North Augusta's Boling brothers stunt videos go viral on Instagram, amass millions of views

Three brothers in North Augusta are taking the world by storm, garnering nearly a million followers across multiple social media platforms and amassing nearly 70 million views on a single Instagram video.

The Boling Brothers social media account, which is comprised of comedy and stunts, features CJ Boling, 19; Brody Boling, 14; and, Dylan Boling, 10.

CJ said he started making videos in 2015, hoping to become a successful Youtuber. During the pandemic in 2020, CJ and his brothers started making videos together on their trampoline for TikTok. However, after losing the account multiple times, they decided to prioritize posting on Instagram.

"We switched to Instagram in March of this year because we wanted to have more of a personal connection with our viewers and you have a little bit more freedom on Instagram," he said. "We have just been uploading consistently on there and it's taken off like crazy."

The brothers, who enjoy doing stunts, parkour and acrobatics, said content comes naturally and their account enables them to document their day-to-day life. Most of their videos are filmed at their house or the DEFY Trampoline Park in Augusta, where CJ once worked.

"I would describe our content as a glimpse into what brother life is like," CJ said. "We've gotten [direct messages] from people saying, 'I always wished I had brothers and you guys make it seem like having brothers is awesome.'"

The brothers' most viral video, which features Dylan doing stunts at DEFY Trampoline Park with Spiderman music in the background, was picked up by ESPN's SportsCenter, Overtime and a number of large meme accounts. The video has 68 million views and 10 million likes on The Boling Bros Instagram page.

"I think since we started making videos, we have gotten a lot closer," CJ said. "Whenever we make accomplishments, we are able to celebrate together and it just builds up that bond, having something that you can share with your brothers."

While the brothers enjoy doing stunts, they also enjoy creating 'cringe' comedy videos – reminiscent of quick action, attention grabbing content posted to Vine, one of the most popular social media apps in the 2010s.

"We have reoccurring videos that we call 'computer videos,' because Dylan just grabbed his Chromebook one day and started making really low quality, loud videos," CJ said. "They took off because I guess people just like seeing kids act like kids. I captioned it, 'I found this on my brother's computer,' and it's just a video of him screaming into the computer. People love it."

Dealing with online hate

Since the two younger brothers enjoy making 'cringe' comedy content, they said they have received some online hate comments from those who don't understand their humor.

"I think the majority of comments on our main account are pretty positive, which is kind of shocking on Instagram," CJ said. "On Brody's [personal] account, he gets a lot of hate comments, but he uses it to his advantage. He made one video where he reacted to someone saying something really mean and he started fake crying. ... Once you're on social media for a certain amount of time, you realize that whatever people say doesn't really mean anything, because they really don't know you."

Brody said that since he often replies to hate comments, more will trickle in to get attention or a video dedicated to their hate comment.

"I don't take it personally. I just think of it as them really trying to get my attention," he said. "Once I reply to a comment other people will want me to reply to their comment so that they can get noticed."

CJ said Brody's tactics in posting cringy videos and fighting hate comments with comedy have grown his account.

"A lot of people think [his content] is weird, but he knows what he's doing," CJ said. "He's really good at what he does and people think he's serious."

Monetizing social media

The brothers make money based on views they receive on Youtube, TikTok and Instagram, but also have alternative ways of generating revenue from their videos and popularity.

CJ said he makes gym content on his personal Instagram page and would like to start doing online personal training. Brody set up a CashApp account, where fans can pay him to do shout-outs or financially encourage him to make more videos.

"If someone sends him $1, he'll do a shout out on his story," CJ said. "He can have more of a genuine relationship with fans, where he can help them out and they can help him out."

The brothers also have a website, Bolingbros.com, where they sell stickers, t-shirts and sweatshirts based off of iconic content they have made.

"Dylan had one viral video where someone called him 'emo,' so he made a persona called 'emo kid' and we made merch," CJ said. "Brody also made his own merch where he was reacting to a comment and a lot of people have been talking about it."

The brothers said they would like to continue making videos together as long as they can.

"We have built it up this much, I think we can make something out of this," CJ said. "We're in the process of figuring out where to go business-wise with this. Our dad is planning on managing us to help us further our account, but for right now we are just doing our thing."

Follow The Boling Bros on Instagram @thebolingbros, Youtube @BolingBros and TikTok @bolingbros.

CJ's Instagram: @thecjboling, Brody's Instagram: @brodyboling, Dylan's Instagram: @dylanbolingofficial.

Brody and Dylan's Instagram accounts are managed by their parents.

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This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: North Augusta brothers amass more than 68 million views on Instagram