Why Epic Meal Time (Eventually) Failed

[@epicmealtime]

Been watching this channel for ages. Always wondered if we would get one! You did a great job and it was accurate too! I really enjoyed watching this.

[@lailaelkatib3838]

Lol

[@Erreul]

Hope your doing good Har.

[@evzyl8409]

i hope u do drake colab

[@DumDum-zj6gm]

Give bobux?

[@gaogaigarfinal6]

Holy shit 🐐

[@TrackpadProductions]

I have to admit; hearing someone describe the early 2010s as "the early days of youtube" makes me feel so, _so_ old.

[@waitforit45]

I know right?! I remember it being 2008 and I wanted to start my own beauty KZbin channel but I didn't because I felt it was 'too late' and there were already too many on the platform. Lol

[@sploompdoomper]

@@waitforit45 I know exactly what you mean!! It's like every year that passes that feeling gets more intense , I've completely let go of that idea but I still feel it

[@13nohead]

Truth

[@neoasura]

Watching the way things were as a culture in 2010 makes me feel old, you couldn't get away with half of that stuff nowadays.

[@yebii_]

@@waitforit45 You still can! If it wasn't late then, it sure isn't now lol

[@PhantomSavage]

TL;DR: They basically kept making food abominations until there were no more abominations left to create. "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer."

[@zeriel9148]

I dunno, I always felt where it fell off was not the food but the guys involved. When they shed the first crew it just didn't feel the same.

[@patsk8872]

No

[@Infernos94]

No

[@tokugawahisaka07]

Wrong, Jesus wept for there were no more worlds left to conquer.

[@buttface9434]

yeah it was a disgusting waste of food. glad its over.

[@captainthrall]

"watch me eat 45 strips of bacon!" is entertaining for about 3 minutes, and this guy made it work for 10 years. Honestly, hats-off to him. That's amazing.

[@pauliusgecas472]

indeed!

[@healthyb-fu5zd]

Nah. This jewish guy swindled his friends. He's not a good human.

[@jacquestube]

Yeah but let's let's ask this would it have been successful if it came out now? There were a lot less options back then. I came across Epic Meal Time on some weird channel on my Roku back when Roku didn't have a lot of options

[@jacquestube]

@blackout.ghost718 LOL you're running interference for an overhyped pile of shit and you're calling me the kid

[@phantasticpanda2535]

@@pauliusgecas472there’s literally mukbang videos of people eating obscene amounts of food. If anything epic meal time was the first before it was a genre.

[@molseren]

I feel like we set youtubers to higher standards than other mediums. Epic Meal Time didn't fail, it had a run longer than most tv shows, and many many more viewers. It was a gigantic success. I think its cause we see KZbin channels as people rather than seeing them like shows.

[@xsteveconwayx]

Excellent point. It lasted longer and was more successful than “Firefly” and “Freaks and Geeks” combined. The difference between KZbin and television is that there aren’t network executives willing to cancel a KZbin channel if the views dip 5%.

[@kvltizt]

Well said

[@biancat7761]

I mean... TV & movies have very strict labour talent laws, advertising restrictions, language restrictions, laws surrounding children (audience & actors) There is also the fact that not everyone can be in or create a show or movie. Massive funding is needed. So I think we hold the people behind the KZbin channel to higher standard, not everything else

[@robmisaku5367]

@@biancat7761 You seem smart.

[@sukagitar999]

this man is as smart as me...

[@نونيم-ي4ح]

"business just got in the way of it being fun" this literally describes modern youtube videos compared to how it was when it started.

[@jazzew]

I sure have seen it plenty! :( It used to feel like such a different place, detached from the rest of life and loads of fun. How I miss it.

[@ruminationstation4200]

Except it underestimates how bad it's gotten. Now it's devolved to the point where it's like "business is actively getting in the way of me having a semblance of mental health, buuuut based on the last views on my vids I think I'm about to blow up, so hopefully it will be worth it"

[@LighTsHunTerz]

Bs argument .. only immature ppl talk like that ... What u discover when u grow up is not to always have "fun" especially in bussiness .

[@xentixs]

true

[@GeeeTii]

@@LighTsHunTerz Bs argument .. only immature ppl reply like this

[@JonSudano]

This happened to me too! You can only sing Smashmouth over so many songs until it gets old. I'm very lucky that I was able to slightly rez my channel a few years ago with my drumming videos. I really enjoy making those and the response has been pretty great.

[@Onn325]

I just subscribed my guy, you are an angel

[@SilentEvil97]

I've enjoyed your recent shorts Jon, You should definitely make more of those!

[@andrewman69]

Dude I always wondered what would happen to you, glad it's working out :)

[@tylerakerfeldt7220]

Your neck beard, and your neck beard alone is what revived your channel.

[@andrewwilmot2788]

Loved your content man, glad you're doing well!

[@r.blackford9739]

Credit to him where credit is due. A lot of these huge creators that decline go off the rails and become massively bitter but this guy seems to be very humble and relaxed about it. Good for him!

[@falcon8105]

I obviously didn't watch EMT when it aired around in the good old days but my friends did talk about it a lot and when I watched one of his videos in 2012, I can see that he was a genuine. His "downfall" isn't as terrible as most KZbinrs on here, it's just times were changing and he couldn't keep up. I respect him for keeping everything calm and collective

[@sneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed]

@@falcon8105 dude sold out his friends who helped make the channel.

[@ludwigvonsowell5347]

Likely made a good chunk of cash from the good old days, and the smaller channel at 30k average views isn’t horrible compared to most creators. And likely still pays halfway decent. He ended with a very humble yet substantial amount of money.

[@BarryBruh]

Nowadays we have Nick Avocado trying to eat an entire beached whale

[@grobterm]

among us

[@driftshirofc9463]

Didn't expect u to be here lemon

[@BrisonVids]

sounds like cannibalism to me

[@EvenWaysMusic]

Don't talk about your mom like that

[@justhennini4768]

ohhhhhhh i thought he iiiis the beached whale xD

[@andrewmitra2899]

This basically describes the difference between early 2010 youtube and late 2010 youtube, it shifted from fun videos with friends to businesses. It’s still entertaining but just isn’t the same

[@vip5hawol-deehirota]

exactly what i’ve been feeling for a long while there’s definitely a lack of authenticity kids are now growing up with dreams of using youtube (and other sns) as a job. its crazy to think about

[@DemraSynfata]

god I'm so glad to see other people that feel the same.

[@augunkarlsen5901]

@@DemraSynfata word \

[@acidreflex25]

100% - Back then, there was no obsession with pleasing a dubious "algorithm". Epic Meal Time just happened to be a channel that put out videos people would watch for the full ten minutes. At some point, that became the standard, *everyone's* videos were suddenly ten minutes long even if they didn't need to be. Shoot, it got so bad I remember some creators inserting 2 or 3 minutes of still images to pad their videos and make them last ten minutes. This new standard ended up killing every channel that couldn't repeatedly pump out 10+ minute videos on a frequent basis. Bye bye sketch channels, animation channels, music channels, etc. and hello hordes of shitty vloggers. That's just the whole ten minute thing too. Add in the click bait thumbnails, misleading titles, sponsored ad placements on top of unskippable KZbin ads and nowadays it just feels like we're watching a shitty, outsourced version of reality TV.

[@blastofo]

I remember when youtube first came out, people got youtube famous just from making a rant on webcam. Like boh3m3. The bar was set very low.

[@tomiwaaina5499]

Harley needs to understand that his personality was a big part of it. He can do other things that aren't food related and people will watch

[@Nelis1324]

Exactly, the guy could have easily branched out into being a comedian or film and television actor.

[@Dakarn]

@@Nelis1324 Do a skit based show as Harley's super serious character in the style of "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker."

[@bencastor9207]

@@Dakarn thanks, now I need to rewatch Office Linebacker.

[@Lumpz4k]

Funny thing is he does do other things that arent food related. People watch but probably not as many as you would think. Alot of people dont know he streams for example.

[@Dakarn]

@@bencastor9207 "That's a long distance call, DOUG!"

[@rnrtruestories]

Man, i remember these guys back in the day. At my office we used to watch their new episodes at one guys cubicle.

[@hokage1997]

love how verified accounts get top comment with 10x less likes than unverified accounts. gg

[@SilverPaladin]

@@hokage1997 take a like

[@wezzbeet2923]

@@SilverPaladin hahaha

[@wezzbeet2923]

Gays

[@gxtmfa]

Yo, your content is awesome and I love that you cover more obscure bands

[@nubbletv3822]

I was obsessed with Epic meal time when it was at its peak. I don’t think they did anything wrong, there’s just only so long you can make that type of video before people lose interest. They still killed it during their time.

[@ryanlesner0000ninja]

Poor treatment?? How so?? " Hey I am bring in views. Pay me more. " " Listen bro you are under contract stop being a pussy."

[@neoasura]

Yeah, when they started we were in our early 20s, still had that college frat noy immaturity, but then we got into our late 20s and early 30s, lot of my friends settled down, had kids, got married, bought homes, and we just grew out of EMT

[@vihockeyguy1]

@@neoasuraexactly. The college and fratty feel of the videos also limited their audience and appeal to a younger audience. Dude Perfect always remaining PG and having a wider range of potential concepts and potential celebrity guests has given them virtually limitless concept material. They’re super bros, but without the relative vulgarity, so they can appeal to kids and have way more staying power EMT was and is a cool concept and will always be fun to look back on, but the appeal has passed audiences by

[@PublishX]

im pretty sure these guys also invented the term "youtube money"

[@keratos92]

they also took 'mukbang' to the next level

[@rossritchieau]

l o l money, money l o l

[@jeffgreenman5429]

@@rossritchieau sup rozzah!

[@GorillaFan_32]

@@keratos92 mukbang before mukbang

[@meyeneetuks4680]

@@GorillaFan_32 hell, they MADE thier own mukbang

[@downeedles9249]

Alex Perrault saying " I was'nt treated fairly considering the value i brought to the show" is one of the funniest shit ever , the dude was just there , like an NPC , not moving, not talking , just eating , not much more lmao

[@Alias3141]

I disagree. As a kid, I loved watching Muscles Glasses just stand there. For some reason, him just standing around and being called by that name was hilarious to me and one of the reasons I kept watching. He should have been appreciated more as a member of the crew.

[@tsui1024]

he wanted more than just a member of the crew. he wanted extra for being muscle glasses, at a time when their content was already starting to dry up @@Alias3141

[@DemonLordSparda]

@@Alias3141 He got paid fairly, but wanting more than the creator of the channel and the main personality is a bit silly. Notably there were never accusations of paying less than they agreed on, he just wanted more. Greed played a role there.

[@brandon-yu]

To be fair, I personally stopped watching the show once MG stopped appearing.

[@genericaccount2056]

​@@brandon-yuhas he done anything of note since leaving?

[@gallardo20000]

honestly, props to him to staying true to the channel even if it's receiving less views. 9/10 content creators in his situation would have quit ages ago.

[@Hasorane]

Either that or just panicked and taken a sharp turn into whatever content is trendy to stay relevant. Reaction videos, ASMR, Lets Plays, Mukbangs etc. Maybe it would have kept it alive slightly longer, but it would have ruined the legacy

[@akinosr8001]

Sure, there is honor in that. It's a horrible business model - And the definition of insanity - to keep looping the same thing and expecting different outcomes.

[@Killa1949]

Epic Meal Time wasn't a failure, all good things eventually come to an end and EMT ran its course. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't know a single person who didn't love EMT.

[@sengon344]

Cap Pewdiepie has been doing the same shit everysingle day for the past trillion years. Harley was just stubborn thinking he can continue making the same videos without the main people who made it fun. There is no value in a million dollars if you remove all the zero's. The same would happen with mrbeast if he started doing videos solo with out the main people

[@YouveBeenBlitzed]

Hah, *emt*

[@tobikiser3930]

What's EMT

[@YouveBeenBlitzed]

Emergency Service Technician

[@tobikiser3930]

@@YouveBeenBlitzed thank you!

[@iKayorei]

It's not entirely Epic Meal Time's fault why they declined, people just move on and sometimes things that used to be fun and interesting don't hit like they used to.

[@rdu239]

EMT just failed to adapt through the changing times of youtube, even channels that started along with some having decided to gradually adapt on the demand, changing but not to the point you abandon your core vision.

[@daniel1RM]

@@rdu239 who

[@illusionlb]

@@daniel1RM pewdewpie

[@itstheweirdguy]

@@rdu239 You're right. They could have made moves like Mr Beast did, and did livestreams, and played video games and streamed it while eating video game themed food. They didn't. Their bad. To survive each member of EMT would have had to move onto doing more than just eating and cooking food, like being a gamer, or artist, or an actor and youtubing about it......They are all rich now though so more power to them.

[@rdu239]

@@itstheweirdguy CultMoo, a channel that started way before EMT's inception had a strong gimmick - deep fry everything they can think of. Their videos are strong and initially went on with the bulk of their strength with their DEEPFRIED WHAT? episodes, but they decided to branch out to other food formats which helped to spread out their views and interest. Unfortunately their channel are one of the many that was heavily affected due to this pandemic, but basing on their current sub count to video views ratio, I can say they are holding on well despite obvious setbacks from the pandemic (pretty obvious they are the type of guys that will not risk being reckless by going out casually) with them continue to make varied food formats to make the interest fresh and going for their fans

[@evilwagz]

Buddy of mine is a dentist. There’s a video we watched where Harley’s first line was “call up your dentist-tell em he’s a bitch!”. To this day!, whenever I see my dentist friend I still drop this line and we still, to this day, laugh is if we heard it for the first time. Thanks Harley!

[@BurkaMurka]

What made EMT great for me was Harley, his jokes, quips, attitude and personality is top notch. In its prime EMT was the most hilarious channel on youtube by miles. But all good things have to end

[@lakemanson8051]

Go watch EMT now lol, Harley hasn't changed and he is more unhinged now.

[@Meilk27]

I think the muscles guy was right he was a pretty big part of the show but maybe he was asking for too much. But he was a fan favorite. It was doomed from the start anyway business was going to ruin the friendships always

[@Dousch]

This was one of those huge channels that would show up in your feed every now and then over a couple of years. You took it for granted as a part of your social media environment, then one day it's gone and you slowly forget about it, flash forward a couple of years and it takes stumbling upon a random video like this highlighting what happened to ever even get the memo.

[@hushex5150]

I knew these guys a few years ago but I never expected them to go down like they did. KZbinrs in 2010 are now failing because they can’t keep up with the new trends and algorithms

[@WizardAmbrose]

Nowadays cringy and clickbait stuff get pushed into algorithms.

[@jinmark9453]

@@WizardAmbrose I dont get crying i get CNN NBC in my recommended section and that makes me cry.

[@apersunthathasaridiculousl1890]

@@WizardAmbrose cuz it makes YT the most money

[@urchin62]

@Grisella L 👇💋 Nobody cares

[@Billionaire1998]

KZbin has turned to shit ever since Smosh turned into a corporate business.

[@adaml6342]

I'm from the same town as them, and it was crazy to see it blow up. I was 16-17 years old and working with Alex Perrault at a burger joint and by the next year Muscles Glasses was a "household name".

[@blastofo]

Naw he was just a prop. Crazy that he wanted to be paid as much as Harley, when he didn't write any of the content or even have any speaking lines.

[@ssuuppeerrbbooyy]

@@blastofo instead of getting a salary he shouldve gotten a cut of the revenue. Actors are usualy paid a fixed amount + residiuals if the work keeps on making money.

[@GreyPunkWolf]

@@ssuuppeerrbbooyy Yeah actors in movies not actors in internet sketches. Don't have a single clue as to why, but it is what it is.

[@AndreBarnett]

Say word

[@ryanlesner0000ninja]

Question. After they would create a massive sandwich. What would they do with the sandwich??

[@rikumajumder1558]

it's sad that most of the current generation will never experience so many channels at the start of KZbin. Makes you think about how your parents feel when you don't understand their 'heroes'.

[@TheZachary86]

That’s true. I mean what was there to understand about the Lone Ranger?

[@Tk--cp9xw]

Damn remember machinima?

[@Pactastic042]

It's crazy that at one time everyone at a lunch table was was watching a Ray William Johnson video and talking about , I doubt some newcomers know who that is

[@stevencollins8348]

KZbin also didn't punish creators like they do now

[@The_Real_Frisbee]

"at the start of KZbin" Eh? KZbin started 5 years before EMT joined. The start of KZbin was porn, parodies, music and Smosh. KZbin was truly lawless before the Google buyout.

[@chadwildclay]

Awesome analysis, SunnyV2. I remember when Epic Meal Time was in the top 10 most subscribed and have always wondered why the channel fell off, so I really appreciate this video.

[@Idunooo]

damn, ur on this vid?

[@Reallyaudi]

Why do you type like your sending him something in the mail

[@tobythedevil1874]

Verified alert

[@tinguspingus295]

Chad fucking wild clayyyy

[@DumDum-zj6gm]

Give bobux?

[@burnzy3210]

imagine feeling so entitled to a piece of the pie when all you do is wear glasses and ear food that's put infront of you

[@SB-eh5gd]

💀

[@esteboi3858]

fr how the hell did the chemistry crumble THAT hard because one dude who wore sat there and wore glasses eating food wanted more money 😭

[@sinekonata]

Yeah that's the boss' side of the story. I tend to ignore that and read between the lines, since we KNOW how little the workers, in this case actors, tend to get compensated. When you're so greedy about your massive pie that you're willing to see your crew go when it asks for some respect, you deserve to lose that pie.

[@respectedlocalgentleman7108]

zh00xD

[@mrgreenhd22]

This is something I've heard about quite a few times, where people started off making videos just for the fun of it but then once it started bringing in money they got more and more serious about it and it became more about business than having fun, and other people can notice that too. It seems like when people have success with their videos it's important for them to also keep having fun.

[@iamalexwolf]

It’s like Smosh

[@mrnauseouz]

That honestly seems the case for most pre 2015 KZbin celebrities. They get signed with some old legacy company and make TV shows/movies when they were putting out their content on a (at the time) radically different viewing platform compared to TV that old legacy companies just don't understand.

[@aibalta6340]

Imagine all you have to do is sit still, look tough and say nothing while eating whatever food you given. Audacity to say you're integral to the show and demand a salary lol. You're doing it once or twice a month and you're eating food they're not making you eat dirt and drink sewage for you to demand a compensation. Makes me absolutely livid.

[@Edgar.55]

The creatures were another youtube group of friends who each had individual channels and a joint channel. Eventually disbanded because og members left sue to conflict with one or two of the members and it wasn't fun for them anymore. Or left because of family stuff. Eventually the group had to shut down because their joint channel wasn't bringing in as many views or money while another channel that 2 of the members had created was blowing up. Eventually that channel had to shut down because of the same reasons. It became too serious and corporate like and members started leaving.

[@mrgreenhd22]

@@aibalta6340 I guess you could call that the Hollywood attitude.

[@bww33]

I always wondered why the epic mealtime guys didn't partner up with some of the food challenge channels - Watching them cook an epic meal, and then watching a professional eater scarf it all down as a challenge would have been fun to see

[@johnmillay6790]

Hell yea good idea

[@chrism45]

They did a couple videos with Furious Pete

[@iplyrunescape305]

@@chrism45 ah yeah but even he got a dip in views, unfortunately

[@espo7182]

Why is it that when a successful KZbin channel eventually falls off everyone says that they eventually failed? Yet when a successful TV show eventually runs its course(not goes out with its own planned written finale) people still consider that TV show to be a success? I don't see this channel as failing at all. It just ran it course. Maybe there was things behind the scenes complicating things, but that is true of almost every successful business in the world. Besides to this day Harley is still pretty active on KZbin and social media and I'm sure is doing just fine. As I'm sure are the others. To say it failed is misleading and I honestly never even really watched their channel, so I don't really care much about them. They just basically reached their end game, or their final season, if it was a TV show.

[@Rhewin]

Exactly. And I can’t call a channel getting 30-50k views per video to this day a failure.

[@Fr00stee]

youtube channels don't have a finale that people can look at and go "wow that channel was good"

[@Bladedcloud6159]

@@Fr00stee 2 words. Unus Annus

[@Fr00stee]

@@Bladedcloud6159 pretty sure that is the only channel that did that

[@BriChuhime-sama]

I’m guessing that channels that were once pulling in millions suddenly barely hitting 100k are considered fails. I see it as a river hitting the ocean and becoming a part of the expanse tbh. Never a failure but a new beginning….. *NOW GABBIE HANNAH ON THE OTHER HAND….*

[@NicklasZandeVGCP2001]

Same with Annoying Orange and Channel Awesome. They both seemed like fun novelties initially, but they began feeling trapped in an alorythm that they couldn't control, and with many key figures leaving the company due to mistreatment they had recieved. And now barely anyone talks about them anymore.

[@skrungle215]

Funnily enough, Annoying Orange did a parody of Epic Meal Time.

[@PenwithAk]

“Businesses just got in the way of being fun” is probably the case for every “successful KZbinr”

[@ZeranZeran]

Too true.

[@CybearBox]

Twitch too.

[@xJDMWaRRi0Rx]

We can see that happening in real time with channels like mr beast and nelk. They’re getting too big into the business aspect of things to actually produce real entertaining content. I’d rather see a bunch of smaller give away videos instead of these over the top challenge videos with other youtubers with a huge payout from mr beast

[@IIIIAmSHODAN]

@@xJDMWaRRi0Rx lol mr beast was always a soulless sociopath channel with the sole intent of making money. Imagine putting that fuckwad in the same tier as anyone else.

[@Eloquence00]

I remember watching Epic Meal Time with the boys at their place after school, talking about the ridiculousness, the grossness, laughing until my stomach hurt, etc. It really was good. Then, after some point, we all just stopped talking about it. I don't remember when, but it came and went like a flash in the pan for me in school. I remember looking up the channel some time later in college and thinking "dang, this is kinda boring". I wasn't there for the transition to their later videos, but for me it really felt like the show was missing everything that made it great in the first place. It wasn't serious - regardless of Harley's character's attitude; it was super silly and absurd. This gave it exceptional meme value, even at a time when meme culture was just coming around. And the gravitas of the earlier videos really made them feel "Epic" while, as you pointed out, the newer stuff just kinda felt casual. That Epic-ness was what made them all the funnier, because even though the show was absurd and over the top, the characters taking it all seriously only made it funnier. In hindsight, trying to keep a meme show going for 10 years probably wasn't the optimal route. But I sympathize with Harley who had to think about his employees, his friends, his family, and himself. It's very easy to get stuck in a "known" format and trying to expand into actual serious content would've been very difficult. It's the reason that a lot of creators have second and even third channels, to help them find new formats that work and capitalize on them.

[@LeongGunners]

Yeah, their vids these days feel more like a bunch of school kids flailing around attempting to make parodies of a proper EMT video.

[@CommonSenseless1993]

It’s crazy that 2010 is looked at as “the early days of KZbin” considering the fact that I was in college at the time. I always considered 2006-2009 to be the early years of KZbin for me.

[@KuntaKinteToby]

2006-2009 was early adopters. 2010-2012 was when YT started going mainstream.

[@trcs3079]

Id say the early days were definitely 2006-2009. 2010 was definitely when kids were slowly using it more so it's more or less nostalgia

[@ShivaOO7]

You're correct. 2010 is more of these mid-era of KZbin. The early days were when the biggest stars were asian-americans making mediocre jokes into their webcam or digital camera.

[@planescaped]

I didn't make this account until 2008, but I remember watching entire pirated series' on youtube back in 07. The days before anyone bothered making accounts or subscribing and every video had may 6 comments on it, if it had any at all. :P As well as Ventrillo harassment and Freeman's Mind of course. :P Thank god for Accursed Farms.

[@Nightbird8272]

@@KuntaKinteToby I just learned I was an early adopter then lol

[@tndrunning3328]

Harleys voiceovers were comedy gold. So many quotable lines that made the videos so funny and rewatchable

[@riskybitness]

Epic Meal Time was great, but it was something that couldn't last forever. The fact that it got on like it did and lasted as long as it did is just a testament to how well Harley and Co. did their jobs. I don't think anyone could have expected that to become a full time gig when they started. It was also an idea that could only be taken so far. There's only so much you can do with a straightforward concept like that, and they did it. From what I understand they've all moved onto different projects from that jumping off point, so I don't think Epic Meal Time failed. I think it ran its course.

[@ZenEmir]

i couldn't really agree with the term "failed" They had their moment in the sun and did well with it, not many channels can do the same cookie-cutter content for 10 years and still be as successful at their peak. Epic meal time had a great fun and was amazing to watch when it first came out!!

[@hsing-yihuang3335]

captain sparklez?

[@DrakeWingGaming]

More like a decade in the sun.

[@user-sl6gn1ss8p]

yeah, it's a weird metric when making videos about specific super-sized foods get's a billion views and is called a failure. It's the same with games nowadays which people quit playing after years and hundreds of hours, as if everything had to be stretched forever way beyond any reason.

[@IDiggPattyMayonnaise]

They hit success on YT early. If they had became successful now theyd have a lot more staying power. It was like a flavor of the week situation on YT early on. I can name a lot of channels I watched that are basically nothing. Channels now don't seem to go away since yt is as big as it's ever been.

[@DrakeWingGaming]

@@IDiggPattyMayonnaise I disagree. I think it they'd arrived much later then their success would have been far more limited. Their type of content wasn't really done by a lot of channels back then, which gave them much more appeal. Nowadays there are more hardcore cooking channels than I can count.

[@noahmeyer-gray3468]

This guy right here was my substitute teacher in highschool! Dudes a fricking legend in my eyes and always will be

[@Sawta]

Although it would have been great if the show kept running forever, I get that it probably got very hard to keep that level of sarcastic, over the top passion going. Honestly, I'm also kind of glad the show ended, in that, although it was fun to watch this crazy stuff get eaten, I always felt this twinge of "Man, if they keep doing this, their health is going to suffer longterm", kind of the way it has with mukbang stuff. I do think it would be cool if they got back together to do some kind of activity together, maybe just hang out and catch up, or some kind of outdoor competition. The chemistry and atmosphere was so fun to watch. It would be cool if they recaptured some of that.

[@JimmyTheGiant]

weird timing, had a youtube night with mates trying to answer this question - great story :)

[@SkillsGaming]

Ok

[@fern_theleaf850]

Hey it's you parkour guy I'm a fan btw

[@BodieMoto]

He streams on twitch and has explained what happened to many times lol it's unfortunate he gets such low view on twitch cause he's genuinely hilarious

[@bumi8027]

@@BodieMoto who?

[@gaogaigarfinal6]

I was just watching all this channels videos and just finished. Definitely crazy timing lol

[@Sam-rc7wd]

I remember showing this to my friends a decade ago and they seemed unstoppable at the time, but a decade later (literally became a doctor in that time) they have hardly any views and it sucks. I really feel like the cooking lessons ruined the channel imo.

[@fazormcghee7936]

They showed the audience how magic works

[@Ryan-te3sw]

Way to go on becoming a DR!

[@Sam-rc7wd]

@@Ryan-te3sw ty

[@GatorAidMedical]

Are you postcall rn?

[@QUBIQUBED]

@@Sam-rc7wd dude good job being a doctor thats hard asf

[@Cubick]

Completely forgot about this guy, excited to hear what happened to him and stuff, thanks for another epic documentary Sunny

[@tayo17923]

Lmao he goes on twitch podcasts now where he shares hilarious stories

[@SnowsLife]

I lived right next to those guys. That OG mcdonalds ( RIP it was remodeled into the modernist hell Mcdonalds ) was literally at the end of my street.

[@coolbrotherf127]

You definitely nailed this one. It hit during a specific cultural boom that accelerated them to the top, but that bubble burst and they didn't pick up anything that would keep the attention of their audience for the long term. It was definitely possible, but they probably felt like it was too much of a gamble to shy away from what made them successful in the first place.

[@gawdat3859]

5:43 Important note: when Harley says Muscles Glasses wanted to be paid more than Harley himself... that is meant to mislead you. Harley drew a modest salary for his work on the show, but as owner all the profit after expenses went to him (and his brother). The bulk of the money went to ownership, and salaries were relatively small business expenses.

[@TheBestcommentor]

It sounds like he wasn't even involved in making most of the videos, though.

[@transfixit]

@@Heavymetalspirit710 so replacable, they couldn't replace him but ok

[@StabStabStabStabby]

@@transfixit I think that the point is that his departure didn't negatively impact the viewership like he claimed it would.

[@transfixit]

@@StabStabStabStabby except it did?

[@StabStabStabStabby]

@@transfixit the viewership tapered off naturally as the show delicined in popularity.

[@abc76580]

bruhhhh that top 10 youtuber list at 0:33 threw me in such a throwback. still reminiscing as of this moment, those were the days...

[@teddyuhh]

sunnyv2 is great, ive never known a youtuber of an intro or outro whcih they are not talking about sponsorships or themselves, good on you sunny, this is half the reason why i watch sunnyv2, other half is coz im interested, its easy to watch a straight to the point, i love it

[@BobaVolcano]

I don't care about 90% of the channels you spotlight but still watch every one of your videos. Very well made content, props to you!

[@legopuma5251]

Hi Sunnny, been watching you since your Boogie Vids, still remembering your Fortnite Vids, just wanting to say I still highly enjoy watching your videos. Idk if you need to hear this but nothing but respect for your incredible rise. Greetings from Germany!

[@Cubick]

This comment is top tier wholesome

[@diabetesdictator6488]

Yooo which part. I too live in germany

[@JadF1729]

Me too I watched him since march

[@SteveTomSawyer]

Same duuuuude he just BLEW UP

[@Nomenooooo]

@Dream shut up

[@NILBOG13]

10 years is NOT a failure, I will always watch the EMT videos with love and hunger.

[@rigormortiz5357]

so you're saying failure doesn't exist? thanks man

[@NILBOG13]

@@rigormortiz5357 Where in my post did I say that? Strawman much?

[@Richardparra_og]

@@rigormortiz5357 I thought that failures doesn't existed...until i read your comment

[@ZombieFredo]

I love that the video ended with a small clap for Harley. He really never did give up or blame anyone for the channel's decline. It will always be a fond memory of early KZbin.

[@ShovelChef]

This is another one of your videos, in a very short binge, after which I feel compelled to check out ExACTly the thing that you're talking about. I had always heard of Epic Meal Time but never watched, for some reason. Some of their featured guests and cooking techniques look legit and interesting, so yeah, I'm going for it. Thx very much! 😄👍

[@steelokey]

Damn this is bitter sweet. I’m 25 now & I remember my homie Isaac coming to tell me all the time that a new video dropped & we gotta do something similar. We’d always cook up random crazy shit just cause of this show, shout out my bro for the timeless memories & these guys for ever making the show. Their impact on KZbin as a platform will never be forgotten, these type of people & KZbin channels were the pioneers of “viral moments”. What a time to grow up during, I felt like I witnessed so much cool shit happen especially with the internet getting as crazy as it’s got. I remember dial up lol

[@ACEDTVL]

honestly I would have just started my own channel based off of the fame Epic Meal Time was getting, like David dobrik. sometimes you have to take the blessing you have. in this case they blessing was exposure but they wanted more compensation when they could have created their own. I'm not sure if these guys did start another Channel but I would have played ball and kept the show going and the fans who enjoy my presence would find me.

[@Zeverinsen]

@@rydz656 That's literally irrelevant.

[@swig8792]

@@rydz656 💀 (im deceased)

[@stevenflores7405]

@@rydz656 wtf?

[@jhtsurvival]

They did stuff

[@michaelhaydenbell]

Ok I'm sure your hypothetical thoughts on what YOU would have done in their shoes, with you only having a fraction of a sliver of all the facts plus the benefit of hindsight, are super duper helpful.

[@ToasterOven.]

I still remember finding this channel in June of 2020 and thinking how great the content was. Now he’s at 3/4 to a million subs and I’ve realized how far he’s come

[@CjExpendable27]

Fast food lasagna will remain one of my favorite KZbin videos of all time. Just with the natural reactions of the fast food workers alone when they hear all the food they are ordering 😂

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

They were the "Jackass but food oriented" of my college years, lmao. I had acquaintances from uni who actually met Harley as he lived in Toronto at the time around when they were gaining popularity.

[@icmull]

Wow thats a good point. Maybe I should invent the jackass of something else like investing guru

[@kimmyquevil]

I thought this too

[@nichtsistkostenlos6565]

This shows that it's really, really hard to stay relevant on KZbin. You gotta give it up for some of the top dogs that have managed to grow year after year because you can't just pick a format and sit on it. You gotta be changing, evolving all while handling all the business behind the scenes. It's a crazy business, if anyone thinks being a KZbin personality is easy, they're kidding themselves.

[@CrumbsLamond]

I honestly wonder how long raywilliamjohnson could've lasted if he stayed with it. His channels decline was mostly because he walked away, but he was always my favorite tuber

[@MollymaukT]

Also the platform grew so fucking much in so little time. Like check out the rank at 0:34 1st place had close to 6M subscribers but tenth had only 2.7M, for today's standards that's a big channel but there are literally over 22k channels with over 1M subscribers, that's absolutely insane! And it only takes minor changes to the algorithm to make a channel grow super fast or just die (think the biggest recent example is Dream who just exploded last year and was getting 1M subscribers every month)

[@Azola69]

@@CrumbsLamond i just checked and he still has lots of views on his recent vids

[@KlaximumSkroeft]

I think it at least partly has something to do with viewers growing up, getting over wastlefulness as well. When I was 15, sure yeah I loved all that stuff. Now I'm closer to thirty and my interests have changed. I feel like we're all trying to become less wasteful so EMT is a bit passé.

[@-.-Monster]

Epic meal time did not fail. It lived a full life. They still post lesser extreme food vids. Their run was legitimately epic

[@AccAkut1987]

If you compare it to TV shows... even thirty years ago, TV shows rarely went longer than 7 seasons/years, if they were not soaps that had an ever changing cast and story lines anyway. Viewers just grow out of it and move on.

[@connorross123]

Respect to the entire crew for keeping the channel going for so long with such a limiting format, like you said

[@TryinBin8889]

"Business just got in the way of being fun". Wow. I feel like for a lot of the channels that were amazing in the beginning when they were just friends having fun and showing organic relationships which eventually collapsed, this has been a recurring problem

[@Black_Jesus3005]

I remember a coworker showing me this channel in early 2012 and fell in love with it. We’d always talk about the latest episode at work. Good times.

[@mikek9072]

Ahhhhh, glad I got to see Epic Meal Time through the entire course of its run... Such an Iconic channel! Loved it!

[@shadetheband]

This video made me think about how difficult it probably can be for bands to stay together once they experience success. The ones that continue to improve and maintain healthy relationships are probably the ones that keep the same desire to create and enjoy music as they had in the beginning.

[@trentyz]

Rammstein has had all 6 members stay together since 1994 as an example 🤘

[@austinwilburn1772]

Me and my friend sometimes talk about EMT. It’s like the perfect case study. Let’s be honest, KZbin wouldn’t be the same if they never made EMT. I think they really hold a special spot in a Lot of peoples heart.

[@Freebuss]

Right in the arteries lol

[@austinwilburn1772]

@@Freebuss, they use to be in my heart but the doctor finally found the problem during a triple bypass.

[@daniel1RM]

nah youtube woud be the same, nobody alone is that impactful

[@markmendel9883]

If you were to look at this like a TV show, 10 years is a MASSIVE success!

[@ravenx25]

Should have partnered with mukbangs and pivoted that way. It would feel authentic and benefit from a fresh audience and energy. Could do themes and each request for a cuisine would stave boredom. It would be a win-win.

[@proudbeanerii3810]

No they just need to end the channel . They don't have the ideas to keep up with this new generation of youtubers. It's like Dr Dre dropping an album now and making 1/10 of what he did in his NWA days and his solo career in the 90s .

[@inzane456]

The chad Guga food channels vs the virgin internal fighting bullshit

[@IIIIAmSHODAN]

how about fucking no? mukbangs are disgusting. Weird fetish content for weirdos

[@paulolatupan6096]

The time that you took for this vid is a masterpiece

[@katiemorrill4318]

A great example of diversifying a cooking channel is Sorted Food! They've been incredibly smart about how they mix up the cooking, giving everyone a chance to cook, time in front of the camera, and distinct personalities that keep the group flowing!

[@ilajoie3]

Sadly I'll miss James being in the main cast, but it will always be a high point when he shows his ginger face

[@hinkhall8451]

This video aged like wine now that Harley is self destructing

[@alexs5394]

wow, that was a painful comparison between the old and newer videos. Like everyone else, I loved these guys in 2010-2011. I remember looking up their channel in like 2015 or so and was blown away by how soulless the content seemed. Hope they are doing well

[@unoriginalhazard]

They are not doing well lol.

[@lakemanson8051]

They are doing great! Go watch new episodes.

[@thefcw]

I remember my interest going down the toilet with Epic Meal Time when they had that episode where they got a limo, women, and started throwing money around, yelling “bacon strips” at passers by. They went from dudes you wanted to drink, chill, and have a greasy meal with, to a bunch of rich, entitled looking douchebags in one video. That is the image that sticks with me.

[@shartsmcginty8056]

Same. That's the video that made me unsubscribe.

[@inmotion9396]

whats wrong with being rich?

[@Cepheus773]

@@rogerdalzell Uh...I don't know about all that, chief.

[@Cepheus773]

@Tsu Plenty of rich people do charitable acts and donate to help others. Not to mention that "rich" changes definition from person to person. My family in El Salvador considers me rich, am I a bad person because I'm not doing more to help the poor? If I ever become "rich" am I morally obligated to give money away? It's just ridiculous to base a person's moral standing on how much money they are making.

[@MV-wb2cz]

@Tsu and it helps them pay less in taxes overall for that donation.... i hate when people don't know all the facts before spouting off asinine comments...

[@8ullfrog]

It was never a sustainable business, and Harley went all in. Reminds me of the death of microwave show. Dude hated what put him on the map. I'll admit I flat out forgot EMT until this video popped in my recommendations. Muscles Glasses was his Teller, and he didn't get that.

[@SMA2343]

Oh my god yes. The “Is it a good idea to microwave this?” Yes yes yes. I remember they wanted to end it and once it did the channel just ended as a result. People were there for that, once it wasn’t there people gave up.

[@Criminalupper2200]

The series lost views because it's novelty eventually wore off and more and more competition sprouted up all over the site. heavily gimicked stuff like this(which is basically a food version of Jackass) always will have a shelf life, it's the nature of the beast. Muscles Glasses was never a big part of it. he was a meme. A funny running gag people liked seeing because he was there from the start and it became a sort of tradition, not because he truly brought anything unique to the show. Comparing him to an actual skilled entertainer like Teller, who doesn't speak but does just about everything else possible, is pretty insulting. Glasses stood there, crossed his arms, and ate stuff. literally anyone could do what he did, he filled the role simply because he had it from the start.

[@redwolfe7049]

@@Criminalupper2200 I absolutely agree. It was a niche thing like Ray William Johnsonand other og popular KZbin channels. It's hard to stay relevant when something that makes you big gets copied and improved upon. It's just like any TV show that's run its course like The Simpsons.

[@JackTheripper911]

@@redwolfe7049 except =3 would be absolute copyright nightmare even moreso than it already was for the time and it wouldnt have continued to exist if made today unfortunately.

[@lowtaxfootfetish]

It immediately went to crap when he left and the gross cousins started to be the whole show

[@AutumnalWinds1121]

Loved their content. But omg what a different space the internet was.

[@mynaemismoos]

The breakup part of it is reminiscent of what happened with Super Best Friends in a way. Hearing that Matt and Pat no longer got along was heartbreaking.

[@mastersnake42]

Definitely one of the saddest things to happen for me in recent memory. Their I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream LP was the first one to come up when I searched for one back in the day, and I instantly loved their dynamic.

[@bencousins7311]

aye i was watching one of matts new videos and i was like yeah i was hanging out with my friend liam and i was like darn i miss the old gang but they all seem happy with their new gigs

[@bundesautobahn7]

Epic Meal Time even had a "spinoff" channel made by people in Sweden named "Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time", but the people behind ROSMT knew when to end it for good after they returned from their first hiatus. EMT however just became completely ridiculous and jumped the shark, not to mention all the infighting that seems to have been instigated by Harley himself.

[@buak809]

Man i loved ROSMT they were acting ridiculous but it was original in its own way and they actually were doing quite healthy meals with milk and pre dinner snack included 😅

[@sunpay2310]

Because it's good for you :D

[@havokmusicinc]

ROSMT was a fun show

[@DeimosDread]

@@sunpay2310 just a spoonful?

[@zerevv]

"Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time" IN SWENGLISH!!!!

[@cfn6742]

SunnyV2 always makes my day with these extremely entertaining documentaries

[@adwhoodie]

well like my comments ;

[@PolishTamales]

Pretty sure once they stopped being your “average Joe” and their wealth started to show, they no longer became relatable.The foundation of college misfits without any regards to their health, eating booze infused deep fried meats of every walking animal, was the appeal of their videos. As soon as they started showing off food that most people can’t afford, they stopped being relatable. They stopped being an old drinking buddy and just became someone you hated being around. When your primary stars are college kids, they’ll eventually age out. It’s not the same after nearly a decade of the same antics, rinse and repeated, without a secondary “talent”.

[@beefbrisket168]

when Epic Meal Time first came out, I was a part time high school student taking blow off classes to graduate. I watched them in class. I started noticing a decline a couple of years later and eventually forgot about them.

[@brandoniswhoiam]

Harley taught history at my high school… but I never got to have him as a teacher since I came in a year after he left. I missed out big time.

[@apersunthathasaridiculousl1890]

?

[@notjonahmc3477]

L

[@brandoniswhoiam]

@@notjonahmc3477, I’m holding it.

[@dorkultra]

they went from college bros that appeared to be having fun, to years later being bloated dads trying to keep things going way past prime

[@Idkwhtpsipto]

2:25 no way this dude !!! I absolutely die at his short “we selling weeeeeed and doing bad shit, N” 😂😂😂😂

[@TheDrummaBen]

Basically what I am learning from SunnyV2 is that everything on youtube is a cycle of rise and fall....eventually the world just sorta...gets tired of you and moves on.

[@StompDeni42]

That's so true! Maybe we just haven't acknowledged it about KZbin channels

[@eskits2700]

Always love it when sunny v2 uploads

[@razlemon6717]

Really hit the nail on the head; I used to watch EVERY episode of Epic Meal Time, the second they dropped...then it got to be kind of stale, Muscles Glasses left, briefly came back, left again... and around the time Harley stopped appearing in every video and it was just two guys cooking, I just didn't care anymore. I still have my bacon strips shirt and my EMT logo shirt and I'll always fondly remember those times. I Saw someone mention Harley the other day on Twitter and thought that guy was out of the game, didn't even know he still did stuff. Also, I miss the pizza jerky that Harley brought to Walmart! It must not have sold well, because it was clearanced off and never sold again after about a month.

[@riccardo7790]

Harley was my substitute teacher in highschool lol Hes a great guy im glad for his success

[@Takaichi666-]

No way for real?!

[@addysalic]

Another quality video. Well done, mate! Weird coincidence as I just checked Epic Meal Time few nights ago and thought "Wow...they had really gone down from the highest peak of KZbin. This could be an awesome content if SunnyV2 covers this story!".

[@lover14boy]

sure u did

[@TheVeryAngryShrimp]

I cherish those times binging Epic Meal Time after class...Especially felt honored seeing the first episode when it was freshly uploaded.

[@ILuCkYxCh4rMz]

I subconsciously still call rainbow candy belts “rainbow bacon strips”, and remember when EMT had a shirt in Walmart at one time. Insanity.

[@trooperftw6706]

I’m 24 and don’t really come to KZbin to watch huge lots of food being made. At 11-13 years old, this is all i would watch. It was so fun ! Me and buddies in middle school did nothing but binge watch these guys.

[@FlightX101]

I'd say that they did very well for themselves. Very few channels make it past 10 years with that level of popularity :) The show ran its course

[@springroll58]

I watch Harley every now and then and he still remains one of the funniest human beings on the planet to me; like everything that comes out of his mouth makes me crack tf up.

[@TenThumbsProductions]

If you look at all those top 10 channels only college humor is the still around. If you catch lightning in a bottle and blow up with KZbin, save and invest that money, don’t buy cars and chains (unless gold, gold holds value much better than diamonds) views go away.

[@TenThumbsProductions]

@Brandon Knight Hahaha, valid point.

[@ipsojure2137]

@Brandon Knight didn't they have to fire like 90% of their staff members last year?

[@demetriusmccray1574]

Rihanna legit stopped music for a while and became a billionaire

[@lakemanson8051]

Harley from EMT didnt by gold, cars, or chains... he gave back to his family and invested the rest. My guy is doing great now

[@GoddamnAnge]

LEGO is great for resale as well

[@autonomous8108]

He said they'd stop in 2019, but they're still making videos. I used to see em around KZbin all the time, but now it seems they struggle to push even 100k views. It's pretty sad to see, but I hope he's doing well, and his videos have a more fun, passionate aspect to it, instead of a business one.

[@Trewq79]

Hopefully he handled his wealth wisely. For example, if he made a few million dollars when the channel blew up, he could invest it and live off it without ever having to work again. At that point, the channel could purely be just for fun and nothing else.

[@StabStabStabStabby]

Guy is probably still making bank from the back catalogue. No reason to shut the channel down.

[@JackTheripper911]

@@StabStabStabStabby you only get money from ads on older videos if enough people actually watch those videos, and who the fuck is going back to rewatch this shit? Who has spoken about EMT in the last decade? They barely get 30K views now and you think people will go back to watch years old content that (truthfully) isn't worth watching a second time, and in some opinions not worth watching the first time around. Trust me they arent making much off their old videos lol

[@OfficialCrumpdiddy]

Harley is actually a great guy. He’s always been very awesome and loves the fans. Been a fan like most of you since day 1.

[@ed-zn5bd]

I remember back in the day I wore an EpicMealTime shirt walking into Pluckers. It was like a celebrity had walked in. People screaming “EpicMealTime!!” High fives, point and laughing “wooo’s!” It was so much fun. RIP

[@lucuador1992]

I remember watching these videos when I was dorming in college. My friends and I would always watch a video when we were having a night of drinking. We tried to make a food abomination with the food we were able to get in the cafeteria. Every time I see bacon, I can't help but say "& bacon strips" in my mind. You don't know how thankful I am for this channel's existence

[@CaptainSlowbeard]

I have a similar legit problem where I mentally say sauwse any time a sauce is mentioned. *Sauwse*

[@botanicalabe]

Ngl i really like Harley’s personality and would like to see him in some more media. And with a ton of people learning how to cook over quarantine and food channels doing the super food things like Guga and Nick DiGiovanni, I wouldn’t be surprised if people were interested in that style of content again.

[@miibotic]

He is actually in a show that started on youtube and is on netflix now. Video Game High School if you care to check it out

[@MrWorsterLike]

He's still on the PKA podcast quite a lot and he streams games on twitch/FB/youtube

[@jacobrodriguez1415]

He was in the movie Tusk

[@miibotic]

@@jacobrodriguez1415 oh! I didn’t know that, that’s pretty cool ngl

[@maxhydekyle2425]

Damn, I didn't realize just how low their viewership is now. I know they've been around for a decade, but so has Pewdiepie and a ton of other creators who are still quite successful. Plus Epic Meal Time was definitely one of the most well known KZbin channels for a long time. I know a ton of the original members left, but I thought that Harley would be able to mostly carry the show on his own. I guess that's but true at all.

[@rdu239]

EMT failed to adapt on the changing demands through the years, honestly if they were able to adjust their content to make it fresh they would still be able to hold on their position despite their original members leaving

[@hazyhalfmoon]

You have to blame the algorithm in part. I’m subbed to them and can’t say I’ve been recommended one of their videos in years.

[@skettinbutter3635]

Pewdiepie is suited for little kids. All the loud noised and flamboyant gestures are a gold mine for little kids

[@maxhydekyle2425]

@@skettinbutter3635 He doesn't really do that anymore

[@free2player553]

@@Dockhead it is for most youtubers. That's just the widest demographic on KZbin.

[@HowieRaps]

EpicMealTime coming back and beating world records for "the biggest" of different foods and then giving it out to the homeless in the area they cooked it, would be an amazing comeback story.