By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-01 17:11:59 | Updated at 2026-06-07 22:17:37
6 days ago
He's ripped, reckless and ridiculously rich.
Anthony Dawson - better known as TooTurntTony - built a multimillion-dollar empire out of backyard pranks, bikini babes and increasingly extreme stunts.
But that 'too turnt' persona - meaning wild, amped up and just short of dangerous - may be catching up with him.
The Daily Mail can reveal new details about the dark side of the 31-year-old's fame, including a sleazy porn side hustle and an ex-girlfriend's bombshell claims of controlling behavior.
Psychologist Toby Ingham, author of A Guilty Victim, warns that the star's dizzying rise and potential fall are not surprising.
'He's living out a fantasy life encouraged by fans and by social media itself - but it's not sustainable,' Ingham said.
'What happens when you run out of fuel, when the balloon bursts, and you just fall to the ground? There's no safety net for you.'
Dawson did not respond to the Daily Mail's requests for comment.
TooTurntTony, real name Anthony Dawson, 31, has built an empire out of his viral skits
Dawson's ex-girlfriend Briana Armbruster, better known as Ski Mask Girl, has dished the dirt on her 'toxic' relationship with the mega-influencer
The Michigan native and former duck rancher first gained attention for videos about wetland conservation.
Then came the jokes, the babes, the beer - and a deluge of viral skits featuring his pet duck, his mom, his pals and an endless stream of chaos.
The formula worked. Dawson now boasts 21 million followers on TikTok, seven million on YouTube and four million on Instagram.
Forbes named him one of its Top 50 Creators in 2023, estimating he makes $3 million a year through ads and deals with Crocs, Celsius, Fireball Whisky and Kraken Rum.
He hawks his own hard iced tea, signed with Hollywood powerhouse CAA, has a horror movie in the works called Skinwalker Island and kicks back at his $525,000 party house on Lake Istokpoga, Florida.
Since late 2023, however, Dawson's been running a second business - an explicit OnlyFans account that makes his prank videos look tame.
For $25 a month, fans can see Dawson posing in his underwear, flaunting his physique, and teasing and bragging to viewers about the size of his manhood.
Other clips show Dawson engaging in intercourse with women.
Meanwhile, Dawson's ex-girlfriend described their relationship as 'super toxic.'
Her name is Briana Armbruster, but fans knew her as the mysterious Ski Mask Girl, the bikini-clad co-star who never showed her face.
For three years, she was at Dawson's side - until everything fell apart.
For $25 a month, followers can see Dawson posing in his underwear on Only Fans
On her podcast F*ck It, Mask Off, she revealed the moment she realized she was dating a narcissist.
Armbruster, 30, said she met Dawson while working as a waitress in Michigan. They hit it off fast.
Then came the cameras, the costumes and the chaos.
She said Dawson encouraged her to wear skimpy outfits for ever-riskier comedy skits.
For one video, he spat beer, soup, and raw eggs into her mouth through her mask. She claimed she caught salmonella and spent a day crying on the toilet.
The ski mask, she said, was never a gimmick - it was control.
'The point was to hide your face,' she added. Dawson did not want her getting 'free clout.' He wanted the fame to stay his.
Off-camera, Armbruster said she played the dutiful 'wife' while Dawson partied with other women.
Then came the breaking point - a golf-themed prank gone painfully wrong.
The gag: Armbruster would lie down with a tee in her backside while Dawson took a swing. You can guess what happened next.
Many of Dawson's stunts involving flinging bikini-clad babes into shark-infested waters
In one of his Only Fans posts, Dawsons brags: 'So big my hand barely fits around it'
It was not the first TooTurnt stunt to go off the rails.
In one video, Dawson's mom, Lisa, broke her arm. His sister Maria was left nauseous after being duct-taped to a wall.
He once shoved an intern down an embankment. The intern claimed the stunt broke two of his ribs.
Even Dawson's not immune to being injured in front of the camera. He blew out his knee in 2023 but, of course, filmed the whole thing for his fans.
Then came the shark fiasco.
In 2024, Dawson was banned from Daytona Beach, Florida, after posting a clip of himself dragging a tiger shark from the surf.
In another incident, he was charged with mishandling a protected sandbar shark in Lee County.
He pled out, paying $700 in fines and donating to a state wildlife fund.
He later admitted the stunt was 'a learning experience.'
'Don't film dumb s**t,' he told fans. 'But if you have to, don't post it.'
But it seems Dawson can't help himself.
As Ingham told the Daily Mail, influencers like Dawson live off chaos - until chaos consumes them.
He said Dawson's career reflects the perilous psychology of internet fame.
Dawson even has his own drink, Too Turnt Tea, among his money-spinners
It is unclear if Dawson's stunt mishaps cause real injuries, or are staged
'That is the arc of the social media influencer,' he explained.
'You take off, you're in it for the ride, and you're constantly looking for content to keep the audience there. It's a fine line between growth and collapse.'
The psychologist describes Dawson's online persona as a 'shadow fantasy' - a vision of unfiltered masculinity, sexual conquest and reckless fun that looks powerful but hides something fragile.
'He's got this charismatic, funny, creative energy. But it's without any anchor, without any kind of moral foundation,' said Ingham.
'It's just energy - like a firework going off. It could go anywhere, and it could harm anyone, but on the way, it's spectacular.'
Without emotional grounding, Ingham warns, such fame burns fast.
'This kind of culture voraciously devours people,' he said. 'It has an appetite that fuels all these stunts - and then it spits you out.'
And when it does, there is no safety net.
Dawson's fans still adore him. His comment sections are filled with fire emojis, 'bro' love and endless duck memes.
Dawson regularly recruits other influencers into his skits, including amateur golfer Grace Charis
The former duck rancher features aquatic birds in his skits. His favorite, Baby Girl, became a breakout star
In recent months, he has stunned fans with staged developments in his soap opera life.
In one, he filmed his parents aghast at the news that he planned to marry an Australian woman he had only met a handful of times. 'You're not ready,' his mom implored.
In another storyline, Dawson has adopted a baby girl, in skits where he outrageously claims he smokes weed in the infant's nursery.
And in another viral episode, Dawson went shark fishing in a homemade pirate ship.
But behind the laughs, the signs of strain are mounting.
The ex, the porn, the legal troubles - each crack in the TooTurnt empire exposes a man caught between comedy and chaos.
Ingham believes Dawson's story is less about villainy and more about vulnerability.
'You certainly worry about the people who've been involved - the girlfriends, the fans - but you could also be worried about him,' the psychologist said.
'It sounds like it might be a bad landing for Tony. He becomes a victim himself of this whole project.'
For now, Dawson keeps posting. The beer keeps flying. The duck keeps quacking.
But the jokes are starting to land differently.
He is no longer the small-town guy goofing around with friends. He's a multimillionaire caught in the content machine - half performer, half prisoner.
And if fame really is a firework, as Ingham suggests, it is hard to ignore how brightly Dawson's has burned - and how easily flames are snuffed out.
'It's spectacular,' said the psychologist. 'But it could go anywhere. And when the fuel runs out, it all comes crashing down.'
