Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox bring back “classic” Smosh after six-year split
YouTube stars Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox are finally bringing back “classic” Smosh after Padilla parted ways with the project back in 2017.
Those who have been browsingYouTubefor the past decade are likely very familiar with Smosh, a YouTube channel originally helmed by creatorsAnthony Padillaand Ian Hecox.
Smosh’s content was largely focused on comedy sketches and improv, and was initially started as its own website in 2002 before Anthony and Ian beganthe YouTube channel in 2005.
The pair enjoyed a successful run with Smosh until summer 2017, when Anthony announced he was leaving the project due to creative differences after it was acquired by its parent company, Defy Media.
Just a year later,Defy Media suddenly shut down,leaving the future of Smosh in jeopardy. However, Ian and co. claimed they would continue to make content despite Defy’s unexpected closure. Smosh was then acquired byRhett and Link’s Mythical Entertainment,where it stayed… until now.
Anthony Padilla & Ian Hecox purchase Smosh from Rhett & Link
On Jul 06, 2025, Padilla and Hecox announced that they had purchased Smosh from Mythical Entertainment and are bringing the channel back to its former glory.
The two paired up for a YouTube video explaining their business decision, saying that they’d been spending a lot of time together lately and wanted to bring the “magic” of old Smosh back to the internet.
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox bought Smosh back from Rhett and Linkpic.twitter.com/FKIHfwSfYb
“Ian and I started hanging out a ton, and we realized the sketches that we’d made weren’t just great because they were a product of the times,” Anthony explained. “I wasn’t just being blinded by nostalgia when I would go back to get a laugh at the old videos. They were a reflection of the magic that we felt when we were making something together.”
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“So, we came up with the totally insane idea of, ‘What if we bought Smosh?'” Ian continued. “We didn’t know if this was actually possible, but we felt that we had to look into it and see if we could actually do it.”
The duo went on to claim that fans can expect good, old-fashioned sketch comedy written by and starring both Anthony and Ian, with Padilla notably saying: “Classic Smosh is back.”
As for Smosh’s other channels, they will “stay the same,” although it’s unclear if this will affect Anthony’s “I Spent a Day With” interview series or Ian’s personal content at the time of writing.
Rhett & Link speak out after selling Smosh back to Anthony & Ian
Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning fame have published a statement following Anthony and Ian’s acquisition of Smosh, congratulating the YouTube duo on this new chapter in their careers and expressing hope for the future of the channel.
“We are extremely proud of everything we and Ian accomplished during our time working together, and will continue to be fans and friends to Smosh as they enter this new era!” they wrote.
“We couldn’t think of a more perfect outcome on our investment than selling Smosh back to the internet’s other iconic best-friend duo. It’s another pioneering first in the creator economy and a validation of our belief that creator-entrepreneurs will play a huge role in the future of entertainment.”
We sold Smosh.Ian & Anthony, the original founders of Smosh, have reunited and bought back the wildly popular brand they founded 18 years ago! We are extremely proud of everything we and Ian accomplished during our time working together, and will continue to be fans and…pic.twitter.com/TbAnEsVA2X
Anthony and Ian asked fans to support a “free and independent” Smosh by joining their YouTube channel as members. Thus far, viewers seem overjoyed by this latest news as awell-loved era of entertainment returns to YouTubeafter six long years.
