Teenage influencer Caleb Coffee and his family are asking fans for donations to help cover medical costs after the 18-year-old fell 60-80ft off a Hawaiian cliff – despite signing dozens of branding deals in recent years.
Coffee, who has an Instagram following of 1 million and a TikTok following of 12 million, was rushed to intensive care last week after falling on lava rocks while illegally hiking with friends near Koiawe Stream in Waimea. The White Road walk traverses both government and private land and, while popular with locals, is illegal.
He suffered a “fractured femur, elbow, wrist and multiple abrasions and burns” and his father Jason and sister Peyton – also influencers – encouraged their followers to donate to GoFundMe to help cover his medical costs, which are already falling amounted to almost 23,000 US dollars.
“Unfortunately, Caleb didn’t have health insurance and we can’t afford those medical bills so we’re letting me fund it,” the family wrote.
Influencers with more than a million followers can be expected to rake in $10,000 to $15,000 per sponsored post.
In recent years, the family has been involved in sponsored content deals with brands like Jimmy Dean, Discovery Plus, Kellogg’s Cereal, Nintendo’s Pokemon, and Hasbro Games – leading some users to wonder why the family can’t pay the hospital bills themselves .
“You obviously aren’t a poor family.” Why should we pay for Caleb’s health care if you were too irresponsible to insure him?’ wrote Steven Pierce, a London-based food influencer and journalist.
Caleb Coffee, a TikTok star with over 11 million followers on the social media page, is currently in intensive care after falling off a cliff straight into a lava rock bed in Hawaii
It’s not clear why Caleb, who still lives with his parents, sister and brother, didn’t have health insurance.
Caleb and his sister Peyton, who has 2.4 million Instagram followers and 16 million on TikTok, frequently participate in paid ads, mostly shared on their father Jason Coffee’s page.
The family has been documenting parts of their lives online for years and the two eldest children in particular have amassed an enormous following of people interested in following their various outdoor adventures.
Caleb, in particular, is known for his dramatic physical stunts and intense focus on physical fitness.
The family recently relocated to Hawaii from Texas, where they had previously lived for a number of years.
Although the family’s exact financial details are unknown, responses were received from users who seemed surprised that the family would need help.
“Would you like to fund me a TikTok family?!” wrote one user.
“No way you guys set up a go fund for me,” wrote another.
“Prayers for your family. Your parents own several houses, right? “Selling one of the houses to pay his medical bills,” commented a third.
Jason Coffee has been an online influencer of sorts for nearly two decades. He started including his kids in his content when they were very young and still had a Vine account.
The Coffee family: including Jason (right), Chassy (center right), Caleb (center left) and Peyton (left). The Coffees have a third child who is less well known on social media
A few months ago: Jason and Caleb appeared in sponsored content for Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches
In a solo commercial, Jason promotes Rice-A-Roni and Pandora
Caleb and his sister Peyton in a Pokemon game commercial
The family was paid to promote Discovery’s then-new streaming channel, Discovery Plus
The trio worked with Nerf to promote a new model of the Nerf Blaster pistol
Seven emergency units were dispatched to rescue Caleb, but several attempts to reach him were thwarted by bad weather before a helicopter could reach him and transport him to the hospital in critical condition.
In a post on his father’s Instagram page Thursday, Caleb updated fans on his condition.
“It’s day two after falling off an 80ft cliff. All the doctors thought my spine or neck was broken. “I just got back from an MRI and miraculously it’s not broken, just irritated,” he said.
“Personally, I can’t think of any other explanation than thank you, Jesus.”
Jason Coffee later posted a more detailed update on his son’s condition.
‘[Caleb] is stable, conscious, speaking and in good spirits,” he wrote on his Instagram story.
“He has a small fracture in his neck (toes and fingers are fully articulated). He has a broken femur (a rod was put through surgery), two plates and ten screws in his right elbow, a broken left wrist, and stitches on his forehead and lip.
Jason said his son “just had another MRI” to take a closer look at his neck.
Initially, it was said that he had a “spinal fracture, thigh, elbow and wrist fractures, as well as multiple abrasions and burns throughout his body”.
“The medics and everyone is telling us he’s lucky to be alive and one of the strongest out there,” his sister Peyton wrote on Instagram.
“If you are unable to donate, he would appreciate your prayers.” “He is grateful to be alive but is in excruciating pain as of now.”
“We thank you for your prayers, Mahalos,” she added