AreYouKiddingTV

Last updated

AreYouKiddingTV
AreYouKiddingTV logo.jpg
Personal information
Born
  • Joey Gizzi
  • (1995-12-04) December 4, 1995 (age 28)
  • Steven Lannum
  • (1996-04-06) April 6, 1996 (age 28)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s) YouTube and Tik Tok personalities
Website areyoukiddingshop.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2016–present
Genre(s) Internet challenge, Entertainment
Subscribers2.6 million [1]
Total views1.5 billion [1]
Contents are inEnglish
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: August 12, 2024

AreYouKiddingTV is a social media account mainly popular on TikTok and YouTube, run by the internet personalities Joey Gizzi and Steven Lannum. Their content normally follows a similar format involving Gizzi having a piece of paper with a challenge on it taped to his chest, while Lannum holds out money in his hand, both without talking. If a passerby can understand and complete the challenge first, they receive the money. [2] Challenges often take place on university campuses, especially their former school Elon University, and require multiple steps or are cryptic in some nature. Since the COVID-19 lockdowns, their content was revised to its current form and has become more popular, resulting in collaborations with major organizations and other content creators including MrBeast and Trevor Wallace.

Contents

Internet career

External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg TAKE THE DOLLAR (Social Experiment)
The first mute sign challenge video released by Gizzi and Lannum, released on March 3, 2018.

The creators of the account Joey Gizzi and Steven Lannum met in 2014 as freshmen students in the Communications Fellows program [2] at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. [3] After being put in the same residence hall, the two bonded quickly over a shared history in video production and running an individual YouTube channel. [4] A "similar sense of humor and similar goals with our majors", was also cited by the duo as a reason for their quick friendship, according to a 2023 interview. [2] The duo would first help direct, write, and film segments for the Elon Student Television (ESTV) show "Elon After Hours," where they played traditional pranks and performed social experiments on campus. [2] [5] This show would become popular on campus, and wanting to expand upon its success, [6] Gizzi and Lannum would create their YouTube channel "AreYouKidding" in 2016. [7] The channel's content would largely replicate that of the former show, while also taking inspiration from established YouTube pranksters BigDawsTV and ThatWasEpic. [2] During this time, the two would also create their first mute sign challenge video, with the sign taped to Gizzi reading simply "take the dollar", which Lannum held out, to see the campus' reaction as a social experiment. [6]

Despite the channel amassing over 20,000 subscribers in this time, the two would abandon the channel after both graduated in 2018, [6] as it was still regarded as only a "hobby" according to Gizzi. [3] As Lannum would also move to Boston, Massachusetts, the channel would remain inactive for two years, with Gizzi recording wedding films and music videos, and Lannum going into marketing. [3] In 2020 however, during the COVID-19 lockdowns and the subsequent rise in the popularity of the short-form media platform TikTok, [5] the two decided to edit and repost their old videos on the new platform, where a few previously recorded videos would become popular. [3] Eventually the lack of new content would result in the duo reuniting to meet the new demand, [3] [6] rebranding the channel name to "AreYouKiddingTV". [7]

After rejoining, the "engaging, […] simple, [and] entertaining" concept behind their unique sign challenges, along with more consistent uploads, would cause the account to rise in popularity, according to the duo. [6] This popularity and likewise increase in funding has allowed the two to work more recently with multiple major sponsors, including Brooks Brothers, Dr Pepper, Paramount Pictures, and United Airlines. [6] The duo has also collaborated with fellow YouTuber and philanthropist MrBeast, [2] YouTuber and comedian Trevor Wallace, [4] actor and comedian Craig Robinson [4] and singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran. [8] While the two have stated they still prefer to film videos at Elon University, greater funds have allowed them to travel to other locations to film: [9] including the cities of Austin and Los Angeles plus the state of Ohio nationally, and Amsterdam, London, and Paris internationally. [7] This has allowed the stakes and awards featured in the challenges to become higher, as seen in one challenge at East Carolina University, where over a hundred students participated to be the first person in a bathing suit to find a clear key in a pool, for the prize of US$5,000. [6]

The challenges themselves are formulated between the duo in their free time, and in the case of a sponsorship, with their management. [3] The goal of the challenges is to make them "not always too hectic or frantic, [but not] too laid back" [3] or "repetitive" either, according to both Gizzi and Lannum. [6] The duo have stated that their goal is to eventually spread to more platforms (potentially including television), [10] create more products, and to attend [6] and host more events and interactive shows. [8] To help achieve this, the duo, along with Gizzi's cousin Derek, have begun to work full-time on the account as of 2023, [2] as opposed to also working day jobs, which the duo confirmed they still did as recently as July 2022. [10]

Personal life

Aside from both going to Elon University, both also went to Los Angeles, California for a time as part of the "Elon in L.A. program", which gave insight to future careers, in this case entertainment, in the city. [5] Lannum also studied abroad in France his senior year. [5] The duo both currently live in Nashville, Tennessee. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elon University</span> Private university in Elon, North Carolina, U.S.

Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube</span> Video-sharing platform owned by Google

YouTube (YT) is an American online video sharing platform owned by Google. Accessible worldwide, YouTube was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States, it is the second-most visited website in the world, after Google Search. As of January 2024, YouTube has more than 2.7 billion monthly users, who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos every day. As of May 2019, videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute, and as of 2021, there were approximately 14 billion videos in total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Figglehorn</span> Fictional character

Fred Figglehorn is a fictional character who appears in the YouTube video series Fred created by American Internet personality Lucas Cruikshank from 2006 to 2015 and revived from 2020 to 2021. The characters' initial popularity yielded other spin-off series and a relationship with Nickelodeon, including three movies and a television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Green</span> American vlogger and entrepreneur (born 1980)

William Henry Green II is an American YouTuber, science communicator, novelist, stand-up comedian, and entrepreneur. He produces the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers with his older brother, author John Green, and hosts the educational YouTube channels Crash Course and SciShow. He has advocated for and organized social activism, created and hosted a number of other YouTube channels and podcasts, released music albums, and amassed a large following on TikTok.

Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. This concept has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Pepper</span> English media personality (born 1989)

Samuel Nicholas Pepper is an English internet personality and reality TV contestant. Pepper appeared as a contestant on the 11th season of Big Brother in 2010. Later that same year, he started a YouTube channel, where he initially posted extreme pranks. These pranks often received backlash for featuring assault and cruelty. In 2016 Pepper shifted to vlogging and then again in 2019 shifted to comedy videos, starting a TikTok channel in 2020. In 2021, Pepper worked with FaZe Clan to promote the Save the Kids token pump-and-dump scheme as an independent contractor. Pepper also began streaming from Kick in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liza Koshy</span> American actress (born 1996)

Elizabeth ShailaKoshy is an American YouTuber, media personality and actress. Her main YouTube channel has amassed almost 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She has received four Streamy Awards, four Teen Choice Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deplatforming</span> Administrative or political action to deny access to a platform to express opinions

Deplatforming, (no-platforming), a form of Internet censorship of an individual or group by preventing them from posting on the platforms they use to share their information/ideas. This typically involves suspension, outright bans, or reducing spread.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed with a smart phone app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MrBeast</span> American YouTuber and businessman (born 1998)

James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson, better known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, internet personality, and businessman. He is known for his fast-paced and high-production videos featuring elaborate challenges and lucrative giveaways. With over 312 million subscribers, he has the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel, and is the third-most-followed creator on TikTok with over 103 million followers. He also has over 60 million followers on Instagram and 30.9 million on X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keemstar</span> American internet personality (born 1982)

Daniel M. Keem, known online as Keemstar, is an American YouTuber, podcaster, and streamer who is mainly known for being the host of the Internet popular culture news show DramaAlert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Khalifa (song)</span> 2018 single by iLoveFriday

"Mia Khalifa" (originally titled "Mia Khalifa (Diss)", also known as "Hit or Miss", and sometimes stylized as "MiA KHALiFA") is a song by American hip hop group iLoveFriday (stylized as iLOVEFRiDAY). The duo of Atlanta-based rappers Aqsa Malik (also known as Smoke Hijabi) and Xeno Carr self-released the song on February 12, 2018, which was later re-released by Records Co and Columbia Records on December 14, 2018. It was included on their second EP, Mood (2019). The song was produced by Carr. The song is a diss track targeting Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American Internet celebrity and former pornographic actress. The decision to write a song dissing Khalifa arose over a misunderstanding. A faked screenshot, intended as a joke, seemed to show Khalifa, who once appeared in a pornographic film wearing a hijab, criticizing Malik for smoking while wearing a hijab in a music video. iLoveFriday thought the screenshot was legitimate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charli D'Amelio</span> American social media personality (born 2004)

Charli Grace D'Amelio is an American social media personality. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022. With over 155 million followers, she is the second most-followed person on TikTok, as of 2024.

Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, popularly known as That Vegan Teacher, is a Canadian animal rights activist, internet personality and former educator, mainly known for promoting veganism. Before she started her online career, Diekmeyer was a nurse and later an ESL teacher but eventually left the latter job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diekmeyer is known for her TikTok and YouTube accounts that promote veganism. Some of Diekmeyer's content has been controversial, and has prompted accusations of racism and homophobia.

Nathan Alexander Evans is a Scottish songwriter from Airdrie, Scotland. Evans first gained fame in 2020 by posting videos of himself singing sea shanties on social media service TikTok. In 2021, he released a cover of the folk song "Wellerman", which peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart and also charted in several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levy Rozman</span> American chess player and content creator (born 1995)

Levy Rozman, known online as GothamChess, is an American chess International Master, content creator, commentator, and author. Often referred to as "The Internet's Chess Teacher", he produces content on the online platforms Twitch, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Niana Jose Evidente Guerrero is a Filipino dancer, singer and social media personality. She is known for her dance covers with her brother Ranz Kyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube Shorts</span> Reel sharing platform within Youtube

YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the American online video-sharing platform YouTube. Shorts focuses on vertical videos that are less than 60 seconds of duration and various features for user interaction. As of May 2024, Shorts have collectively earned over 5 trillion views since the platform was made available to the public on July 13, 2021, which include video views that pre-date the YouTube Shorts feature. Creators earn money based on the amount of views they receive, or through ad revenue. The increased popularity of YouTube Shorts has led to concerns about addiction for teenagers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libs of TikTok</span> Far-right and anti-LGBT Twitter account

Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has nearly 3 million followers as of February 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KallMeKris</span> Canadian internet personality (born 1996)

Kristina Lee Halliwell Collins, also known as KallMeKris, is a Canadian social media personality and hairdresser from British Columbia. She is known for her skits that range from thirty seconds to a minute long. Collins began posting on TikTok in April 2020. As of August 2024, she has 50.8 million followers, making her the most-followed TikToker from Canada and the 28th overall. Her YouTube channel, which she began uploading to in 2020, has 11.5 million subscribers as of August 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 "About AreYouKiddingTV". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Franks, Jack (2023). "Sign of the Times: AreYouKiddingTV Duo Share Formula to Viral Success". muscleandhealth.com (Interview). Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kevin (August 1, 2023). "Exclusive Interview: Joey Gizzi and Steven Lannum Talk AreYouKiddingTV, Building Their Brand, and More". pop-culturalist.com (Interview). Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Joey Gizzi and Steve Lannum, creators of AreYouKiddingTV" (Interview). Interviewed by Kalyna Astrinos. Los Angeles, California: KCBS-TV. September 13, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Munro, Heather (February 10, 2022). "Alumni in Action: Joey Gizzi '18, Steven Lannum '18 spread joy on TikTok" (Interview). Today at Elon. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Behind the Laughter: Exploring the Phenomenon of AreYouKiddingTV". Miami Living (Interview). Miami, Florida. August 18, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "AreYouKiddingTV – Joey & Steven". Lapalme Magazine (Interview). September 26, 2023. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Papadatos, Markos (October 16, 2023). "Joey and Steven of AreYouKiddingTV discuss their collaboration with Ed Sheeran". digitaljournal.com (Interview). Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  9. ↑ Chandler, Ellis (August 27, 2022). "Elon University alumni host 'biggest challenge yet' on campus". Elon News Network. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Tik Talk: Duo behind 'AreYouKiddingTV' on creating content with strangers" (Interview). Interviewed by Linsey Davis. ABC News. July 7, 2022. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.