Ian Hecox is a YouTuber since the beginning.
Hecox, now 34 years old, and Anthony Padilla, co-founder of Smosh, began uploading videos to YouTube in 2005. They gained popularity lip-syncing and posting sketches. Traffic continues to flow to the original videos.
Three weeks ago, a commenter on Smosh’s 2006 “Food Battle” video wrote: “Every year or two I make a pilgrimage to this video in order to relive an important part of my childhood.”
Padilla left the brand in 2017 and it has seen rapid growth over the past decade with numerous new channels, games for mobile phones, and sketch series.
The team is now preparing to host “Under The Impact”, its first live show for six years. The show will include scripted sketches as well as fan favorites segments such “Try Not To Laugh” or “Eat It or Yeet It”, all while being drunk. The ticketed event is streamable on Thursday at 6 PM PST.
Hecox talked to NBC News ahead of the show about Smosh’s evolution, making videos under Mythical Entertainment during pandemic, and how to keep relevant online after a decade.
This interview has been edited for clarity and condensed.
How is it going?
It’s all going well. Are you feeling better after VidCon?
Honestly, barely. How about you?
Yes, it’s all fine. This was VidCon number eleven for me. I am very strategic in my VidCon-ing these day.
It’s a subject you are quite familiar with. It’s a great idea that you brought it up. You were there the first VidCon years. What was the biggest difference between the VidCon events you attended in the early days and this year?
The biggest change, I think, was when VidCon took place. It was the first time that any creator had ever met another creator. Everyone knew who everyone else was at that time. It was a small group.
As the space has grown exponentially each year, I expect to recognize less people. This year, TikTok was a larger presence than usual. I didn’t expect to know many of the creators, but I was surprised at how many I did.
Your roots are in the internet culture since the beginning. Many people who became YouTubers before you were either logged off or followed traditional media paths or tried to keep up with it but failed. How can you keep your content growing and relevant?
There were a few moments during our YouTube journey where we became complacent and just focused on the good stuff. We saw that this was not a good thing for the channel. It is essential to continue learning. It is impossible to say, “Oh no, YouTube works.” It’ll all be fine.
Because it is constantly changing. It is constantly evolving. It is constantly evolving. It’s constantly changing, just like six years ago.
However, Dream SMP grew to be a major player during the pandemic. It’s huge. They are some of the most influential people online, and it’s impossible to have predicted that.
Always be open to new videos, new forms, comedians, creators and new ideas.
It’s a good thing you brought up the pandemic. I was about to ask how it affected Smosh and his creative process. Many of your sketches are collaborative. But, at a time when no one could see each other, how did it keep you making content?
It was definitely not fun. It was a real pain trying to get a writer’s space together over Zoom. But we had no other option. It was amazing to see what we could accomplish even though lockdown was the most severe.
For two years, we were probably completely remote, only coming together to film videos. That is a great challenge creatively. After our first writer’s meeting in person, we moved into the new studio. Everyone felt amazing and didn’t feel any latency.
While I am proud of the things we were able do in remote areas, I’m also excited to be back in person. While we are still safe, it is nice to be able to work together in real life.
Smosh has been more active on TikTok, which I also noticed. How can you make comedy work on YouTube and TikTok both?
We discovered that it is not only creating different content on YouTube and TikTok but also making different content on Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. Each platform has a different audience, which consumes content in different ways.
It’s completely different. It is completely different.
The dream of every YouTuber is to create content for YouTube and Twitch and then reduce it and add it to everything else. This is a great strategy but it can sometimes be too simplistic.
TikTok is a very large game. TikTok seems to be full of people who do one thing well. They only have one thing, and they keep repeating it over and again. They are a liability if they diverge from the original bit.
The question is, “How can we survive as a comedy channel that tries to bring you original comedy every day?” You don’t have to be a one-trick pony.
Please tell me more about this live performance. This is your first live show in six years. What is it different from other shows?
It’s called “Under the Influence.” It was inspiring to see the Good Mythical Evening Show by Mythical. Because it was a slightly naughtier show, their hook was “You’re going to hear Rhett or Link say the F-word.”
We sat down together and thought: What’s our version?
We decided to create a variety show with scripted and unscripted content. And we would drink it all.
This is what we could post on YouTube. This is a huge no-no. We are now working with Kiswe, who has performed a lot of concert. They have performed with BTS.
It brings an unexpected element to my life, which is why I am excited about it. We have never had to drink on camera. It’s amazing to me that anything is possible. Everybody’s a professional, so don’t be too crazy. However, I am expecting some mistakes and that is what I love. I expect a little bit of drinking, some tomfoolery and just a good time.
One last question. What advice do YOU have for online users and those who are online all the time?
YouTubers have been following my advice for nearly a decade: Hire as soon as you make any money. Hiring editors or producers is a good idea.
YouTubers and creators often get so caught up in the idea that they are the only ones who can do what they do. They’re like “I can’t let somebody else edit this movie.” They don’t get my style.”
It’s okay. It’s possible to teach someone your style.
