Arun Rupesh Maini, the Indian-origin British YouTuber behind the popular tech channel MrWhoseTheBoss, has revealed that he was once detained, strip-searched and deported from the United States after landing for a work assignment.
Speaking during an interview with Dexerto, Maini described the experience as "very violating" and said it continues to affect his travel to the US even today.
Who is Arun Rupesh Maini?
Maini is widely known for his technology-focused YouTube content, including smartphone reviews, gadget comparisons and tech experiments. The 30-year-old content creator currently has more than 22.5 million subscribers on YouTube.
During the interview, he recalled being offered $300,000 to cover the construction of a high-tech stadium project in the US; an assignment he described as the "biggest offer" of his career at the time.
Also Read | ‘Rainbow clouds’ over Indonesia go viral: Here's what caused the stunning sight
Detained after landing in the US
Maini said he travelled to the United States excited about the project, but was stopped soon after landing.
"Flew to the US. I got interviewed by the Border Patrol… So they took me to a back room, and they said 'You can't take your phone out'," he said.
According to Maini, he was unable to inform the sponsors waiting for him because officials had taken away his phone.
"So I had all these people like the sponsors waiting for me, and I couldn't tell them that I'd been pulled into this room," he added.
He further claimed that the questioning became increasingly intense before officials moved him to another room.
"They took me into a cell..took all my clothes off"
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 6, 2026
YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss shared his US Border Control experience pic.twitter.com/VjTQuIje8c
'Very violating' experience
"They (the Border Patrol) started to become really accusatory. And eventually, they took me into a deeper room. I was scared at this point. All the guards were armed. They took me into a cell, took all my clothes off, and felt around in all sorts of ways," Maini revealed.
The YouTuber said he was eventually allowed to dress again but still was not given access to his phone.
Maini spent 26 hours in detention before being deported back to the UK.
"I got deported," he told Dexerto. "And they didn't even give me my phone till the flight had taken off."
He said his family had no idea where he was during that period and only learned he was safe after he contacted them from the flight.
According to Maini, the incident still impacts his travel experience.
"Every single time I travel to the US now, I get taken to a second room, I get interviewed because there's this black mark next to my name," he said.
