Yes Theory is a Canadian digital media brand built around a YouTube channel founded by Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil, Matt Dahlia (formerly Matt Dajer), and Derin Emre. Originally founded as Generation Y Not, Yes Theory first gained national media attention in November 2015 with their message of inclusivity in the wake of terror attacks in Beirut and Paris.[2] They have been featured in a range of national and international media.[2][3][4][5][6]
Their content has been praised as experiencing foreign cultures in "a fresh and authentic way"[7] and "consistently radiating positivity and promote living life with an open mind, exactly what YouTube and the world needs."[8] The Yes Theory brand revolves around the group's mantra of "Seek Discomfort", a phrase also featured in the group's clothing brand, and through their second channel with 816,000 subscribers.
Background
Thomas Brag was born on July 9, 1993, in Paris, France, to Swedish parents. He received his BA degree from McGill University, where he majored in entrepreneurship. He also spent a semester at Draper University and later interviewed its founder, the billionaire venture capital investor Tim Draper.[9] Before YouTube, Brag would make short skits with his second cousin, Warrick Rhode, when they got to see each other. This gave him the skills necessary to make and edit YouTube videos.[citation needed]
Matt Dahlia (born Matt Dajer) was born on March 28, 1992, in New York City, and grew up in Paris, France, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Perm, Russia. He also has connections to Puerto Rico on his father's side. Dahlia obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from McGill University in 2014.[10] Dahlia announced in a YouTube video on February 25, 2021, that he no longer plans to appear in the group's episodes but continues to work on the brand.[11][12] He also wrote the Yes Theory book, Talk to Strangers, which was published on December 3, 2023.[13][14] Dahlia has since appeared in five videos on YouTube in Montreal, Turkmenistan, and China, in order to "celebrate Yes Theory's origin story and to mark the beginning of Yes Theory's goodbye... with Matt".[12] As of 2024, Dahlia has officially left the group.
Ammar Kandil was born on April 28, 1994, in Sadat City, Egypt, and spent his early life there. He enrolled in the African Leadership Academy in South Africa. In 2011, during the Egyptian revolution, he studied at Quest University on a scholarship.[15] In 2021, he gained Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship, making him a dual citizen.[16] A Saint Kitts and Nevis passport allows him to travel visa-free to over 150 countries[17] and avoid Egypt’s compulsory military draft for men aged 18 to 30.
Derin Emre was born in Istanbul, Turkey[18] and co-founded Yes Theory, initially taking the role of cameraman. He left Yes Theory in 2017 because of a passport issue but occasionally visits the team and has been featured in videos since.[19]
Staffan Taylor is from Stockholm, Sweden and first appeared in the Yes Theory video "2 Strangers Swap Lives Across the World for 72hrs!!" where he swapped lives with Alex from Austin, Texas. Staffan became an official member of the group in 2023 in the video "I took a stranger to the world's most beautiful country" and got a chance to speak at the group's first ever live event.
The Yes Theory team has expanded since its inception, introducing a team of editors: Tristan Kevitch, Thomas “Tommy” Dajer (Matt's brother), Bryce Perry, Cameron “Cam” Peddle and Diezeval “Dez” Mandl. Eric Tabach was also featured as a member before taking a leave to attend The Juilliard School in 2022. The brand additionally employs a team to manage their Seek Discomfort clothing and merchandise brand. Other past guest hosts include former roommates Roberto Ortiz and Perry Grone.
As of 2024, Cory Martin, Yes Theory’s main videographer, who has been featured in many of their videos, has taken a more active role in front of the camera as well.
History
The group first began in Montreal, Quebec when Brag and Dahlia became friends after meeting as part of a business consulting group for McGill students.[20] Yes Theory began as a series of challenges organized by Dahlia and Brag with help from Kandil and Emre (though Kandil would quickly become a third primary face of the brand), filmed in Montreal in the summer of 2015. The project was named "Project 30” in reference to the group doing thirty things in thirty days they had never done before.[20] They came into contact with Ammar at a party after he told Thomas his plans of climbing the Pyramids of Giza. Derin was the last to join the group that summer. Each challenge was designed to push the group outside of their comfort zone.[21] To exemplify this, the entire group all moved in together to a friend’s one bedroom apartment for the duration of the project despite all having only met days before (with the exception of Brag and Dahlia). By the end of the month, the group had around 2,000 subscribers. Their name at the time was 'Generation Y Not'.
Near the end of 2015, the group received an offer to relocate to Venice, California, and be paid to make videos by Snapchat subsidiary Vertical Networks. As part of one of their first stunts, they successfully approached the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, for a Christmas card, which they sold for charity with proceeds going to Syrian refugees. Trudeau commented at the time "great stuff around diversity".[22] After their success and viral hit, Yes Theory was awarded a budget to make their first 30 videos. In January 2016, the group travelled to the Caribbean to continue their media endeavors.
In May 2016, the group moved to Venice, California, after being signed to Vertical Networks,[clarification needed] to a house they often referred to as the '506' and featured heavily in their videos, and they changed their name to 'Yes Theory'.[when?] The group stayed at the 506 until late 2018 when they relocated after finding out the house would be demolished. The next[when?] 'Yes House' was located nearby in Venice and acted as a “home base” of sorts for Yes Theory until late 2023.[citation needed] As of 2024, Brag, Kandil, Staffan Taylor and Thomas “Tommy” Dajer are relocating/ have relocated to Paris, France, and have teased plans for Yes House Paris in the video “I Finally Skydived over the Pyramids”. Kandil is also said to be "spending lots of his time" in Copenhagen, Denmark.[23]
On November 24, 2019, Yes Theory and Seek Discomfort announced that it had sponsored Anders Hofman who went on to be the subject in their first ever feature-length documentary titled Project Iceman. The film captured Hoffman’s attempt to become the first human to complete a long-distance triathlon in Antarctica and was directed by Kandil.
YouTube and film
After moving to Venice, California, they went on a series of international trips.[timeframe?] They gained media attention in London by welcoming British people at Heathrow Airport with hugs, described in the press as "truly heartwarming".[24]
Other activities they have embarked on include taking an Irish girl on a last minute trip to Japan, who said of the experience "they try to connect to people around the world and let them know that they're not alone and bring people together".[25]
In September 2018, their challenge to get American actor and media personality Will Smith to bungee jump from a helicopter over the Grand Canyon was taken up by Smith.[26]
In October 2018, they orchestrated a viral stunt of what appeared to be Justin Bieber eating a burrito sideways.[27] In reality, the group flew a Justin Bieber look-alike named Brad Sousa to Los Angeles and fabricated the entire scene as a prank.[28][29] It was Yes Theory's friend Conor who posted the video to the subreddit'r/mildlyinfuriating'.
In February 2019, they released Frozen Alive, a feature-length documentary about endurance athlete Wim Hof. This followed a visit to Poland where they spent four days with Hof, learned his methods, and ascended a mountain, all while bare-chested and bare-legged in temperatures as low as −20°C (−4°F), as an endurance feat.[30][31] This was their first long-form documentary.
In September 2019, they released The Lost Pyramid, a feature-length documentary about their adventure through the Guatemalan jungle to visit El Mirador and climb the previously unrecorded La Danta pyramid.[32]
In September 2020, Ammar released his autobiographical documentary Free Child in partnership with Google.[33]
In December 2022, they released Project Iceman, a feature-length documentary about Anders Hofman attempting to complete the first Ironman Triathlon in Antarctica, with the aim of proving that "limitations are only perceptions", Hofman states.[34] This is the first of their films to be released in theaters, with nine red carpet premiers spanning eight cities, before being released to the public in the United States on December 4, 2022.[35] After turning down a $1.25 million investment offer in order to maintain creative direction over the film,[36] they chose to fund the project themselves in partnership with their community known as the “Yes Fam”.
1 2 Yes Theory (October 30, 2023). "a new chapter". YouTube. Retrieved December 5, 2023. Event starts at 5:00. "And so, to celebrate our origin story and to mark the beginning of our goodbye and final trip with Matt, starting with this video, we'll then go on to some incredible destinations around the globe together."
↑ CBC News. "Justin Trudeau Poses for Generation Y Not's Christmas Card." CBC News, December 23, 2015.
↑ Yes Theory. "May 29, 2022". YouTube. Event occurs at 10:43. "Well I think we all felt to varying degrees like our chapter in LA had ended. Tommy, whose mom is French, moved to Paris even before I did and Ammar is enjoying the new freedom that his passport has given him to spend most of his time this year close by in Copenhagen."
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