Who is Spanian? Former criminal turned social media superstar explained

A new internet celebrity with a lengthy criminal record has taken social media by storm, but who exactly is Spanian?

37-year-old Anthony Lees, known online as ‘Spanian’, earned his nickname while serving a sentence in Cobham Youth Justice Centre in Werrington, western Sydney as a teenager.

With inmates appointing Spanian the name he is known by now, the ex-con has since found success online through various forms of social media.

Boasting nearly 700,000 followers on YouTube, 620,000 on Instagram, and more than 510,000 on TikTok, here is how Spanian went from a criminal to a controversial social media sensation.

Why was Spanian in jail?

Having already spent 13 years behind bars before his 30th birthday, Spanian’s long list of convictions plays a pivotal part in his brand. Details of each crime can be found in his autobiography, Spanian: The Unfiltered Hood Life.

However, getting your hands on a book may prove difficult after Spanian was dropped by his publishers. Instead, copies now sell for hundreds of dollars on eBay, but for those not looking to empty their wallets, here is a summary of all his past crimes and consequential prison sentences;

• A school siege using a knife (28 days at Cobham Youth Justice Centre)
• A break and enter (100 days at Cobham Youth Justice Centre)
• A ram raid on an ATM (Six months at Cobham Youth Justice Centre)
• Stealing a bag outside Star City Casino (Five months at Parklea Correctional Centre)
• Armed robbery causing grievous bodily harm with intent (11 months at Parklea Correctional Centre before the case was dropped due to the death of a key witness)
• Using a vehicle as a weapon, fleeing an accident, and predatory driving (18 months at Junee Correctional Centre)
• Attempted murder but pleaded to a lesser charge of reckless wounding (Three years and three months at Bathurst Correctional Centre)
• Operating a criminal group, ongoing supply of commercial amounts of drugs, dealing with the process of crime, and three counts of recruiting a child to carry out an assisted criminal activity (He was sentenced to a maximum of eight years after being charged in 2011, but was released in 2017)

How did Spanian go from criminal to social media celebrity?

Following his various stints in prison, Spanian began to focus his energy on making it big online. His first videos on YouTube show Spanian’s pursuit as a drill rapper, however, this wasn’t what kickstarted his popularity.

From tasting differing cuisines to offering fitness advice, Spanian tried numerous formats to appeal to numerous audiences on his YouTube channel.

But what saw the former criminal quickly gain traction was a series of homophobic and transphobic rants posted to his Instagram on February 25, 2023, during WolrdPride.

“I’m f****** sick of this f****** perverted, putrid sh**, like a bunch of deadset pedophiles hiding behind some f****** gay pride – whatever the f*** youse are doing (sic),” Spanian said, claiming “child groomers” used Pride to hide “in plain sight.”

Many fellow content creators and artists called out Spanian for his rants. He was quickly dropped by his publisher and management following the controversy. Despite the backlash, however, Spanian managed to find his niche and fanbase after the dust had settled.

His latest YouTube series, Into The Hood, sees the social media star travel to some of the “most dangerous and notorious neighborhoods,” many of which are situated in his home country, Australia.

Recently, Spanion traveled to Logan City in Queensland, where hundreds of fans flocked to meet him and appear in one of his videos. Things took a turn though when locals began to clash with police, and two people were arrested after three police vehicles were damaged.

The incident quickly made headlines and Queensland Premier Steven Miles made an announcement addressing the issue; “Whether you’re a local eshay or a YouTube influencer from interstate, police will find out about your hooning event, and they will interrupt it.”

One thing is for certain, it doesn’t look like the hype surrounding Spanion will be slowing anytime soon, with the influencer stating; “Every episode just doubles.”