Gus Johnson (comedian)

Gustav Emil Johnson (born June 20, 1995) is an American comedian and filmmaker known for sketch comedy on YouTube.

Gus Johnson
Johnson on Cold Ones in June 2019
Born
Gustav Emil Johnson

(1995-06-20) June 20, 1995
Grantsburg, Wisconsin, U.S
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Stout
Occupation
  • Comedian
  • filmmaker
  • YouTuber
  • podcast host
  • musician
Years active2010–present
YouTube information
Channel
Genre
Subscribers2.82 million
Total views612.3 million
Associated actsEddy Burback, Sven Johnson, NakeyJakey, Drew Gooden, Danny Gonzalez, Grandayy, William Osman, Michael Reeves, Jacksfilms
100,000 subscribers 2017
1,000,000 subscribers 2019
Updated: December 16, 2020

Early life

Gus Johnson was born to Debra Johnson (née Allaman), a volleyball coach and former English teacher,[1] and Pete Johnson. Johnson grew up in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, with three younger siblings: Sven, Thor, and Hanne, with whom he frequently collaborates. His family is of Norwegian and Swedish descent.[2]

In middle school, Johnson filmed "stupid sketches that kids would think are funny".[1] He was elected governor of Badger Boys State in 2013[3] and graduated from Grantsburg High School in 2014. He graduated from University of Wisconsin–Stout with a degree in entertainment design concentrated on digital cinema.[4] He later moved to Los Angeles with fellow YouTuber Eddy Burback.[5]

Career

Johnson started his YouTube channel in 2010 with his first video, "Ian's Song".[6] He then went on to create meme videos starring himself and friends, which gradually became more popular. His first viral video was "How To Get Free Food From Subway", which has 2.4 million views as of January 2021.[7]

Johnson has also released music on YouTube since the beginning of his career. He released the album "Lighting Rods and Leaky Roofs" with hometown friend Joe Dumas in 2015, and the album "Champagne Seats" in 2016. In 2017, Johnson made a podcast with his friend and fellow YouTuber Eddy Burback titled OK I'll Talk.[8] The two later moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles[9] and created a new show, The Gus & Eddy Podcast.[10] This podcast is similar to OK I'll Talk, and occasionally features guests. In late 2017, Johnson also branched into longform comedy, using Kickstarter to raise funds for a comedy series on a run-down golf course called "Par 9".[11]

In January 2019, Johnson received a nomination at the 11th Shorty Awards for Best YouTube Comedian.[12] On April 10, 2019, Johnson's channel hit 1 million subscribers on YouTube during his appearance on the H3 Podcast. He celebrated with a video titled "Thank you for 1 million", in which he thanked everyone who had helped him along the way. In 2019, he signed a talent deal with Viacom to create content for Comedy Central.[13]

References
  1. Richie, Jonathan (June 7, 2018). "Local YouTube creator honed skill in town and in college". Burnett County Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  2. Klein, Ethan. Gus Johnson - H3 Podcast #112. YouTube. 4 minutes in. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. "Badger Boys State Governors". Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  4. Powers, Pam (May 5, 2018). "Graduate's social media comedy sketches viewed a billion times". University of Wisconsin-Stout. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  5. Wentland, Emilee. "All Gussied up for Viral Laughs". VolumeOne. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  6. "Ian's Song (original - by Gus)". Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  7. "How To Get Free Food From Subway - Gus Johnson". Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. "Childhood Stories We Tried to Suppress / Okay, I'll Talk Ep. 7 - Ok, I'll Talk". Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  9. Stingl, Jim (May 25, 2018). "Small town dude makes a living posting funny videos for millions to view worldwide". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  10. "Gus & Eddy - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  11. Gutelle, Sam. "YouTube Comedian Gus Johnson's 'Par 9' Web Series Arrives For Fast-Growing Audience". Tubefilter. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  12. "Gus Johnson - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  13. Bouma, Luke. "Viacom Is Creating New Original Shows for YouTube, Hulu, and Facebook". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.