Ian & Anthony – SMOSH
What began as teenage duo’s Youtube channel has undergone a full circle to become a massively popular sketch-comedy channel, business, and independent production company.
When 17-year old Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla started recording lip-sync and other comedic Youtube videos, I doubt they imagined how far they would end up going. They began with lip sync videos and went viral for a few of their videos, and from there began amassing a fanbase. As the years went on, they added more cast and crew members to their now-production company, and the quality of their videos -and their comedy – improved. They also added on more channels to their company, such as Smosh Pit and Smosh Games.
Funnily enough, the two did not originally begin as Youtubers. Anthony began by making Flash animations under the website smosh.com in 2002 (at the age of 14). Ian joined him later and in 2005, they created their first Youtube video. from there, the pair remained a duo until 2017.
In 2011, the company Smosh was bought by Defy Media, and operated under them until 2019. In 2017, Anthony left the channel due to loss of creative control (due to Defy), a wish to independently pursue more serious content, and admittedly a strained friendship with Ian due to the stresses placed under Defy Media. Fans were shocked by his departure, but continued to follow the company, as well as Anthony’s personal channel. (Fun fact: when Anthony first left, it was not obviously addressed, leading fans to drop “Where’s Anthony?” comments under videos. As years went by and Anthony established his own channel, it became a running joke between cast members and fans, with cast members making lighthearted comments during bits such as “Whatever you do, don’t ask where Anthony is. He’s fighting laser dolphins in Guam.”)
In 2019 when Defy unexpectedly closed, Smosh was left high and dry; however, the channel purchased (perhaps saved?) by similarly legendary Youtube duo Rhett & Link under their company Mythical Entertainment, and its channels and cast were subsequently absorbed. The company Ian and Anthony had started still contained elements of them in their comedy improv style, popular cast members (such as Shayne Topp and Courtney Miller, as well as Ian himself) – but it was no longer a company run by Ian and Anthony.
HOWEVER, in one of the biggest plot twists of Youtube history, Ian and Anthony bought back Smosh from Mythical Entertainment in June 2023, and made a surprise announcement of it not only to longtime fans/audiences, but to their own cast and crew! This event shocked followers of Smosh and even became viral in circles outside of Smosh audiences.
Almost two years later, the company is still going strong, now led by the original company founders. At the ages of 17, I sincerely doubt Ian and Anthony could have predicted where they and their comedic sketch videos would take them. Their entrepreneurial path has not been an easy one, but through multiple sales, purchases, and losses and gains of cast members, crew members, and founders, Smosh has stayed a staple company. Some accolades throughout its time is being the first channel to hit 10 million followers, and the most-subscribed to YouTube channel on three separate occasions.
Today, Smosh’s main channel has roughly 27 million subscribers, ranks 233 globally in its subscriber count, and falls in the top 100 in the US. 2025 marks 20 years since the founding of Smosh. The full circle journey of now 37 years old Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla in their entrepreneurial endeavors is a marker of their hard work, dedication, and creative intelligence that began long before their YouTube channel was even started.