A 21-year-old inventor and influencer, who appeared to have gone missing, is reportedly not in danger.
Julian Brown’s mother, Nia Brown, told The Daily Mail, “I can confirm Julian is safe, but in the best interest of his security, I'm not able to provide any more information.”
On July 9, Julian told his 1.9 million Instagram followers that he was “under attack” from a new technology.
“Alright, listen everybody. I can’t go into too much detail, but there is some very, very odd stuff going on. I’m certainly under attack right now in many different ways,” he said in the clip.
“I just want everybody to know, so just kind of have your eyes open. I have my eyes open, but there is a lot going on. I’m still working, I’m still building—nothing is going to stop that. But I’m just telling you guys right now, be on the lookout because I’m under attack,” the young scientist added.
Brown gained a following after he created a product named “Plastoline,” which he says can recycle plastic and convert it into gasoline. Forbes recently highlighted Brown and his company, Naturejab, in an article about converting plastic waste, writing that though some are skeptical about Brown, he’s been backed by Alexis Ohanian, who gave Brown a $100,000 grant. Brown was also selected as a 776 Climate Fellow.
Brown is raising more funds via a GoFundMe to help finance his invention; as of this writing, he’s raised almost twice the amount of his initial $16,000 goal.
“I have been self-taught in turning plastic into fuel for 5 years, and now I will need YOUR help to raise money for the most important upgrade yet. This will be my first official invention,” the GoFundMe page says.
As for his disappearance, Complex reached out to the Atlanta Police Department for comment and emailed Brown. The APD responded, “Our department is not investigating this person.”
