At age 19, he and his brother
Ariel started a film and photography production company. In 2004, Schulman started photographing dance as he became involved with the
contemporary ballet community in New York City. He is a founding member of the Young Leadership Committee for the youth organization, Leave Out Violence. In 2010, Schulman became the subject of the documentary
Catfish, filmed by Ariel and business partner
Henry Joost, in which Schulman met and fell in love with a woman he met online. The premise followed Schulman on the journey of falling in love with a woman he meets on the Internet, but later finds out that she may not be exactly who she claimed to be. In 2012, Schulman became the host and executive producer of the follow-up show
Catfish: The TV Show for
MTV, with his filmmaking partner
Max Joseph, where he introduces couples in real life who have fallen for each other online but have yet to meet. In 2018, production was suspended following an accusation of sexual misconduct. Soon after, upon an investigation, the report of sexual misconduct was found to be "not credible" and the suspension was lifted. Schulman has written a book,
In Real Life: Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age (2014). In it, he gives both personal history and observations gleaned from his work on
Catfish. On September 2, 2020, Schulman was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the
29th season of
Dancing with the Stars. Schulman and his partner
Jenna Johnson came in second place to season 29 winner
Kaitlyn Bristowe and her partner
Artem Chigvintsev. == Personal life ==