Steven Bartlett's fans have been left stunned by resurfaced footage of the entrepreneur as a youngster that proves he wasn't always laser-focused on building businesses.
The clip, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Sky Newsjournalist Nick Stylianou, suggests The Diary of a CEO host once imagined he'd achieve fame not as a business mogul and podcaster but rather as a rapper named 'Lyricist'.
At 10 seconds long, the clip shows a baby-faced Steven competing in a rap battle against an opponent called 'Rawsoul'.
He describes his Irish opponent as 'Ireland's only last hope when it comes to rapping' and a 'blatant cabbage'.
If the resurfaced footage hasn't quite impressed theDragons' Denjudge's fans, it has certainly shocked them.
Footage of a young Steven Bartlett (pictured) taking part in a rap battle resurfaced on social media, shocking fans of The Diary of a CEO and Dragons' Den star
The clip comes after Steven's nutrition adverts for Zoe and Huel were banned by the advertising watchdog for being 'misleading'
One person wrote 'I'm flabbergasted' followed by several laughing emojis while another exclaimed 'This can't be real' and completed their post with a crying emoji.
Captioned 'They also failed to disclose Steven Bartlett used to compete as a battle rapper called “Lyricist”', the clip comes after the 31-year-old's nutrition adverts for Zoe and Huel were banned by the advertising watchdog for being 'misleading'.
Reacting to the clip, a third person posted: 'Thank you for your investigative journalism!' with a fourth adding 'what an absolute howler LMAO'.
Another person remarked: 'Casually undressing to this news about Steve'.
The youngest of the BBC Dragons has been under fire in recent months after he was rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority over his online praise for two products he has invested in.
The body, which regulates the advertising industry, said Steven's posts on Facebook about the Zoe app and Huel supplements were 'misleading' due to his financial interests in them.
Both businesses disputed the ban, arguing that it is clear from the ads that there is a commercial relationship and that consumers do not need to know the 'exact nature' of those relationships.
In the clip, a baby-faced Steven who goes by 'Lyricist' is rapping against an opponent called Rawsoul
Three sponsored posts were shared on Facebook in February and March in which the Dragons' Den star praised the products from the health science brands
Steven is an investor in Zoe and a director at Huel
The advert for Zoe, which offers health testing and dietary advice services, featured an image of Bartlett with a Zoe patch on his arm, with text in the form of a quote from Bartlett which stated: 'If you haven't tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life.'
Defending the ad, Zoe said the average consumer would understand that there was a commercial relationship if a celebrity appeared in an ad for a brand.
Zoe said that if it was obliged to include a specific disclosure about the nature of Steven's status as an investor in Zoe, this would have a wider impact on other brands and influencers.
The ASA said it received two complaints which said it wasn't clear from the advert that Steven had a commercial interest in the company.
Huel, known for its vitamin-enriched food items - whose ads featured Steven stating that its Daily Greens powder was the 'best product' it had released - argued that consumers had no doubt about the existence of such commercial relationships when they saw the endorsem*nt within a paid-for ad.
This expectation removed the need for the commercial relationship to be explicitly stated, Huel claimed.
However the ASA found that many consumers were unlikely to understand from the ads that Steven had a financial interest in Huel's performance.
It said: 'We considered that Bartlett's directorship was material to consumers' understanding of the ads, and so relevant for them in making an informed decision about the advertised product.
The advert for Zoe, which offers health testing and dietary advice services, featured an image of Steven with a Zoe patch on his arm, as he claimed it might 'change your life'
'Because the ads omitted material information about Steven Bartlett's position as a director at Huel, we concluded they were likely to mislead.'
In relation to Zoe, the regulator said: 'Steven Bartlett was an investor in Zoe, which we considered was material to consumers' understanding of the ad and relevant in making an informed decision about the product.
'Because the ad omitted material information about Steven Bartlett being an investor in Zoe, we concluded that it was misleading.'
The regulator also banned a 2022 podcast advert for Huel, in which Steven said during a segment on his highly successful The Diary Of A CEO show that he had 'become hooked on' an iced coffee caramel-flavour Huel drink.
Huel, Zoe and Bartlett were approached for comment.
