Early Life
Hasan Dogan Piker (born July 25, 1991) was born to Turkish parents in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey, where he was raised as a Muslim. He comes from a highly affluent family of professionals and academics. While Piker himself was an outsider among his peers growing up, his family background placed him among the Turkish elite.
His father, Dr. Mehmet Behcet Piker (born 1958), is a political scientist and economist who served on the Board of Directors and as a vice president of Sabanci Holding (one of Turkey's largest, multi-billion dollar business conglomerates), and was among the founding members of the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi) in Turkey, a political party established in 2019 by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is most famous for securing the release of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from Israeli prison.
Piker returned to the United States for college. He first attended the University of Miami, where he struggled academically, earning a 2.9 GPA while prioritizing partying. Upon the intervention of his parents due to his failing classes, he transferred to Rutgers University, where he graduated cum laude in 2013 with a double major in political science and communication studies.
Piker's upbringing afforded him access to elite educational institutions and international exposure. He attended TED Ankara Koleji, a prestigious private school in Istanbul, and was immersed in a bilingual, cosmopolitan environment. With his father's work based in Ankara, Piker spent every summer in the United States. His family's wealth and connections allowed for frequent international travel, extracurricular opportunities, and early familiarity with global politics and finance. Though he has described himself as rebellious and alienated from conservative norms in Turkish society, Piker's early life was marked by substantial material comfort and class privilege.
| Date | Category | Summary | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Personal | A young Hasan Piker on horseback |  |
| N/A | Personal | Evidence of financial support during academic struggles |  |
Early Career
After graduating from Rutgers in 2013, Piker moved to Los Angeles. His first position was managing a fraternity house, though this role proved brief. He soon transitioned into media work through his family connections.
Homeland Security and CCICADA
Piker briefly worked at CCICADA (Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis), a DHS-funded data analytics center based at Rutgers. CCICADA develops tools and software used by federal agencies for homeland security applications. The center specializes in advanced data analysis for security screening, behavioral pattern recognition, and threat assessment systems.
Critics have noted that this work history appears to stand in stark contrast to Piker's later anti-establishment political persona and his reported criticism of law enforcement agencies and immigration enforcement.
| Date | Category | Summary | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | CCICADA | CCICADA Conference |  |
| N/A | CCICADA | "When I was in college, I was working on a program called CICADA with the Department of Homeland Security — the Command Control Interoperability Center of Advanced Data Analysis... We were doing marketing and communications for that entire program." |
The Young Turks
Through his uncle Cenk Uygur, Piker joined The Young Turks (TYT), a progressive online news platform. Piker later stated that his uncle was financially abusing him during his time at The Young Turks. He began working behind the scenes in advertising and production before transitioning to on-camera roles in smaller segments.
The show's name references the Ottoman political movement that orchestrated the Armenian Genocide. More on Cenk Uygur's history of genocide denial and other controversies can be found on the Piker Family page.
Bro Tips Era
During his tenure at The Young Turks, Piker hosted a show called "Bro Tips" where he adopted the persona of "The Brofessor." While ostensibly offering advice to young men, the show was full of content that has aged poorly, to put it mildly.
Throughout the Brotips era, Piker reportedly made statements that critics have characterized as misogynistic and predatory on camera. He allegedly gave tips on isolating women from their friends at bars and how to push for sex. He also reportedly made crude comments about celebrities — accusing Lady Gaga of having a penis and making sexual remarks about Miley Cyrus.
| Date | Category | Summary | Clip |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~2013–2014 | Bro Tips | Extended "pickup artist" segments — the "5-second rule," rating celebrities, and the "old enough to count" tease: "Come back again next week when we discuss the legendary question of all time: old enough to count, old enough to mount?" On Miley Cyrus: "I always knew Hannah Montana was a little fucking slut... I tend to pick you up at a bar late night and bang you out on the first date." | |
| ~2013–2014 | Bro Tips | The "let's get out of here" rule: "It's time to separate her from her herd, meaning her crowd of girlfriends that are going to do their best to cock block you because they're fat and lonely." |
PopCrunch
After leaving the Bro Tips era behind, Hasan briefly worked as the host of the PopCrunch YouTube channel, a now defunct entertainment brand.
Some viewers have characterized comments Piker made on the show about recording his then-girlfriend as inappropriate. He allegedly made additional comments on Miley Cyrus. Piker reportedly stated he had taken a Narcissistic Personality Inventory at TYT offices, scoring 33/40. He also allegedly stated he required having sex with a woman before he would take her on a date.
| Date | Category | Summary | Clip |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~2013–2015 | PopCrunch | On filming his girlfriend: "I film my girlfriend inappropriately all the time... She'll probably murder me for putting this up, but there's a clear violation of consent here." | |
| ~2013–2015 | PopCrunch | On Miley Cyrus: "I love to make fun of Miley Cyrus more than I like to eat... but just like a Boston cream donut, I learned that there is more to Miley than meets the eye — by that I mean she has a deliciously creamy goodness waiting underneath all the dry humping, twerking, and butt-grabbing." | |
| ~2013–2015 | PopCrunch | Narcissistic Personality Inventory result: "Turns out I am a total narcissist... I'm a 33 out of 40. Higher than 96.4% of the sample." | |
| ~2013–2015 | PopCrunch | On requiring sex before a date: "You would prefer to have already had sex with a girl before you take her out on a date... For sure... Because you want to know that if you're spending money on her, she will definitely be sleeping with you." |
"Woke Bae" Era
After the "Bro Tips" era, Piker completely rebranded. He dropped the "Brofessor" persona and reinvented himself as "Woke Bae" — a progressive voice focused on social justice, anti-capitalism, and left-wing politics.
| Date | Category | Summary | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Woke Bae | "Make the Rich Pay" shirt |  |
| N/A | Woke Bae | Social-justice themed shirt |  |
Disclaimer: The content on this page represents the opinion and commentary of its author(s) regarding the public conduct of Hasan Piker, a public figure. All statements should be understood as protected opinion, criticism, and commentary rather than assertions of fact. Sourced data includes Hasan's own stream, tweets, statements and other third party sources.