[Image: BumblePree / Instagram]
YouTuber Bumble Pree has become an unexpected star as an ‘adult diaper influencer’.
The 27-year-old seems to have found an unexplored niche for influencers and seems to be making a killing as the world’s first influencer in the nappy game.
“Incontinent or not, let’s embrace adult diapers together!” she declares in a recent YouTube video, as footage of the pink-haired Bree in an array of crop tops and diapers fills the screen.
She has popped up in videos for the leading ‘indie’ diaper brands in the US, whose products come in tie-dye, llama print, extra-fluffy, and super-discreet – And her YouTube page full of diaper reviews and diary-style “try-on” videos has become a hit with everyone from people with genuine incontinence issues to folks who wear diapers as a fetish.
For Pree however, it’s not a fetish, as at the age of 19 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which is what causes her bladder control issues. She never aspired to be an adult diaper advocate, but after turning to the internet for support with her MS, she started her “Bumble Pree” YouTube channel in 2018 and has slowly grown into the role.
Initially, her videos focused on her pain, her diet, or the problems she was having moving her body. What she didn’t talk about was her adult diapers – and she noticed that nobody else with MS seemed to be talking about them either, despite incontinence being a common symptom of the condition.
“Where is the person that has incontinence that’s talking about it? And then I realized: I have to be that person.”
At first, she was worried about how people would react, and then a funny thing happened: “I noticed my numbers grew.”
The $15.2 billion adult diaper industry is doing what it can to change this, starting by tackling the perception that its products are only for the elderly, and Pree is one of the few young people publicly sharing their experience with bladder control issues.
“Just imagine what it feels like as an adult to have an overactive bladder especially out in public. Society does this thing where it’s so quick to judge someone for not being a part of the “norm” that they oftentimes overlook why someone may be wearing what they do.”
One company, InControl, posts videos of attractive young women in crop tops and diapers dancing to Chappell Roan. Another called NorthShore has an Instagram that is full of sexy people having a great time at concerts.
Their competitor, Depend, partnered with water brand Liquid Death to design a goth-style diaper for people to wear in mosh pits.
“The idea was rooted in a cultural phenomenon that we’ve recently seen with concertgoers—especially Swifties choosing to wear diapers so they didn’t have to miss any part of the concert,” said Erin Przybylo, Depend’s Senior Brand Manager.
Although these companies focus on incontinence sufferers, there is another group of people who have a unique interest in adult-sized nappies: the Adult Baby Diaper Lover (ABDL) community. When Pree started talking about wearing nappies, her YouTube views suddenly increased because of this group, who either fetishise them or wear them for emotional support.
“I didn’t want people to think that I had a fetish for diapers,” Pree says. “But once I got to know some ABDL’ers, my attitude changed. A lot of people who are ABDL also have incontinence.”
After discovering her favourite brand of diapers, Pree contacted the brand, which reacted by signing her to a six-month contract to develop social media content.
“She’s just so open and honest about the issues that she’s dealt with, from a psychological and stigma standpoint.”
The global adult nappy market is expected to grow by $9 billion by 2030, and who knows what will happen as the industry continues to reduce stigma and provide younger customers with what they want.
Looking at some of Balenciaga’s latest fashion trends, it might not be long until adult nappies become the next must-have fashion trend.
[Source: Vice]