Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, pioneers of internet comedy with their smash hit YouTube channel Smosh, took a long journey to reuniting as a creative team. The pair attended the Streamy Awards for the first time since regaining ownership of their company.
Padilla and Hecox spoke to What’s Trending about all that they hope to bring back to the popular channel. “We brought back my mom in the intro, in the announcement. That was pretty cool,” said Hecox.
“Yeah, just to curse at you and insult you, yeah. We love that. There are a lot of old characters and a lot of old series, some that were annual that I’m really excited to bring back soon,” said Padilla.
The 2023 Streamys served as the awards’ 13th ceremony. The show was hosted by 16-time nominee and seven time winner MatPat, the creator of the Game Theorists. The awards ceremony was dubbed “a crystal ball of culture” by Forbes, and serves as a reflection of the ever evolving nature of digital culture. Once covering primarily YouTube creators, the show has since expanded to include creators from numerous platforms.
The Background
The popular YouTube comedy sketch improv group Smosh was initially founded in 2002 by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. Padilla first built the independent smosh.com, which he named after he mistook a friend’s explanation of a mosh pit for a “smosh pit.” Hecox later joined in on the venture, and the pair made the migration to YouTube in 2005, producing and hosting various segments of humorous skits.
By 2011, the company was acquired by Defy Media, and Padilla made the choice to leave in 2017. Padilla cited a “lack of creative freedom” as his primary reason for his departure. Hecox remained with the company until 2018 when Defy abruptly shut down. Following the shutdown, Padilla came forward and clarified that the true reason he left the company was due to alleged poor management from the parent company. The digital creator also alleged that they prevented him from joining the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and attempted to overtake his personal social media accounts.
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The pair later sold to Alloy Digital with the intention of selling stock shares of the company, but the company never went public, giving Smosh stock no value. The following year in 2019, Smosh was finally acquired by Mythical Entertainment, which was founded by comedic duo Rhett and Link. The duo have long dubbed themselves “The Internetainers.” The group took production to Los Angeles, and invited several new cast members. After years of tumultuous business moves, Padilla and Hecox have finally joined forces to buy back Smosh. Fans of the original channel are excited to see what the digital creators will bring to the table now that they are back in business with Smosh.
me in the smosh office begging ian & anthony to bring back funerals/exes/reunions pic.twitter.com/ROa1g7jqwx
— ⋆˙⟡????✦????⟡˙⋆ (@HORRORGENRES) August 27, 2023
Padilla and Hecox’s Smosh content is back on YouTube now.
