#50 - Our Dads' 1 Year Anniversary

Summary

Smosh Mouth Podcast Episode #50 - Our Dads' 1 Year Anniversary

Release Date: June 17, 2024
Hosts: Shayne Topp (Shayne), Amanda Lehan-Canto (Amanda)
Guests: Anthony Padilla (Anthony) and Ian Hecox (Ian)
Title: Our Dads' 1 Year Anniversary

---

1. Introduction: A Special Gathering

The episode kicks off with a humorous exchange about Ian's notably long nails, setting a lighthearted tone for the conversation.

Ian Hecox [00:04]: "My nails are so long right now, I need to cut them."

Shayne Topp [00:07]: "Oh, my God. Holy shit, Ian."

This marks the first time both Anthony and Ian join the podcast together, creating a unique dynamic for the anniversary celebration.

---

2. Reflections on Reuniting: Anthony’s Return

The hosts delve into the significance of Anthony Padilla’s return to Smosh and its impact over the past year.

Shayne Topp [02:36]: "It's been about a year since Anthony came back. And we've started on this whole new journey."

Ian Hecox [02:56]: "It's been a whirlwind of a ride... the audience showed up in a huge way."

The return has not only revitalized the team but has also led to consistent success, contrasting past roller-coaster experiences with steady growth and positive audience engagement.

---

3. Embracing Creativity: Freedom and Risk-Taking

A major theme discussed is the newfound creative freedom within Smosh, allowing the team to experiment and take risks without the constraints previously faced.

Anthony Padilla [06:02]: "There's been a huge explosion in creativity and risk-taking in a really positive way."

Shayne Topp [06:33]: "Back in the day, it felt like if you wanted to make any change, it was like, all right, we're gonna have to go through 15 processes."

This shift has empowered creators to produce more thoughtful and innovative content, leading to the success of projects like Smosh Mouth.

---

4. Highlighting Favorite Projects: Food Battle and Live Shows

The hosts and guests share their favorite projects from the past year, with Food Battle and recent live shows taking center stage.

Shayne Topp [25:40]: "Food Battle was my favorite of that series."

Anthony Padilla [36:59]: "Food Battle, Pokemon Real Life, and submissive and breedable episodes."

The Food Battle series received particular praise for its creativity and execution, reflecting the team’s ability to blend humor with unique concepts.

---

5. Evolution of Sketches: From Past to Present

A nostalgic look back at earlier sketches reveals how Smosh has evolved, moving from over-the-top antics to more refined and enjoyable content.

Shayne Topp [21:13]: "When I first joined, like, I was just naked in every sketch."

Ian Hecox [22:04]: "Naked and afraid. Was that the naked."

While earlier content was chaotic and often pushing boundaries, the current era focuses on quality and creativity, resonating better with the audience.

---

6. The Power of Team Dynamics: Writing and Collaboration

The conversation highlights the improved collaboration between Anthony and Ian, leading to more cohesive and engaging content.

Ian Hecox [34:30]: "I'm more the person to throw out wild ideas, and Anthony is the one to focus it."

Anthony Padilla [34:45]: "We both did what we excel at and focus there so that we could bring our powers together."

This synergy has been pivotal in creating memorable sketches and maintaining the podcast’s momentum.

---

7. Owning Smosh: Handling Pressure and Leadership

Anthony and Ian discuss the pressures of owning a major content platform and how they navigate leadership roles within Smosh.

Shayne Topp [61:11]: "How has it been feeling to own Smosh? Is there a lot of pressure?"

Anthony Padilla [62:45]: "I felt a lot of pressure for the first six to eight months that I was back... but now I thrive in other ways."

The team emphasizes the importance of trusting the broader team, allowing creativity to flourish while managing responsibilities effectively.

---

8. Future Aspirations: Dreams for Smosh

Looking ahead, the team shares their aspirations and dreams for the future of Smosh, aiming to continue fostering a fun and engaging environment.

Anthony Padilla [69:49]: "I just really want Smosh to be this place where we can show what fun friendship group dynamics are like..."

Ian Hecox [69:03]: "Marsha's gonna buy the Miss America pageant."

While Anthony focuses on the communal and friendly spirit of Smosh, Ian humorously mentions overseeing major events, reflecting their diverse visions for the platform’s growth.

---

9. Conclusion: Celebrating Success and Looking Forward

The episode wraps up with expressions of gratitude and optimism for the future, celebrating the milestones achieved over the past year.

Shayne Topp [68:21]: "We accomplished a lot this year."

Anthony Padilla [68:19]: "It feels like it’s been a long time, but also a very short time."

Acknowledging the hard work and dedication of the entire Smosh team, the hosts and guests toast to continued success and creative endeavors.

---

Key Quotes with Timestamps

• Ian Hecox [02:56]: "It's been a whirlwind of a ride... the audience showed up in a huge way."
• Anthony Padilla [06:02]: "There's been a huge explosion in creativity and risk-taking in a really positive way."
• Shayne Topp [25:40]: "Food Battle was my favorite of that series."
• Anthony Padilla [34:45]: "We both did what we excel at and focus there so that we could bring our powers together."
• Anthony Padilla [62:45]: "I felt a lot of pressure for the first six to eight months that I was back... but now I thrive in other ways."
• Shayne Topp [68:21]: "We accomplished a lot this year."
• Shayne Topp [05:14]: "I'm really grateful that we had Selena also help us."

---

Final Thoughts

Episode #50 of Smosh Mouth serves as a heartfelt celebration of the past year's achievements and transformations within Smosh. With the reunion of Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, the podcast has experienced a surge in creativity, team synergy, and audience engagement. The hosts and guests reflect on their journey, highlighting favorite projects, evolving content strategies, and the importance of trusting and empowering their team. As they look forward to future endeavors, the Smosh family remains committed to fostering a fun, innovative, and community-driven environment.

Transcript

[Ian Hecox]

My nails are so long right now, I need to cut them.

[Anthony Padilla]

That's so fucked up.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, my God. Holy shit, Ian.

[Anthony Padilla]

Disgusting.

[Amanda LeCount]

Damn.

[Shane Topp]

Hi, welcome to Smosh Mouth. I'm Shane.

[Amanda LeCount]

And I'm Amanda. And we have two very, very special guests with us. Anthony and Ian.

[Shane Topp]

Wow. You introduced them the opposite way they usually are. It's Ian and Anthony. I know, but I. Fucking Anthony and Ian.

[Amanda LeCount]

I changed it up.

[Anthony Padilla]

She's reading left to right.

[Amanda LeCount]

That's right.

[Shane Topp]

The new thing. Yeah. For the first time ever, both of you are here. Wait, first time on the podcast. We haven't had both of you.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, we have.

[Shane Topp]

No, wait, wait. No, we haven't.

[Amanda LeCount]

Am I crazy?

[Shane Topp]

No, I don't remember that. We had Courtney. We had Courtney and Anthony here to talk about funeral back then.

[Anthony Padilla]

And then we had. You had Ian on. And then I came on like a week or two later.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

But never the same time.

[Amanda LeCount]

This is huge.

[Anthony Padilla]

Nice.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Interesting.

[Shane Topp]

So both of you.

[Anthony Padilla]

No one's ever seen us in the same room before.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, True.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Ever since the. Ever since the panini, we've just been green screen.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. Filming sketches. It's strange because we have one of you one day film all of your scenes, then the next day we have the other. Other one.

[Ian Hecox]

I still haven't left my house.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

You're actually one of those, like. You're like the Tupac hologram right now.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, Me and Tupac try to interact.

[Shane Topp]

Wow.

[Anthony Padilla]

Should we try to interact?

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, my God. This is insane.

[Shane Topp]

We were talking. We'll probably keep it in, but we were talking beforehand about how Ian needs to cut his nails.

[Ian Hecox]

Anthony was just shaming me, but I will say my I. Well, I said it first. I said it first that I need to cut my nails.

[Anthony Padilla]

I did not shame you. I played into the joke and I said you.

[Ian Hecox]

Nobody else said you.

[Shane Topp]

Nobody.

[Ian Hecox]

That's the thing. You didn't.

[Amanda LeCount]

I didn't say ew. I thought I cuz.

[Ian Hecox]

Cuz Shane was like, oh. And you were like, ew.

[Shane Topp]

Dude, look, they are very long.

[Ian Hecox]

They're long, but they're.

[Amanda LeCount]

What's wrong with.

[Anthony Padilla]

There's nothing wrong with. They're clean.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, there's.

[Shane Topp]

There's nothing wrong with that.

[Ian Hecox]

There's no gunk under my.

[Shane Topp]

I think it's something that when my gets. When my nails get long, I cannot handle it.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, I don't like it.

[Shane Topp]

I have to.

[Anthony Padilla]

I don't like it cuz I'm typing on my phone and it clicks and clack.

[Shane Topp]

That's the only issue I Could never. I. When they're even, like, I never get to this point because I, I, I just need to cut them.

[Ian Hecox]

I agree with that. I'm just never. It's, it's always that thing where like, I don't, I don't see my nails and go, ah. When I am back home and near a nail clippers, I will clip my nails.

[Amanda LeCount]

Are you a villain from the 50s?

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. I will get her nails. I'm going to get going to get rid of my nails. She. But yeah. So whenever I am near nail clippers, I, it's not top of mind. So I just.

[Amanda LeCount]

Well, that's all we have today, folks. Thanks so much for tuning in.

[Shane Topp]

Great show, guys. So it's been about a year since, Since Anthony, since you came back. Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

I can't believe that.

[Shane Topp]

And we've started on this whole new journey.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. That is crazy. We learned a lot. We learned a lot.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

I feel like a freaking lot happened.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. How was this past year?

[Ian Hecox]

It's been a whirlwind of a ride, I would say. It's been, it's been great. I mean, like, I think it far exceeded our expectations and that's obviously like a testament to everyone at Smosh. Like, we, we came back and like, you know, we, we did our thing and we had certain expectations, but I think, like, the audience came, showed up in a huge way.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yep.

[Ian Hecox]

And it's really, like, wild to see like, how much like the Pit and games channels and, and Smoshmouth. Hey, like, just like exploded in this, in this, like, past year.

[Shane Topp]

So it's really cool. I mean, I think it's been the most consistent year we've ever had. You know, we always, we would have stretches. We'd kind of have this roller coaster ride. Over the past nine years, I've been here where it's like, okay, we're doing good. We feel secure. And then it's like, oh, shit, things aren't working out. This past year has felt like nonstop success. I mean, because I remember when we first did smoshcast back in the day, like, it started off and it was like, oh, this is going to be like a cool thing. And then, like, it took only a couple months for the views to kind of drop in us be like, oh, like, I don't know if the amount of work we're putting into this is going to bring us back, like, if it's going to be worth it for the amount of work we're putting, as much as we enjoy it.

[Amanda LeCount]

Right.

[Shane Topp]

But smosh mouth, as of now is, like, really done well. Yeah, it's really interesting, and I think it's. I feel just as good about it as I felt about smoshcast back in the day. I just think our audience has found us.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, I think. I think Smosh cast in the. The. The first iteration of Smosh Cast was kind of like. I won't say like, an afterthought, but it wasn't anyone's priority. Like, in terms of, like, a lot of. A lot of days. It was like, well, we gotta shoot the smoshcast. Did you guys have anything prepared? And, like, we had people that were, like, that were working on it, but it wasn't, like, their main job. And. And I think. And I think the work that. That y'all have done on this podcast in front of and behind the camera, like, it's. It's much more thoughtful, and there's more. There's more time and thought put into. To this iteration with Smosh Mouth.

[Amanda LeCount]

I'm really grateful that we had Selena also help us. It would be like Shane and I texting, like, hey, so I really want to talk about this. Should we talk about this? Yeah, why not? Let's do it. And then we would, like, try to organize it together. But it was so nice to have Selena come on and, like, help us produce and direct us so that we could have these actual thoughtful meetings that we carved out that weren't like, oh, shit, we have to find time.

[Shane Topp]

We needed someone who is capable of using the Google suite.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Whereas we open up a computer and we go, don't.

[Amanda LeCount]

That's triggering.

[Shane Topp]

We turn into Harambe with a computer.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, my God.

[Anthony Padilla]

No.

[Shane Topp]

But Selena has been crucial to this. I mean, she really helped us organize it all.

[Anthony Padilla]

I feel like there's been a huge explosion in creativity and risk taking in a really positive way.

[Shane Topp]

Absolutely.

[Anthony Padilla]

Across all the channels. Yeah. And I think you all having this creative vision and having each episode feel like it brings something really unique is really strong.

[Shane Topp]

Totally. It's also been cool because when you showed up and with Ally in charge, what's been so cool is how many times since then it's been such a foreign thing for me where it's like, oh, we kind of want to do this thing. It's like, oh, yeah, go ahead.

[Amanda LeCount]

I know.

[Shane Topp]

And then I'm kind of like, is that it? Is that so we can do whatever? And it's just like, yeah, just do whatever. And I'm like, amanda, we can just.

[Amanda LeCount]

Kind of do whatever. Huh?

[Shane Topp]

When we started Smoshmouth and it was Just like, I guess we can do whatever we want with this podcast. And then, you know, it's like, oh, we want to rename it. It's like, oh, great, what do you want to name it? And we were like, I remember that meeting. We're just kind of like. And I think it was you or Ali who threw out Smoshmouth.

[Anthony Padilla]

He was Ali.

[Shane Topp]

And then it was just kind of like, do we want to call it that? All right, let's just call it that. It's just like, wow, we are operating in such a different way. It was so cool where back in the day, it just felt like if you wanted to make any change, it was like, all right, we're gonna have to go through 15 processes and people and get approval and all this stuff. And it just made you not want to take risks, made you not want to be creative.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. And I feel like so many people working here, you know, But I'll just use you two as examples for this. But, like, you know what's going to work. You're more invested in the show than anyone else can be, so it makes sense. It's like, if you want to take this risk, try something new, rename it, like, go in whatever direction you. You want. Like, why not?

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, why not?

[Anthony Padilla]

Just give it a shot. And if it doesn't work, it's not like it's absolutely ruined or something. You know, you could. You could consistently pivot.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. In this past year, what. What has been your guys favorite thing? Just. Just in general doesn't have to be like a project. Just there's some aspect because, you know, it's been a long time since you guys worked together in this capacity.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I feel like. I feel like the most recent live show is my favorite thing. That smosh is my alley in a very long time.

[Shane Topp]

Wow.

[Anthony Padilla]

I feel like it showed off all the things that we've been talking about. Like, we've been talking about what Smosh is, what it represents, what our mission is to make people laugh. It's comedy rooted in friendship. It's, you know, friendship always wins. It's kind of like, been our Ian and my tagline for a while. And I feel like this live show did such a good job of showing what smosh is capable of when everyone works together. There was also that teamwork element there. There were the dudes duos, where, like, it was almost like we were tag teaming.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes.

[Anthony Padilla]

In the theme song, it even mentions, like, if you mess up, we'll.

[Shane Topp]

We'll step in for you.

[Anthony Padilla]

I'll step in for you.

[Amanda LeCount]

It's cute.

[Anthony Padilla]

And yeah, it's really cute because it's like we take these. This really, like, kind of cringy, just overly cute idea of friendship, but it's like, we can. We could make it a real thing.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, I think, I think also, like, with. With, like, YouTube, it's, you know, things might get a lot of views, but you're not really sure. Like, is this, like, are these our viewers? Is this just the algorithm? And, like, it's. It's hard to know, like, who out there is, like, actually supporting us and watching us.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And so, like, when. When we see the live show, you know, get so many, like, people in, like, it far exceeded our expectations. Both. Both Anthony's funeral and this one. And it's like, it's just a confirmation that, like, you know, I think we're on the right path and that. And we have a great. We have a great group of viewers that support what we do and that not everything is dependent on, you know, Google AdSense because it's nice. It allows us to take more risks. Like, without things like the live show without memberships, like, we can't take as many risks as. As we are doing now. Right. And that will only allow us to get better, grow larger, get out to more people, try new, weird, crazy things so that we're not, like, having to just stick to what works.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Because there's lots of other stuff out there that we could be doing that that can work and, and that people would. Would like, potentially more than, you know, what we're doing right now.

[Amanda LeCount]

I think it's very clear that the fans are like, okay. And especially when you guys came back together, I felt like the fans were like, ooh, it was like mom and dad back together. Very nostalgic. And I think this live show showed us that the fans really support us and they're kind of excited to see us take risks and grow and, like, even fuck up a little bit because, like, the. The show is a bit like you're tagged in because you broke or you. You fucked up a little bit. And it's like they're really excited to see us be vulnerable people. Like, people want to see people be people. And you guys coming back, I think let us do that. Do you know what I mean?

[Shane Topp]

Absolutely.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. No, I think what a. What an awesome situation we're in now. Because over the years, we've had times where we're getting views like the audience is watching or some audience is watching. Right. But the content that we're making isn't like we're not having the most fun doing it. You know, it's like. It's like, okay, it's not necessarily coming from our heart. It's just like, this is working, and we're doing it right. And that was the case at times. I felt that way on, like, Smosh Pit way back in the day. And then there were times where we're doing something we love, but it's not working, you know? And I felt. I felt that way. We felt that way on the main channel for years, like, before you came back, Anthony, where it's like, we were doing stuff, and we were having a blast doing it, and we cared about it, but it was just maybe not working with the algorithm for whatever reason, or people just weren't interested in it. So to be in a place now where we're making stuff that we love to make and it actually does, and people are watching it, and the sitcom was so sick in the sense that I was like. You know, I pitched this show of like, all right, here's the show where the point of it is that we're gonna fuck up. It's gonna be stupid and chaotic, and all that matters is that we have fun. And then that's what people actually wanted to see. I was like, oh, thank God.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

I think if we had a perfectly executed sitcom where we nailed everything, I don't think they would have liked it as much. You know, you can go somewhere else to watch that, but at the end of the day, it wasn't. We weren't watching a sitcom. You were watching a bunch of friends. Yeah. Fucking with each other.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And that's. That was the sell of it. And that's. That's what people loved. So I was. I was so extremely happy about it. It was really cool.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

It was really cool also because, like, I felt like the four of us were in our. I felt like the cast was, like, in the sitcom. It was like the friend group. And then it was like, us four.

[Shane Topp]

We did have a lot of stuff together.

[Amanda LeCount]

A little, like, kind of on the outs. Even though, Kevin, it was for you, your surprise party, but we were, like, kind of on the outs, which made it more fun. We could, like, do weird shit.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, that's true. There's a lot of cutaways.

[Shane Topp]

Our. Our. We had a lot. We went through a whole journey together. Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

We died together.

[Amanda LeCount]

We died together.

[Shane Topp]

We nearly kissed, literally.

[Ian Hecox]

This is gonna sound so random for anyone that didn't watch.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. And this is after the. There. There Will hopefully eventually be an opportunity.

[Amanda LeCount]

But, I mean, the fan art of the Krungle and the Krungle. I'm sorry, spoiler alert. But, like, when you're about to smoke weed is just so good. Some of the fan art is so good. We look like demons, you and I. Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

In person, we looked like demons. So.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

In the theme song, you literally had a demonic moment.

[Shane Topp]

I know, I know.

[Anthony Padilla]

It's true.

[Shane Topp]

I remember, to be completely honest, leading up to that show I was starting, I was really worried. I was worried how I was going to be pulled off. And then I was honestly like, I don't know if I ever want to do this format again. And then we did the show, and that night I was like, this was really fun. This was awesome. And the fan reception has been so good that I, you know, not this year, but eventually would be down to do another one. And I pitched my. My Star Trek type one, but there's a million versions of it.

[Amanda LeCount]

I love that.

[Ian Hecox]

I love that.

[Amanda LeCount]

Well, we have the green light. Let's do it, Captain.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, let's do it. What was Anthony coming back? What was, like, a surprising thing for you here? What was something you didn't expect?

[Anthony Padilla]

I think the biggest thing is I wasn't taking into account how many individuals I would need to make a connection with in order to fully understand the dynamics and the social environment and everything at Smosh. I feel like. I feel like over the past year, it was really about me, like, understanding how things were, what the dynamics were, what was expected, how to communicate with people. I think it was really a social aspect of it that I wasn't really accounting for.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, yeah. There's a lot of us and there's a lot of cast dynamics and there's a lot of different, like, friendships and, like, duos and that. It takes kind of a lot.

[Shane Topp]

It takes time, though.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, it does.

[Shane Topp]

I was thinking the other day about how Spencer and I rarely talked until, like, 2020. And we'd worked together for, you know, four, five years before that, but we just hardly had conversations before that. And then in these past couple years, we've become really good friends. But I think. I think that's the case for everyone. Like, I don't. It's hard for me to think back now because I'm such good friends with everyone, but I'm like, how long was, like, Angela and Chance working here before? I felt like I was like, oh, we've really connected. We really understand each other, both as performers and friends.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

You know, I think it Takes time.

[Amanda LeCount]

I felt the same. Like, I feel like you and me really got super close doing this podcast. Like, we were always making each other laugh since day one, but I felt like. Like I didn't fully understand your mind and, like, our connection until we started texting all the time. And now it's like, I feel very close with you and that. I think I was working two and a half years before that. Or three years. Yeah, three years before that.

[Shane Topp]

So I think it takes time. You've been here for a year, and that I would say, for a lot of people, after a year, there's. I think you've made more progress than a lot of people.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, well, I did get slapped by, like, 30 people. That really brings you close.

[Shane Topp]

That was a huge. That was a huge moment. We can ask now, did the Arasha slap, did that hurt at all, or.

[Anthony Padilla]

Were it surprised the shit out of me? Like, I don't even. I don't remember the way it felt as much as I just remember being surprised.

[Ian Hecox]

Was it the first or the second slide?

[Shane Topp]

It was the second.

[Anthony Padilla]

It was the second.

[Shane Topp]

It was the 2nd.

[Amanda LeCount]

It was the 2nd.

[Anthony Padilla]

I thought it would amp up.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

I didn't know I would start.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, we all thought that, too.

[Ian Hecox]

Honestly, I think you got lucky, because when she slapped you so hard, I think the rest of us were like, oh, we got to pull back for sure.

[Anthony Padilla]

Everyone. Everyone pulled back after that.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Anthony Padilla]

Well, I'd say.

[Shane Topp]

I'd say, for the most part, half.

[Anthony Padilla]

Of people pulled back from what they.

[Amanda LeCount]

I was never going to. I was never going to go my hardest.

[Anthony Padilla]

Like, you're in the rarity there.

[Amanda LeCount]

I was never going to, but I wanted to go full palm. That was always my plan. And I knew I didn't want to hit your ear, and I think I hit your ear. But, like, I will say, after Russia, it did make a lot of people go, oh. But I was like, oh, well, I'm just going to keep to the plan.

[Anthony Padilla]

Well, also, I think that says a lot about how some people also didn't know how I would react because I was still pretty fresh.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

I mean, like, six months in.

[Shane Topp]

This was. Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Months in or whatever. Yeah. Like, they didn't quite know how I would react. So I think that was an interesting point of it as well.

[Amanda LeCount]

That makes sense.

[Anthony Padilla]

Like, I could. I could have. Like, if I was a very different person, I would, like, rip off my microphone and storm out.

[Shane Topp]

I know. Yeah, I know.

[Amanda LeCount]

That is so true. Like, we would never.

[Shane Topp]

Well, and I mean, like, because some. Because A lot of these people had never worked with you before. Like, you know, I'd worked with you back in the day. So I was like, okay, I know you know how I react, but for a rash, I was like, that's a bold move. It's a bold move.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

I saw your face because I was right very close when she did it, and your face was like, ooh. I know that. It was like the fire went up in your face, and it was like, wow.

[Anthony Padilla]

It was. It was. It was mostly just a shock.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

I wasn't.

[Ian Hecox]

I wasn't angry. Okay.

[Anthony Padilla]

I was like, what the fuck was that? Like, it felt like in my head, it wasn't one individual doing this out of their own free will. I thought that it was for some reason, that moment. I was like. This was like a big planned moment where, like, someone did something. I don't know. It seems so calculated.

[Ian Hecox]

Nope.

[Anthony Padilla]

In the moment.

[Amanda LeCount]

Wow.

[Anthony Padilla]

In blindfolds.

[Shane Topp]

It was not.

[Amanda LeCount]

I mean, I didn't know how you were going to react because I didn't really know you that well, and I was just like, damn, that could be.

[Shane Topp]

Like, the number one Anthony moment. Just. Just that whole experience.

[Anthony Padilla]

And a Rasha moment.

[Shane Topp]

And a Rasha moment. But I'm just trying to, like, that was just. I thought it was really bold of you to come back and immediately be like, yeah, I'll have everyone slap me.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. It felt like it was necessary for some reason.

[Amanda LeCount]

That was your way to really get to know people.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And also get to know their strength.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yep. And also show them how I would react if I got brutalized.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. That's true.

[Amanda LeCount]

Hell, yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

It asked Tommy to choke you.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I think I just. I was trying to amp it up more. I was trying to find that limit. The limit was found.

[Shane Topp]

I respect it. Cause I think you're one of those people that's good at. When you're in a video, you know what's gonna make the video more entertaining for a viewer.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I was trying to go with entertainment.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Self editing.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, for sure. It was about entertainment. It was about entertainment.

[Amanda LeCount]

I appreciate the commitment to that. And then, of course, I think all the girls were like, okay. And all girls who slapped me. And I think Kiana was like, no. We were like, why?

[Anthony Padilla]

Oh, like. Like, you wanted to get slapped.

[Amanda LeCount]

Like an all girls who slapped me. No guys involved.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

I don't know. Putting it out there.

[Ian Hecox]

She really wants to get added to the prediction. She really wants brief trauma.

[Amanda LeCount]

Well, I feel like it'll bring us a lot closer.

[Anthony Padilla]

It Brought me closer.

[Shane Topp]

It was a cool experience. Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

The women on the cast are already very close.

[Ian Hecox]

I feel like I'm gonna put a wig on, sneak in there, come in you go.

[Amanda LeCount]

Bam.

[Ian Hecox]

I'll get those, like, the. The Dolly Parton fake titties that we have.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, perfect.

[Ian Hecox]

I'll just sneak in.

[Amanda LeCount]

We all know it's you, and we'll.

[Shane Topp]

Be like, ian, what are you doing here?

[Ian Hecox]

I'm Dorothy. I'm the new pa. I'm here to smack the shit out of Amanda.

[Amanda LeCount]

Ian, we would know it was you.

[Anthony Padilla]

It's not gonna even matter. I don't know if she's gonna hit the hardest anyway.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. You still.

[Anthony Padilla]

That's true.

[Shane Topp]

I don't know if we're going to do any more slapping content. I think we kind of were like, after yours.

[Anthony Padilla]

Is that the finale?

[Shane Topp]

I think after yours, we were like, maybe that's. Maybe that's the end of it.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, I think. I think we've. I mean, it's really funny to see, like, where, you know, for so many years, we had so much content. That was, like, about, like, punishment.

[Shane Topp]

It was.

[Ian Hecox]

And it was like, you know, eating hot peppers and getting spanked or. I don't. I don't even remember.

[Shane Topp]

The slaps are, like, the only thing that we've done in recent years that. That equate. Because I remember when I first joined in, in the first couple days that I was there, I had to eat a habanero pepper.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And it was agony. And we were all dying. Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Mari was, like, on the side of the house, like, barfing. There were, like, milk afterwards.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

No, there were, like, six different times that I had to eat habanero peppers. And every single time, it wasn't, like, uncomfortable just in the moment. It was uncomfortable for maybe two, three, four hours after that. So it just destroyed you.

[Shane Topp]

I also feel like the sketches back in the day, we used to put ourselves through a lot more. I just feel like we ended up in crazier situations.

[Ian Hecox]

I know that I always wrote me getting thrown up on.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

For some reason.

[Shane Topp]

And you were covered in peanut butter at one point. You were peanut butter baby.

[Ian Hecox]

Butter baby.

[Shane Topp]

Like, we just full on.

[Anthony Padilla]

We end up naked for some.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, yeah. Just. We were all naked all the time back in the day.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. Do you remember?

[Shane Topp]

So when I first joined, like, I was just naked in every sketch.

[Anthony Padilla]

There was this old video. You know, there was a naked and afraid.

[Shane Topp]

This. This is actually. It's actually one of the funniest. It's one of the Funniest shots ever, though.

[Ian Hecox]

It's one of the most disgusting shots we've ever had. It involves Shane involved, Shane being naked.

[Shane Topp]

So there's filming. It was naked and afraid, but it was, like, inside your house.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yes.

[Shane Topp]

And then at a certain point, it cuts out and all the crew is naked too. And I'm like this sound guy with, like, a mullet. And I'm just standing right next to. I think it was. I forget which one of you. It was me, maybe, but. But I'm standing right next to him just naked and my crotch, like, near his face. Just kind of.

[Anthony Padilla]

Well, no, the best part was the nipples. Do you remember the nipples?

[Ian Hecox]

Do you remember the nipples?

[Shane Topp]

Was it. Was it mine?

[Ian Hecox]

Naked and afraid. Was that the naked.

[Shane Topp]

No, that. But that was you, right?

[Anthony Padilla]

That was naked and afraid, right?

[Ian Hecox]

The big, long nipples.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, my God.

[Anthony Padilla]

Prosthetic nipples that were like 6 inches long.

[Shane Topp]

It wasn't me. It was you. I thought it was you. I have the prosthetic and you.

[Ian Hecox]

And you shush me with your nipple.

[Anthony Padilla]

I'm gonna pull an onion right now.

[Amanda LeCount]

This is awesome, guys. This is awesome.

[Shane Topp]

But this is how it used to be, and things are different now.

[Amanda LeCount]

Wow.

[Anthony Padilla]

I can't believe I'm about to pull.

[Ian Hecox]

It is. It is.

[Shane Topp]

It's. It's actually insane to me. No, because I was the sound guy. Pull it up here.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, he's right there. Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Dude, what was this?

[Amanda LeCount]

That is you.

[Shane Topp]

That's awful.

[Anthony Padilla]

And you slapped the. Out of me with your nipples.

[Ian Hecox]

It's so gross.

[Shane Topp]

God, it's insane that I don't remember this.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, my God. What?

[Shane Topp]

I forgot that. I forgot that I played this out. I played multiple naked people in Naked and Afraid.

[Amanda LeCount]

Why can't the women have a slapping contest? What are we talking about?

[Shane Topp]

Well, that's.

[Amanda LeCount]

I played multiple naked.

[Shane Topp]

2016 was a different time.

[Ian Hecox]

If Shane can smack the shit out of somebody with his nipples, then.

[Amanda LeCount]

Then we can do whatever the we want.

[Shane Topp]

What do you think is the craziest thing in your sketches in the past year that you guys did in the past year? Because you did also make me fill my mouth with a weird fake tobacco.

[Anthony Padilla]

Oh, yeah. There was a lot of weird, chewy tobacco stuff in the Mr.

[Shane Topp]

Beast sketch.

[Anthony Padilla]

You got water porn. That was that bad.

[Shane Topp]

It was just.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, you got. You got messed up in that.

[Shane Topp]

Just in that one sketch. Everything else, the water as. As Professor Oak was funny and fun. I was like, this will be. This will be refreshing. I enjoyed that.

[Ian Hecox]

It was pretty cold that day, actually.

[Anthony Padilla]

Just first thing in the morning, being.

[Shane Topp]

In blastoise all day, that looks crazier.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Looked insane.

[Shane Topp]

It was because the shell that I was wearing, I couldn't, like, sit in Texas, so I had to just be, like, hunched the whole time.

[Ian Hecox]

And also, you were like. Like, I. I don't think we. We anticipated your screaming as. As blastoise. And he would just. Whenever he would come out, I'm sorry, audio listeners, he'd go. And so much so that the neighbor next door, like, shouted over the fence, like, are you okay?

[Shane Topp]

And I was like, no, I have.

[Amanda LeCount]

A shell on my back.

[Anthony Padilla]

Blastoise.

[Shane Topp]

I walked over there dressed like that. I'm not okay.

[Ian Hecox]

I love the. I love the big fake booties. That was a great time.

[Amanda LeCount]

It's a good sketch.

[Ian Hecox]

True. That was fun.

[Shane Topp]

It was a lot of weird. A lot of weirdness.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

You had.

[Anthony Padilla]

So you had that weird hair prosthetic.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

With, like, hair growing, like, falling into your mouth.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, that was wild. I mean, I loved. I love doing the. I love that we did the sequel of Stop Copying Me.

[Shane Topp]

That was impressive.

[Ian Hecox]

That was a really cool, fun video to make.

[Shane Topp]

That was very impressive. And I'll say. I think. I think out of all the videos you guys made, I do think Food Battle was my favorite.

[Amanda LeCount]

And it's so good.

[Shane Topp]

Completely honest. I think it's my favorite of that series.

[Anthony Padilla]

Whoa.

[Shane Topp]

I would say, like, look, I'm gonna. I'm gonna put out a hot take. I think out of all your sketches and series, Food Battle was one that I was always like, okay, right. But that one I thought was top notch.

[Anthony Padilla]

Okay.

[Shane Topp]

I appreciate the gum. The gum on the side of the building. I was like, that's the funniest ever.

[Anthony Padilla]

Stupid. Longest.

[Shane Topp]

Like, this. This is unbelievable.

[Amanda LeCount]

How long did that take for you guys to shoot that one? Was it a week?

[Anthony Padilla]

Shot over three days. And we had one pickup day with the locker scene. Right?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, true. So four days, I guess. But, yeah, it was. It was a lot. We. We. We flew up to Sacramento to. To shoot up there at the original kitchen table.

[Anthony Padilla]

It only felt right to pay homage to.

[Shane Topp]

Absolutely.

[Ian Hecox]

Anthony and I, we did, if you could call it a writer's retreat at the Smosh house. At the house that we shoot the. The sketches at. We. We took a weekend where we just shut ourselves in that house and watched all the food battles, talked about, like, what made them so good and so weird. And then we wrote the initial draft on that weekend.

[Shane Topp]

That's really fun.

[Amanda LeCount]

That's really cute.

[Anthony Padilla]

It was fun. Yeah. It was the first time that we Had a moment to write where we didn't have a ton of pressure because we had enough time. So it felt like. It really felt like the old days where Ian and I would just sit down and write something without this pressure.

[Shane Topp]

That's really cool. It's so cool. Cuz it's. It's longer than just when you left. Cuz when you. You came back, you talked about how like you guys had. Weren't having fun.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Doing stuff in the years before you left. So it's like, it's so cool that you guys got back to that.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Cuz the last. The last food battle is. I mean, there's funny parts. The. The previous food battle, the one from.

[Shane Topp]

2016, was that the one where I'm Logan Paul?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. No, no, that. That was. That was a year before.

[Shane Topp]

I forget that I was in two of them back in the day.

[Ian Hecox]

That was Food battle.

[Anthony Padilla]

Oh, yeah. You were meme Police in 2016.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, that's good.

[Amanda LeCount]

And you were Logan Paul again in a separate video.

[Shane Topp]

I've been Logan Paul a bunch of times at this point.

[Amanda LeCount]

Okay.

[Ian Hecox]

But yeah, those last. Those last two food battles are like very hit or miss because it's like, there's some jokes where it's just like, dude, we were so, like just. We were just so.

[Shane Topp]

As we were talking about earlier, when your heart's not in it.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. Were you.

[Amanda LeCount]

Were you burnt out or you were just like.

[Ian Hecox]

It was a combination of like, we were just stretched so thin on, like our hands were just in too many things.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And we, you know, we were just so busy with other stuff that it was like it would just come down to the wire and be like, oh, my God, it's October. We need to do food battle, like right now. So like, there was, there was a lot of times, like, where it just like we just didn't have the time to actually put to it to make it like, great. So there's like, there's definitely some jokes in. In those last few food battles. Not. I'm not including the one we just did because I think that one's great. But. But yeah, in the, in the, in the. In the last few food battles where it's just like, okay, that was a good joke.

[Shane Topp]

Totally.

[Ian Hecox]

And that's just crap. That's just like filler crap.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Including the Logan Paul reference where I'm.

[Shane Topp]

Just on the hoverboard.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, we were. We were scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[Shane Topp]

That's okay. It's so funny how long he has been an element. Yeah. It's. It's what? It's also funny, though, when you look back on sketches, because there's periods of time in certain sketches where I'm just like, oh, that sucked. But then I rewatch it, and I'm like, oh, wait, it's way funnier than I remember. Yeah, that happens a lot. And I think that's a lot of every Blank Evers, because just the nature of how we filmed, and we were filming so many of them all the time, and you read the script a bunch, and there's these short bits that you kind of just stop caring about it, and you don't. You don't laugh at it, but then you go back and watch some of them, and I'm like, oh, my God, that was so fun.

[Amanda LeCount]

Pretty fun.

[Shane Topp]

They're really fun. There's a lot of them that are really great. I mean, like. Like, one of the biggest ones, like, every subway ever. When I go back and see it, I'm like, oh, this was really funny. Like, it. Yeah, we were, like, hitting. We were making sure to put, like, a brand name in the title and whatever, because it was. It was so algorithmic, like, how we were making every Blank ever. But then the writers rooms, we were just fucking around and having a good time, and so it's.

[Amanda LeCount]

Were you guys writing those ebs?

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, we would write them. It was kind of be a group effort.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

We would get pitches from everyone because it would be like, okay, Subway. What. What elements of Subway does everyone think about?

[Amanda LeCount]

Right.

[Shane Topp]

And we would all pitch things like, I hate it when this happens. I hate it when this happens. And we'd create a bunch. We'd all kind of write out ideas for jokes, and then the actual writers, the writing team, would, like, create it into a script.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. The ebes were definitely my first introduction.

[Shane Topp]

To Smosh, and we'd been doing them for so long.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. I would just. Just jump into all the EBEs.

[Shane Topp]

But it's tough when you do something for a long time, then it's really tough.

[Amanda LeCount]

I always thought they were fun. I always thought they were, like, fun little sketches. And I always played, like, the really.

[Ian Hecox]

Crazy girl who's like, well, that was just every person. I mean, like, every person was. Was crazy in every blank ever, I think. Yeah, I think that was, like, one of the. That was one of the areas that we kind of, like, identified with those. With those sketches pre Anthony coming back, where we're just, like. We were really struggling to, like, put, like, a. What's known for people that are not in the comedy world as a straight person, which is saying, like, the person that's not like the crazy w, like, character. The person that's supposed to, like, ground everything.

[Shane Topp]

The voice of reason.

[Ian Hecox]

The voice of reason with every blank ever. Like, I think. I think part of the reason was because you only had so much time to tell the joke. So you could only put in the crazy characters, but without the person that's like the ground, like, the. Everything is just kind of like, oh, my God, this is just crazy.

[Amanda LeCount]

Too much. You need the straight person. They. The straight person actually is usually the funniest person in the scene. They just don't get the laugh or they get the laughs because the crazy person said it and then it lands on them. And I definitely. I think I also played straight people. Always older women, always. But that was probably just my choice. But I liked the ebs. I thought they were really funny. There were, like, a bunch of sketches put into one. Like a bunch of game, like, bits. Game bits, like, put into one thing.

[Shane Topp]

It honestly just hit a point where I think we just kind of covered everything. Like we were reaching sometimes. Well, the sad thing is every bird ever, we did that way early on. Well, and that should have been one of the last ones.

[Ian Hecox]

And the weird thing is, like, the things where we were like, man, we're reaching. This is like, they would do really well. Like, stuff, like, stuff like every gas station ever or every. Every drive thru ever.

[Shane Topp]

Relatable people just love relatable stuff. But what was always weird is I never, ever saw our fans talking about every blank ever. And I never got recognized for it, like, out in public.

[Anthony Padilla]

But they got the most views.

[Shane Topp]

Vidcon. It got the most views. But I think it was like, not like our audience. I think it was just. It just kind of got served to people and it was just like people who didn't give a right. So it's. It's interesting because, like, once it went away, it's not like people were like, where's every blank ever? People really, despite it getting tons of views, There always gonna be some.

[Anthony Padilla]

But yeah, for the amount of views it was getting, you would think that there would be a huge fan base.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. But it's crazy. We started that when I joined.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And we. And we ended it only like a couple years ago. It's. It lasted a long time. It was really trippy.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. We're doing such different stuff now. It's very cool.

[Amanda LeCount]

So for the sketches that you guys wrote together this year, you guys were the writers on that Right.

[Ian Hecox]

Correct.

[Shane Topp]

It's pretty impressive.

[Amanda LeCount]

How was that process coming back, writing.

[Shane Topp]

Those sketches together for the first time in so long?

[Ian Hecox]

I mean, like, I. I think. I think when we started the surprise, I think. I think we learned a lot about what made our dynamic work in terms of writing. Like, and I don't think we had ever. I don't think before we had ever, like, truly identified it. But. But, yeah, we. We kind of, like, realized, like, I'm more the person to, like, throw out, like, wild ideas, and Anthony is the one to kind of, like, focus it and put it into, like, a way that makes sense. And I don't think we had ever, like, really identified that before, and I think that really helped us when we wrote these sketches.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, I feel like we both kind of tried to do everything before, but this time around, we were like, where do we excel? Let's both do what we excel at and focus there so that we could bring our powers together and have our energy not be wasted doing things that we're not as excited about doing.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Interesting.

[Amanda LeCount]

And what was inspiring you guys, for most of your sketches this year, were you like, oh, I've always had this idea, or was it you guys brainstorming them together?

[Anthony Padilla]

I feel like we kind of went through an evolution where it was really about, like, the story of Ian and Anthony characters. Then it's kind of slowly evolved to be more ensemble, more bits, more broadly appealing stuff. So it's kind of evolved. But initially, it started off as just like, what is this crazy situation that we could find ourselves in? Like, how would our dynamic of you being a little bit more silly, me being a little bit more downplayed? Like, usually that's the dynamic. Like, what is the most ridiculous situation that we could have as roommates? So there's some stuff that was, like, based on some reality there. Like, I'm sleepwalking. And, you know, there were, like, some strange metaphors that I don't know if we intentionally wrote, but it was like, my character was feeling bad about the way I had treated Ian. I didn't tell him so then, and, like, I was sleepwalking and doing nice things for him. And then at the end, I realized, like, it was weird because there were things that I feel like just came to the surface that were kind of metaphorical for the ways that we were actually feeling behind the scenes.

[Shane Topp]

Interesting. A bunch of hidden symbolism.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. And I think, like. I mean, there was just some videos where we're like, this is so stupid. We have to do it. Like, when we Came up with the idea to have the. The meditation app. And you play it and then it's just an entire scene that plays out like through like audio.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Because we just thought it would be funny as like, not like a prank, but like for people to be like, wait, this whole thing is just an audiobook?

[Shane Topp]

Pretty solid.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. So just like silly, silly little things like that.

[Shane Topp]

Do you have a sketch from this past year that you are most proud of or you had the most fun doing? I mean, because you have some. That you have a bunch that were big. A big deal. But I will say submissive and breedable was really cool. It was cool for you guys to do a music video for the first time in so long.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, Yeah. I think the ones that stand out to me are the food battle, Pokemon, Real life and submissive and brutal episodes.

[Shane Topp]

How did that idea come about?

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, so that initially came about in a members exclusive video, behind the scenes video where Ian for some reason said something and then he arched his back and then I said, you look very submissive and breathable right now.

[Shane Topp]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

What?

[Shane Topp]

This members content gets pretty wild, guys.

[Amanda LeCount]

Get on it.

[Ian Hecox]

We were.

[Anthony Padilla]

And then members really latched onto it and were commenting that.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

And then.

[Ian Hecox]

And then I saw. I saw Baby no Money and Young Gravy talking about Smosh on Hassan stream. And I was like, they know Smosh.

[Anthony Padilla]

And it was the day that Ian and I had put aside to write and ideate the next music video.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

So it was just like the perfect timing. And then we both followed Baby no Money and he hit us up immediately afterwards.

[Shane Topp]

Wow, that's so insane. What are you doing?

[Anthony Padilla]

I'm in.

[Amanda LeCount]

What?

[Shane Topp]

Cut to me with a giant ass.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yep.

[Shane Topp]

Doing a scene with Baby no Money with a giant ass.

[Amanda LeCount]

Cut to me being a dom.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Cut to me being in like. Is that. I don't even know if it's leather.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah, Leather spandex.

[Amanda LeCount]

I remember.

[Ian Hecox]

Did that. Did that unlock something in you?

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it was already unlocked. Aaron was like, we need a six foot tall dom. I was like, hello.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

It was so fun. I felt great the whole time. Like, Josie was amazing. She was like, I'm gonna make you look so good.

[Ian Hecox]

That's our wardrobe person.

[Amanda LeCount]

So good. And she killed it. And I felt so good. And most of my scenes were actually. All my scenes were with Anthony.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

And you walked me like a Weimaraner.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, I walked you like a wein Mariner. I remember looking at Anthony with my whip and I was like, hey, are we cool? And he was like, yep. And I was like, great. Get on the fucking ground.

[Ian Hecox]

You know what's. You know what's wild is. Is the. The directors of that, they're known as the Reggies. They had written in a scene because we. We wrote. We wrote like a majority of the stuff that happens in the. In the music video.

[Anthony Padilla]

Initial treatment.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, the initial treatment. And then the Reggie's kind of put it into like this like storyboard animatic. And they added my Dom dripping candle wax on me. And I was just like, okay, all right. And so. Yeah. So then when it became Courtney, then Courtney had to drip candle wax on my bare back.

[Amanda LeCount]

Is this awkward for you, Shane?

[Shane Topp]

Is it awkward for you, Ian?

[Ian Hecox]

Yes, it is awkward.

[Shane Topp]

When we announced that people went back, I. I looked because I was just like looking at comments all over the place. They went. I went back to submissive and breedable.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And people were commenting, being like, this is Shane's wife.

[Amanda LeCount]

This is shades wife.

[Shane Topp]

Like, I wonder if this is over and Amanda's married. But about that literal.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. And. And the. And I was like, this is just. I didn't think. I was like, I don't even think we're gonna use this in the. In the video. And we didn't. It actually didn't wind up fitting into the music video.

[Anthony Padilla]

So there's just a behind the scene clip of Courtney dripping wax on your back for no reason.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. And it actually ruined my shirt. Out of my shirt. And it won't come out.

[Anthony Padilla]

Ruin your shirt and your sense of self.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

No, I'm. I still know who I am. I'm a guy that doesn't like candle actually getting dripped on his back, apparently. The music video is incredible and do anything for me.

[Shane Topp]

But also one of the best things to ever come out of that is there's a photo. Spencer was here and you were. You were in your whole outfit.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And Spencer walked by and he got a photo with you. And the funniest photo. I.

[Anthony Padilla]

He looks literally half your height.

[Shane Topp]

I think he's quite literally half your height, but it just looks so funny. He's just like.

[Amanda LeCount]

He asked me like a fan. He's like, hey, Amanda, can I get a photo with you and Sid and Olivia? We're in office. She's like, hey, Sid, can you take a photo of me with Amanda? And I was like, come here, little boy. He literally is half my height, though.

[Shane Topp]

It's so good.

[Ian Hecox]

6 inch platform I had.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yes.

[Shane Topp]

We're literally Michael Jordan.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

You were six.

[Anthony Padilla]

Six. You were Six foot six.

[Shane Topp]

Oh my God, you could dunk.

[Amanda LeCount]

I had six inch platforms that were actually really comfortable. But that last scene where we were supposed to run, I said to the Reggies, I was like, I can't run.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Like, also because my dress was so tight that like, I could only do. He's like, just power walk.

[Shane Topp]

Power walk is so funny. You were gonna, you were gonna catch them. I was gonna guess it might take time, but you were gonna catch up to that.

[Ian Hecox]

That was one of my favorite shots from the music video because you just get this like, you get like, I don't know, maybe like a half second shot of you going.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yep. All because of the heels. But I love that picture of Spencer. It's so, so cute.

[Ian Hecox]

It's heartwarming.

[Anthony Padilla]

He looks like the happiest little boy.

[Amanda LeCount]

He's so happy.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

So happy. I'm glad I could do that for him because I love it.

[Anthony Padilla]

Looks like he went to a con and you were just there.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

He was like, can I take a photo of you? I was like, yes.

[Shane Topp]

Come here. My voice so good. It was some wild man.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

It was really fun. And art crushed it.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

Like all the props.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

The lighting was incredible too.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Yeah. We're not making our money back on that music. But I mean, like that's, that's what I mean. Like, you know, this, the other stuff we do here allows us to take risks like that. Otherwise, you know, then we're just making the same thing over and over and over again. So.

[Amanda LeCount]

Right.

[Ian Hecox]

It's, it's cool to be able to, to take those risks and like, you know, not just for the main channel, but also pit and games and, and Smash Mouth.

[Anthony Padilla]

If I don't know in live stream.

[Ian Hecox]

I don't know where, where, how you guys can take risk on this. Like do it at Niagara Falls.

[Amanda LeCount]

I've been pitching us being on a.

[Shane Topp]

Roller coaster, quite literally.

[Anthony Padilla]

I think that should happen.

[Shane Topp]

We're going to record it on a roller coaster. We're going to have to ride the roller coaster many times.

[Ian Hecox]

Motions sickness.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, I love roller coasters.

[Ian Hecox]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

I don't like 3D glasses and, and, and, and for anything like VR, I have to take a Dramamine. But I don't get seasick and I'm obsessed with roller coasters.

[Shane Topp]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

So I don't know.

[Ian Hecox]

Are you obsessed with riding a roller coaster for an hour?

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, I would love to.

[Anthony Padilla]

What about you?

[Amanda LeCount]

Do you think that they could shut down the roller coaster?

[Shane Topp]

You just get bored of being on that roller Coaster.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, no, no.

[Shane Topp]

Not which roller coaster are you thinking? Ooh, X2.

[Amanda LeCount]

It's X2 is so. Okay. On my fridge, there's a picture of me and my husband on X2. I'm not gonna make this up. And he's like this. Yay. And I'm like this. I'm literally bracing.

[Ian Hecox]

Can you imagine if you did. Can you imagine if you did the podcast on the. On the ride that just takes you up and drops you.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, I hate that.

[Shane Topp]

That would probably be the better one to do, though.

[Amanda LeCount]

What?

[Anthony Padilla]

Shane wants that one.

[Amanda LeCount]

Okay.

[Shane Topp]

Like, you can continue to talk throughout all that. Whereas x2. There's parts. I love roller coasters. There's parts where I'm like, I don't know if you can actually talk.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, I don't.

[Shane Topp]

The amount of force.

[Anthony Padilla]

I don't think you could talk with that drop, though, so.

[Shane Topp]

Because, like, it's spinning and going, oh, this one, you.

[Amanda LeCount]

They like, hold you up.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm saying that might be better. I'm saying X2 would be really hard or like, I can't talk during the drop. Anything with flips, anything with. With loops.

[Amanda LeCount]

About the end segment is X2.

[Shane Topp]

Okay, we should just. Okay, we'll record one. We'll go do one go around of a roller coaster and we pick a topic and we have to talk about it.

[Amanda LeCount]

We weren't going to green like this, but you guys here.

[Shane Topp]

So we'll have to record it on iPhone and we'll just have law.

[Ian Hecox]

Just.

[Shane Topp]

You just won't understand anything. For audio listeners, just going be like, all right, and here's. Here's us on the roller coaster.

[Ian Hecox]

If you guys could just ride that shitty Harry Potter roller coaster. That's fun videos.

[Anthony Padilla]

That one's.

[Ian Hecox]

I, you know, I've.

[Anthony Padilla]

And 3D glasses.

[Amanda LeCount]

I've never.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, no, no, no. The. The. The shitty ride. They. They have like a shitty little roller coaster.

[Amanda LeCount]

It's so shitty that Ian said it's shitty.

[Anthony Padilla]

No, no, no. The shitty.

[Ian Hecox]

The shitty one. Not the 3D one. That one's like. That one's kind of fun.

[Shane Topp]

No, we'll get on Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

I don't know if I've been on that.

[Shane Topp]

Walking around. It's really cool.

[Ian Hecox]

That's like Millennium Falcon or whatever.

[Shane Topp]

No, the. That's a different. That's Smugglers Run, which is kind of shitty.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, is it just go on the shitty ones. Why don't. It's just all shitty.

[Ian Hecox]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

And then we end with X2.

[Shane Topp]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Ian Hecox]

Is Knott's Berry Farm shitty?

[Amanda LeCount]

You know what? I haven't been. I've only gone not scary farms.

[Ian Hecox]

Where is that even in the middle of.

[Shane Topp]

In the berry farms.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, and all the berries are the berries and creek.

[Ian Hecox]

I can't believe they were making. They were making fruit and then they were just like, what if we made a roller coaster?

[Amanda LeCount]

Brilliant. Brilliant.

[Shane Topp]

We're making. We're done with jam. Yeah, it's time to jam.

[Amanda LeCount]

Wow.

[Shane Topp]

Okay. You brought up Pitt and games in this past year. Anthony, do you have a favorite series or type of video on On Pittsburgh and for both of them.

[Amanda LeCount]

Good question.

[Shane Topp]

Your favorites on both. Because.

[Anthony Padilla]

I think it's really cool how Pit doesn't necessarily just have like a recurring roster of like three types of videos that just loops. There's a lot of side things where it's like, it'll come back once every six months or something.

[Shane Topp]

Totally.

[Anthony Padilla]

So, I mean, I love the hide and seeks. I love the. The special, like, slap type video. I've grown to love Reddit stories more and more as a really interesting passive experience. I feel like Reddit stories is such a different tone than everything else on the channel and maybe kind of everything else smosh in general. Except maybe this is like the closest to the tone.

[Shane Topp]

It's very podcast like. Yeah, what I love about Reddit stories is how it came about, how it was an idea that we were all like, kind of uncertain about. It had been kind of floated for a long time and Kiana was like, I really want to do this. But. So we did it on Thanksgiving for the first one because we're like, this is throwaway content that's probably not going to do well. That's the funniest aspect of it is it then became like our biggest show, but it's started weekly. Show truly started in just a way of like, yeah, we're just going to do this so that we can. Because the week of Thanksgiving we never get views. So we're just going to put this there. So it's like, whatever that's. And it'll be easy and we just won't worry about it.

[Anthony Padilla]

Did it initially start with some episodes being live streams or something like that?

[Shane Topp]

Yes, someone mentioned that. So we actually started forever ago doing it on Twitch where I would read it with other people and that would just be through live and we're getting the live reaction from chat and. But once we stopped doing Twitch, we stopped doing it. But considering Twitch, like, I mean, that was. I don't know. I'm sure other people were reading Reddit stories online before that, but, you know, we see a lot of it nowadays, and I think that was around the time, you know, that was around the time when we started doing it. I think that's when, like two hot takes around that time started. So it was kind of this new thing. And so we were kind of like, luckily caught a wave of this new type of content, and it was really fun. I mean, I do miss, I miss it being live because you get the live reaction from your audience and you get to kind of talk about it with your audience. It's a frustrating thing where we will talk about these stories and then we get our audience response. And I'm like, oh, man, I wish I could have had this combo with you.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And so they're like, oh, I disagree with Shane on this. I'm like, oh, man, if we were talking about it together and I hear talk about more opinions, that changes my view on things. But, you know, it's been such a fun experience. I, as the host, it's been so great because I've learned so much from it. You know, I'm reading so many stories of things that I would have never heard about before. And then on top of that, I get the perspectives of people on the couch that are enlightening me on different views of it. And then I get to look back on it and see the comments and be like, like, I'm getting comments from people all over, around the world with different experiences, different backgrounds, different family dynamics, like, talking about their stories in relation to these stories. And I. Every single episode, I learn a ton. It's so cool.

[Amanda LeCount]

And the updates are the best.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, yeah, yeah, man. Yeah. I mean, it's the best. The most fun is when there's just someone who's just a straight up villain.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

That's always the most fun when it's clear cut and I'm like, this person sucks. And we get to talk about why they suck. It's always the best part of that show.

[Anthony Padilla]

One of the most interesting things about it, I think, is that it has drawn such a unique audience that maybe isn't interested in much other content from Squash. So, like, even so, we went out to a restaurant that was like up on the sixth floor of this place, and we had to go in this elevator and I was with you, and there are these women there in the elevator that recognize you as the Reddit stories guy.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

And only you out of everyone that was there in the elevator too. So it was so cool. Like, were you in any Way, like, expecting there to be this unique audience.

[Shane Topp]

No, I mean, it. I guess not. I guess it didn't occur to me of, like, how it's so possible this is an audience that isn't watching the rest of our content.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, but I have to be on Facebook, too.

[Anthony Padilla]

That's true, too.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, it is. But. But I have gotten recognized specifically for Reddit stories a couple times, and it's always been funny. That one was really funny. The funniest one was I was. I was in. Courtney and I were in the uk and we were waiting. We were at this pub, and it was super busy. We're in line, we're trying to get up to the. To the bartender. Finally we get up there, it's this lady, she's kind of working really quick, whatever. And then she looks at me and she's just like, are you the one who reads those Reddit stories? And, you know, the, the sentiment is always the same, like, oh, I watch him as I go to bed, or I watch them as I'm getting ready in the morning, and I'm like, that's so cool to love. Yeah, it's really, really cool. It's. It's fun in that way. It's a different type of satisfaction I get from that show.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Because I'm like, I'm not making people laugh. Like, and it's. It is a scary show for me because I'm very comfortable where it's just fully a joke and we're just laughing and whatever. I'm like, oh, we're having real conversations here. That. That is a little scary. Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

You gotta be vulnerable. Like, you might say something that someone doesn't agree with.

[Shane Topp]

Exactly. And it sucks every time. But. Well, what. What really sucks is, is I'm very careful of what I say, because what I'm most afraid of is being misunderstood or just the fact that it's my initial reaction to stories. Right. And, you know, I'm like, oh, I'm reading a story about, like, a raccoon going to a wedding. And I'm like, well, I've never pondered on that, this moral dilemma before. So my initial reaction.

[Ian Hecox]

We don't have a raccoon expert here.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, exactly. But. But that's, you know, I've also come to accept that and be like, oh, it's okay if, if people are like, oh, I don't like what Shane said there. I'm like, oh, well, I'm learning now, and I think it's okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

I think that's totally fine. What Reddit stories Is. And also, I love how visual it is, because then you get to have the two people on the couch who have very similar reactions to you, like, while you're reading the whole story. And I do think that people are like, ooh, I don't agree with that take. But, like, we've been very good about being like, this is my opinion.

[Shane Topp]

Right. We're not experts.

[Amanda LeCount]

No, no. And I think people like the banter, the debate of it all.

[Shane Topp]

Absolutely. I certainly enjoy it, but it's a really satisfying show. I really love it. But it's also been cool. In this past year, I feel like Try not to Laugh has had a resurgence.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

It was getting to a point where it was kind of like, I don't know if it's gonna stick around. And then I don't know what it is. But I think we started having more fun on it again. And that, in turn, has made the audience interested.

[Anthony Padilla]

There's a lot of, like, variations that are thrown in there, too. So, of course, there's the birthday epis, then there's the Blind Hairs episode. So I think it's throwing in variation.

[Shane Topp]

Right.

[Ian Hecox]

Also, like, shout out to art department for consistently, like, changing up the props.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, yeah. Art department does a lot of work at Smosh. It is a demanding job.

[Ian Hecox]

Keep them busy.

[Anthony Padilla]

And then Smosh games. I. I've really enjoyed seeing the group dynamic where people are playing themselves. They're just playing a game. And I think that's a lot of fun to watch, like, Werewolf and those types of groups. But then also, I mean, of course, the don't win Mario party stuff is. I love how you guys have been throwing in themes there, like the gentleman version and the cone for the cone of shame for we getting the first place.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

And then an interesting curveball recently is the darts video. Like, was that something that you were suggesting for more characters to get in?

[Shane Topp]

So we had done darts forever ago, and it was one of the, like, first chosen videos. Like, we did. We used to do, like, poker or we did, like, blackjack and darts and, like, just playing random kind of, like, bar games, but as ridiculous characters. The chosen kind of was birthed from that, but the last time we did darts, it was the chosen. Spencer played Bullseye from the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie, and it was incredible. And we just had a bunch of weird characters, and it was a blast. And in that era, from this is like, 2020 to 2021, we were kind of doing some of it. A lot of characters came about from it, and I Was like, oh, I want to do that again. Because we really were relying on characters a lot this past year, but we weren't. It's hard to come up with new characters, and it's hard to just kind of ask people to be like, come up with a character.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

You kind of need to make the conditions for it to happen just naturally and spur of the moment. And the best characters are usually the ones that are kind of just like, scrambled together or just come up with on the spot. Like, they really are great. So I. I was pitching to them and was like, we should bring back darts. We should bring back, like, playing, like, poker and things like that and have people play characters. Because in that setting where you're just hanging out for an hour playing a casual game, it allows for some sort of backstory.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Lore.

[Anthony Padilla]

Or forces you to kind of organically.

[Shane Topp]

Come up with or a point of view of the character. You know, that's what happened with the show was I was sitting there playing Blackjack, and in the middle of the playing it, I just, in playing it, decided to make him a member of nofap. Like, that was not the first video he was in. Yeah, it was Blackjack forever ago. So Courtney was Brianna Boho. And then I was like. And so I was supposed to be a different character. I was supposed to be my Aunt Carolyn character. Very much like Krungle. This, like, older woman. Yeah. And we didn't have the outfit. I show up to work and was like, oh, we don't actually have the outfit. And then I kind of literally. It was almost like a cartoon where you're, like, looking around the room and there's perfectly, like, a shirt, a necklace, a pair of sunglasses and shorts.

[Ian Hecox]

Didn't you, like, base it off of Spencer?

[Shane Topp]

So sort of the chosen is really based on a lot of guys I've known over the years. And it's also, like, very much a pop culture thing. Like, the Mall Ninja is very much a real. You know, people reference Napoleon Dynamite a lot. And it's like, yeah, absolutely. But it's. I think the reason there's Napoleon Dynamite connections, too, is because it's also largely based on me in middle school, which is from that era. And also just every dude in Arizona in middle school was like, the chosen. They all. They all thought that they knew karate really well, even though they never took classes. They all thought they understood, like, the CIA and the end, like, special Ops. And like, they. They. They were super. Playing video games all the time. Also could never get a date. Girls were not Interested in them. But so it was a lot of that. And so when it was eventually, like, what was. What's your name? I think I said Spencer Agnew partially just to be funny, but it ended up being true because when Spencer plays the Chosen, oh, my God. He's the only person. He's the only person out of everyone who. When he plays the Chosen, he is actually just himself.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

And it works.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Because at the. On the. On the live show, all of his references when. When he was, like, talking about all this stuff, I'm like, that's just Spencer knowledge.

[Shane Topp]

He's just.

[Ian Hecox]

That's not the show. That's just Spencer just talking. He's.

[Shane Topp]

He's just hanging out. It's. It's really funny. But, yeah, so it's. So I wasn't called the Chosen at first. It was. It, like, kind of. It was a choice I had to make because I was like, I can't have a character called Spencer Agnew. And then we also have Spencer Agnew here. That's very confusing. So I changed it to the Chosen, and then eventually came to this point where I was like, oh, we should do a video where everyone plays the Chosen. And now it's kind of become this character that everyone has their version of it, and it's very cool.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I feel like it's interesting that. I mean, a. That it was come up with on the spot because of something that someone might have been like, oh, this ruined the whole shoot. This is all messed up. But then you took. You made the best of it. And it turned out that this character is kind of like one of the biggest Smosh characters to have ever been created. And I think that it also helped that you were like, how about everyone plays this character?

[Shane Topp]

Oh, yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Like, we've never. I don't think that Smosh had ever really done. Everyone plays the same character before.

[Shane Topp]

It's always funny to me.

[Ian Hecox]

When we did that with. Was the first one Owen Wilson?

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Too Many. Too Many Owen Wilson.

[Shane Topp]

It was a video we shot for every drink. We literally walked to a cafe. It got, like, no views. But it was fun to film Keanu Reeves, too. Yeah. Well, Too Many Owen Wilson's was a video we did back in, like, 2016.

[Ian Hecox]

That was defy era.

[Anthony Padilla]

Oh, really?

[Shane Topp]

This was way ahead of its time and unfortunately didn't do well, but a great time to do, but. But, yeah. I'm glad we're doing darts again. We had our poker video, which I think is out. I loved doing darts.

[Amanda LeCount]

I. I felt like, also, like, the cast has just always. Because I felt like the newer cast came in here and we had a bunch of structure to put in characters, like reunion and couples therapy. And since we don't do that anymore, there wasn't a lot of space to, like, create characters. And especially if we. If we created them in tntl, they, like, kind of lived and died there sometimes. So now we had this fun opening. And when you guys came up with darts, it was like, oh, what, we're just gonna play darts with new characters?

[Shane Topp]

I wanna do it a bunch. I want. I want to eventually. I mean, my pitch, I would love to eventually have a month where it's like 80 darts, like League competition. You're like, bracket style and you're like, which character is going to make it to the final?

[Amanda LeCount]

And I think new. I think, like, literally new people coming in.

[Shane Topp]

Oh, new people, new characters. Because I was the chosen. I lost, I won. If I come back. If I come back, I want to come back as a brand new character or a character I just haven't done in a long time. Like, that's what's so fun. And, like, our audience is so forgiving that if a character flops or it's like you don't know what you're doing, they're not gonna care.

[Amanda LeCount]

Courtney was Gerald Cakes. I'm on my way.

[Shane Topp]

Gerald Cakes.

[Amanda LeCount]

Spencer was Fred Darts.

[Shane Topp]

Fred Darts is good. Fred Darts is insane.

[Anthony Padilla]

One of the best characters to come out of this year.

[Ian Hecox]

I feel like we need, like, a femcel. Like. Like the. Like the antithesis to the chosen.

[Shane Topp]

The chosen?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

I feel like Brianna Boho is the antithesis to the chosen. But you're saying. You're saying the. The woman version of the chosen. Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Shane Topp]

Okay. I don't know much about femcels, so.

[Ian Hecox]

It'S a dark road to go down, let me tell you.

[Shane Topp]

Okay. I guess maybe when we read more Reddit stories, or not Reddit stories, but more subreddits on this show, I can find some femcel subreddits.

[Amanda LeCount]

My weird guys and old women.

[Shane Topp]

You don't know. You don't want to play a femcel.

[Amanda LeCount]

I'll stick with my dove guy who throws dove.

[Anthony Padilla]

What was his name again?

[Amanda LeCount]

His name literally came up with it in tntl. And I was like, hey, Art, can I be the dove guy? And they're like, yeah, we got you a lot of doves that you're gonna throw in the air. I was like, okay, what was his fucking name? Tyler Henry. No, that's a Real guy that's a psycho.

[Shane Topp]

Literally, said a guy.

[Amanda LeCount]

I can't remember his name.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, who's his name? Tyler Durden Chat.

[Amanda LeCount]

I came up with it while we were filming, but it was such a fun. He's just, like, a happy, go lucky guy who still lives with his mom, and she has a lot of doves, and he goes to weddings and throws dubs.

[Anthony Padilla]

Got a brother that he loves.

[Amanda LeCount]

He goes. He has a brother that he loves.

[Shane Topp]

A question I have for you guys is, how has it been feeling to be, like, to own Smosh? But is it. Is there a lot of pressure that comes from that? Is it crazy to be back? Because it has to be kind of interesting to have started this whole thing, but for so long, you're like, you don't own it. So it's like, whatever happens, it's like, well, it's. I don't own it, but it is really scary. And I felt this was sitcom when I pitched that show, and it was like, all right, this is my pitch. I really care about this. But you own Smosh again. Is there a lot of pressure that comes with that? Has. How's the feeling been?

[Ian Hecox]

I think there. I think there'd be a lot more pressure if. If it was a failure. I think things are going really well right now. I think, you know, we made some decisions that I think were the right decisions, and I think we. We invested into the team and to the cast, and. Yeah, I. I don't really. I. I mean, I felt a lot more pressure before Anthony came in just because, like. Because things were where some things were, like. And, you know, I was just trying to, like, keep everything together. But, like, I think we have such, like, a strong team and such a momentum going that, like, no, like, every. I. I just. I just, like, believe in everyone, and I know we're just gonna continue making great shit.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I felt a lot of pressure for, like, the first six to eight months that I was back, because I. I feel like I had to prove that my coming back was a positive contribution. I wanted to make a good impression with everyone that I worked with that works here and everyone who was watching. Like, I didn't want to let them down as well. I wanted to prove that I was just a positive force coming in here and not, like, you know, something that would mess up what had been established. But I feel like in the past four or five months now, I've really started to see, like, the more that I just ease up and allow it to flow and give you all ownership to do what you do best and be creative in the ways that you are best at. Like, I can actually alleviate a lot of that pressure and just observe and then use that to then lead in other ways that I feel like I thrive most in myself. So it's been. It's been a whole transition, transitional period, but I feel like I'm in a really good place now with it.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah, I felt that. I felt really a great welcoming when you came back and, like, keep doing your thing. I'm here to, like, see what I can do and connect. And it was really, really cool.

[Anthony Padilla]

Good. Yeah. Yeah. I love. I love connecting with each person here and figuring out, like, what it is that they like doing, what it is that they don't like doing. Well, how can we get them to do more of the things that they like doing? That's not just good for someone's personal mental health, but it's also good for the product that they deliver and what people on the other end see as well.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

So it's just overall beneficial.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. And, like, we didn't want to, like, it was like, never our plan for, like, Anthony to come back and me and him be like, we're back now. We're running the show and we're in everything. And, like, we're. It's. We're calling all the shots. No, it was just like, we had, like, a great foundation and we were already making good content. We could only. But we could only go up from, like, there.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Like, it was.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah. No, I think you guys put a lot of trust in the team and you, like, let you. There was more freedom. When you guys came back, it felt like. It felt like you truly let people do what they do best and. And to let them take risks. I mean, I think we see that with Smosh games, like, what we're talk. Talking about, like, it. It really is like, we see how. From the twisted mind of Spencer, like, truly, yeah, it's been a blast. It's been really cool. And I think. I don't know what you guys were expecting by this point, but I think it's. For me, it's like, I think we're in a better place than I expected. Truly, because I just oftentimes with the nature of YouTube, you're just like. You expect it to just be like, it's. It might decline. It may not be doing well. Who knows? But it's really. This is probably the most secure and. And most fun that I've been having at this job.

[Ian Hecox]

And I think. I think that's like a huge thing. And you had mentioned it earlier, where it's like, we were always doing things that were like, okay, we're going to do something good for the algorithm and then we're going to do something for us.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And this is the first time where it's like, oh, like we're making content that we're having fun with and it's doing well. Like, you know, like, it's. I feel. I feel like we're hitting that. That stride.

[Shane Topp]

It's a YouTuber's dream.

[Ian Hecox]

A lot more than we. Than we used to. Where, like, every. Every video I'm showing up to, like, on Pitt and Games, I'm like, I just know that I'm going to have a good time.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And I think. And I think that that shows in the content. Like, the audience sees that.

[Shane Topp]

Right.

[Ian Hecox]

And. Yeah, like, a lot of. A lot of comments and I think. I think some of, some of the viewers may have, like, overstated the difference. People being like, Ian looks so depressed. Before Anthony came, now I can. Now I really see that he's, like, happier and like. And like, I think it's that. I think it's, you know, maybe to a degree overstating the facts, but I, I think, yes, generally I, I enjoy. I enjoy my, My work on camera more since. Since this new, like, version of. Of Smosh began and since, you know, Spencer has taken the helm at Smosh Games and. And Emily has taken the helm of Pit and Kiana has taken the helm of all the programming. Like, I think. I think we're just like, we're just firing on all cylinders. If I am to throw a car metaphor.

[Amanda LeCount]

Nice.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. I feel like, you know, we made some big switches to the main channel coming in there, and I know that some people were like, oh, no. All the cast that we've grown to love on here is no longer here. And of course, that was kind of like a transitional period in and of itself, but I feel like what it also did was it allowed all the cast to really focus in on Pit and Games, and I feel like we've seen what the result of that is, and that's that Pit and Games, I feel like, are thriving more than they ever have. And that's just the results of giving people freedom to take risks, but also allowing them to focus on something that they do really well.

[Shane Topp]

Totally agreed. It's. It's been a blast and it'll continue to be a blast.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. Congratulations on one year.

[Anthony Padilla]

Oh, thank you.

[Amanda LeCount]

Your one year anniversary, shall I say?

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Amanda LeCount]

I don't know.

[Ian Hecox]

Where's our cake?

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, it's right outside in the fridge. Right, Selena?

[Ian Hecox]

Right, Selena.

[Anthony Padilla]

Yeah. It feels like.

[Ian Hecox]

Feels like it better be a cake.

[Anthony Padilla]

It feels like it's been a long time, but also a very short time.

[Shane Topp]

It feels.

[Anthony Padilla]

Same time.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, it's. It's freaking weird, man.

[Ian Hecox]

So much. Like, I. I think, like, everyone. Everyone needs. Everyone needs to. To a nice, long nap.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, we there. We accomplished a lot this year.

[Shane Topp]

We really did. And it's. It's cool. It's cool that for right now, we don't have any sort of big crazy thing we're announcing or whatever. I mean, our content, we're so focused on right now, and we're making great stuff, but. Well, people never know. But I will just say, like, it's for these months that are. That are occurring right now after the live show, it's been nice to focus on our stuff, but. Yeah, but unless you guys. I was gonna ask, like, for the next 10 years, like, is there any sort of big dream you have for Smosh? Like, is there. It just. It could be. It could be a small thing or. Or a big thing. Is there something that you would love to do in a. In a dream world where you could do anything?

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. Marsha's gonna buy the Miss America pageant.

[Amanda LeCount]

Oh, Jesus.

[Shane Topp]

And had the choice of any.

[Amanda LeCount]

Anything.

[Shane Topp]

And you chose that anything.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, well, I'm starting small. We're gonna eventually get to Miss Universe.

[Shane Topp]

I want to let. I want to let people know, listening, that there is a whole team of people who can vet pitches, so don't worry.

[Amanda LeCount]

Anthony, what about you guys?

[Ian Hecox]

You guys don't think it's a good idea?

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Anthony Padilla]

I don't have anything specific, like, in terms of events. I just really want Smosh to be this place where we can show what fun friendship group dynamics are like and, you know, give an opportunity for more and more people to work here that get to live that as well, but also for, you know, people watching to feel a sense of home and community and watching the dynamics on screen and maybe even bring that over into their own friendships. And, you know, that's great. Kind of like bring in the feeling that Ian and I had when we first started of capturing this moment of friendship on camera, and I want to see that continue to be what Smosh thrives in.

[Shane Topp]

Absolutely.

[Amanda LeCount]

Hell, yeah. I'm down.

[Shane Topp]

I'm down.

[Amanda LeCount]

I mean, for the pageant part, I will have.

[Shane Topp]

Yeah, yeah, I think about it.

[Anthony Padilla]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

I'll think about it.

[Ian Hecox]

There's a lot of opportunity there.

[Anthony Padilla]

Ian's got you giving you 10 years to think about.

[Amanda LeCount]

Okay, great.

[Ian Hecox]

I mean, it's. It's. It's on the road map. It's on the roadmap.

[Shane Topp]

Okay.

[Amanda LeCount]

On the roadmap.

[Anthony Padilla]

You guys.

[Ian Hecox]

You guys just don't see the potential. I do.

[Shane Topp]

Okay.

[Ian Hecox]

Let me do. Let me do the big thinking. Let me do the big business break.

[Shane Topp]

All right, well, thank you.

[Amanda LeCount]

Time we have.

[Shane Topp]

Thank you both for being here, and thank you both.

[Amanda LeCount]

Thank you.

[Shane Topp]

Anthony, once again. Thanks for coming back to Smosh.

[Amanda LeCount]

Yeah. Thanks so much.

[Anthony Padilla]

You're welcome.

[Shane Topp]

Thank you all for watching. We'll see you next time. A goodbye?

[Amanda LeCount]

Bye.

[Shane Topp]

A goodbye?

[Anthony Padilla]

A goodbye?

[Shane Topp]

Miss America.