Smosh Signs With A3 Artists Agency After Co-Founders Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox Buy Back Comedy Brand
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor A3 Artists Agency signed Smosh, the long-running YouTube comedy brand, for representation across the board.
Smosh was founded in 2005 by childhood friends Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. After drifting apart in recent years, in June 2023 the duo bought back majority ownership of Smosh and debuted their first original comedy video together since reuniting as business partners.
Padilla and Hecox had not appeared together in videos or in public since Padilla — citing his loss of creative inspiration — left Smosh in 2017 and branched out on his own.
Hecox remained with Smosh and shepherded the business through the collapse of then-parent company Defy Media and Smosh’s subsequent acquisition in 2019 and revitalization under Rhett & Link’s Mythical Entertainment. (As minority shareholders, Rhett & Link remain involved with Smosh in an advisory capacity.) “I really want to return to our roots, and part of that is owning the company so we can really take Smosh in any creative direction,” Padilla told Variety in June.
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