You Are Not Alone: How YouTube Mentors Are Changing The Lives Of Millions

The fact that approximately 24 million (or 43 percent) of US children grow up without a dad is heartbreaking. The result of this absence has proven to have awful impacts on their futures.

Dads are mentors — moms are of course capable of seeing out all traditionally fatherly tasks, but statistics show that fatherless children are several disadvantages. Here are some of those statistics that illustrate just how serious this problem is:

63 percent of youth suicides stem from fatherless homes —  five times the average.

90 percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes — 32 times the average.

85 percent of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes — 20 times the average.

80 percent of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes — 14 times the average.

71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes — nine times the average.

It’s hard to comprehend the reality of these numbers, but one thing is clear: A dad’s presence is fundamental to the development of a child and without him, it seems like all hell could break loose.

Although there is no way to replace the benefits of having a father figure, it’s time something starts to change. Several years ago, I was looking for a mentor, even asking people in my network if they would help me fill this void with their presence, but I got nothing beyond rejections.

In a fatherless world, I wish some of these people would recognize just how badly some of us could use guidance.

I soon discovered that I wasn't alone; there were millions of people just like me looking for a father figure, or a mentor. One day, I started exploring YouTube for motivational videos and what I found was truly inspiring. I like to call these people the "mentors of YouTube."

These unique individuals have stepped up to help the 24 million fatherless Millennials and kids in our country with their wisdom and advice, and in doing so, encouraged countless kids to change their lives, including myself. Each of these mentors focuses on putting out content in which they are experts, whether it’s business, relationships or exercising.

If I need help with my social skills and finding a date, there’s a mentor for that. What about learning to network for a job out of college? They've got that covered too.

Listed according to popularity, here are some of the top mentors of YouTube who have stepped in as father figures and mentors and have developed a cult-like following because of it:

Elliott Hulse

Elliott Hulse is a champion of life and a former Olympic weightlifter who sacrificed everything to help strength train individuals struggling with the everyday, boring ways of exercise.

With very little money, he started training people with anything he could find, from tires to sandbags. He promoted his training sessions as a boot camp type of workout and created a website to advertise it.

All of his workouts are in St. Petersburg, FL, but his fanbase extends throughout the world. After years of hard work and self-promotion, he’s made it big. Recently, he won the Favorite YouTube Health and Fitness Star Contest, hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

With two successful YouTube channels, one for exercise and the other about ideas for living stronger, he has over 1,000 combined videos and over 1.4 million combined subscribers.

He talks about anything related to living a better life, from fitness to diet to being the best version of yourself. His fan base is incredibly loyal and with his wisdom he’s changed their lives and millions of others. Here’s a great video of him talking about his inspiring background:

Owen Cook

Owen is a master of understanding women, social interaction and helping guys get laid. He’s very unconventional with his approach and with that comes naysayers. But, he has a huge following and his fans absolutely love him.

Not surprisingly, videos of him picking up women have generated a lot of YouTube buzz and the best part of it is that he’s a balding ginger, giving his methods even more credibility.

Owen is also the cofounder and executive producer of Real Social Dynamics, a company and team that is devoted to helping people elevate their social skills.

Owen currently lives in Los Angeles and runs boot camps for people looking to take advantage of his "wisdom." He currently has a little over 47,000 subscribers. Here's one of his more popular videos on developing social skills to better interact with women:

Tai Lopez

Tai is member of Mensa, a self-made millionaire in his 20s, an avid traveler and an author of several books. What people find most impressive is that he reads a book a day, and has now read more than 5,000 and counting.

Most surprisingly, Tai is a college dropout and he started 12 multi-million-dollar companies that are all still operating successfully.

People are attracted to him not only because he is brilliant, but believes everyone has the potential to be, too. He has about 5,800 subscribers on YouTube and more than 160,000 Twitter followers.

Here’s a great interview with Tai Lopez talking about the benefits of not going to college:

It's crazy to think that these mentors also happen to know each other and have done awesome video collaborations, as well. Together, they have helped alleviate one of the biggest problems our generation faces and by doing so, they have motivated millions to improve their lives.