When you enjoy three different periods as the most subscribed YouTube channel, you are doing something right. That is the story of Smosh, a sketch comedy group that primarily posts their content on YouTube. With over 7 billion views and 23 million subscribers, the group has effectively delivered one of the most sought-after desires in the world – laughter.

For thousands of years, humanity has been enjoying the benefits of laughter. The emotional decompression it brings and the temporary escape from real life worries is a coveted feeling that will always be sought after, both by the richest and poorest in the world. Smosh, a sketch comedy group that was established by both Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, delivered that to millions of people before the eventual exit of the latter in June 2017. Their YouTube channel is currently the 31st most subscribed channel on the platform.

About Smosh

Smosh is a sketch comedy group, established in 2002 when Anthony Padilla registered smosh.com. He filled the pages of the website with various flash animations, as his first set of content. Anthony Padilla’s Smosh enterprise gained an addition in Ian Hecox. They both met in science class in sixth grade, became friends and decided to express their comedic talents via the internet.

The two started working together to create content to post on YouTube upon the advent of the video platform in 2005. Their breakout video, Pokémon Theme Music Video was posted online on the 28th of November 2005 and it became the most viewed video on YouTube at the time of release. It featured both content creators lip-synching the original English theme song for the anime.

Afterward, they recorded major success on the platform and the popularity of their own videos made them feature in Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year: You” issue. Post-2006, the channel diversified its content and continued to grow. It added skits to its roster as well. Its continued growth, both in views and subscriber base, led to an acquisition by Alloy Digital (Defy Media).

The channel’s growth also led to working with giant brands like Google. They also created the iShut Up App for smartphones. Certainly, with success comes expansion and that was what Smosh did in 2012. They added three new channels – ElSmoosh, Shut Up! Cartoons and Smosh Games. Smosh is known for its song-themed contents, the addition of video games related content to its catalogue pushed the channel over the edge and made it the most subscribed channel on YouTube for the third time in January 2013. The record stood till August 2013. Its previous most subscribed title runs were from May to June 2006 and April 2007 to September 2008. In 2013, the group began crowdfunding for an iOS and PC game based on the characters on their channel. The game was released in November 2014.

Outside of its YouTube content, Smosh continues to post videos on its websites and has released five comedy albums to date. Their highest-charting album reached number 3 on the Billboard Comedy chart with the lowest hitting number 11. The group, along with Lionsgate, released a feature-length film, Smosh: The Movie (2015). The group has also starred in the movie, Angry Birds (2016).

The Smosh channel has been nominated for several awards, mostly the Streamy Awards. It has won 7 out of its 20 award nominations.

Smosh Comedy Group Cast Members

So far, the group has 10 related channels with Smosh as its main channel. The latter has over 23 million subscribers and 7.8 billion views. The Smosh group started with Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla but many other members who joined later. Anthony and three others have, however, left the group.

Ian Hecox has been there since the foundation of the group was laid. He worked alongside his childhood friend, Anthony Padilla and is still with the team till date. He mostly plays as a writer and director for the group.

Until early 2017, Mari Takahashi was the only female member of YouTube channel Smosh Games, where she stars in the Minecraft gameplay Maricraft. Prior to her days with the group, she worked as a professional ballerina.

Joshua Evans Ovenshire popularly known as Jovenshire joined the group in 2012 and became one of the hosts on the Smosh Games. He initially worked with Clevver Games and Mahalo Games before joining the group. He runs his own Youtube channel known as TheJovenshire.

Often called Wes, Wesley Johnson has joined the group as an editor in 2014 but was later given the spot to play as a host in the video New Smosh Games Members. He also runs his own Youtube channel.

Noah Grossman, one of the youngest members in the crew works as an actor and a cast member. He was added to the crew on March 13, 2015, and till date, he has remained with the team. Other members of the group who joined later and are still present include Keith Leak, Olivia Sui, Courtney Miller, Shayne Topp, Ericka Bozeman, and Damien Haas.

Meanwhile, Anthony Padilla who co-founded the group left sometime in 2017, then bit by bit, a few others like David Moss, Mathew Sohinki and Amra Ricketts also left.

Why Did Anthony Padilla Leave?

Anthony Padilla can be described as the founder of Smosh, it certainly was his original idea and he registered and produced the group’s first set of content. However, after the brand (Smosh) was acquired by Defy Media, its creative process took a more corporate shape. While it did not affect the group’s popularity, it affected Anthony Padilla’s passion and excitement about the creative process and he ultimately left to rekindle his love in a more independent venture. He currently has over 2.7 million subscribers on his channel, AnthonyPadilla.

Net Worth

Smosh has enjoyed some of the biggest success a YouTuber could hope for. The group enjoys millions of views on its videos, has multiple successful albums, and partners with different brands for advertisement outside of YouTube’s ad revenue. A combination of all of this has made Smosh’s estimated net worth to be $12 million.