The Millennial nation has "Catfish" fever and it's spreading ... fast.
Turn on MTV, do some online tumbling or check your Netflix documentary queue. The epidemic is inescapable and at the center of it is none other than Nev Schulman.
The 28-year-old New Yorker shot to fame as the star of the 2010 movie. His brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost captured Schulman's journey down the rabbit hole of online relationships, self discovery and deceptive identities.
The film's success spawned a namesake MTV docudrama series now in its second season. Schulman hosts the show and plays the moderator role, uniting Internet couples who haven't met in person, with filmmaker Max Joseph.
Schulman is definitely making a name for himself. He's been featured in Elle; June 25, 2013 (season 2's premiere date) was deemed National Catfish Day; Schulman was tapped to comment on Manti Te'o; and he and Max even offer online dating advice.
So who is the man unraveling all the mystery? Let's take a look at some Nev nuggets you probably didn't know.
1. He studied dance for five years and photographs it regularly.
2. Schulman uses his media presence as a platform for good. He is a founding member of the Young Leadership Committee for youth organization Leave Out Violence.
3. His gig before "Catfish" hit Sundance? Filming bar mitzvah videos in NYC. Oy.
4. His parents kept kosher and chose his name during a spell on a kibbutz.
5. Aside from "Catfish," Nev's brother Ariel and Henry Joost made other movies like the third and fourth installment of "Paranormal Activity."
6. Names thrown around before settling on "Catfish" (the movie) included "It's All Downhill From Here," "Yaniv's Internet Girlfriend," "Michigan Impossible" and "It's Complicated."
7. His chest hair is famous. It is proudly printed on a line of charity T-shirts.
8. Nev is short for "Yaniv," which translates to "He will prosper" in Hebrew. L'chaim!
9. SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen the movie: Nev has a lower back tattoo he refers to as his "champ stamp."
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