‘One of the world’s most popular’ Youtuber stars has been arrested on drug charges and faces years in jail

Running YouTuber Matt Fox has been arrested in Japan on drug importation charges. Fox, whose channel Sweat Elite has 144,000 subscribers, is being accused of trying to smuggle tablets containing THC - an active ingredient in marijuana - into Japan from the United States using an international courier service.

The 38-year-old is alleged to have attempted to do this in February but was arrested in the city of Osaka on Wednesday, (April 9).

He was there to compete in the 2025 Osaka Marathon as part of his continuing challenge to complete one marathon a month. He said he aimed to set a time of under two-and-a-half hours in each race. He did not finish the Osaka Marathon, however, and dropped out after he had ran around 13 miles.

Writing about why this happened on his Instagram page at the time, he said: “ Yesterday I failed; failed to manage the stressors of life bought on by my own decisions. Some bad luck but just many things I can improve on with decision making around life and travel.

“I had a really great time out there in many ways though despite the asthma crippling me from ~10k onward, becoming seemingly impossible to deal with around the half way mark.”

Fox, who is a podcaster as well as a YouTuber, has previously spoken candidly about how he usually travelled with THC tablets to help manage his anxiety and sleep.

He added that although a lot of countries are lenient regarding THC products, he was aware of Japan’s strict drug laws. He also insists that for this reason he did not take them with him to Japan. “I travel with THC gummies, and most countries don’t care, but Japan is different—they tend to search you every time,” he said in a podcast episode in late February.

Fox denies the smuggling accusations against him, according to Japanese news outlets, but if he is formally charged and convicted of drug importation, he could face several years in prison as well as deportation. The social media star is also at risk of receiving a lifetime ban from the country.