also because of watching his recent Impaulsive podcast talk with his brother, Logan Paul.
I’m not the kind of person that will often watch a show from either of the Paul Bros, but I found myself intrigued based on recent events.
It was in that podcast that I realized just how much resistance Jake comes up against not only in his endeavors to become a professional boxer, but in his own family life with his brother Logan.
Logan is often seemingly trying to make himself the center of the limelight and taking boxing opponents away from Jake.
After sticking through the podcast all the way to the end, I learned about the Netflix documentary about Jake and decided it could be worth a watch to understand what it’s like to go from a YouTube kid and turn yourself into a respected boxer.
It’s hard to say whether Jake has earned the respect of the combat sports community on the whole yet, but there’s one thing that is sure which is that he won’t let your or my thoughts or opinions get in the way of his dream.
From an influencer to an athlete
It’s this kind of vibe that I felt very strongly in the Netflix doc, whereby Jake is often seen training extensively and changing his lifestyle to go from that of an entertainer to a committed professional athlete.
Not only is he investing the majority of his time and energy, and sacrifice into this single goal, but he is also manifesting dreams into reality before the eyes of the whole world.
Whether we like it or not, Jake has turned himself from a meme into an athlete.
And whether you love to love him, or love to hate him, he is attracting your eyeballs and generating incredible viewership and revenue numbers for not only himself but his opponent and every fighter on the card.
A problem child
The documentary focuses strongly on Jake being known as ‘The Problem Child’ and embracing it.
It seems that his emotional volatility is what crafted this nickname for him, potentially starting as far back as his childhood from both parents and teacher figures in his life.
But it’s also likely to lead on from the Paul Brother’s adventure to Los Angeles to become two of the most viewed influencers on the planet in their late teens.
They both succeeded in that goal, which eventually drove them to compete against each other a competitive spirit that is borderline unhealthy and has been driven by the competitive nature and, if you believe Jakes take on events, an abusive parental figure in his father.
Whatever we think about the nature of his upbringing, it’s clear that the Paul brothers have become incredibly prolific creators, businessmen, and showmen.
The most hated people on the planet
After both of the Paul brothers became two of the most hated people on the planet at different stages, it seemed to turn Logan toward retreating while Jake found a new path as the anti-hero.
He clearly embraced not being the People’s Champion, but instead being the problem of the combat sports community, poking at the holes and inconsistencies until they burst wide open and make everything think “You know what, he’s right.”
Jake Paul has consistently entered, arenas, press conferences, and other media events to be greeted by the abscess and booing of the boxing community.
For most people, this would become overwhelming and push them away from that kind of attention, but for Jake, it only seems to drive him more and create a purpose, improving them wrong.
This is why I think Jake Paul just won’t go away.
For several years, I hoped the hype of his claims and media attention would die down and be shrugged off as nothing more than a childish attempt at gaining attention.
But then one at a time he began to beat other influences of the sports people, pro-MMA fighters, and even went toe-to-toe with a professional boxer in Tommy Fury.
And every time he chipped away at my condescending spirit, and may have just made me a believer.
Believe it into existence
A believer in manifesting things into existence in the world, the way you want it to be. And also believe that, when the entire world is against you, you can find drive and purpose against the friction of that tide and come out a better man on the other end of it.
Many fight fans still think of Jake Paul as a C-list celebrity that wants to train for three months and have the option to compete against some of the greatest fighters in the world.
But it’s clear to me now that this is a fallacy. In fact, this Paul brother trains vigorously and meticulously every single day all with the drive of embracing the title of ‘The Problem Child’ and becoming great anyway.
In that spirit, I think there’s something that we can all learn from this documentary, but also from Jake Paul’s career so far.
That there is greatness in each of us and even if it feels like the whole world is battling against us and trying to bring us down into darkness we can still use the energy as a springboard into finding our own light and our own way into greatness.
Where to watch Untold: Jake Paul The Problem Child
Untold: Jake Paul The Problem Child is available to watch on Netflix and I rate it 4 out of 5 for its emotional journey and offering a deep insight into the motivations of a Disney kid, or should I now say… the professional boxer.
