Ilya Varlamov

The Lofoten Islands are one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It used to be a God-forsaken spot with a harsh climate where fishermen caught and dried cod. But with the rise of social media, crowds of tourists flooded in, and their numbers keep growing every year! That wouldn't be so bad on its own, but unlike other mega-popular travel destinations, Lofoten simply runs out of room. This archipelago of a dozen major islands is connected by a single road that dead-ends in the village of Å. Yes, the name is literally just one letter. There is no space left for hotels or parking lots. Anything that could possibly be converted into tourist rentals already has been, yet the influx never slows down.
People head into the mountains all for the sake of that perfect Instagram shot. At first, there were just regular trails, but they quickly got churned into mud. The Norwegians literally hired Himalayan sherpas to build stone staircases straight up the sheer mountain slopes. Now, those stairs suffer from human traffic jams, and the viewpoints sometimes feel like a bus stop during rush hour.
Travelers arrive with a checklist of must-visit spots just to take the exact same photos. On one popular route, a sign reads: “Already 200,000 people have launched their drone here to take this exact picture. Think about whether you really need to.” Of course they need to! Why else would someone travel all the way from distant China, Italy, or the US?
Tourists resemble supermarket shoppers darting between aisles with checklists, filling their carts with photos. And it's hard to blame them—it really is gorgeous. The only shame is that beautiful, secluded places where you can actually enjoy the view in peace are becoming rarer by the day. Soon, there will be a paved road to every mountain and waterfall. And I can't say that's a good thing.

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10 hours ago | [YT] | 30

Ilya Varlamov

Many of you who watched my Vancouver video were shocked and saddened by what you saw. My video shows police mostly standing by while people use drugs openly on the street. So what's going on?

This is part of a radical experiment in the province of British Columbia. They've decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs — up to 2.5 grams — for personal use. The idea is to treat addiction as a health issue, not a criminal one. Police are directed not to arrest people for simple possession or use, which is why I was able to film what I did.

But this doesn't apply to drug trafficking, theft, or violent crime. The police are still active on those fronts. It's a very controversial policy, and the results are debatable, which is what I explore in the full video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3iUz...

5 days ago | [YT] | 18

Ilya Varlamov

Vacation is coming to an end, and school is right around the corner!
The biggest lie of childhood is that it's a carefree time and that things only get worse from here. It's completely baffling why adults project these ideas of a horrific adult reality onto their kids: “Enjoy the holidays! Value school—once you grow up, you’ll miss these happy times.”
In reality, adulthood is fantastic! It's freedom! It’s the opportunity to make your own decisions and take responsibility for them. I’ve never missed my childhood, even though it was very safe and comfortable, thanks to my parents. But it was still a lack of freedom. Essentially, childhood is just a comfortable prison. You are forced to live on a schedule: “school — break-on-pass — minimum-security colony at grandma’s cottage.” Food is on a timer, they don't let you drink, and you're entirely dependent on care packages from adults. Brrr. I wouldn't want to live through that again. The only upside of childhood is that almost nothing hurts, and you don't have to watch your diet.
Adult life is freedom! There is nothing better than shaping your own life. Here, of course, what matters is how you “served” your 18-year sentence in childhood, what you walked away from the joint with, and how you invest those skills and knowledge into your free adult life.
So, kids, study hard, listen to your prison guards—oops, I mean parents. School is starting soon 😉 And from there, it only gets better!

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1 week ago | [YT] | 157

Ilya Varlamov

In Vancouver, the police won't even respond to thefts under $3,600. Shop owners are forced to board up their windows with plywood just to stay open. Why the city stopped prosecuting and what it means for residents is in the new video ⬇️

1 week ago | [YT] | 7

Ilya Varlamov

Over 50,000 people have died of overdoses in Canada in the last ten years — nearly triple the number of fatal car crashes. Yet on the streets of Vancouver the police don't make arrests; volunteers simply stand by and watch. How a wealthy G7 country ended up with streets like these is what the new video is about: vrlmv.com/bk3h8r

1 week ago | [YT] | 62

Ilya Varlamov

In British Columbia, an eighteen-year-old could legally carry it in their pocket. But they had to wait until nineteen to legally buy a pack of cigarettes.

I heard this from the head of the local residents' association, standing on a street where more than half the shopfronts are boarded up. I made him repeat it twice.

What the premier of the province said about that rule a week before I arrived, you'll hear Thursday, when the full video drops. Set a reminder.

1 week ago | [YT] | 34

Ilya Varlamov

Everyone took pictures, so I did too! The Sun looks like a apple bitten right out of the sky! They say eclipses never bring anything good... Guess we’ll find out in a month or so 🙂

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 76

Ilya Varlamov

I found a little concrete miracle on the streets of Merida. They have these S-shaped benches designed specifically for dates. You sit facing each other, able to make eye contact and talk comfortably without that awkward side-by-side head turning. It’s such a simple, beautiful piece of urban design that makes you want to slow down and just enjoy the moment. That quiet sunset on the boulevard made it into the video — you can catch that peaceful side of Mexico towards the middle of the video ⬇

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 12

Ilya Varlamov

Mexico received a record $41 billion in foreign investment last year alone. Tech giants and car manufacturers are rushing to build plants here, creating a booming high-tech economy just miles from the US border. Yet, if you step outside the gated corporate enclaves, local workers in the villages still live on a basic diet of beans and rice, completely cut off from this wealth. How a country can experience a massive economic miracle and still leave millions behind — that's what the new video is about: vrlmv.com/z746jq

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 49

Ilya Varlamov

In February 2026 the Mexican army killed one of the most wanted cartel bosses in the world. A week later, the same country buried him in a solid gold coffin — with a military escort and near-presidential honors. The soldiers who killed him patrolled the route.

That's Mexico in one image: a country pulling in record billions from Tesla, BMW and Sony, with luxury districts where rent beats Manhattan — and two miles away, army checkpoints and territory nobody controls but the cartels. I drove 3,000 kilometers across both of them to see which one is winning. New video drops Thursday.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 61