S1: #3 - Courtney Opens Up About Her Sexuality

Summary

Podcast Summary: Smosh Mouth – S1: #3 - Courtney Opens Up About Her Sexuality

Host/Guests:

• Ian Hecox
• Damien Haas
• Courtney Miller

Release Date: March 6, 2019

---

Introduction and Past Experiences

The episode kicks off with Ian reminiscing about previous gatherings with Courtney and Damien. They humorously discuss watching the cult-classic film Xanadu and their collective disdain for its quality.

• Ian Hecox [02:27]: "It's very much like The Room. Bad ADR, awkwardly slow dialogue and storyline."

• Courtney Miller [03:38]: "It's violence warning, but, yeah, Xanadu. It's a bad movie. I would not recommend it."

Their conversation shifts to sharing quirky experiences, such as watching "cursed images" on YouTube during parties, leading to humorous exchanges about the awkwardness and inevitable departure of guests.

Starting the Podcast and Comparing to Other Formats

The trio delves into their journey of starting the Smosh Mouth podcast. Damien shares his initial attempts at launching his own podcast and Twitch channel, highlighting the challenges and eventual success.

• Damien Haas [13:21]: "It was a heartbreak because we learned that we were potentially coming back with Mythical and that there would be a podcast involved."

They compare their podcasting experience to other platforms, emphasizing the unique dynamics of their show and the camaraderie among the hosts.

Damien's Twitch Journey and Mental Health

Damien opens up about his transition to streaming on Twitch, describing it as a transformative experience that provided him with purpose and community support.

• Damien Haas [14:58]: "It flipping saved my life. Not only because, you know, obviously there's a financial aspect to it, but it gave me a focus."

He discusses the importance of creating a positive environment in his streams, addressing how he handles negativity and fosters a supportive community.

• Damien Haas [17:05]: "It's on Vine. Re-Vine for Re-Vine. Remember that crap? That was garbage. But I think it's healthy to be interactive with people on social media."

Dealing with Online Negativity

The conversation shifts to handling negativity on social media and the internet. Both Ian and Courtney share their strategies for managing negative comments and maintaining mental well-being.

• Ian Hecox [21:25]: "I'm not straight. That's something that I only recently started working through, and I'm still kind of working through it."

• Courtney Miller [19:52]: "It's like being a YouTuber, being like an online personality is like being a boxer. You get better. You get better at not getting punched."

They highlight the importance of not engaging with toxic interactions and the benefits of maintaining a positive outlook despite online challenges.

Courtney Opens Up About Her Sexuality

A pivotal moment in the episode occurs when Courtney bravely shares her journey regarding her sexuality. She discusses her upbringing in the Mormon Church, the internal conflict it caused, and her gradual realization of her true identity.

• Courtney Miller [55:12]: "I just have to ignore the comments... I'm going to scroll through this comment and see another comment and forget about that thing in like five seconds."

Ian supports Courtney by sharing his own experiences with self-discovery and coming to terms with his sexuality.

• Ian Hecox [54:57]: "I'm still a little insecure about what exactly it is like. I remember when I... started figuring it out."

Courtney emphasizes the significance of normalizing conversations around sexuality and encourages listeners to embrace their identities without fear.

• Courtney Miller [61:22]: "What's important is to be tolerant, be accepting. Whatever."

Tattoos and Symbolism

The discussion takes a lighter turn as the hosts delve into the topic of tattoos, exploring their meanings and the potential for misinterpretation of symbols.

• Damien Haas [66:14]: "How you write them, they sort of like... with dragons and dark souls."

They caution against using symbols that may be misappropriated by hate groups, advocating for thoughtful consideration before getting tattoos.

• Damien Haas [66:46]: "That's why you gotta be really careful with symbols, because every once in a while, a group will just be like, right, I'll have that then. And then you're just like, no, no, I'm not a white supremacist."

The conversation highlights their personal preferences and the importance of meaningful ink that reflects one's true self.

Closing Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on personal growth, the value of authentic connections, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery. They reiterate the importance of supporting one another and fostering a community where individuals feel safe to express themselves.

• Damien Haas [73:05]: "It hurts me. Soap curls."

• Courtney Miller [70:08]: "Well, you could see on the Ice Sport Montag parfait like, like, what else do you want."

They conclude by encouraging listeners to embrace their uniqueness, seek support when needed, and continue the conversation about mental health and sexuality with openness and empathy.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Ian Hecox [02:27]: "It's very much like The Room. Bad ADR, awkwardly slow dialogue and storyline."

• Courtney Miller [03:38]: "It's violence warning, but, yeah, Xanadu. It's a bad movie. I would not recommend it."

• Damien Haas [14:58]: "It flipping saved my life. Not only because, you know, obviously there's a financial aspect to it, but it gave me a focus."

• Damien Haas [17:05]: "It's on Vine. Re-Vine for Re-Vine. Remember that crap? That was garbage. But I think it's healthy to be interactive with people on social media."

• Courtney Miller [55:12]: "I just have to ignore the comments... I'm going to scroll through this comment and see another comment and forget about that thing in like five seconds."

• Ian Hecox [54:57]: "I'm still a little insecure about what exactly it is like. I remember when I... started figuring it out."

• Courtney Miller [61:22]: "What's important is to be tolerant, be accepting. Whatever."

• Damien Haas [66:46]: "That's why you gotta be really careful with symbols, because every once in a while, a group will just be like, right, I'll have that then. And then you're just like, no, no, I'm not a white supremacist."

---

Conclusion:

In this episode of Smosh Mouth, Courtney Miller takes a courageous step in discussing her sexuality, backed by supportive insights from hosts Ian Hecox and Damien Haas. The conversation seamlessly weaves through personal anecdotes, mental health, handling online negativity, and the significance of authentic self-expression. By fostering an open and empathetic dialogue, the hosts provide valuable perspectives for listeners navigating similar journeys.

Transcript

[Ian Hecox]

Geico's motorcycle expertise means I'm covered by.

[Damien Haas]

People who know bikes like I do.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm happy as a clam.

[Damien Haas]

No conclusive scientific research has shown clams can experience happiness.

[Ian Hecox]

It just meant that I feel really.

[Damien Haas]

Good about my coverage.

[Courtney Miller]

I mean, even if you took the clam out for the best day ever.

[Damien Haas]

Visiting the zoo, taking a scenic ride.

[Courtney Miller]

Knowing you're insured by specialists, and sharing a strawberry ice cream cone together, the clam would not feel happy, and your.

[Damien Haas]

Strawberry cone would taste sort of clammy.

[Ian Hecox]

Ew.

[Courtney Miller]

Geico's motorcycle specialists who know bikes like you do, assume no liability for clammy ice cream cones. GEICO expertise for your motorcycle. If you ever respond to somebody's negativity and they respond back with more negativity, just drop it there, because it's not gonna get better.

[Ian Hecox]

The most secure way to say it for me is just being like, oh, yeah, I'm not straight.

[Damien Haas]

I'm very proud to have learned from my father the things that I wanna take or the things that I see. Like, that's not me, and that's okay.

[Courtney Miller]

I remember talking to my barista, and she was like, I am really getting into slime. I love slime. Come on, start you, Dan. There we go. All right. There we go. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the third ever Smoshcast. I am your host, Ian Hecox. And who am I joined by today?

[Ian Hecox]

You got Courtney Miller.

[Damien Haas]

And you do have one. Damien Haas.

[Ian Hecox]

We are here. Can I say the last time it was just us three doing something? Do you remember what it was?

[Courtney Miller]

No.

[Damien Haas]

Wait.

[Ian Hecox]

We were at my house watching Xanadu. That was that day. Night after the stupid letter. The first letter went out.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, the first letter of like, we're all gonna lose our jobs.

[Ian Hecox]

And I was like, you guys just come over and we'll hang out. Like, we don't need to be alone right now.

[Courtney Miller]

Yep. I brought a bottle of wine that I found that had this apocalyptic sort of setting on the bottle. Yeah, it looks like a city in flames. I was like, this is very appropriate right now.

[Ian Hecox]

I still have that bottle. It sits on display next to my microwave.

[Damien Haas]

She's made a shrine.

[Ian Hecox]

I forced ute. Well, you were willing, but I made you eat that pizza. That's the pizza? Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

I was gonna say it's the first time I've ever seen your horrific choice in pizza where every Italian grandmother rolls over constantly in her grave.

[Ian Hecox]

Listen. Yeah, I got you wings, so you appreciate it. All right.

[Damien Haas]

Thanks for that little wing of lings.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. But I made you guys watch a childhood favorite movie of mine, Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton John. So good.

[Damien Haas]

It was.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, it was weird.

[Damien Haas]

It was bad.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. Let's just put it out there. Xanadu. Not a good movie.

[Damien Haas]

Flipping garbage.

[Ian Hecox]

As I. As I watched with you guys, I realized more and more how bad it was. It's very much like the room. And for people listening, if you've seen the room, you would understand. Well, the bad adr, the awkwardly slow dialogue and storyline.

[Damien Haas]

It was like everybody's first movie. Like, the director, everybody.

[Ian Hecox]

But the music is incredible. Electric light orchestra.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, that was good. There's one moment where I think the movie's gonna get really good. It turns into this whole animation, and it's 70s. I was like, all right, I can get with this.

[Damien Haas]

It was Don, whoever his name is, that did all the fish for Disney and stuff, too. That was like. It was legit animation. Yeah, but I'm sorry.

[Courtney Miller]

Don Juan.

[Damien Haas]

Don Juan. That's it.

[Ian Hecox]

And then after that, we watched a bunch of YouTube videos about cursed images.

[Courtney Miller]

I feel like that's how every party ends now. It's like people are. Everyone's partying, and then it gets to that part of the night where they're like, okay, let's just put on YouTube and show each other weird videos.

[Ian Hecox]

Only the real ones have seen stayed for that end of the party.

[Courtney Miller]

It's that awkward moment where, like, the videos get worse and worse.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And people slowly start to trickle out. They're like, I'm going home.

[Damien Haas]

And there's so much pressure, too. Cause you're sharing something. You're like, this is the funniest thing. And you just do that thing where you keep, like, turning to your friend, being like, oh, okay, they're gonna laugh at this part. And then they don't. And you're like, party's over. And it's my fault.

[Courtney Miller]

And I find that the videos that I tend to recommend are really messed up, and I enjoy them, but everyone else thinks that I have a serious problem.

[Damien Haas]

Death compilation.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. Well, there is a. There is a short film that I like to show people during Christmas time. It's called Tree Venge. And it's about. It's about Christmas trees that they're. They're sentient and as all are. Yeah. And they see all their brethren being cut down, so they eventually decide to take revenge. And it's extremely gory. Like, you do, like, branches going through people's heads.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, my goodness.

[Courtney Miller]

And it's very detailed.

[Ian Hecox]

Is it live action?

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Ian Hecox]

Wait, what yeah. Oh, I was joking. Are you serious?

[Damien Haas]

When was this made? Please tell me. 2008. That's the perfect time for a movie like that.

[Courtney Miller]

Probably around there.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, my gosh.

[Courtney Miller]

It's a short film. You could catch it on YouTube.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, please.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes, but that was a fun night, though.

[Courtney Miller]

It's violence warning, but, yeah, Xanadu. It's a bad movie. I would not recommend it.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm just glad you guys watched it with me. Next up, Grease 2. We will watch it together. Another movie I'm weirdly obsessed with that's kind of bad, but actually it's very bad.

[Damien Haas]

But half the experience. The reason it was fun was because we got to watch it with you. Because even if it's objectively a terrible movie and it is a terrible movie, getting to watch it with someone who loves it so much is like, all right, I want to watch this through your filter. It's like watching wrestling with Matt Rob. Wrestling's not my thing, but he loves wrestling, so I'm like, all right, show me why. Let me see why I love exposing.

[Ian Hecox]

My friends to things that I love, like, so much.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. I went to a UFC fight with the Sohinke brothers, and, you know, I don't normally enjoy seeing people get punched in the face, but when you. When you can watch it with somebody that's excited about it and knows what's going on, then you're like, all right, okay. I can. I can get with this person bleeding profusely from their head.

[Ian Hecox]

I can't watch fights. I don't like too much anxiety.

[Courtney Miller]

Same.

[Damien Haas]

But maybe if I was with the brother Sahinki, maybe it'd be different.

[Courtney Miller]

That's true. One of the things that. That you showed me, Courtney, on YouTube during one of our big, like, party nights where we were just flipping through YouTube, was several music videos by the artist known as Oliver Tree.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes, that is true. His music videos are so sick.

[Courtney Miller]

He's awesome.

[Damien Haas]

He has star of Tree Venge.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, I didn't even think of that connection. Tree. We're just talking. Welcome to Tree Talk.

[Damien Haas]

Welcome to Tree Talk. Today, Conifers next week.

[Courtney Miller]

I love deciduous trees.

[Damien Haas]

It's Jennifer Conifer and Chris Pine.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay, stop. I will not stop. But Oliver Tree, his music videos are so cool. And I gotta love a man that has a bowl cut.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. And he's crushing it. He makes it. And, like, honestly, if you did it. If you went back to the bowl cut, did it. The way he's doing feels like he's bringing it back. Like, he makes it look very trendy because it has, like the fade, but then into the bowl cut. For people who don't know who Oliver Tree is, I strongly recommend you check him out. He's blowing up this year. Like, it's happening for him finally.

[Damien Haas]

That's a threat.

[Ian Hecox]

Music videos. It is a threat. I will hurt you.

[Damien Haas]

He is blowing up this year.

[Ian Hecox]

He's blowing up right now. He's so creative and so funny. Like, he has that. That 90s purple and green cup pattern, like in an entire sweatsuit. And it's on a monster truck and a motorcycle. He's so cool. He's so awesome.

[Courtney Miller]

He also does scooter tricks.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, he's a professional scooter. Razor. Scooter. Scootist.

[Courtney Miller]

Scootist.

[Ian Hecox]

He's a scootist. Yeah. I recently went to his show and I had like, my whole family went. My whole family's obsessed with him.

[Courtney Miller]

That was the night that you showed them your butt?

[Ian Hecox]

Yes, yes, that is that same famous night of the butt. Yeah. I actually got merch from that show that night. Which is funny because he recently reached out to me out of nowhere.

[Damien Haas]

No way, dude.

[Ian Hecox]

It was so crazy.

[Courtney Miller]

No way.

[Ian Hecox]

So listen.

[Courtney Miller]

Listening.

[Ian Hecox]

So I was about to boomerang my pasta, right, for Instagram, as one does.

[Damien Haas]

You know, everybody over the age of 40 just tuned out right now. Like, I don't know what that means.

[Courtney Miller]

Were you. Were you cooking this pasta?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay, so it was mid cook, so you gotta prove that you were adulting. I get that.

[Ian Hecox]

You know, you gotta do that sometimes.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, for sure.

[Ian Hecox]

So I had opened up the camera and it was selfie, obviously, when it surprises you on selfie. What do you hate when that happens?

[Damien Haas]

For sure.

[Ian Hecox]

And right then it shows a notification up top. And it was like, oliver tree. And it was like, love your sweatshirt. And I just screen capped you. See, I have this screen cap of my face in Instagram's for a camera and the message up top of me just freaking out.

[Damien Haas]

Please post that the day this goes up.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, I will, I will. He apparently, I don't even know how he saw. Cause on Instagram, first of all, he follows zero people. But on the Smosh Instagram story, we posted those photos where we were like freaking out, getting ready for the announcement. And you could just barely see that I was wearing the sweatshirt I got from his show in the corner. And then I went on my story and posted a bunch of pictures where you could just barely see the sweatshirt. And he somehow saw it. And we messaged for a little bit. I told him how? My family's obsessed with him. Some people are at Smosh are obsessed with him.

[Courtney Miller]

You get them Digis?

[Ian Hecox]

No, but we can go to. I did him. I can go to shows now. Like, he's like, yeah, dude, come to my shows. Like, for sure you'll be on the guest list. Whatever.

[Damien Haas]

That's sick.

[Ian Hecox]

And then we talked about vine and, like, how cool it used to be. And, like, that was. He's such a cool dude.

[Damien Haas]

He probably has a secondary account that he uses to follow people more casually. So it's not like, oh, my God, Oliver Tree follows me. And then when he sees that, he switches over to, you know, damn, the name account.

[Ian Hecox]

That's smart.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, that is very smart.

[Damien Haas]

Thanks, dog.

[Ian Hecox]

Following zero people on Instagram, though, it's like, damn, that's a.

[Damien Haas]

See, that's the thing.

[Courtney Miller]

That's a hardcore flex.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, he doesn't have to if he's got that secondary account. I mean, I don't know, but I'm just saying.

[Ian Hecox]

No, he 100% has to have a second account.

[Courtney Miller]

I am very selective with who I follow. Like, I still don't follow.

[Damien Haas]

Me.

[Courtney Miller]

I don't.

[Damien Haas]

No.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay. Because I generally. A lot of my friends, I don't follow because I just don't have an interest.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And. Or I don't like the photos or whatever. Like, I'm a very bad Instagrammer as. As a. As a poster and a user, because I'll just kind of, like, scroll through. I don't really comment on people's things. I don't like a lot of things unless it's likable.

[Damien Haas]

I posted a picture with you the other day. I think you liked that and commented on that, so thank you.

[Courtney Miller]

Well, it was a very nice photo.

[Ian Hecox]

You got it.

[Damien Haas]

I tagged your taint.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, that's right. I was in the photo.

[Ian Hecox]

That's why I gotta say, I feel like, as an influencer. God, that sounds so dumb to say.

[Damien Haas]

Do we have a barf bucket?

[Courtney Miller]

Can you add some more vocal fry when you say that?

[Ian Hecox]

Influencer. But seriously, like. Cause when I. I mean, I definitely have people that I like, still fall from high school. I'm definitely, like, at a point in my life where I'm starting to, like, unfollow people from my past. Cause, like, I say they're posting way too much. And just like, man, we don't even talk anymore.

[Damien Haas]

And you are just. You're better than them.

[Ian Hecox]

At the same time, I'm just better than them, and I don't. I'm above them. Now I don't need them anymore. But when I see other influencers posting branded stuff or just in general, I feel like it's a good relationship for people who are influencers on Instagram and stuff. It's like to keep that relationship of interaction and stuff because it really does help each other. It's on Vine. Re vine for Re Vine. Remember that crap? That was garbage. That was bad. But I think it's healthy to be interactive with people on social media.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, I don't play those games. I know man doesn't play games.

[Ian Hecox]

Me as well. You should just follow zero people.

[Damien Haas]

This dude got in on the ground floor of YouTube and built a flippin empire. Do you think you even have what it takes to look at your eyes.

[Courtney Miller]

Purely based off of sub for sub? Yeah, all 24 million or however many subscribers we have are all sub for sub.

[Damien Haas]

You know, I watched you guys when you first started, by the way.

[Courtney Miller]

Really?

[Damien Haas]

Yeah. I remember like Boxman. I watched the Pokemon song and all that stuff. I remember the food battles and I, you know, tapered off for like a long time and then it just sort of came full circle. Well, no, I have a contract. I'm afraid you're stuck with me.

[Ian Hecox]

I watched a lot of Smosh in middle school. And like, I remember my best friend Marissa, who I was still like close friends with. We would watch Smosh videos together on my sister's laptop after school.

[Damien Haas]

That's so funny.

[Ian Hecox]

And I remember I had this guilty thing that I would sometimes not even watch the sketches. I would only watch the behind the scenes. Cause that was like my favorite to watch. Which is why I love when we still put out behind the scenes stuff occasionally. Which I wish we could just do more. More of, but definitely watch.

[Damien Haas]

Let's put out more BTS stuff. But like the K Pop group.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes. I feel like that's the problem when you say BTS now because to us it just means behind the scenes. But now, you know, the Internet, it'll.

[Damien Haas]

Just be us photoshopping ourselves into photos of BTS or learning the dances. Like comment and subscribe if you want.

[Ian Hecox]

This is your first time on the podcast.

[Damien Haas]

It is.

[Ian Hecox]

It's gonna be a lot of people's first times in episodes to come. But this is my second time. I wasn't having it in every episode, but whatever.

[Damien Haas]

I feel like I've botched it so far. You're so experienced.

[Ian Hecox]

Have you done podcasts before?

[Damien Haas]

So while we were sort of in that break time between Defy Shane and I batted around the idea of Starting our own. We actually recorded a few episodes. But then when we learned that we were potentially coming back with Mythical and that there would be a podcast involved, we both just sort of thought it was best to, like, you know, not started at the same time. Smosh was gonna start theirs, especially if me and him talking would be a draw for this one. It was just sort of like, let's not play a homie like that.

[Ian Hecox]

You have episodes of podcasts recorded, right?

[Damien Haas]

The lost episodes.

[Courtney Miller]

But I don't know, like, two white guys in a podcast. I don't think that's been done before.

[Damien Haas]

The world is not ready.

[Ian Hecox]

Groundbreaking.

[Damien Haas]

We just wanna. I even make that joke where it's just like, hey, let's talk about the podcast really loudly in a coffee shop.

[Courtney Miller]

Mmm.

[Damien Haas]

Let's make sure everyone knows.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, my God. They're like, what? It's not even released anywhere. I have to be a part of this.

[Courtney Miller]

So what else were you doing during the. During the downtime?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

Well, I'd say I had a week or two where I just let myself chill, decompress, really, you know, get my bearings. You know what? I didn't cry, which I'm super down for crying. Crying is great. But there was not. I did not get to, like, a super low place, which was cool. I actually had a friend.

[Courtney Miller]

I just didn't care then.

[Damien Haas]

I just. No, it's all about the. Benjamin's dog. So I had a friend from New York reach out who is a producer of gaming content and also knows a lot of people who did Twitch helps people get started. So he reached out and was like, dude, I heard about the Defy thing. You would be so good on Twitch. I will help you in whatever way you need. We'll talk about specs and stuff like that. And so within a couple of weeks, I was up and running on Twitch. And I've got to say, it was. It flipping saved my life. Not only because, you know, obviously there's a financial aspect to it, but it's. It gave me a focus. It gave me something to do that I really legitimately cared about, that I. That was my own for the first time. I always come into other people things. You know, this was the first time I had my thing in the community that, you know, we built together there. It's just so flipping awesome. I got to make it exactly how.

[Courtney Miller]

I wanted it in this, you know.

[Damien Haas]

I mean, I still. It's. That's my brand. I say flipping also. Damn.

[Courtney Miller]

Every time you say flipping, I'm just going to say flipping.

[Damien Haas]

The audience just heard a seagull.

[Ian Hecox]

This is epic meal time. I will say I peeped a couple of your streams and it's like, I watch Twitch sometimes and my brother does Twitch as well. But, like, when I started watching Damian, it seems like you nail it. You're so fast.

[Damien Haas]

Thank you so much.

[Ian Hecox]

With playing the game and interacting the chat. It's like you have two sets of eyes and you're so fast at interacting with them, seeing what they're saying, not just being like, nice, dude, keep going. Like, you literally, like, oh, that's a.

[Damien Haas]

Cool thing to say.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, I have this thing to say too, also. Oh, just killed five people. Cool. Like, you're. I was blown away when I first saw. I was so impressed.

[Damien Haas]

That means a hell of a lot, Courtney. Thank you. And I like, you know, like, everybody. I struggle with, like, self confidence. So the fact that, you know, my friends have been so supportive, you saying that, it means a hell of a lot in the community. I want to say thank you to my community as well.

[Courtney Miller]

Just because you can't talk to them.

[Damien Haas]

I have to.

[Courtney Miller]

This is Smosh cast, not the Damien streaming cast.

[Damien Haas]

I have to. Just because, I don't know. I'm big on, like, you know, Internet can be a toxic place. I want this to be a space where people can just sort of be who they are, you know, say what they want to say, you know, and be comfortable with that and know that they're not going to be judged. And everybody was, like, super on board with that and the fact that we've kept growing, but that vibe has stayed the same. It really speaks to. Not me necessarily, but the community itself and how we've just gotten such a solid, cool group of people. So I'm just. I'm happy and everybody here has been awesome about, you know, allowing me to continue that, you know, I'm moving specifically so I can be closer to work so I can get home and stream when the time comes. So anyway, blah, blah, blah, me, me, me. But, like, it was just.

[Courtney Miller]

It is interesting.

[Damien Haas]

It's been a lot of fun.

[Courtney Miller]

You did hit on an interesting thing with.

[Damien Haas]

What's that?

[Courtney Miller]

With your. With your community being really positive.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

You set that precedent because with Twitch, the chat can a lot of times turn very toxic for sure, very quickly, very easily for a lot of users. Yeah. Because it's. It kind of becomes an attention thing when. When you get a large view base and how many people are watching your streams.

[Damien Haas]

Depending on the game, it goes up to 400 hovers, around 250. Oh, thank you. Thank you.

[Courtney Miller]

400 people that can all have the opportunity to say the same thing at the same time.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

So it's a competition for. For words. So a lot of times, like, people will feel the need to say something toxic or. Or something controversial just to get the attention. Yeah, I'm just.

[Damien Haas]

I'm just more or less open about it because you still have to appeal to people's humanity because even if they're trolling, like, that's there. So, you know, sometimes if, you know, the mods don't catch something and the community seeing something off, I'll just be like, hey, man, I get what you're doing. That's not really what we do here. I'd love to have you join and hang out with us. You seem like a cool dude, but, you know, if that's what you want to do, there's a different space for that and that's fine. And people have actually been receptive. I've had people be like, hey, you know what? I'm really sorry. I actually just wanted to, you know, see if I could get you to see this. But this seems fun. I'd like to hang out. And they become a regular part of the stream. And, you know, that is.

[Courtney Miller]

That is a strange thing. A lot of times you can actually turn the negative. People.

[Damien Haas]

People are people, man. Yeah, yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Because I have. I have a friend that, you know, whenever she gets a negative comment on something, she'll respond to them in a positive way. And a lot of times they'll be like, okay, I'm so sorry. Like, I'm. I'm actually a fan. It's like, well, then why were you being a dick to me just a second ago?

[Damien Haas]

Because people just want that interaction, no matter how they can get it. And it's like, I think we're all aware of that. And I think if you. It's when you let your emotions get the better of you that it turns into something bigger. Then they see that response. They're like, oh, I can get more. And so, you know, and at the end of the day, if I have to ban someone, it's just click, end.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. But I definitely had my fair share of times when I did it. A few times where someone says something like, ridiculously mean or, like, untrue, and I'd be like, you definitely want to be positive. Like, hey, man, I don't know why you think that, but I actually really enjoy whatever da, da, da. And usually it is like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I love You. I did not mean to, like, offend you or I was just trying to talk. Like, that's all it really is. A lot of times that happens a lot on the Internet and social media. We have this mask a lot of times that we feel like we can say whatever we want. And because we expect people don't. It's easy to dehumanize somebody and not think of them as a person when they're not in the room with you.

[Damien Haas]

On both sides of things. Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

So when you, like, suddenly break down that wall of, like, well, hey, like, these are my feelings, and, like, you have feelings, so what's up? And then it's automatically, it's like, oh, like that humanity is still totally there for sure.

[Courtney Miller]

And I mean, it's something that I've dealt with, you know, for 13 years now. Maybe that explains why I'm so just just because. Because now nowadays, like, things don't really affect me as much. I feel like maybe that's somehow, like, emotionally dulled me throughout the years.

[Damien Haas]

Sure. But I think that's natural.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

How could it not?

[Courtney Miller]

But there, there's still, like. There's still comments sometimes that come through and they still. They still get you.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

The way that, the way that I like to compare it to is like, it's like being. Being a YouTuber, being like an online personality is like being a boxer. You know, you get better. You get better at not getting punched. You know, the more you do it, you learn take a hit, certain tricks, you learn how to bob and weave, you learn how to take a hit, like you said, but every now and then, you're still going to get punched in the fucking face.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

So, you know, it's. It's. I don't know what, there's no one solution to it, but it's really. You do have to come at it with a compassionate angle, like you said, with understanding. They don't really know what's going on either.

[Ian Hecox]

I was just saying, I know I've said things that sometimes I know maybe I don't mean or I was meaner that I meant for it to sound. You know what I mean? So knowing that I make those same mistakes, you can only assume. Oh, yeah. That person, I'm sure, is not to their core poison.

[Damien Haas]

Is it. Is it tough for you sometimes feeling like you've had a little bit of emotional dulling for how long you've been doing this, but also still feeling like you obviously recognize, like you want to connect to someone's humanity, you still want to be Vulnerable and be able to do that. I mean, do you feel like that's. It's tough for you to go about it from that other side of things now or do you feel like you've struck a balance as a long term YouTubist?

[Courtney Miller]

A lot of times I just have to ignore the comments. Sure. You know, you get that instant feeling like I have to respond to this or I have to react to this. And you know, I've just developed a routine of just being like, no, this isn't going to benefit me to respond to this. I'm going to scroll through this comment and see another comment and forget about that thing in like five seconds.

[Damien Haas]

Sure.

[Courtney Miller]

Like, and that generally goes with, with social media in general. Like not just reading comments against you, but you know, reading an article or something political that might piss you off. What I like to do is say you can call it a five minute rule or a ten minute rule. If you feel like saying something, maybe just kind of save it, revisit in 10 minutes, see if you still actually care. That's a great idea because a lot of people just react instantly. And that's, that's the issue with Twitter. And that's why you get that a lot of the outrage stuff is because on impulse people. Yeah, because you're able to immediately respond. It's, it's your very first reaction to something rather than taking a step back asking yourself, does this really matter to me? Does this affect me? And, and how is this going to make me or anything else better by me weighing in on this?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. And responding usually like, I mean unless it goes really well, like we said earlier, it's like, oh no, this is totally misunderstanding. But sometimes if you respond and it becomes like this back and forth argument, then you're gonna feel that stewing anger and upsetness for like 10 times as long. You don't wanna dwell.

[Damien Haas]

The thing you think about in the shower. Yeah, you don't wanna have an imaginary fight.

[Ian Hecox]

Don't dwell because then that comment wins. And you don't like, don't dwell on anything negative. Especially when people say negative stuff. It's usually not like solely because of that negative thing. It's like they usually something else is going on. Or like those negative comments are so rare too. When someone is cool with a video, they usually will barely even hit. Like they'll just be like cool and just move on. Not comment anything, not hit. Like sometimes not even hit subscribe. But you guys should, you have. And you guys are great. Good plug watching. But yeah, like it's a lot of times the negative ones stick out because the positive ones are up in those positive people's minds.

[Damien Haas]

I think you touched on something really cool there. It's sort of about how much power you're giving to that comment or whatever the influence is. And it's like, does one comment at the end of the day really affect you that much? No. But if you're still thinking about it, the question is, what do you feel about what they said? Do you feel like they're right? Did they hit the thing that you don't like about you? Well, that's something that's in your power to change. So screw that comment. Screw that person. How are you going to work on yourself to make this not a thing anymore? Or if you don't care so much if they said a thing and you're like, yeah, I'm loud sometimes. Oh, well, like, that's where the work is to be done. Not through an argument online.

[Ian Hecox]

Or just respond, fuck you, I'm out.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, right.

[Ian Hecox]

And that's all.

[Damien Haas]

Cussing a swear. Oh, my gosh. I'm not used to.

[Courtney Miller]

I will say it's very rare, but it is. It sort of restores your faith in humanity when you see a like, 10 response argument going on in, like, Twitter and then, no, no, no, just an argument. Just like an argument on Twitter or YouTube comments. And then at the end, it resolves and they actually come to some sort of resolution. You're like, oh, my God. There is faith in humanity, but most of the time it's garbage and nobody's happy at the end.

[Ian Hecox]

No one wins.

[Courtney Miller]

I would say, like, if. If you ever respond to somebody's negativity and they respond back with more negativity, just drop it there because it's not gonna be. It's not gonna get better.

[Damien Haas]

Whatever you're looking for, you ain't gonna find it. You're not gonna reach that catharsis that you're looking for and you're not gonna solve.

[Ian Hecox]

You're not gonna go, oh, you win. I am. You are the victor.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

You've changed my mind on politics, religion, and everything in one comment.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, you are right. The. The Shamrock shake is the best.

[Damien Haas]

Well, who doesn't believe that I'll fight him?

[Courtney Miller]

I've never had it.

[Damien Haas]

I haven't either, but I just want to be accepted.

[Ian Hecox]

It's okay.

[Courtney Miller]

It's okay.

[Damien Haas]

Okay. It looks bad.

[Ian Hecox]

It's a very distinct taste.

[Courtney Miller]

What is it better than McFlurry?

[Ian Hecox]

It's mint chip. Right. Shamrock. It's our McDonald's. Every McDonald's ever. What flavor is the shamrock shake? Shamrock flavor.

[Courtney Miller]

Shamrock. Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

I would actually be down for, like, wheatgrass flavored milkshake.

[Ian Hecox]

What? Wheatgrass and milk.

[Courtney Miller]

Damien, you can get out.

[Ian Hecox]

Take those headphones off.

[Damien Haas]

I mean, how's that different from a green tea frappe? I think green tea fraps taste like fish and grass.

[Ian Hecox]

I've never tried that.

[Damien Haas]

No, they're nasty.

[Courtney Miller]

Excuse me. It's matcha.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, I'm sorry. Mocha.

[Courtney Miller]

Go away.

[Ian Hecox]

Please go away.

[Damien Haas]

You've got me for 35 more minutes.

[Courtney Miller]

Or however long actually, on the. On the angle. I don't know. Gosh, is this just too much negativity? But the. The whole Captain Marvel Trolls kind of thing. Rotten Tomatoes had to adjust the way that people can leave reviews before the movie came out, because, you know, it's. It's a superhero movie starring a woman, and God forbid, I guess, you know, there's a group of people that aren't fans of that, so they decided to bomb Rotten Tomatoes with a bunch of negative comments.

[Ian Hecox]

Nice.

[Courtney Miller]

And that happened before with Black Panther.

[Ian Hecox]

As well, before the movie even came out, so. I don't know, man.

[Courtney Miller]

I hear there's cats in that movie, though.

[Damien Haas]

Whoa. Love them.

[Courtney Miller]

Like, the cats. Like, there's, like, a star of the movie.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, yeah, I've seen the trailer.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, that's Sabrina the Teenage.

[Ian Hecox]

I usually try. I usually try. I like to avoid trailers, especially for Marvel movies at all costs.

[Courtney Miller]

I love being surprised you can actually watch. I think you can watch a Marvel trailer and be okay, because they actually put misleading things in the trailers that don't actually happen in the movie for that explicit reason.

[Ian Hecox]

They'll put different takes of delivery for acting. And some. Yeah, I've seen that. Some scenes aren't even in there.

[Courtney Miller]

They'll change props. I know there was something with, like, Captain America's suit or shield or something in the Infinity War trailer. That's different.

[Damien Haas]

Can you imagine doing a whole day of takes? You're exhausted. They're like, all right, now let's get some for the trailer. And you're like, come on.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Do you think they probably.

[Courtney Miller]

They don't know. They don't even know.

[Ian Hecox]

I wonder. I wonder. I bet there's some places where they will write out a trailer based on the script and, like, strategically make certain expositions.

[Courtney Miller]

I mean, trailers are so well made now. Like, I enjoy. There's some movies where I enjoy the trailer more than I enjoyed the movie or some trailers.

[Ian Hecox]

You see an entire movie.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, my God, the dog's way home or whatever, dude.

[Damien Haas]

AKA Homeward Bound, AKA the worst CG.

[Courtney Miller]

Mountain lion I've ever seen in my life.

[Ian Hecox]

That was the weirdest thing. I just got chills. That was such a weird thing to see in the trailer. I remember hearing people.

[Damien Haas]

I think we saw it together when we were watching into the Spider Verse.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. I just remember hearing, as we see this dog rub faces with a mountain lion, I just hear Shane going, what's going on?

[Damien Haas]

It's a very Shane thing.

[Courtney Miller]

They literally, unless a bunch of stuff happens after that, it seems like they showed the entire movie.

[Damien Haas]

I hope to God that's the first 10 minutes. And it takes a weird left turn with serial killers. Mad Max style.

[Courtney Miller]

That's what I was wondering.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Like, yeah, you know, I saw. I saw Guardians. Didn't see a single trailer for it. Wow. And also didn't know it was a Marvel movie. Didn't know. They were like. After seeing it, I was like, that movie was amazing. Changed my life. Now, you know, they're in the Avengers.

[Courtney Miller]

I was like, wow, fake fan.

[Ian Hecox]

I know.

[Damien Haas]

Do you even know Chris Pratt?

[Courtney Miller]

Another crazy thing that the Marvel movies do with, like, the secrecy and everything is the actors don't even really get the scripts. Like, they.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, they have to put them in.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, they put them in, like, a room, and they're allowed to read the script there, but they can't take it back with them. And a lot of times the things that are written in the script aren't even actually going to be in the movie. It's more just so they have their lives. Misleading things. Just in case of leaks.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, well, because Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo were really bad at leaks.

[Courtney Miller]

Now they're like. Now they're using that as a marketing thing. Like, they have to. Tom Holland giving all these, like, oh, spoiler leaks. But now it's just a marketing thing.

[Damien Haas]

But how, as an actor, are you even supposed to do your job if you're, like, getting background information? It's like, psych. He didn't even have an uncle. And you're like, but I built my whole emotional ride off of that.

[Courtney Miller]

Wasn't that the deal with dude that played Vision? Like, he didn't know that his character. Can I. I mean, he was Harvest.

[Ian Hecox]

For a long time, and then.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, but didn't I. I think he didn't know that his character died until he was getting to set to shoot it.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, my God.

[Courtney Miller]

But I mean, if you're talking about. If you're talking about, like, actors that deserve respect from memory. Memorizing things. Soap opera actors.

[Damien Haas]

Oh yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Like we all. We all dump on soap operas because they're garbage. But they have to memorize like 40.

[Damien Haas]

Pages of screen in a morning.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

I was almost on a soap opera once. It was down to me and like two other people for I think it was Days of our Lives. That was some characters long lost son. Of course that comes back and amazing. Yeah. See I'm not that good of an actor so soap operas would have been perfect.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. But it's like cuz they shoot. They shoot like an hour long show every single day. Like every single weekday. Right. Like a new episode comes out every single weekday. Right? Something like that.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

So they have to be shooting an entire television show every single day. They're like, here's a script.

[Ian Hecox]

Wow.

[Courtney Miller]

It's insane. So I got massive respect for that art form. But I also just could never watch. I could never watch it. They're still on, right?

[Damien Haas]

Oh yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Jane the Virgin gives you a little taste of roughly what it's like. But back on what you said. Damian, you are a great actor. I am very.

[Courtney Miller]

Thank you.

[Ian Hecox]

You impress me a lot. Sorry. And I'm just gonna. I actually wanna know because it's so cool. Cause with this new chapter we're putting you in a lot more smosh pit and sketches and stuff. But what was that like being from a voice actor and an actor? Like you were on Disney. I don't know if you did Nickelodeon stuff but like never. Nick.

[Damien Haas]

They did.

[Ian Hecox]

Nick, you've done a lot of cool video game stuff that I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about. But like for sure. What is that like going? Well, I guess you voiced for video game stuff. That's the transition. But now you're. You're like. You got into gaming. Like what was that transition like?

[Damien Haas]

Well, well, thank you so much. That's super nice. All of it. Thank you. I'll just take the damn compliment because I'm not good at that. So I'll just say thank you and I appreciate it. You know, it was a really cool transition. To be honest. I think there are weirder transitions to be made because on Disney I had a sketch background because I was on so random with Shane. So that was like the. All that of our generation. And so I had a sketch background but my hobby was always gaming. And not only just like playing games, but looking at the design of them being like. See how they use lighting here to sort of guide you to this area. And you Feel like you're in an open world, but in reality, they're funneling you into the. You know, and I talked to Shane about that when we were roommates. He'd be like, oh, yeah, sick. Cool. So it just sort of felt. It felt natural. It felt like the. The next logical step to combine all of my passions. And it was like, this is literally the only place where that could have happened.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

I can do sketch on one side of things and then gaming on the other. So, you know, the transition wasn't too hard. If anything, the gaming side was a bit more of a difficult transition for me because it took me a little bit to learn. Like, you're not trying to impress anybody playing games. You're not trying to beat everybody else and be the best and all that stuff. You are trying to be an entertainer and have fun with it, which, you know, I would do anyway. But, like, there was. There's this whole casting process where with other two other people, I was playing, like, Mario Kart, and I was, like, making jokes and stuff, but it was still very important in my mind. I was just like, I probably have to beat these other two people to, like, be on this gaming channel, and I'm garbage at Mario Kart. So I was, like, very focused, and it was kind of like a sigh of relief to be like, oh, I don't have to go home and, like, practice the game first. I don't have to buy it and be like, got to make sure I know all the takes, techniques, and arms.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

So I can, you know.

[Courtney Miller]

Well, I think that's. I think that's the thing that. That separates smosh games from the other sort of gaming channels is that totally. It's. It's never about winning. It's just about having fun with your friends.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And. And that's something that I think really resonates with people. And, you know, we're just trying to provide a place for people to feel like they're sort of a part of a part of it. And I mean, like, competitive gaming is such a different thing.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And a lot of people that, you know, when we were trying to figure out, you know, what was going to happen with smosh and smosh games, a lot of people that were thinking about buying Smosh when talking about smosh games, they're like, so esports.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, no. And we're like, wrong tree chipper.

[Courtney Miller]

No, that's not Smosh games.

[Damien Haas]

Not at all.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes. Esports is big. Yes, people are doing esports. But guess what? Leave that to the people that are good at doing esports. Let us just be dumbasses on Mario Kart.

[Damien Haas]

Exactly. I don't want to learn all the different nuance. Like, I've never played League of Legends. Looks like fun, but if I ever sat down, I'd want to be able to just, like, enjoy it. But the friends I know who play it are like, alright, so this is this character. He does this and this. You have to stay right here and click on this thing at this exact time. And if you don't do it as soon as you possibly can, it's just like, oh, I thought this was a game. My mistake.

[Courtney Miller]

No, a league is not to be messed around with.

[Damien Haas]

No, it's for professionals, dog.

[Ian Hecox]

It's so true. What you said, though, about this job is weirdly so perfect for a specific interest. I made a tweet right around the announcements. I weirdly feel like I was born for this job. I enjoy doing characters. I just always enjoyed doing weird characters and acting. I love just playing games with my friends. And I was very into YouTube when I was younger. This is everything that I ever wanted to do compiled into one. And it's, like, so crazy that it exists.

[Courtney Miller]

Well, little do you know, you were born to do this job.

[Damien Haas]

We crafted you.

[Courtney Miller]

I contacted your parents when I was 8 or something. 6. And I was like, you need to breathe this channel.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. Checked her with the YouTube gene.

[Courtney Miller]

Cause I knew what YouTube would be back then.

[Ian Hecox]

Mm.

[Damien Haas]

We all did. Everybody knew, of course. But isn't that. Is it, like, interesting for you to know that, like, Courtney and I watched Smosh. Like, we knew who you were way back in the day when you were doing, like, the Pokemon theme song stuff.

[Courtney Miller]

Like, it's a little weird.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah. And now you have made this, like, empire that employs all these flipping people. It's.

[Courtney Miller]

Fuck people. Sorry, I just had to do it. You said flip. Sorry, I'm sorry. You were saying something really nice and.

[Damien Haas]

I just had to see what I mean. I also. I have a hard time taking compliments, but it's just. It's just. I'm sure it's very odd, like, you know, butterfly effect style thing. What if you and Anthony had a fight when you were 12 and you're like, oh, I'm taking my BattleBots home. And. Yeah, like, I don't know. It's.

[Courtney Miller]

Luckily we did not take those BattleBots home.

[Damien Haas]

Good.

[Courtney Miller]

Played, played and played.

[Ian Hecox]

It just feels so perfect, though, like, and when we shoot those. When we had a lot of those Smoshfit videos where we were playing Card games and stuff together a lot of times. Cause some days we were tired and it was like, we just wanna go home when we're done. But a lot of times I was just, I was so excited for those days. Cause I was genuinely just having fun with my friends. And sometimes they'd cut and be like, okay, the game's over. Even on board af, stuff like that.

[Damien Haas]

Oh yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm just like, I wanna keep playing with you guys. I really am having so much fun.

[Courtney Miller]

But that's when you know you're doing the right thing. Totally is when you're doing something that want to do and that's something that, you know, it's been preached since the beginning of YouTube essentially. You know, find some, do something that you're passionate about. Don't just do it because it's trending right now or it's popular because it will wear on you. And I mean maybe some of those people doing slime videos really love slime. I remember talking to my barista and she was like, I am really getting into slime. I love slime.

[Damien Haas]

How did that come up? You said venti with hazelnut and she was like, I like slime.

[Courtney Miller]

Excuse me? I don't. Come on. You think Starbucks is my go to coffee place. We live in. There's a coffee shop on every frickin corner of every block in la.

[Ian Hecox]

Wait, what? Ian is very.

[Courtney Miller]

I'm a little bit of a. I'm a little bit of a coffee snob.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, it's also not even that. It's like the whole conversation thing. Like I don't even know how you got into a conversation about slime with a barista. But it wouldn't surprise me though, because I remember when I first I took to you so quick and I told you everything about me, like bad stuff, good stuff. Because you're just so easy to talk to and just talk about random stuff. I think that's why the podcast is perfect for you. But also I loved you immediately just cause you were so great to talk to.

[Courtney Miller]

Aw.

[Damien Haas]

So wait. You're very charismatic, but you feel emotionally dulled, but people can just open up to you. Have you considered that you might be a psychopath?

[Ian Hecox]

Like blank canvas situation?

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, I think it's possible see myself in your eyes.

[Courtney Miller]

You know, I don't think I'm a sociopath. I learned that from Shane Dawson's.

[Damien Haas]

I love Shane Dawson, by the way.

[Courtney Miller]

I don't, I don't think I'm. I don't think I'm particularly a charismatic person. I always, I always admire charismatic people because I want to understand how they're able to be that way. Do you know what I mean? Like, like my dad is, is like a people person charmer. He just. Yeah, I don't, I don't. Have you ever met my dad?

[Ian Hecox]

I don't think so.

[Courtney Miller]

Maybe for like a brief.

[Damien Haas]

Paul Rudd, right?

[Ian Hecox]

I met your mom.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

But it's like I, you know, growing up, I'm like, I'm like, I want to be like that, like where you can easily just like strike up conversations with people. And for me, that was always, that was always a little harder. I was always a little bit more reserved. But I'm always trying to push myself because I feel like when you, when you label yourself a certain way, that prevents you from changing any sort of bad habits you might have.

[Damien Haas]

But to that end, I don't think whatever someone's goal is for themselves. Personally, I don't ever think you look in the mirror and go, ah, I'm there. I've made it. So, you know, you look up to your dad as being a charismatic person. I look up to my dad and very much in the same way. But eventually you become that. And there's never gonna be a day when you're like, yes, I'm charismatic like my father, but it's in your own way. You are in a social media based business where you're working with people, being funny on camera and you're able to have people open up to you like that. Maybe you have become that.

[Courtney Miller]

Right.

[Damien Haas]

Maybe you've become your father.

[Courtney Miller]

But then sometimes, sometimes I'll have a conversation with somebody and they'll say something to me. I don't have an immediate response because I'm trying to think of something clever to say.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, you do that.

[Courtney Miller]

And so I'll just stare at them.

[Ian Hecox]

You do like this beard touch and like. Or you'll stare or do like a beard touch and be like, like not knowing what to say right away. But it's like you're a good listener too. You're a really good listener. Or maybe just not even paying attention to what I'm saying. So that's fine too.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, Courtney, birds are great. You and I have also had a lot of, like, good, deep conversations. Maybe it's you, Courtney. Maybe you're able to connect with a lot.

[Courtney Miller]

Maybe you're the one.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm very overly comfortable with people. I will say, when I first met you, I do have this thing with any friend of a close friend of mine. I will take to you immediately too. I'm like, so Shane's best friend's coming to work with us. Amazing. I definitely gold retrievered you. I like, I call him, like, hi, Hello. Give you the biggest hug in the world. I remember. I remember our first hug. It was really cute.

[Damien Haas]

And was it on super stupid sleepover?

[Ian Hecox]

No, I think it was in the office, but it was just somewhere in the office. But I definitely. That was in that stage where I was starting to realize, like, oh, yeah, like, I'm gonna be overly friendly to people. Some people may not like that, but like, you, you accepted me right away.

[Damien Haas]

It was nice. It's weird coming in, being the new guy and also, like, having, you know, my best friend was, you know, opening the door for me. But at the same time, like. Like when your best friend is someone that everybody already loves in the office, it's just like, oh, man. And I'm being introduced as, like, this is Shane's best friend. It's like, aha, I'm funny. I'll show you. Ha ha ha. Like, there's a lot to live up to, I guess.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. But not only did you live up to it, but we realized Shane took a lot of your jokes and you.

[Damien Haas]

No, no, no.

[Ian Hecox]

A little bit.

[Damien Haas]

Just a little bit.

[Ian Hecox]

Or maybe they were just inside jokes with you guys.

[Courtney Miller]

Either way, but I think you nailed it perfectly. Courtney, you are a golden retriever.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, a lot.

[Courtney Miller]

Because you. Yeah. Every person you friends with, and some people, you probably give too much of the benefit of the doubt.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And you give them too many breaks. But that is just who you are. And it's a lot better than being a dick to everybody.

[Ian Hecox]

True.

[Courtney Miller]

Very true. Wanting to be friends with everyone is much better than not wanting to be friends with anyone.

[Damien Haas]

I'll take that any day.

[Ian Hecox]

My dad is very similar to your dad. Where I remember just growing up, we were a big family. My dad, everyone knows my dad. He's so popular. He's so friendly. Like, women are just going after him.

[Courtney Miller]

Well, he is a firefighter.

[Ian Hecox]

He's a firefighter. And he looks great and dare I.

[Courtney Miller]

Say, quite a handsome man.

[Ian Hecox]

He's aged well. He's a good aged dad, but like a well aged dad.

[Damien Haas]

He's aging like wine as opposed to milk.

[Ian Hecox]

But I just remember growing up and people always. Everywhere we went, store, church, anywhere, it was like, oh, it's the Millers. What's up? And like, I just was like, I want to keep that feeling of like, I love a familiar face. Like, I. Even if I don't Know you that well. I think this is something that's helped me a lot in life, is, like, that just wanting to be friends with you immediately. Like, when Olivia and I met, we became friends so quickly, and, like, if I hadn't become friends with her, I wouldn't be here. I lost my train of thought, but you know what I mean? Just.

[Courtney Miller]

You want to be like your dad? Yeah. Do we all want to be like our dad? My dad was a. My dad did hang gliding. I don't want to do that.

[Ian Hecox]

I don't want to jump off helicopters and save people. Sorry.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

That's what my dad does.

[Damien Haas]

My dad had a very hard life, and so I see a lot of the ways that I'm like him already, and those are ways that I admired in him. So I'm very proud of that. But there are other things that, you know, you learn from either way. I'm very proud to have learned from my father. The things that I want to take or the things that I see, like, that's not me, and that's okay.

[Courtney Miller]

It is that weird thing, like. Like, as you get older, you start realizing that you're more and more like your parents. And it's very strange. Yeah, it's very strange.

[Ian Hecox]

And you're like. Like, sometimes I'll wear a certain. My hair a certain way and wear a certain outfit.

[Damien Haas]

Whoa.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm my mom. Holy crap.

[Damien Haas]

For me, it's vocal stuff. And, like, the way I stand, like, I'm sometimes, like, standoffish like this, with legs spread apart and, like, you know, this is a dad's dance. And also, I came home from work the other day and just went, yeah. And I was like.

[Ian Hecox]

I'll say things a certain way, and I'll just hear my sister, or even just, like, looking at my hands, I see my youngest brother, Connor. It's so weird. It's so weird.

[Damien Haas]

Genetics is strange, y'all. Genetics. People also just being raised by people. The environs in which even if it's not a genetic relation, it's like, even with adopted kids, you will see that. Like, oh, you're just like your familials. Yeah. Nature versus nurture. Who knows?

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, my God. Speaking of that. That. I saw that, Doc. Three identical strangers.

[Damien Haas]

What?

[Ian Hecox]

I still need to see that. But that's crazy.

[Damien Haas]

Pump the brakes. I've never even heard of this.

[Courtney Miller]

It's so crazy.

[Damien Haas]

Separated triplets or something.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Damien Haas]

Whoa.

[Courtney Miller]

And it was an experiment.

[Ian Hecox]

So it was like, no, don't give it away.

[Courtney Miller]

Well, it's not.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm not giving away the crazy beginning is like, this one guy visited a college campus and all sudden everyone was calling him a different name. Like, what's up? And he was like, that's not me. What the hell? Come to find out his twin that he did not even know about was going to that college.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, he, like, went to the college the year before, and then there was.

[Ian Hecox]

A whole other sibling as well. I haven't seen it. Maybe we could watch it together.

[Damien Haas]

Okay. I'm down after Xanadu ii.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Have a podcast line. Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And then it gets, like, all into that nature nurture thing, but it's like, God, what a messed up scenario. Highly recommend it. It's on Hulu.

[Ian Hecox]

I gotta wonder what that's like. Like, if I had a lost sibling or something, like, how similar would we actually be in terms of certain stuff? Because there are things that is just in our nature. There's a lot of things about me that I'm very different from the rest of my family, but I take so much pride in, and I don't know, it came from. So there's seven kids in my family, and so there was a lot of pairing up. Two oldest siblings and then the next two, and then big gap me and then another big gap and then two little boys.

[Damien Haas]

So, like, oh, wow.

[Ian Hecox]

I was alone a lot. And I definitely developed my own sense of humor and, like, my way of looking at the world in my solitude a lot of times. And, like, that's something I, like, recently worked through in therapy. Therapy's great, by the way. I highly recommend it.

[Damien Haas]

Hells yeah. I don't think you'd find a single person in the Smosh family that would disagree.

[Ian Hecox]

You don't have to be crazy to go to therapy. I'm crazy, but it's fine. I have a way of looking at the world that I can recognize is not common in my family at all, which is okay. I think it's so good to have people with different opinions in your life and all that, but there are certain things that just don't come from just the people who are around you.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. I could tell from those home videos you recorded by yourself. Yeah, that definitely seemed like the time when you must have been alone for some time. I haven't even seen because we did a react video to a bunch of your old videos on YouTube. It'll be up at Teaser.

[Ian Hecox]

Not for a little while, but Teaser, that's my old YouTube channel. But I also have home footage from before I knew how to upload. Like, I would edit things on Windows Movie Maker, but I didn't know how to export.

[Damien Haas]

How many dozens of hours did that editing take for a 15 second?

[Ian Hecox]

I loved editing. I was like eight.

[Courtney Miller]

And I was like, movie maker is such garbage.

[Ian Hecox]

But I had literally, it was like a tape from a video camera that was called Koki's corner or something. And so we're gonna watch that. I think if people like the YouTube channel react, then we'll delve even worse. It's really weird, dude. I was. I'm weird. I'm a weirdo.

[Damien Haas]

That's wicked. Cringe.

[Courtney Miller]

How many characters did you have in that one? You played all the. You played all of the characters in this video. They're all interacting with each other. How many.

[Ian Hecox]

How many are there? It was. Okay, so it was a series that I did, had like 10 plus episodes called no Vacancy. And it was basically a bunch of. Of different versions of me living in my bedroom. There was Courtney, which was me. Nino the emo. Nino is one of my nicknames as a kid. Nev, who was the nerdy smart one? Ke$ who's just the sassy party girl.

[Courtney Miller]

Wow, where'd you get that name?

[Ian Hecox]

So creative of me to think of that.

[Damien Haas]

How many dollar signs?

[Ian Hecox]

One. Just one. The basic one.

[Damien Haas]

Cabela sign. Huh.

[Ian Hecox]

There was Journey, the hipster, Sally the cowgirl. Gale, the like. I don't even know. She was just crazy one. No, no. Shannon was the psycho, rabid one. But then there was Gale, the, like. The like, calm, goofy one that was.

[Damien Haas]

Like, just so you know, like three characters ago, I thought to myself, that's a lot of characters.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, and there was temporary characters. There was visiting characters that would come and go as well, that we're not PC. But that's okay. Times are different.

[Courtney Miller]

I will admit one, you're just in blackface.

[Damien Haas]

I mean, hey, that's the Shane Dawson thing.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, God.

[Ian Hecox]

No, that's the thing. Media is changing, and it's becoming so wonderful. But it had to grow from somewhere, right? Okay. Where people are growing, the Internet's growing, content's growing.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. You never actually did buy.

[Ian Hecox]

No, I didn't, obviously.

[Courtney Miller]

So that's good.

[Damien Haas]

Well, it's that thing too, where, like, they said something like John Wayne said something super racist back in the day, and it was a quote from the 70s, and people are, like, outraged about it now. And it's just like, for me, it's the bill birth quote of, like, what did you think he thought? Like, he's an old man. He's a cowboy. What do you think he thought it's like, yeah, doesn't mean it's okay at all. But it's like, what are you doing?

[Courtney Miller]

Even by 70s standards, it was. Was pretty freaking.

[Damien Haas]

I didn't hear what it. I didn't hear what it actually was. I did not read the quote. If it ends up being horrible, it doesn't mean I agree with it. I had no idea.

[Courtney Miller]

But there was one. There's one thing that he said that I thought was hilarious where he was like. He's like. Cuz they writer was asking him about the fact that he doesn't cast minorities in. In.

[Damien Haas]

Oh God, please cut out everything I just said.

[Courtney Miller]

And he was like. And he was like, I cast minorities where they should be. I casted a black person as a slave in this movie.

[Ian Hecox]

Groundbreaking.

[Courtney Miller]

Damn, dude.

[Damien Haas]

For the love of God, everyone.

[Ian Hecox]

Shoot.

[Damien Haas]

Dude, I didn't read the John Wayne quotes. That's not what I believe.

[Courtney Miller]

I should have briefed you on the John Wayne quotes.

[Ian Hecox]

It's okay.

[Courtney Miller]

I could pull up more if you'd like, but no, please.

[Damien Haas]

I disagree with all of them across the board.

[Courtney Miller]

I like the myth that, that John Wayne only ate meat and potatoes. And then when he died, they did an autopsy and found 10 pounds of meat and potatoes stuck in his colon.

[Ian Hecox]

Trying to go in hibernation.

[Courtney Miller]

But I think that's all. I think it's all some bs.

[Damien Haas]

No. My brother's friend knew his cousin who was in the neighborhood with this dude who did the autopsy. Isn't that how those stories go when someone like doubles down? They're like, no, dude, that was a real thing. Because my friend's friend, he knew, he saw it on the Internet.

[Courtney Miller]

I've regurgitated it. That's half the stories I have because I don't experience anything in my own life. So I just have to regurgitate stories that I've heard from other people.

[Damien Haas]

Like emotions.

[Courtney Miller]

Exactly.

[Ian Hecox]

It's like, that's a thing though, with like John Wayne and you know so many people from back then. It's like you don't. Of course there's something that somebody said in the past that was not good. But like, I think it's good that we're moving forward and recognizing what's okay, what's not okay. Like Lilly Singh, she tweeted and it's kind of the same thing. Like, it's like you said with John Wayne, you're like, oh, what do you think? 1970s cowboy. Of course he had that kind of opinion type thing. Lilly Singh tweeted, I'm a Woman, I'm colored. I'm bisexual. These are my powers. And apparently that was her coming out.

[Courtney Miller]

Right.

[Ian Hecox]

For me, it was like, we've been new. Like, I thought I was like, wait, I thought everybody knew that we've been new. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I thought it was a thing.

[Courtney Miller]

I mean, you can never assume and, you know, you never want to.

[Ian Hecox]

True.

[Courtney Miller]

And obviously that's. That's one other thing. You never want to out somebody, of course. Unless. Unless they've clearly outed themselves.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Especially if you get it wrong.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, yeah. Imagine if I tweeted. I was like, yeah, like, you know how Lilly sings bisexual? And she, like, didn't even say anything like that. That would not be good.

[Damien Haas]

A world of oops.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Damien Haas]

Big old basket of whoopsie daisies.

[Courtney Miller]

I think that's super important. It's not just, like, sexuality, but also people that struggle with mental illness. Mental health.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

People that struggle.

[Ian Hecox]

Normalizing those things is so important and like, that. But there's a thing, too. I am not straight. That's something that I only recently started working through, and I'm still kind of working through it. But it is something that I've felt is important for people to know because it's like, let's normalize. It's so important to normalize things that people are insecure about. I'm still a little insecure about what exactly it is like. I remember when I. I didn't even realize it literally until a couple years ago when I started. Because I grew up in the Mormon Church, and when I was 12, I realized that Mormons hated a lot of them. Not. I won't generalize, but when Prop 8, the gay marriage, like, proposition was a thing, a lot of my friends in the Mormon Church were like, gays are bad. All this terrible thing. And I was like, whoa. And I. And I left the church at that point. Wasn't until I was 21ish, that I was like. I mean, all my life I'd kind of wondered. And, like, the fact that I kept wondering, it wasn't like a. Like a naive, like, am I gay? I don't know. It was definitely like, man, this is something that I need to relax and, like, think about. Because for so long, I was like, yeah, I'm straight. That's what I am, because that's what I thought I was supposed to be. But, like, there was so many conflicting things with that. I don't know if I'm bisexual, but. Because, like, that. That's kind of limiting to gender because I'VE definitely found people who are gender fluid, like, attractive, just, I think. I don't know. Everybody's hot.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

I don't know, man.

[Damien Haas]

It's a spectrum.

[Ian Hecox]

And I remember the first people I told were it was definitely Matt Robb and Joe Beretta were there. It was a defy media Christmas party. And that was the first time I didn't know this.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. That was the first time I said out loud that I don't think I'm straight and. Cause the longest time I was just thinking about it and kind of, like, let those walls down that I'd had up for a long time. I'm hot in the face right now.

[Damien Haas]

Well, I fully support everything you're saying, but I think the coolest thing is there might be a kid or anybody out there right now who really needs to hear this, especially coming from you.

[Ian Hecox]

And it feels very much like a fluid thing. And I also. I think I have a weird type, too. Like. Cause, okay, when I was a kid, my mom had a lot of drawing books and, like, comic book books, including this Wonder Woman one that I always loved. I really loved the artwork and everything. And so literally a couple months ago, I messaged my mom and I was like, hey, like, do you have that Wonder Woman book? That super old one? I'd love to, like, add it to my collection. I. I have drawing books. I have a Guardians of the Galaxy book for my coffee table, and she sent it to me, and I'm going through it, and it's just really sexually charged drawings of women. And I was like, oh, okay. That's why I like looking at that. So basically, my type is Wonder Woman. Just.

[Courtney Miller]

I mean, I think that's something we can all agree on.

[Damien Haas]

Super dry.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay.

[Ian Hecox]

Before fans get weird, I just, like, something I realized throughout all this just now is, like, Olivia and I have kissed in videos. Calm down. We definitely do those for you. I'm not like, Olivia. Shipping Cortavia. Shipping is a fun thing, but, like, I'm not attracted to Olivia. I'm not attracted to any Mari, Sarah, nobody. I like. It's not like, oh, every girl is a potential for me. Like, it's. I mean, that's a general thing.

[Courtney Miller]

It's the same thing.

[Ian Hecox]

It's the same for all that.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. I'm straight. Not every girl that I interact with. I have to date.

[Ian Hecox]

Our first video together. Our first video together. Speed drawing. Like, people were immediately. Since I was this new girl in a video, making sexual comments. It's just what happens. But, yeah, I just wanted to disclose that, like, olivia, I love you. I'll kiss you any day you need, but I'm not into you like that. Sorry, babe. For sure.

[Damien Haas]

But, yeah, well, I applaud you for talking about this. I really do, because I think. I think, like you said, whatever. The thing is, whether it's mental health, whether it's sexuality, whether it's gender, whether it's anything, things are only quote, unquote, weird because we don't talk about them. That's why, when I get the opportunity, I talk about mental health stuff all the time. Anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, all that good stuff. I deal with that. I do. And it's only weird because it's not talked about. And that's. It's not your job to talk about it, necessarily. But I think you have done and can do a lot of good. Because there's someone out there right now who's just, like, probably bawling, being like, oh, my God, that's me. And it's okay. Like, I'm proud of you.

[Courtney Miller]

And I think you bring up a good point where you said, I don't know what I am. And that's. And that's okay, because I think. I think people feel such a need to adhere themselves to a specific identity that they might not actually completely.

[Ian Hecox]

People need to label things.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

And feel secure and.

[Courtney Miller]

But, like, we should probably stop doing that so much. But I think that there is. There is some safety in that, in saying, I don't know, but I'm figuring it out. And especially, like, young people, like, yeah, everybody's. Everybody's had the thought before, like, am I?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, everyone.

[Courtney Miller]

What is this?

[Ian Hecox]

You know, I didn't know what anxiety was until, like, 16 because it's not something that was talked about. I wasn't on the Internet that much at that time. It's like, you gotta talk about that stuff. People need to know.

[Damien Haas]

I was diagnosed OCD two years ago, and I had no idea that what I was experiencing was ocd because I just took that as like, I've gotta organize stuff and check this doorknob six times. That is ocd. And it's just like, oh, no. It's the way my mind works and how I deal with things, which leads to anxiety, yada, yada, yada. And I've got to say, you know, even though this doesn't have to do with sexuality, I can understand the comfort in finding a label. You know, Even if it's better to maybe not label so you can, like, figure things out. You know, finding out that I Had a word for what I was feeling. I could be like, ah, I have ocd.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

The same way with someone who goes like, I'm bi. Got it. Check done.

[Ian Hecox]

Like, you know, I definitely. Like, the most secure way to say it for me is just being like, oh, yeah, I'm not straight. Like, that's just because. And I could be pansexual. It could just be bisexual. I don't know, whatever. But, like, I just realized in these last couple years, and it was like, right as I was in a new relationship that I was like, wow. And I remember I was coming out to certain people, but my stomach growled just so loud. I hope you all heard that. I did not hear that. Some people, I didn't go about it the right way. I thought people knew already and they'd be like, oh, I didn't know that. And I definitely had some people that probably got upset when they found out. There's. And you'll never really know who's tolerant of that stuff. I didn't know that I had a homophobic person in my friend circle. Like, you don't. You'll never know. And sometimes, yeah, you'll just. You will never find that out. But yeah, it's crazy, man. It's been a journey.

[Damien Haas]

Sometimes people need time to, like, you know, maybe if they were like, I don't know. But like, I think I said this in my stream recently. Somebody was just like, I came out to some friends and my best friend won't talk to me now. And I said, like, like, unfortunately, try your best to be the bigger person and forgive them for yourself for now. To try to, like, save yourself a lot of grief because they might not have never actually been exposed to anybody that they knew was gay before. And then once they do some thinking, they'll be like, oh, that person is still that person. Holy crap. And so then two weeks later in the stream, they're like, yo, my best friend reached out and apologized and now we're hanging out again. And it's just like, well, there you go.

[Ian Hecox]

And that person that was upset when they found out, they didn't tell me they were upset. I could just very much tell. And then they basically told me that they were homophobic later. But they're still in my life. I think it's okay to have people around. Like, don't just keep people with the same opinions as you. I mean, it's good to have those people, but it's also good. I mean, homophobia is a terrible thing.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, that's not an opinion we really welcome around these parts.

[Ian Hecox]

No, no, just be tolerant, be accepting. Whatever. Like, not whatever, but you know what I mean? That person's still in my life. I don't hate them. It's, you know, like, we are all here on our own path, so.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. Well, thank you so much for sharing that, Courtney. That takes a lot. And I think, you know, for some of the people listening, I think that's something that needs to be heard. I'm always a big supporter of, you know, know, getting these sort of problems out here, and that's what podcasts are really good for because, you know, everyone's struggling with something, and it's nice to hear that. That other people have these things going on with. With my ex, Pam, she was a. She was a cancer survivor, and she always kept it secret.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And. And when we were together, I told her, like, this is. This is. You could help people by talking about it. Raising awareness.

[Damien Haas]

Totally.

[Courtney Miller]

And when she had her sort of last scare, she then started talking about it more and talking about it more and being more involved in the community, and it really helps people.

[Ian Hecox]

It does. There's so many people that we only get to meet a few of those through Make a Wish people. We really help them through their struggle, even just by existing. But when you find somebody like Pam that, like, they can relate to on that level, that's so special.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, it's inspiring. And not just in the way of just being like, ah, so inspiring. You did it. But it's like, it shows that. It's like, you're not gonna let this hold you back and stop your life. Obviously, there are physical limitations that you have to deal with, but it's just like, Pam didn't stop. Pam's still doing stuff. Pam is kicking butt. So.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah, she's kicking ass is what she's doing.

[Courtney Miller]

Yo.

[Ian Hecox]

And I'm again, I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm still learning a lot about myself every day. And there are things I'll look back on my past and I'll be like, oh, yeah, that's why I did that thing. That's why I liked that girl. And I, you know, that's why I.

[Courtney Miller]

Watched Friends with all the nipples.

[Damien Haas]

There are a shocking amount of nipples. And Friends, by the way, are you.

[Courtney Miller]

Coming to this realization?

[Damien Haas]

Yep.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, my God. Yep.

[Damien Haas]

I didn't watch Friends until, like, three years ago, and I was like. And this was network tv. This isn't showtime.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, they got away with some. Some quite a bit of nipples.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, she'd have cotton Away from Game of Thrones. All right.

[Damien Haas]

Let'S all.

[Ian Hecox]

I've thought about joining a subreddit to help myself discover exactly what, you know, more about what this is and how to. To go about it and deal with it, you know, subreddit. Any recommendations?

[Damien Haas]

The Brave Exvius subreddit is for a video game I play.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, okay. I've never been a Redditor.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm very new to it.

[Courtney Miller]

There's a lot there. And I'm afraid that if I get into it, I am not going to be able to leave it.

[Damien Haas]

My roommate spends a lot of time on if it exists.

[Ian Hecox]

There's a subreddit about it. You know what I'm saying?

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm very new. Like, literally in the last six months, I started getting into Reddit.

[Courtney Miller]

I. I did peruse through the R cringe once or twice, but the. The issue with that is there's a lot of people. There's a lot of submissions that I'm like, that's somebody with, like, mental problems and you're making fun of them and it's like, ah, but I do love me some. Some quality cringe. Not. Not ones that make fun of people, but people just in funny situations.

[Damien Haas]

How many panels would you say that cringe should have, like, would you say, like, four panel cringe would maybe feature some friends of ours?

[Courtney Miller]

I don't know what that means.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, a long time ago, Joven got featured on four panel cringe. You don't remember that?

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, I think I heard about that.

[Courtney Miller]

No, I didn't see that.

[Damien Haas]

Joe was on four panel cringe. It was a bummer. What is this funny for a minute?

[Ian Hecox]

4 panel. Is it 4chan 4 panel?

[Damien Haas]

Because it was just like a 4 panel.

[Courtney Miller]

What was the cringe?

[Damien Haas]

Oh, I'm not trying to, like, crap talk, Joe. I thought this was a thing everybody knew about. I thought everybody knew about this.

[Courtney Miller]

I'm sorry.

[Ian Hecox]

Joven pulls the cringe cards.

[Damien Haas]

I love you, Joven, so much. I'm sorry. I thought this was a known thing.

[Courtney Miller]

No.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm going to check this out. It's okay. We love him. We love. We stand.

[Courtney Miller]

Joban moving along because we don't have much time left. We've been selling those I help shirts. Oh, yeah, they're still. There's. There's still some out there. And how long.

[Ian Hecox]

Do we know how long they're out and because it's like limited until they.

[Courtney Miller]

Until they run out. Yep.

[Damien Haas]

So desperate.

[Courtney Miller]

Limited run. And somebody got an I helped tattoo.

[Ian Hecox]

I couldn't believe it. I did Not. I was literally. I was like, no, that's pen.

[Damien Haas]

I was like, you can see the redness. There's the redness there.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, my God. And it's so sweet.

[Courtney Miller]

It's in the comic Sans font.

[Damien Haas]

Yep.

[Ian Hecox]

Amazing. What if that was her first tattoo?

[Damien Haas]

I didn't see anything else.

[Courtney Miller]

I didn't see any other tattoos.

[Ian Hecox]

I'm not saying bad. It's like, wow. Like, we are special.

[Damien Haas]

We Stan you.

[Ian Hecox]

We are special.

[Damien Haas]

Was that. Oh, God. What's her name?

[Ian Hecox]

Miranda Sing.

[Damien Haas]

Miranda Sings.

[Ian Hecox]

We are Spin Chong.

[Damien Haas]

Ask you. Too many queen jeans.

[Courtney Miller]

Would you guys get any tattoos? Do you guys have any tattoos? Sorry. I'm, like, holding back a burp right now.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, I do that all the time. Don't hold back a burp. The one tattoo I wanted to get was they're like Nordic Runes. The way you write them, they sort of like.

[Courtney Miller]

Like, Skyrim.

[Damien Haas]

Skyrim. The Nords are here for nords. You can sort of combine them into, like, one letter using all the different parts, and that's how you'll, like, write initials or a name. So I wanted to get, like, my dad's initials or just, like, the initials of people that matter to me. But the problem is, do you know who else loves Nordic Runes as tattoos? Shane. White supremacists. So, like, that's why you gotta be really careful with symbols, because every once in a while, a group will just be like, right, I'll have that then. And then you're just like, no, no, I'm not a white supremacist. Staunchly against it. So that's a bummer. So otherwise, I might just get a Dark Souls or a Kingdom Hearts right there on the shoulder. I don't know.

[Courtney Miller]

But do you know who else likes Dark Souls? Nazis.

[Damien Haas]

You know, Probably. What a bummer, though, right? To be like, this is what I'm gonna get. Oh, what?

[Courtney Miller]

And then.

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, my gosh.

[Damien Haas]

So sad.

[Ian Hecox]

No tattoos on me, but I've wanted them for forever. It's just like. Cause I know I don't wanna have just one, you know? Like, it's a whole canvas. You don't wanna just put one little thing in the corner.

[Damien Haas]

That's.

[Ian Hecox]

I mean, I definitely want. I used to want, like, a big, messy bouquet of wildflowers, like, somewhere. And that was, like. I thought there was a lot of weird, like, experimental. I draw them, and then I'll sit on them for a couple years, and either they go away or whatever, the ink doesn't transfer.

[Damien Haas]

So you're like, ah. That didn't work.

[Ian Hecox]

Out. I definitely want to get a bee for my mom. My mom's obsessed with bees. Bees are her brand.

[Damien Haas]

I had an ex girlfriend with a bee on her back.

[Ian Hecox]

I'd love to get. Wait, was it her mom? Did you.

[Damien Haas]

I actually did, yeah. I don't think it was for her mom. I think it was for her grandmother who really liked bumblebee.

[Ian Hecox]

Wait, did you date my mom?

[Damien Haas]

I'm your real dad.

[Ian Hecox]

Father. I knew I was different.

[Damien Haas]

Tis I.

[Courtney Miller]

This is the true reason why we had the two of you guys on the show.

[Damien Haas]

This just became Montel Williams.

[Ian Hecox]

But I want a bunch of tattoos. I definitely want to get. I think it'd be so cool to get a little helicopter on me for my dad. Things about people that I care about, something for my great grandmother. Like, I wanted to get, like, a map of the Colorado river on my, like, right shoulder blade. Or there's this one South Korean tattoo artist who does super detailed, beautiful little things of dogs and cats. And there's a specific picture of Django. I'd love to get curled up Django somewhere. I only had it for a year.

[Damien Haas]

But, yeah, it doesn't matter.

[Ian Hecox]

Still, in your heart, I'd love to get some tattoos for my dogs in my past. Just definitely the things that I carry with me anyway and be able to have art to express about you, my dude.

[Courtney Miller]

No, I don't.

[Damien Haas]

We're so lame.

[Courtney Miller]

I don't. And I. I've thought about it before, but then it's also like, like an acting thing. Like, oh, then I'm just gonna be that guy that always has that tattoo. And also, I think. I think Neil DeGrasse Tyson said a really funny thing about tattoos. He said, because he was asked if he has any tattoos, and he says, there's nothing that I'm so certain of that I'd want to put it on my body forever.

[Ian Hecox]

True.

[Courtney Miller]

I'm like, oh, that's very interesting.

[Damien Haas]

Cause the Eldergrass Tyson thing to say, a normal thing, dude.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, I'm sorry. There's nothing more certain. That's really good.

[Ian Hecox]

Nice.

[Courtney Miller]

It's like if you got the Nordic tattoo and then you're, like, walking down the street, and all of a sudden there's a neo Nazi rally walking by, and they see your tattoo, they're like, hey, brother, come on over here punching.

[Damien Haas]

Chips in the back. And you're like, I don't want punching chips from you, man.

[Ian Hecox]

You don't like races?

[Courtney Miller]

Like, what, puncher? Chips.

[Damien Haas]

Punch and chips. What do you think happens at a white supremacy rally? There's juice and punch. I don't know.

[Courtney Miller]

Chips, cookies. I've never had a punch chip combo before.

[Ian Hecox]

People used to do that cookies and lemonade stuff. Chips and lemonade.

[Courtney Miller]

Cookies and lemonade, actually.

[Damien Haas]

Amazing.

[Ian Hecox]

It's a classic thing. It's a classic thing. Summertime. No, summertime snacks.

[Damien Haas]

Summertime.

[Ian Hecox]

But that's so true though. Constantly changing. I think that's not a lot of people. A lot of people are like against change. But being open to that and being aware that you're a constantly changing person, it's like open minded. But like, if it's something permanent, like, like a person that was in your life that no doubt had an effect on you.

[Courtney Miller]

What if you got a John Wayne tattoo?

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, God. Family only for me. Sorry.

[Damien Haas]

Someone did the other day say to me, you know, even if I regret a tattoo because he had a lot of tattoos, he's like, I might. I will not regret where I was in my life when I was certain that I wanted that tattoo. And I was like, well, that makes sense then. That makes a lot of sense. But.

[Courtney Miller]

But then you have to explain your John Wayne tattoo. Like, look, okay, I didn't know that he. That he didn't like black people. When I got this tattoo, I thought he was just a cowboy in movies.

[Damien Haas]

That's the thing. He thought, I don't know, maybe I'm an asshole.

[Ian Hecox]

I don't know.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, I mean, tattoos are cool. I think tattoos are cool.

[Ian Hecox]

I love them.

[Courtney Miller]

I just. There's nothing that really jumps out at me that I'd want and I don't even know where I'd put it, dude.

[Ian Hecox]

I think something smosh related somewhere on your right ass cheek. My dude. Something.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, Just like people, if you've gone.

[Ian Hecox]

To the Olympics, people put the Olympics symbol on them. I think that's totally valid. Something like that. Smosh. Come on, dude.

[Courtney Miller]

One of our camera guys said that he would, if we paid for it, he would get our faces on it. On him.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes.

[Damien Haas]

No way. For real.

[Ian Hecox]

Mitch has Lily, Jocelyn, the girls from Clevver. Yeah, he has the clever girls on his. On his, like, hip.

[Courtney Miller]

It's amazing because he just wants an excuse to get more tattoos.

[Ian Hecox]

Somebody used my face as a template for a tattoo. They used like a selfie I'd taken of, like my profile and they used that for a tattoo idea.

[Courtney Miller]

Shoot, dude, Shoot.

[Ian Hecox]

Dude. It's a beautiful tattoo.

[Damien Haas]

Where is that from? Cause I wanna start saying it and I have to know it.

[Courtney Miller]

You said it in the first podcast, I think.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, I watched it.

[Courtney Miller]

Shoot. Dude, shoot. Dude, this is now the. This is now my catchphrase.

[Ian Hecox]

I love it. I love it.

[Damien Haas]

I love it.

[Ian Hecox]

Olive oil.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, God.

[Courtney Miller]

Excuse me. Would you guys like some olive oil?

[Ian Hecox]

It's my favorite thing.

[Damien Haas]

It hurts me.

[Ian Hecox]

Olive oil.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, God. Okay, okay, sorry. We're giving people chills right now that are listening on headphones.

[Damien Haas]

I hate asm.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Damien Haas]

Soap curls.

[Courtney Miller]

All right, I'm just so over ASMR now. Since I got a Super bowl commercial. Like, what the hell was that?

[Ian Hecox]

What was that?

[Courtney Miller]

I don't even. It was like, Pepsi or something. They did an ASMR commercial for the Super Bowl. I'm like, okay. Some ad person was like, now, what's hip and hot these days? And somebody's like, asmr. But it's so awkward. You're there with a party, a bunch of people, and then you're all watching funny commercials. Then it's some person just, like, opening up a Pepsi and a microphone, like, Pepsi Bipsy.

[Damien Haas]

When did it become asmr? Because for me, that's just any NPR radio.

[Ian Hecox]

There was asmr Today is a man.

[Damien Haas]

Who was born without a pelvis who recently was featured in the Olympics.

[Ian Hecox]

Coming up next, who is the guy? Okay, my ASMR that I like. What is the actor's name who plays Bob's Burgers and Archer?

[Courtney Miller]

H. John Benjamin.

[Ian Hecox]

H. John Benjamin. I could listen to his voice until I die. Literally, if I'm on fire and that's how I'm dying, just put on some H. John Benjamin and I will be smiling till the end.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay.

[Damien Haas]

What if H. John Benjamin is the one killing you?

[Ian Hecox]

Perfect. Perfect way to go.

[Courtney Miller]

That seems like a perfect place to stop. H. John Benjamin. H. John Ben Benjamin. If you're out there, hit us up. We have a girl for you to murder. Yes. Thank you guys so much for watching and staying around to the end. We love you so much. If you're not yet subscribed to the podcast, I highly suggest you do that. And we would all love you so much for that. This podcast is on every.

[Ian Hecox]

Is that your timer?

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, it's the timer on this.

[Damien Haas]

Look at Mr. Airplane Mode, who told us to put everything on airplane.

[Courtney Miller]

I had a clock. I had a clock on mute.

[Ian Hecox]

Your computer?

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, I just closed the window. This is great, guys.

[Ian Hecox]

This is great.

[Courtney Miller]

See, we're still figuring things out.

[Ian Hecox]

Love you. Subscribe. I love you.

[Courtney Miller]

Make sure you subscribe. The audio podcasts always come out on Wednesdays. For now, they are uncensored. And if you're watching this on YouTube. Sorry, it's censored. You know, adpocalypse. And that will be out on Friday. The I help shirt is still on sale, as far as I know. So go check that out, smosh.com. and we'll see you next time. Thank you so much, Courtney and Damien.

[Damien Haas]

Thanks for having us.

[Courtney Miller]

Ian, I had a wonderful time here today.

[Ian Hecox]

Thank you for using me gently on both eyes, my handsome boys. I love you, Courtney. We support you.

[Damien Haas]

We love you just as you are.

[Ian Hecox]

Stop ending like this.

[Courtney Miller]

It's our brand. I'm sorry.

[Ian Hecox]

Love you. Bye. Bye.

[Damien Haas]

Reba, Derek, Shea, Bruno.