Donut Addresses Drama. Leaves out HUGE Detail

Today, we discuss Donut's recent podcast episode where they address the drama surrounding the channel, but more noticeably, why were some things left out?
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[@xdeejayjones]

At this point I just feel bad for Nolan And Justin they’re just caught in the middle trying to do their job to provide for their families

[@tesznye6992]

I mean I don't think either of them have children, and their so's probably have their own jobs.

[@Weeblicker]

@@tesznye6992 they're still good dudes who I want to see succeed

[@Trussme96]

@@tesznye6992 Sure but they also live in SoCal and aren't swimming in money to begin with. Its not like they have ownership in the company or something.

[@danielwatson5595]

Caught in the middle? They are GROWN MEN who can think and act for themselves. If they put themselves in a position where they have to go along with Donut no matter what because they have no other means of making money THAT IS ON THEM. They’re just two soft man-children with no backbone or integrity. That’s it. It’s not a soap opera about them trying to feed their poor starving children. They’re just losers.

[@hardlife3844]

​@Trussme96 sure, because they didn't get a bag when they sold the company.

[@NoOne-ye5jf]

I very much doubt there is any drama between the on-camera guys, at the end of the day the issue is the suits

[@adamsmiths3016]

Corporate BS is the biggest killer

[@NorthernNomad93]

Yes well said. They just want to make videos, have fun and relate to the audience.

[@GlycerinZ]

its always the suits!!

[@NorthernNomad93]

@@GlycerinZ take off your foil hat sir and take a breathe.

[@Project_Low_Expectations]

@@NorthernNomad93 Are you one of the suits? You’re the problem!

[@NorthernNomad93]

The fact James wasn't mentioned at all and that James hasn't said anything tells me there are legal issues involved and they aren't allowed to say anything on video yet. Considering how big James is as the face of Donut he was probably ripped off in some way.

[@trevormckeehen2010]

They may just still be in contract negotiations

[@NorthernNomad93]

@@trevormckeehen2010 he has unfollowed Donut Media on his social media as well as deleted a lot of his Donut videos. It's all up for debate until James himself speaks out but something definitely feels suspicious.

[@ID1886]

James was always annoying to me anyways.

[@jef6404]

tbh in the car meet they had at Peterson James seemed in a very bad mood, a lot of donut took a toll on him it was sad to see

[@MrChickenspit]

@@NorthernNomad93 what deleted donut videos? from his instagram?

[@BaddDukk]

The money comment is bang on. People watched when the mods were attainable by regular people. The Miata Money Pit, the 350z Hi/Low series. I could not care less about putting a $15k (or whatever it was) interior into a Ranger. Make that - 'How to re-do your interior for $1500' and I will watch it all day

[@icebrew]

Didn't the high 350z cost like 80k by the end of season 1?

[@setend6839]

​@icebrew and it was still barely running shit

[@derpman8494]

@@icebrew but it was enough to give you options to look at, a lot of people wouldn't have built the a Lo Z the exact same way, maybe give it the suspension and brakes from the Hi car but run Lo car's power set up, things like that. Not all stuff that's just entirely unobtainable to the average Joe

[@stephensmith2048]

You sound broke

[@GetFUCkED8765]

@@stephensmith2048 anyone with the last name smith has the natural ability to gargle peanut butter

[@vin_tra]

Private equity pinches pennies and hinders creativity for the sake of higher margins. Higher margins dont net more money or freedom for those driving the brands forward...

[@Bardo_16]

Thank you for the insight Vin. Glad to see someone from the space chime in

[@gibby3350]

I agree with Linus when he said “this is not an overnight thing.” Donut did a great job for a long time after the acquisition and I think their latest video was actually really good. I think we need to stop treating this as an overnight change and that it’s all over, cause not how any of this works.

[@CalebsCars]

Nah

[@qwikz28]

Respectfully, James is very much a car guy. Before Donut, he was a long time and active member of VW Vortex.

[@kevinhibbard320]

He's into cars, but he can't build shit

[@iyot1020]

​@@kevinhibbard320which is why he got a huge audience a lot of car dudes are not mechanical but just fascinated with great cars and history of cars

[@fedeacordeon2565]

@@iyot1020havent met a car enthusiast that DIDNT want to work on their car. James is shit when it comes to building anything. He's just a personality.

[@GutZ_47]

@@fedeacordeon2565i agree, but i have met some car guys that SHOULD NOT pick up tools.

[@focussport]

@@fedeacordeon2565there are PLENTY of car drivers, racers, personalities, celebrities... whatever that are 100% car guys but don't wrench. Get out from under your rock.

[@TheDwightMamba]

Remember that Jeremiah was a stand up comic when he took over the bulk of writing for Donut. I'm sure Donut still has a small stack of his old writing in reserve, but that will only last so long. Now Jeremiah has the freedom to mostly riff on camera, which is already yielding better videos than his former employer. Private equity never improves their acquisitions. They milk them dry and then write off the subsequent losses before selling it off for parts. I am curious as to Donut's merch sales 2 months ago vs 2 months from now. I don't see them turning this around. They forgot how to garage build.

[@TraumaTrae]

It's less that they forgot how to and more the suits don't want to approve the costly garage builds

[@TheDwightMamba]

@@TraumaTrae I meant "they" as the channels.

[@iamelcapitan]

Parts of it felt scripted and acting vs 3 guys chilling and talking crap/cars. The James of it all felt like a huge void in what they were talking about. I’m still rooting for Donut because of Justin, his transition and growth from the Car-Nivores channel with his brother to donut has been great to see.

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

I expect that they cannot talk about James due to lawyers for some reason. His last video on the channel was his rebuilding his BMW, but the other one before then was I think the off road video with matt. When things allow we'll be told.

[@iamelcapitan]

@@bionicgeekgrrl I agree that there is definitely something legal holding that side back. I wasn’t the biggest fan of James but also I do hope to see donut stay viable.

[@termiterasin]

Who's that guy in the middle with them on a leash? In the Donut video.

[@B6989]

Poor Nolan he must be in tight situation....

[@xxlordxx6862]

My favorite series at Donut was the Money Pit (Miata) with Zach, because it not gave you ideas what you could do with your car but also you learned a lot during those

[@bjgaspar]

"There's no corporate thing telling us what to do..." ...except every time they make a 24 minute long Hyundai/KIA/Nissan/Chinese EV commercial

[@hotstankygarbage788]

Favorite Donut series of all time is HI LOW. But them just pouring money into the Ranger I just could'nt care less.

[@BryanMiranda96]

Hi low was a product of the corporate buyout

[@hotstankygarbage788]

@@BryanMiranda96 It was a great product corporate or not

[@BryanMiranda96]

@@hotstankygarbage788 that's what I'm saying, a shitton of the loved product is possible only because of the corporate buyout, but people are acting like it just happened and thus its immediately garbage

[@Frygisk]

When Jeremiah asked how much they had put into the ranger and they said $100k you could tell he thought it was the stupidest thing. And it is

[@GrayD1ce]

The ranger was way over the top on what the rest of us can afford, my project ranger is getting a 4.0 out of a mustang as I'm not able to do the major swaping of moter mounts or blow 10 grand on a crate motor

[@soaplesstv]

Donut chased views (trying to become a bigger channel pumped by private investor money looking for a return on their investment). The early Donut content was very DIY / scrappy car modifications that made care mods easy to understand for people that are getting into cars. As much as I love the Hi-Lo series, I preferred the Car Science videos / Miata garage build.

[@_Zer0Gr4vity_]

While I still miss things like Up to speed and the Money Pit Miata build, I actually also like something like the Ranger build now - it's a different car and experience, and I actually find it cool how they are turning a junker pickup into a baja racer. In the end it's still the Donut boys putting in the elbow grease.

[@robervin9107]

I was hoping for this update from you guys. Thanks I knew you guys would immediately pick up on the red flags. And the corporate lingo 😂. Absolutely phenomenal job 1:04. My favorite scene

[@josephwilson7586]

I still think it very much sounded like a damage control video

[@knightrider571]

I feel like the ranger is cool to see for the same reason that no one really does that, was interesting to see how that crate engine came in with loose bolts aswell

[@Special.Purpose.Weapon]

UTAH BOYS !!!! Happy Independence day, guys. 🎉🎉 🎆 🎇 🇺🇸 🇺🇲

[@christopherderrig3671]

I have said for years donut was KZbinrs trying to be a car channel except for jobe. Jobe was the only true car guy coming from the shop in the midwest

[@Hakiri27]

Literally my favorite series was money pit miata of just jobe working on the miata out of his garage, it was definitely higher budget but not ridiculous

[@CarolinaCycloneJames]

I think what people mess when it came to car builds was that yes they were cheaper parts. But that connects more to the viewer. A viewer is more likely to be able to afford to mod a Miata like the moneypit one than the ranger or the civic. It's more that the new company has lost that connection with the average enthusiast

[@SixShooter14]

As much as I'm curious about James, there's probably a legit legal reason no one is addressing his absence. Whether it be contractual or medical or personal, neither he nor Donut are explaining it.

[@canyouopopop3012]

Pretty sure James is still present in Donut, im sure he has a bigger role than a host, Nolan refers to him as “his boss” and so does James. Makes sense if he’s in the background and not on camera all the time

[@BigFatCone]

Sure. That's why he stopped following Donut on social media but do follow Big Time. Makes total sense.

[@smorgishborg7789]

James just plays a really good character he’s pure vibes

[@ArchieCharls]

u guys are the bros, love the content you put out

[@CruelUnknown]

If you watch Noelle Miller, he does an interview with James, called Hot laps. After that I realized he can definitely do bigger and better things than Donut.

[@afallencheetah6610]

Personally, I've never been bothered with content creators taking ads because people got to pay the bills. If a 30 second ad read means my favorite content creator can keep doing what they love then have at it, just dont mind me skipped thru. But when a content creator becomes just an ad reader and everything they do is solely about the ads, well then best of luck but thats not what I started watching you for.

[@grasworxTTGameplan]

no. the "effort" : return ratio is not proportionate. you gotta click with an audience and continue building. the YT ads do not cover it all. Scaling sensibly is very important

[@shushyshushy6762]

I like pre-runners, I like watching Pre-runners smash through the desert, I don't like watching pre-runners being built, and I don't care for how much all the stuff costs to do it. If I want to watch trucks smash through the desert, I'll watch videos specifically about THAT. I miss the good old budget build days, where guys were excited if they got 400-600 hp out of a 4cyl engine and took their cars to grassroots type of events.

[@LegitPurpleleven]

I think they got popular because everyone could see themselves doing what donut did - it was just some guys with a camera in their garage, working with a normal human budget on a normal human project. I mentally checked out when they started ramping the builds up to stuff I can't do & don't have the money for, because it stopped being relatable car guy content and started being that sort of frantic "have to do something newer and bigger" push where "cheap" starts to mean like, $1,000 instead of like $10

[@CalebsCars]

Nolan and James need to make their own show now

[@rockzuk20]

What are the main channels for these guys? I found them over the donut drama but I don’t know who these guys are and they aren’t harvesting the attention with links to their main channels. I’m a fan and want to support them!

[@4runnerwanted]

Need a part two on this now that donut announces James leaving on today’s big time

[@skips1376]

Your guys ending statement is my exact feelings with most large channels it starts with barbie jeeps and ends up with qaud turbo r8 with hover wheels its not enjoyable to watch someone just dump money on the ground and bam you have a super duper masterpiece.

[@chriswilson433]

Now that you mention that almost none of the on-air personalities were car guys, I think it is likely James will NOT do something in the car space. The car space is crowded and I’m not sure there is anything “new” left to do.

[@The_Real_Reese]

Dude in the middle is so good at saying "yeah" and then looking at the other guys.

[@jasonhemmerlin6139]

James' contract is probably up for negotiation and he probably has offers for other productions not associated with Donut. I would bet that Donut is trying to get him into a "Do Not Compete" contract. I've seen this happen on shows I've worked on in the past. It always gets everyone riled up. Hopefully James gets something good out of it.

[@robertjones9595]

4:50 with most car shows once you start getting cheaper the shows fall off

[@jerodwolford2743]

The big thing is what you guys said at the end. It's not realistic to dump 100k into a 20 year old mid sized truck. Your average Joe could do what Zach did to the miata. That's why everybody LOVED the money pit miata.

[@marcm3017]

THOSE FREAKIN SHELVES DRIVE ME NUTS THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AND ITS NOT THE CAMERA, BREAK OUT THE MEASURING TAPE AND SHOW US

[@marcm3017]

the top shelves from the grout line on the brick below off by a solid 1/2", sorry to drive gabe nuts.

[@nicholasclare2550]

Each one is at a different level 😂😂😂

[@marcm3017]

@@nicholasclare2550 thank you!!!! i dont even have OCD but every time i see one of their videos my eyes are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. we need answers.

[@octaviolopez9966]

JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES.... WHERE IS JAMES?

[@89ludeawakening1]

In real life, James is really nothing like he is on Donut. You can tell that by his interview with Emilia Hartford and Sung Kang.

[@Joey-zy4cs]

Why can’t I find these guys podcast. I’m only seeing short clips

[@stressed_garage]

Everything will be fine 😢😅

[@willt1984]

100% agree with the realistic builds and projects. So many viewers are really interested in projects that are conceivable for them. Things like scavenging second hand parts, or rebuilding engines in your garage, most of us wont ever actually do most of these things, but its fun to learn how its done. However with the latest build, they might as well just go and drive around in Lambos, as a 40k engine is completely out of reach for most of us, so the project becomes meaningless to most and we struggle to get invested. The high low series were great, as it made you think, okay, maybe one day I can afford the low car, and that still looks pretty good fun.

[@thatGRprick]

Has anyone thought that maybe James is going through something maybe health or dear God not another Dr. disrespect situation. all in all I hope James is OK. I miss his freaking laugh. It’s so dang contagious.

[@poolhalljunkie9]

The problem is channels thinking they keep having to do bigger and bigger builds when that isn't the case. There are so many different varieties of builds they can do that each one could make great content.

[@iainanderson7276]

Whatever happened with James, the rest of them had to have signed NDAs. Thats the only logical answer, and points the blame at the suits

[@MrShoryuken1]

Media companies ruin car channels. They did it to Donut, they did it to Car Throttle. Penny pinching isn't how you make a quality content.

[@alwaysboogie3485]

Today on donut “does more suits mean more better?” Myth: Busted

[@lostsocketgarage]

Good podcast guys. If yall ever want to colab, My shop is in SLC!!

[@ericlewandowskivlogs]

most donut videos are product commercials now. I prefer the older donut videos.

[@kidd7583]

I'd like to see James start his own channel and call it...Mo Powah that'd be awesome

[@timmy_txrner]

"We can't do a build like the Ranger every video." That right there is the disconnect between Donut and their viewers. We don't want a $100k Ranger build video. We want a normal guy with normal tools doing something cool to their car without taking out a loan. They've strayed so far from their original content, they don't even understand what brought the viewership to begin with.

[@lisasou7078]

Guy on the left say LIKE more than a valley girl 😂😂😂

[@BatCaveOz]

James had a heart attack and subsequent heart surgery. If he wants to step back for a bit... just let him.

[@leviathan19]

but that was like 2 years ago or more

[@JamesD401]

I been watching donut since Bart was doing science garage. Donut to this day makes some good videos but you can definitely tell overtime things have been slowly changing. I went from watching them every release to checking back here and there to see if they released anything good. This was awhile after they were bought, but at them time I didn’t Know that. I think with Zach and jobe leaving a lot of us are realizing why it felt like the channel has been taking a different direction and felt like it almost happened over night not realizing it’s been a slow but gradual change

[@minimumeffortenthusiast8242]

Yeah I feel like CarTubers tend to let the hype get the best of them sometimes. I feel like people usually enjoy watching them do things we can replicate at home. It shouldn't always be an all out money dump into a project like the Ranger. And I feel like this ruined Hi & Lo as well, cause they were at brutal extremes from each other to the point where you would have one full eBay build and the other would be some FAI approved money pit. It's fun to watch but I think we'd all enjoy it more if it was more relatable, let's say CX Racing turbo kit vs HKS Turbo kit. Things that aren't necessarily too cheap or too expensive.

[@oshaapproved7612]

private equity ruins another beloved creative entity.

[@guilleandino6443]

Its just me or this guys just show up to talk about the donut drama

[@bradleykaufman8824]

Donut was great when it felt like you as the audience member were part of the crew. Relatable content of things I could realistically dream of maybe doing. I miss Up To Speed so much.

[@Double_Platinum_Dante]

We'll always have pop-up headlights. We'll always have pop-up headlights. ( Whisper the second one)

[@SM-cg6kv]

I feel bad , but it’s def needed for donut to get a reality check that it’s cool about the ranger, but the simple stuff is always cooler, money pit Miata was the best series I’ve seen

[@ENTHUSIASTICFIFAFAN]

Corporate and shareholders ruins everything that's good.

[@cameronbennett4762]

The ending. So fucking true dude I just want it relateable

[@SethJ-2525]

I really hope both sides can just move on from this. Sounds like James is gone and that sucks. I’ve watched their videos and listened to the Past Gas podcast with James, Nolan, and Joe since the very beginning and I’m going to miss listening to those three but in the end I just want both to be successful.

[@nicklapinta9798]

I think when you feel the need to build bigger and wilder "for the fans" you lost touch of reality. In my personal opinion, I would much rather watch you build multiple vehicles that are relatable to me then getting an OEM Miata back up and running and seeing your joy, then turn around and be like "okay so now let's compare the top 5 Porsche on a drag strip". It's hard to stay interested when I'm not relating. IMO of course.

[@victor.kopsch]

I love James. Actually I love them all, its like a family with problems you know. I believe theres is no drama, just some normal things that happends when you grow too much.

[@jtrealfunny]

My guess is if you want clarity you'll need to follow the money. And this viewer would much rather watch real people talking about stuff they know about and care about; I get turned off when there's a lot of histrionics and shouting and I realize I'm watching a product based on paid personalities going through the script that another group of people thought up in an office. Take it from the man.

[@xItZsoOriGiNaL]

i think another thing no one talks about with the james drama is that he’s engaged to zach jobe’s sister. i feel like that was another reason for jobe to leave donut

[@JRay2113]

Private equity and creative content don’t mix.

[@micahv9365]

James doesn’t need to do anything on his own. I think he got paid out big when Donut got bought out and it caused issues with the other staff that they never got paid. James literally drives a G-Wagon while the rest of them were making less than 100K a year

[@augustinegalela3430]

I'll be honest I've beeeen wondering where James is, the whole reason I started watching Donut was because of James. Back when he used to do B2B those were the coolest eps but yea I hope he ends up at big time. If not maybe have his own channel doing something in motosport.

[@stevenjones5850]

Heart, lighting bolt I just assumed health problems

[@goatbaaad3711]

You should link the original podcast

[@Fmjake_]

Power time would be crazy

[@Heizelss]

Zach Jobe’s brother!?

[@Lewman78]

I love James. I think he's really entertaining to watch with his buff horses. But I think he's also got some issues. I remember a while back he took a break because he had a heart attack. His face is always swollen like he's been on a bender. My guess is that he's probably heavy into drinking and a little bit of the nose candy.

[@trektn]

Some sound treating goes a long way

[@OnasaD]

Once Nolan leaves that will be the nail in the coffin of Donut Media

[@p_dubs_420]

I miss Science Garage and Up to Speed

[@Bowlinpynn99]

I think James was on vacation/on honeymoon? since he mentioned before that he is getting married (on sung kang's podcast interview)

[@ock1]

who remembers when BART was on donut...........

[@cuseyeti_one8three]

Watching Donut the last couple weeks has been like witnessing a hostage situation with Justin and Nolan. The channel certainly has lost its verve.

[@SpankMyFace]

I don't think Jobe and Jeremiah have that much chemistry, and you can get that vibe from Jeremiah not being in their 2nd 240sx video. Jobe seems to be interested in building cars, Jeremiah seems to be interested in car-meme shyte. But maybe it'll start working a bit better in the future.

[@belchbat9955]

Nolan and Justin should start an off road channel if shtf like I think it will lmao.

[@fallenshallrise]

You get one chance to milk this drama. Hope you enjoy the views.

[@Itzboss101]

They don't leave any detail out. It's obvious why the 2 left.

[@bayareahd]

These conversations have really good points. Subscribed 🫵🏽

[@tom4208]

theres no drama between the faces of the show. all the boys love eachother and theres no beef or hate towards eachother. its the people who are off camera running the channel who make it unbearable.

[@Hazdazos]

James isn't a grease monkey. He might be into cars, but he doesn't seem like the type that turns a wrench, so it makes no sense for him to join Big Time. If anything, James was probably positioned as a lower level executive who all the creatives reported to. Or at least thats what it seemed like to me. So with all these creatives leaving, i could see James being to blame (to some degree) because he was probably above them on an organizational chart.

[@christopherderrig3671]

I am happy for jobe and zach

[@pio79]

I feel some of the people who stayed at donut might have contracts and can't really leave, or they feel bitter they were not invited to leave. Or might just be the case they are not really friends (like myth busters guys) and don't hate their jobs...

[@48Boxer]

Here I am still trying to figure out what happened to Bart

[@BrainDamageBrian]

i miss Bart and Science Garage

[@dgrblue4162]

Corporate sponsorship/ownership comes with strings attached and apparently more mouths to feed, which were were hungry for a decent to good salary.

[@BKILLERBEE88]

Well we really stopped seeing James for awhile. I thought he maybe just got off the videos and more on the production side of things. But it seems like hes gone or leaving

[@camgeiger]

I like Donut, don't get me wrong, but over the years things have changed. I miss the old bumper to bumper videos, car science, and the thing that introduced me to the channel, Up To Speed! Hi-Low has been a sweet series, seeing some parts that might be worth the upgrades and other parts that it's okay to save, to me that's perfect content. The Ranger build is fun to watch, but I don't really get anything out of it, I'd compare it to watching TRUCKS! or Extreme 4X4 on cable, it's cool, but the average Joe won't get a whole lot out of it other than entertainment. Now the other channel, Real Mechanics Stuff, which is just a react channel, I'm glad they made it a separate channel because it's not really Donut. Don't get me wrong, I still watch it because it's entertaining to me. In addition to Donut, I love Junkyard Digs, Vice Grip Garage, and Ronald Finger. Small channels that do grounded things. For me, and this isn't a dis on James, but I only ever really liked him in Up To Speed. To me he's too much of a "Bro" and his kinda humor just rubs me the wrong way. I'm not saying he or Donut should change anything it's just one personality I never really clicked with, he's still important to the life of the company. It's just his unscripted stuff that I don't know, I just don't enjoy as much as the others. All in all, I hope things between Donut and Big Time stay healthy, and both stay willing to listen to community feedback, it's the channel that make cars cool, it's the community that makes it possible.

[@carlosux]

if james leaves. thats it for donut. nolan doesnt have the authority enough to carry the slack