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Salt Bay went from being one of the
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biggest internet memes and having every
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A-list celebrity come to his restaurants
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to setting his own customers on fire,
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invading the pitch during the World Cup
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final, being sued by his own employees
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for stealing tips, having to shut down
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all his restaurants because they're
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completely empty, and most recently
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being literally kicked out of a
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Champions League final. Absolutely
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embarrassing. So, how did Salt Bay go
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from sprinkling salt on gold stakes to
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shutting down every single one of his
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restaurants? We've got a lot to cover
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today, so let's get straight into it.
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So, Salt Bay got rejected from the
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Champions League final. He wasn't
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invited. He wasn't welcome, but he
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pulled up anyway, suited up like he was
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about to walk a runway and not get
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booted by security. Now, normally Salt
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Bay weasles his way into big events,
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does a little salt sprinkle in front of
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celebrities, and bounces. But this time,
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people were done. Security saw him
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coming and said, "Nope, not today.
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[Music]
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Fans online celebrated the security team
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like they scored the winning goal. The
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embarrassment was next level. Salt Bay
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tried to play it off by sticking around,
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signing random autographs like, "Yeah,
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yeah, I'm supposed to be here." All
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while being slowly backed into
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irrelevance like a bad street magician.
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And then here comes denial. He hopped on
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social media claiming, "I wasn't kicked
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out. I was just passing by." Bro, you
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were in a full tux wearing sunglasses at
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night. What are you passing by? A
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fashion show on a rooftop? Nobody
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believes you are walking your meat
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scented self down the street and
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accidentally wandered into the UEFA
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after party. Let's be real now. If this
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was an isolated L, that's one thing. But
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Saltbay's entire brand has been
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spiraling for years, and it's finally
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catching up. Remember when he awkwardly
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forced his way onto the World Cup pitch
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in 2022? Argentina had just won. The
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team was crying, hugging, celebrating
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history, and suddenly Salt Bay appears
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like an uninvited uncle at a wedding. He
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grabs Messi, physically yanks his arm,
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and tries to force a selfie. Then, in a
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moment of pure meme level cringe, he
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grabs the actual World Cup trophy, holds
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it up like he won the thing, and poses
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for pictures like he's a 12th man. FIFA
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was so mad they launched an
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investigation and banned him from future
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events. And that was the moment the
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internet turned. Salt Bay wasn't cool
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anymore. He was corny. He was desperate.
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He went from viral sensation to walking
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red flag. And the worst part is, you
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know, his excuse. Oh, sorry. I didn't
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know. Yeah. You didn't know you're not
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allowed to run onto the pitch of the
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biggest sporting event that is watched
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by billions of people that only happens
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once every four years? Sure, buddy. Why
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did you go onto the World Cup pitch
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after the final, touch the World Cup and
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kiss the World Cup? What were you
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thinking? You know, I love Argentina. I
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love football and this is the accident.
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Before I don't know the rules, now I
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know the rules. Next World Cup, I never
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touch the World Cup. I go to of course
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stadium, see the much, but I never touch
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again. While Saltb's ego skyrocketed,
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his restaurants not so much. Let's talk
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numbers. His flagship London steakhouse
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saw profits drop by nearly 50%. Reviews
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are brutal, overpriced, all flash, no
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flavor. One guy paid £600 for a gold
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steak and left hungrier than he came in.
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And now they're offering £39 lunch
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specials just to fill the empty tables.
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In Boston, his restaurant was shut down
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for violating safety regulations. New
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York closed, Miami in scandal. Even in
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Dubai, where his brand was royalty, his
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reputation has soured. One food reviewer
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pulled up and said, "Service great, but
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we were literally the only people in the
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restaurant." From soldout reservations
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to ghost town with Wi-Fi. This is what
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egoof fueled branding looks like when
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the hype dies. Saltbay's biggest crime
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isn't being cringey, it's being greedy.
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The man once posted a photo of a
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customer's bill totaling $140,000
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like it was some kind of flex. The
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receipt had gold covered tomahawks,
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overpriced wine, and a tip that could
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fund a student's entire college tuition.
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And the worst part, the food isn't even
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good. Gold leaf is just a shiny paper.
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It isn't tastes like anything you can
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buy on Amazon for $10. Yet, Salt Bay
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charges thousands just to wrap his
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mediocrity in bling and call it luxury.
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People started realizing, wait, this man
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is literally just scamming rich people
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who want Instagram clout. But
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eventually, even rich people get tired
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of being clowned. Behind the scenes,
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things are even darker. Several former
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employees accuse Salt Bay of skimming 3%
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of their tips, firing them when they
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confronted him, and running his
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restaurants like a dictatorship. One
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lawsuit compared him to Tony Montana.
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Yes, that Tony Montana. He allegedly
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controlled staff passports, humiliated
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workers, and ignored labor laws like
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they were seizing instructions. In one
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case, four employees were fired after
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confronting him about stolen tips and
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sued him for wrongful termination. They
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described him as a dictator boss with a
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god complex. He wasn't running
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restaurants. He was running a steak
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cult. And when you thought it couldn't
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get worse at his Istanbul location
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during one of those dramatic tableside
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fire shows, the stunt went horribly
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wrong. Flames erupted. Four customers
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were literally set on fire. One Russian
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model suffered thirdderee burns on over
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35% of her body. And how did Saltbased
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team handle it? Destroy the security
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footage. No apology, no compensation.
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Just sweep it under the rug and hope
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people forget. Bro, you turned your
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steakhouse into the final destination
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crossover. And then act like it was
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business as usual. But wait, there's
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more. Saltbase served gold covered
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steaks to Venezuelan dictator Nicholas
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Maduro during a food crisis. While
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millions of citizens were starving and
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eating once a day, Maduro was being
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handfed $1,000 steaks by Salt Bay like a
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bond villain or on vacation. People were
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furious. Protests erupted. His Miami
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restaurant got surrounded by
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demonstrators. Salt Bay, well, he was
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silent. And let's not forget his Fidel
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Castro tribute post just before opening
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a restaurant in Miami, which has one of
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the largest Cuban exiled communities in
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the world. Like, bro, Google is free.
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How are you this tonedeaf? Also, Salt
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Bay once called the police on a customer
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who didn't want to pay $1,000 for a gold
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steak they didn't even order. A guy
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visited Salts Miami spot with friends,
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got served the gold version while asking
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for it, tried to dispute it, and they
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called the cops. He ended up paying the
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bill and exposing the whole mess online.
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How are you charging people for the
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wrong order and then threatening them
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with jail? This isn't fine dining. This
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is a culinary scam artistry. Now,
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Soulb's brand is in free fall. His
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follower growth has slowed to the lowest
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rate since 2017. His engagement is down
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over 70%. He's getting roasted in every
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comment section. His restaurants are
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bleeding money. His reputation's a
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punchline. And now he's the meme that
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doesn't even know it's not a meme
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anymore. He still posts like he's the
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king of luxury. Still dances with gold
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knives. Still tries to look profound
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standing on cliffs, but the illusion is
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gone. No one's clapping. No one's
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impressed. We all moved on. Salt Bay
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didn't fall off overnight. He spiraled
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slowly, drip by drip, steak by steak.
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From cringy cameos to lawsuits, from
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overpriced beef to burntout brands. He
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was never just a chef. He was a
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performance, a character, a meme with a
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restaurant budget. But when the
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performance stopped being funny and the
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prices stopped making sense and the
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scandals piled up, you realize there's
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nothing under the gold. The salt has
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lost its flavor. And if Salt Bay doesn't
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change, really change, he won't be
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remembered as a culinary innovator.
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He'll be remembered as the guy who
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sprinkled his way into history and
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couldn't stop until he crumbled. So
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yeah, that's the rise and fall of Salt
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Bay. A man who could have been a beloved
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chef and restaurant mogul, but chose to
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become a living meme with a god complex.
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He could have turned his meme virality
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into just opening normal restaurants
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that sell normal food. But no, he
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decided he's going to put fake gold and
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sell it for tens of thousands of
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dollars, literally stealing money from
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people, which turned into people not
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going to his restaurants, losing him
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money, and overall his career falling
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apart. And not only that, but he thinks
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he's him running onto the pitch of the
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World Cup final, being rude to his
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employees, and setting his guests on
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fire. It's the classic case of someone
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letting fame rot their brain. He got
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rich and famous and started acting like
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he was above everyone else. So, if you
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get famous or rich, don't let it ruin
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you and turn yourself into a parody of
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who you once was. I hope you guys
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enjoyed. Like, subscribe, comment. Have
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a great day and I'll see you guys in the
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next