Taking social media by storm, buddies Steven Lannum and Joey Gizzi have been blessing society with their creativity and kindness via their platform AreYouKiddingTV. Based in the US, the gents have continued to grow their online presence and community and provide a new era in the world of content creation.
To date AreYouKiddingTV has amassed 1 Billion Views on YouTube, plus over 11 Million Followers on Instagram and TikTok, and with their passion continuing to thrive each day, we were blessed with the opportunity to speak to Steven and Joey themselves to find out more.
Welcome to DARKUS gentlemen! How have the past few months been treating you so far?
Thanks for having us! The last few months have been treating us well. We are having a good time living in Nashville, Tennessee and continuing to create social media content.
Before we look at the incredible things you are doing right now, let us rewind back to the early days and some of the inspirations which led to the birth of AreYouKiddingTV?
We both grew up making YouTube videos and having a passion for film and comedy, which led to us starting a late-night talk show at our college’s student television station. When we were creating content for this show, we decided to also start making hidden camera videos for YouTube, which led to the birth of AreYouKiddingTV.
Your friendship goes back to 2014, when the both of you first met as freshman at Elon University. Can you remember what your initial impressions were of each other and at what point you both realized ‘you know what? This guy is pretty cool’?
Right away we realized we had a very similar sense of humor, which is rare to find. Since we were both film majors and had similar aspirations, we realized early on that there was potential to team up and create something together.
As you continued to build the AreYouKiddingTV platform, what were some of the valuable lessons you learned along the way?
We’ve definitely learned a lot as we’ve built the brand over the past few years. Making sure to be consistent is important, as well as being original and doing our own thing instead of taking too much inspiration from other creators. Also, we’ve learned that we need to keep expanding our video concepts rather than doing the same thing over and over. Audiences tend to get bored seeing the same content repeated, so we have tried our best to keep videos fresh while still keeping true to our overall brand.
From watching some of the tasks online, one of the things that stand out to me is that you have created a community and culture which focuses on preserving something which we tend to forget in this world - the gift of human kindness. What are your thoughts on that?
One of our favorite parts of making these videos is giving people the opportunity to win money/prizes, and seeing how happy they are to participate. Many of our videos also involve teamwork from multiple people, so it’s nice to be able to give them a break from their busy/stressful days to participate in a challenge and have some fun.
Over the years you have had a number of great names from different walks of life join you including the likes of Ed Sheeran, Steve Aoki and Mr Beast. Have there been any challenges which have really stood either in terms of the fond memories they brought?
We have had such a great time with everyone we’ve collaborated with. MrBeast is a big inspiration to us, so that was definitely very cool to get to film a video with him. Putting Ed Sheeran in a box and having him perform music for people was also the opportunity of a lifetime, and Ed was a very nice and humble guy.
To this day, AreYouKiddingTV has grown to over 1 Billion Views on YouTube, plus over 11 Million Followers on Instagram and TikTok - what goes through your mind when you hear that?
To be honest, it’s mind blowing every time we hear that. We just love being able to use our creative humor to make videos, so knowing that our content has been watched over 1 Billion times feels very rewarding.
We live in a time where social media has become part of our everyday lives, and today more than ever a rise of more people looking to content creation to showcase different aspects of their lives. From your experience, what are some of the key qualities that help to make that journey that extra bit smoother?
Finding a concept/idea that is unique and makes you stand out from everyone else will definitely help make your social media journey smoother. Since so many people are making content, ideas tend to be replicated without as much originality, which might make people less inclined to watch. If you find an idea that is unique, or make yourself/your personality stand out, it is more likely you’ll grow an audience much faster.
You have also taken part in a number of very cool partnerships too. When you have brands such as United Airlines, Disney and Dr Pepper wanting to work closely with you, is there anything in particular you look for before saying so that their values can align with yours?
The cool thing about our content is that there are many ways to integrate a product/brand with our “sign” concept, which has allowed us to work with brands in several different categories. As long as we don’t disagree with a company’s values, we are usually open to working with anyone.
It makes me smile just seeing the excitement in the faces of your fanbase when they realize that Joey and Steven are in their city or have randomly turned up close to their campus. To have that support and that bond, how special does it feel?
It feels very special. To know that we have made an impact large enough to cause a crowd to form when we just stand in a random spot with a sign is something we hope to never take for granted.
To all the friends and the fans you have made along the way, what would you like to say to them?
Thank you for supporting us throughout this journey, and we hope you continue to enjoy the content we make.
What does the next chapter look like for AreYouKiddingTV?
We are going to continue to try to raise the stakes and make bigger and better videos. We also are working on a live variety show that we hope to take on tour to several colleges/cities, as well as a new YouTube series that we have high hopes for.
Sending our thanks to Steven and Joey for taking the time to speak to us, and without a doubt two of the most genuine and nicest people you could ever know. We wish the pair all the best for their continued growth.
Be part of the AreYouKiddingTV community today!
Article By Thushara Chandrasiri
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