Has American inventor Julian Brown who purportedly turns plastic into gasoline gone missing?
The 21-year-old from Atlanta with 1.7 million followers on Instagram has not been seen since July 9 after posting cryptic videos saying he was “under attack.”
“Something is happening, keep me in your prayers please. SCREEN RECORD THIS. I don’t know,” Brown indicated.
“I can’t go into too much detail, but there is some very, very odd stuff going on. I’m certainly under attack right now in many different ways. And I just want everybody to know to just kind of have your eyes open.”
“Be on the lookout because I’m under attack.”
Julian Brown, the young inventor who created tech that turns plastic into gasoline, hasn’t been seen in over two weeks. pic.twitter.com/XkVPt81gJU
— SAY CHEESE! (@SaycheeseDGTL) July 28, 2025
On July 3, he posted: “A SECRET Helicopter found circled me in the middle of NOWHERE … and it gets even scarier – Pray for me please.”
But according to his mother Nia Brown, Julian is not missing.
“I can confirm Julian is safe but in the best interest of his security I’m not able to provide any more information,” she told the Daily Mail.
His disappearance sparked concern among his followers about his safety because of his “Plastoline” invention, a product he claims recycles plastic by converting it into gasoline.
Forbes magazine featured Brown as the founder of Naturejab, a firm making natural products, and as “an innovator in the use of microwave pyrolysis of plastic waste.”
Asked about his inspiration for creating the energy technology, Brown said: “What motivated me was seeing the large plastic issue at hand throughout the world and not seeing any obvious solutions that were effective enough to make a difference.”
“It made me so upset that even though we are told that we are recycling, plastic is clearly ending up in the oceans and landfills where it is affecting so many lives, including our own.”
BREAKING NEWS: Prolific independent young scientist and inventor Julian Brown, who made his own free energy fuel station from plastic waste is being reported as missing by his followers and supporters.
He hasn’t been seen in over 2 weeks despite having over 1 million… pic.twitter.com/CUyMIjmzRm
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) July 28, 2025
He told Forbes he learned his craft through a high-school welding class and his welding job.
Brown actually received $100,000 from Reddit co-creator Alexis Ohanian, who is married to Serena Williams.
He created a GoFundMe page to finance his effort, initially asking for $16,000.
But in the wake of his alleged vanishing, GoFundMe’s donation rocketed to more than $30,000.
“I have been self taught in turning plastic into fuel for 5 years, and now I will need YOUR help to raise money for the most important upgrade yet. This will be my first official invention,” Brown wrote on the GoFundMe page.
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