Is Julian Brown missing? The young inventor has gained more than 1.7 million followers on Instagram during his short career. He has also caught the attention of those working within the energy field, claiming to have created fuel out of recycled plastic. Brown is the founder of Naturejab and has been described as “an innovator in the use of microwave pyrolysis of plastic waste.” However, Brown recently claimed to be “under attack” and disappeared from social media following a mysterious video released on Instagram. Let’s break down the timeline of events.
Is Julian Brown Missing?
On the 10th of April 2025, Julian Brown started a GoFundMe asking for donations to raise money for upgrades to his research project. The description of his GoFundMe states, “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.” However, two months later, on the 3rd of July, Brown shared a note on his Instagram story that said, “A SECRET Helicopter found circled me in the middle of NOWHERE… and it gets even scarier – Pray for me please.”
Then, on the 9th of June, Brown released an ominous video on Instagram, in which he says, “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.” On the 28th of June, Julian’s mother, Nia, released a statement in the Daily Mail, in which she said, “I can confirm Julian is safe, but in the best interest of his security, I’m not able to provide any more information.” When pressed for further details, she refused to do so.
Julian Brown Returns to Social Media
On the 30th of July, Brown made his first post on Instagram since his last cryptic message, uploading a photo of himself and his mother. The following day, he made several more posts, revealing that he believed his phone had been hacked, which is why he hadn’t been online in a while. In the post, Brown said that, “these hackers, they got into my iCloud and they were basically able to remotely watch and view my entire phone. I figured out they were in my phone, kicked them out, and they had no more access to my phone, but they still had access to my Instagram somehow.” He then contacted Meta to see if there was any way they could help. However, the whole process took a considerable amount of time.
He added that this is what took him so long to return to Instagram. Who would want to directly target Julian, though? Many suspect that it has something to do with his invention, which he has called “Plastoline”. This fuel is produced from plastic waste using Brown’s microwave pyrolysis reactor. On his Naturejab website, Brown has stated that “I will create fuel alternatives to gasoline and diesel, while destroying plastic.” Brown also stated that he was motivated to do something after seeing the massive plastic issue around the world and yet not seeing anyone provide any effective solutions to the problem. “It made me so upset that even though we are told that we are recycling, plastic is ending up in the oceans and landfills where it is affecting so many lives, including our own,” Brown added in an interview with Forbes.
What Happens Next?
While some people have voiced their opinions that this is part of a conspiracy to silence his invention, others have stated that it is his invention that should raise red flags. For example, scrutiny around Plastoline’s technical validity has surged recently. Critics have noted that the scalability of this invention on an industrial scale remains unverified. Additionally, they warn that the process could potentially produce harmful byproducts if not properly scrubbed, such as styrene. Furthermore, Reddit users have noted that fuel-from-plastic systems typically struggle with efficiency, with one person even stating, “It’s a scam … People send this guy tons of money because they don’t know better.”
Meanwhile, his GoFundMe is slowly making gains, with the current amount of $32,388 USD raised. Yet, until he shared technical data that has been verified and peer-reviewed, Plastosine remains nothing but a concept. Right now, it’s really impossible to know if there are really people out to silence and follow him, or if it is all simply a way for him to generate publicity for his GoFundMe efforts. For now, though, he is back in the public spotlight, claiming to be building what he considers to be the first continuous solar microwave-pyrolysis reactor in the world. If it turns out to be what he says it is, though, it could be a real-game changer for the energy industry.
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