Meet YouTube's Iron Man: The Hacksmith ($5M Studio Tour)

[@hacksmith]

The 14 hour tour paid off in spades! I couldn't believe we wrapped at 2am 😂 You've got the record of longest tour, but I think there was still more I could have shown you! Thanks for sharing everything we do with the world!

[@youshaei]

Thanks again James!! I was seriously blown away man 🤯

[@rachelleeden8824]

I would totally be the highest rank of member if I could afford it... I'm glad that this video helps shed some light on the costs of production, which I think a lot of viewers take for granted. Thank you Jon for posting and I hope this video gets both this channel and hacksmith's channel a lot more members.

[@Ur_clickbait_is_trash]

James you do no work at all. You just appear at the end of videos for clout. cringe.

[@leonYoong]

This video brought me back to your Channel James, and I don't know why I even stopped watching!

[@TheRealASN]

Finding under replied comments from hacksmith is a hidden joy of a modern world.

[@sealdoggydog]

I wasn't expecting the incredible transparency with all the business metrics and numbers. A lot of creators shy away from it, but it's super interesting to peak behind the curtain!

[@Deja117]

One thing I've learned from years of watching Hacksmith videos, is that they are always open to talk about anything. For example on the most recent video they did, James was replying to people on a comment saying that the videos were underperforming this year, and they had to let a few people go due to this. There were also people bouncing ideas off of him to see if they could think of anything that would help the channel, and he took time to address each of the ideas and say why they wouldn't be possible. In my opinion, that's becoming a rarer site on KZbin for channels of their size, so it's always refreshing to see that open line of communication they have. :)

[@shehasbigtounge]

Transparency, all I need to know is what it costs for the lightsaber and where the nearest bank is!

[@Chriss_Workshop]

Sometimes youtubers cant be so transparent because of NDA contracts. Its always a breath of fresh air when they get to be so open

[@DSN0W39]

Yes it's like only fans to. No one shares numbers. Like no one really cares. It's interesting yes, but most will forget the next day

[@cameronhumphries2377]

@@Deja117 Yes! hes replied to comments and liked mine many times. he engages in such a friendly and open way that feels like youre talking to a friend not a big youtuber. honestly shows what a great guy he is

[@Wildest_Wahoo]

James talking about the Schwartz is such a quick witted perfect timing joke 😂

[@youshaei]

hahah i nearly lost it

[@duacky]

@@youshaei same

[@PeterHollens]

JON! This is an incredible video, and it's so awesome to honestly be introduced to James thru this content!! It makes me much more excited to watch a creator after you get to learn so much about them!!!!!! DO MOAAAAR OF THESE!!!!!

[@youshaei]

Thanks Peter!! Appreciate you so much man 🙏

[@JD-128]

Whoa, didn't expect to see Peter Hollens here! Hi!

[@jobofett5947]

Imagine my surprise to see the same name that lives on my soundtrack here.

[@hakunamatata324]

The best thing about him, he is down to earth asf He didn't let money to take over being humble. Mad respect.

[@JerryRigEverything]

Freakin sweet.

[@CameronBrown10]

Hi Zack

[@youshaei]

Thanks Zack! All credit to James. PS love your vids man

[@brandonpitre4196]

I have been a fan of the hack-smith since I was in middle school back in 2013, it’s been amazing to see them grow to what they have become today.

[@Xenocrii]

I've been subbed to James for years, his love & passion for his work shows tremendously in this video. He 💯 deserves his success

[@omergrinberg5650]

The first time i saw one of james's videos was when i was 9, and it was the Captain america Shield video. And ever since then, i watched almost every video. English isn't my native language, but even though i didn't understand half of what he said when i was younger. James is the reason that i want to start an engineering degree next year.

[@Yilz.]

Bro looks more like captain america than iron man

[@pileofstuff]

When he grew his sideburns out he looked a lot like Wolverine.

[@dmacpher]

@@pileofstufffits as he’s Canadian 😊

[@3ATIVE]

😮Judging purely by the number of times Jon said "Wow"... I think he was impressed. LMAO

[@heyimlilyx3]

I’ve been a fan of James since his exoskeleton project and I even got to talk to him for a while at opensauce and he gave me a 3d printer. Seeing his success has been extremely inspiring for me but I also get a melancholy feeling whenever he talks about his business. I sincerely hope he gets to do his own projects for fun, rather than only for views. He’s an incredibly nice guy and the conversations I had with him meant a lot

[@kanou7473]

Dude dropping and showing yt numbers like he don't care, lots of creators are like super mysterious about that lmao

[@kobirelf97]

KZbinrs aren't mysterious about it they're just tight arsed I prefer if people was more like this

[@movieman2782]

We need Mark Rober studio plz

[@CatMeow24-qr7uo]

Thank you so much for showing us all of this!

[@Ectopl4sm]

Damn how does this only have 9k views, this is some insane quality!

[@AquariumInfo]

The intro to this video is Netflix level....Visuals + storytelling. Keep it up Jon, we love your content 💕

[@Aristheticz]

Seen a few videos of yours and this one by far has the best vibes so far! Much love!

[@youshaei]

Thank you! Appreciate you being here and watching 🙏

[@alphashadow8243]

Hacksmith has always been an idol to me, thanks for this amazing tour video!

[@soflo_fpv2]

19:13 I love how even after spending 5+ years on that build he still gets a slight smirk when destroying that car. I can only dream of creating something that magnificent that I can come back to showcase and still entertain myself

[@NBTJacklyn]

Insane hook

[@potato287-e]

Verified?

[@squarrildog1803]

This was great. Been watching hacksmith for years. Love to see the behind the scenes

[@daylen577]

I remember watching James' videos before the whole thing blew up and thinking 'hmm, I wonder where this goes'. Insane to see it go from a shack to a campus.

[@ParkerSwanson-k9w]

the hacksmith have have been a mentor for me an sparked my passion to make animatronics. right now i am working on a grave crawler for halloween. first vid i loved it keep it up.

[@premch2856]

This video made me fall in love with james all over again as a fan. I teared up when he talked about getting back to his roots. He was my childhood. I saw him build ironman suits and that blew my mind. The segment about Grant brought back memories. I was his subscriber and i used to watch all of his videos and somewhere i lost access to that account and somehow completely forgot abt TKOR too. When they showed the clips my mind just went crazy realising how I've forgotten everything that made my childhood awesome. But i did not know until this video abt his passing...RIP grant...thank you so much for all the videos. Thank you jon that was a fucking rollercoaster of a video.

[@pioj]

I really respect James and the Hacksmith team, and I wish NASA or JPL approached them somehow to make a deal and have them on the payroll....

[@swordsmike]

I loved watching the hacksmith during covid, but stopped for whatever reason. I recently saw him talk about the channel in a comment on LTT and was super impressed with the honesty. I hope it gets back to the good ol days! :) Keep it up!

[@pdubyaz]

$300k per MONTH burn rate. That's insane.

[@youshaei]

Right?! Couldn’t believe it

[@joedadi]

Man this is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

[@Diamond_Hammer]

This was a great video, I've been watching James and the growing team for years and it's a travesty that they still struggle, James is a massive inspiration and deserves allot more. The power loader is by far my favourite build and they did it serious justice.

[@samscrib8719]

He's so open to everything I love it

[@mattymatt2323]

What an awesome place he has created.. impressive dude

[@Dtansing1]

Absolutely brilliant video content. AWESOME. Hello from Australia.

[@ryangonzales6542]

Jon made the lightsaber so much more dangerous because he was so scared of it

[@youshaei]

Haha you’re so right low key I thought I’d get burned

[@ryangonzales6542]

@youshaei it was still great to watch. And when you almost got your hands crushed grabbing the elevator rails. I thinknyou were stressing him out. Lol

[@NicholasMocha]

Saw this intro at Vidsummit. SO excited for this

[@chriswilfrid]

Amazing interview admin 🎉❤

[@donahuefilms1895]

Man, so much goes on at HERC. I just wish the internet didn't do it's thing and forget about everything in a matter of hours and move on to the next best thing.

[@IWETROBOTICS]

I started building things because I got inspired by watching the hacksmith's videos way back in 2016 when I was in junior high school. I found it so cool to actually replicate some of the cool tech we see in movies and video games in real life. Am a grown up now and I still watch the hacksmith's videos. I even started my KZbin channel to document some of my personal build projects because of the hacksmith.

[@corrpendragon]

Jon's reactions while holding fire capable of instant death, and flagging everyone with a flat gun... I wouldn't invite him to my shop 🤣

[@youshaei]

Hahah I don’t blame you one bit

[@dave_granfield]

The most amazing video to date! I can’t wait for the interview pt.2

[@mathieugervais3407]

Always cool to see the money side of youtubers, very insightful!

[@AbrahamTario]

I need a membership to that gym 🔨

[@amok00]

I remember watching his little videos about being in engineering school and if you could boil pasta at room temperature. then his Elysium exoskeleton kinda blew up. Amazed he's kept it up for so long

[@ipinhathaway]

this is way better than the other video i watched from another channel i forgot because i've not subscribed to that channel. basically that guy also went to youtubers studio but his tour is so focused on camera and stuff that's used to shoot videos rather than the details or specialty of the studios he's visiting. there's one video where he goes to woodworking studio and there's so much interesting tools and whatnot there but all he asked is just what camera what lighting what camera setup stuff like that. i imagine if he goes to hacksmith studio, we won't get to see much of the interesting stuff that's shown here. i get it that the guy's channel is a camera gear channel or gadget channel but he left out so much interesting stuff.

[@RayfuzuLearning]

Hacksmith is such an inspiration for my channel. They are the best STEM channel on youtube. ❤

[@SoggyMicrowaveNugget]

It's so sad to see people put so much effort and are genuinely fun and intelligent operate so close to the line. Meanwhile all the AWFUL kind of lazy sociopathic youtube influences make bank. Welp I guess it teaches the viewers it pays off to be a scummy lazy person.

[@gdidieu]

My kids and I love The Hacksmith and his creations

[@Lucky47]

Marvel should give Hachsmith a cameo in the next Avengers movie!"

[@YoKKJoni]

amazing video! really show a whole other perspective of his channel!

[@ChrisParayno]

Great episode, love the honesty and transparency.

[@youshaei]

Thanks Chris! Yeah grateful to James for keeping it so real 💯

[@pyroslev]

Keep it up, get back to the fun and the rest will come with it. When you guys have fun, we have fun.

[@J0nas.]

Thor's Hammer that can only be lifted by Canadian engineers is the coolest thing I've ever seen

[@UniversoUltra]

Oh my god... So Awesome

[@billy_vr]

Ight boys we gon’ rib the hack smith studios

[@TunaBabyTunchi]

I loved this video and the spotter studio link! I'll definitely be signing up!

[@youshaei]

thank you! Excited to hear what you think

[@gabrielgrassmayrtoo]

The way that Jon is able to talk with creators from almost every niche and truly explain what they do is insane! Love the Content 🫶

[@youshaei]

Thanks Gabriel! Appreciate you being here since the early days 🙏 and grateful to all the creators who have come on the show and opened up

[@Im-a-student]

I had the feeling that you'll make a video today. ❤❤

[@rifleorcagames]

let's gooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!

[@MRLNLY]

What an intro 👏🏾

[@SuprSBG]

Oh it’s Hacksmith yay

[@johnandrew5958]

I like seeing this real side of The Hacksmith And I can't really understand, but I can feel the some, a very little part, of the struggle in his voice I hope to be like him. Maybe better. That's ambitious though

[@carolinebray82]

this is great thanks for sharing

[@MinistryOfMotivations]

Is amazing guy 😮

[@foxparkerx]

I love the Do not open box!

[@youshaei]

haha I was shook

[@GlitchyBugsz]

Supported!

[@AmritEmperor123]

Ayo that's an Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 in the Nolan's room! That is expensive for a laptop but damn cool shit.

[@ApashePelican]

I really wasn't expecting the openness of this video. To me the Hacksmith really embodies what an engineer is (even the lack of morals when the US army comes knocking with money/jk)

[@bUildYT]

cool!

[@rootkombat4474]

It would be so cool to see the power loader with armor on it

[@JustinBellizzi]

I'll be on your podcast one day

[@klaus6178]

Love the hacksmith

[@Toddthechaos]

Cool video I just subbed 😊

[@youshaei]

Thanks Todd! Stoked to have you here

[@erenkuzu]

I don’t understand how hacksmith doesn’t get over 10 million views per video

[@craven938]

You have Won the internet today

[@Deja117]

I love HERC, but I honestly worry about James sometimes. I know that he struggled a lot with his mental health in the past, and as odd (and possibly parasocial) as it sounds, it sometimes makes me worry that he might slip back into that period of depression if he's not careful. I hope things start picking up for them because honestly it's hard when I read comments from the team saying something isn't possible as they just don't have enough overhead, they usually put it in different words, but it's easy to read between the lines. Anyway, they definitely make amazing stuff! It's great seeing some behind the scenes on it. :D

[@christianornelas994]

Im sure these interview questions helped lmao

[@Harrisweldingandfriends]

Nice 👍 great video !!!

[@RyansBlock]

proof you actually send out the mini saber ;p

[@roberthousedorfii1743]

I think someone needs to tell Hacksmith the difference between tenants, who rent a dwelling from you, and tenets, which are principles, which is what he seems to be referring to.

[@mistmage]

I would loved to see Hacksmith doing more things that are do not exist, but useful in some way. Even if they less insane.

[@hacksmith]

But almost all of our projects don't exist 😅 That's kinda the point of Make it Real -- turning fiction into reality. Unfortunately, most of the time the reason they don't exist is because they're not commercially viable, movies are great inspiration, but usually lack real-world physics which is the thorn in our side for most outrageous things!

[@mistmage]

​@@hacksmith Thanks for response! I honestly wasn't expecting it. are do not exist is in at-all Something that before hacksmith created it never existed in the first place Lightsabres and hammers are good and all. But some simper and more background things are also important. But my favourite video you have made is Robo-spider. Even if it was not perfect . So maybe robo-spiders, but small and radio controlled? Or if it is too "Possible" Something like omni-drone? Small and radio controlled thing that can ride, walk, fly, swim.... dive? In general, i have a feeling that small things can be as cool as giant ones. Another thing, is that movies are good and all, but there also books, and anime. (Especially anime) But It is probably too digital, but a table-screen, maybe adapted with some sort of optical illusion (there some pseudo holograms out there?). Like strategic maps from any movies. Wearable electronics also cool, but again... It indeed seems very hard as everything looks and feels like it is just lots of electronics, and honestly i have no idea what sci-fi, but engineered, other then building and like... star ships with droids. Good luck to find something sellable anyway. PS Maybe a table-transformer? Not feels sellable thought...

[@rishabgowda5208]

You won when you met THE HACKSMITH!!!!

[@fire-in-you]

Very good video

[@ak07265]

Awesomee vidd!

[@andreaswil7799]

19:23 truck hauling a truck

[@TheSharker]

We need to see Jon with a rock band like Avenged Sevenfold and travel with them on tour for a few dates backstage.

[@youshaei]

Haha I’m down

[@TundeEszlari]

Amazing content.

[@youshaei]

thank you! Credit to James for showing us around his amazing studio

[@mkey6618]

Just subscribed and liked 25 second ago

[@droj7]

I thought MKBHD only have that robotic arm...hacksmith also hve it😮..man KZbin really is the future

[@youshaei]

Haha I was thinking the same exact thing when I saw that too

[@akinaguda]

2 robot dogs for the price of 1 vision pro. Crazy

[@jamess.931]

I miss Grant and I hate to see what happened to the TKR channel. They drove his legacy into the ground with greed

[@Dusty2058]

This dude is the way to smart captain America 😂

[@user-pe1ny7wl9o]

Love from India

[@astronut3830]

hacksmith it the goat

[@FitKril954]

fire

[@therock1232100]

Space balls!😅😅

[@rashdan1994]

Holyshit that was like SHIELD HQ

[@Draxi_1]

Is that audio jungle at 1:01

[@mikitz0674]

I'll be that guy... the pedant... it's not tenant. It is tenet. I'm that guy because if I made a mistake like that, I'd want someone to tell me.

[@zoxzexe2857]

i need that mini lightsaber lol

[@leonYoong]

What's up with the views? Is there a bug? I only see like 1000

[@ripcordjack]

really wish i could buy the mini saber in germany but shipping and import costs are just too much. iFixit had its colab version that would have been perfect but that was limited and is now out of stock. So hopefully ill be able to get it one day.