What a truly weird but fascinating rabbit hole we’re in thanks to a recent TikTok clip from photographer and Hollywood scenester Scott Nathan (@scottnathanphoto).
The clip in question has 500,000 views and is barely a morsel. Nine seconds on the closeup of a fuel pump readout that’s showing a $50,975 bill for 7,700 gallons. With a superimposed Nathan warning: “No matter how much you think it’s the right thing to do, never ever ever offer to chip in for gas on someone’s boat.”
And that’s it.
Not previously knowing a single thing about Nathan, the fuel bill seemed… excessive. Especially the part about the amount of fuel involved. Thanks to Google we learn that a boat that can handle that much fuel isn’t actually a boat. It’s at the very least a yacht of about 200 feet in length that probably sells for $65 million on the low end. Remember the Roy family yacht we saw a few times on Succession? Whatever vessel it was that Nathan was riding on was probably bigger than that. Suddenly, a fuel bill that dwarfs many Americans’ annual take-home pay suddenly makes sense.
How much does gasoline on a regular boat cost though?
Right. Even a normal boat is pricey. According to J.D. Power and Associates, a four-hour trip on a boat can burn through more than $300 in gas.
“Let’s go back to the 250-horsepower powerboat. Let’s say you boat about once a week. You cruise for about four hours each outing. At 25 [gallons per hour], you’re using 100 gallons every time.
Using $3.25 per gallon for marine gas, that comes out to $325 for each excursion. That translates into $1,300 a month. Perhaps your boating season is four months. That brings your annual fuel cost to $5,200.
If you have a pontoon… That will bring your outing cost down to $65 and $260 a month.”
Back to Nathan
So, clearly Nathan is the sort of fellow who spends at least some of his time in the company of the fabulously wealthy, which isn’t completely out of the question for a photographer in Los Angeles who also has a book that apparently spills tremendous amounts of tea about stars big and small. And he’s also got a new podcast as well.
A run through some of his more popular TikTok clips reveal him to be an absolute riot; the kind of person you’d love to wind up next to at a party or social function and let the hours disappear as they unpeel dozens of stories and bits of gossip.
In another time, Nathan would have been a natural as a television talk show host. You know, back in the days when those shows were literally ALL OVER the TV schedule. Thankfully he appears to be doing just fine.
Some words of warning. Nathan’s stories in his clips are like video potato chips since it can be kind if impossible to stop. If we had to pick the best of the bunch, go with this three clipped posts at the top of his library, especially the one labeled “The Whore Whisperer” which gives an inside look at the lives of rich and beautiful people and how they’re constantly working to one up each other.
Commenters on the post had some fun with the ridiculousness of it all.
“I think a majority of us are not in that tax bracket, so that won’t be a problem,” was a sentiment offered by many.
Another wondered how to go about spitting up that kind of a bill. “Gonna have to simultaneously use Afterpay, klarna, affirm, PayPal pay in 4, chase plan, amex pay later,” someone commented.
And another notes that all the five- and six-figure earners surely draw suspicion for that kind of high-dollar activity.
@scottnathanphoto #greenscreen #yacht #yachtlife #gasprices ♬ original sound – Scott Nathan
“I don’t think I’d have a hard time explaining to my credit card company that my card obviously got stolen.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Nathan via direct message.
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