Ian Andrew Hecox (/hiːkɒks/HEE-koks; born November 30, 1987) is an American
YouTuber, actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He co-founded the
YouTube channel
Smosh with
Anthony Padilla, and has starred in the channel's
sketch comedy videos since 2005, making him the longest-serving member.[1][2]
Early life
Ian Andrew Hecox[3] was born on November 30, 1987, in
Sacramento, California[4] and is a native of
Carmichael, California.[5] His parents are Sharon and Stephan Andrew Hecox, and he has an older sister named Melissa.[6] His mother appeared as a recurring character in various Smosh sketches.[7] Hecox attended
Del Campo High School and did
cross-country.[1][8] He attended
American River College where he took screenwriting, film and improv classes, before dropping out to focus on Smosh two years later.[9]
Career
Smosh
In 2002, Hecox joined smosh.com, made by his friend
Anthony Padilla, whom he first met in sixth grade.[5] Hecox and Padilla made the Smosh (main)
YouTube channel in 2005 and first uploaded
lip sync videos to several theme songs. It was their lip sync video to the
Pokémon Theme, uploaded on November 28, 2005, that became the
most-viewed YouTube video for a time (later surpassed by
Judson Laipply's Evolution of Dance) until it was eventually taken down due to
copyright infringement after surpassing 24 million views.[5][10]
They shifted on making
sketch comedy skits, such as the Food Battle[11] and If It Were Real[12] series. The
viral videos helped Smosh become the
most-subscribed YouTube channel on three separate occasions.[5] Before the third such occasion, Smosh was acquired by
Defy Media (then Alloy Digital) in 2011.[10] Hecox created an individual channel in 2006, "IanH", which became Smosh's second channel for
behind-the-scenes videos and series such as "Lunchtime with Smosh".[13] Hecox also ventured into feature film with Smosh, co-producing and acting in the films Smosh: The Movie (2015) and Ghostmates (2016).[14][15]
Despite the growth and expansion the channel received,[5][10] Padilla left Smosh in 2017 to focus on independent solo ventures, but Hecox stayed as according to him, "I'm really looking forward to taking Smosh to the next phase, and we can't wait for people to see what we have coming up."[16] He and Padilla remained friends following the latter's departure.[17] Hecox remained the only original member of Smosh since its inception, and was credited for continuing the success of the channel.[17] JJ Rankin of Screen Rant wrote of his role as a comedian that he "balances both exaggerated and muted humor scenes effortlessly and can engage audiences with his self-aware comedy."[18]
Defy Media shut down in 2018, with Hecox reassuring fans that Smosh would continue.[19] He stated that met with various investors to potentially find a buyer for Smosh. Despite the investors knowing what Smosh is, they weren't able to buy Smosh since Hecox disagreed some of the their proposals.[20] Eventually, Smosh was bought in 2019 by
Rhett & Link,[21] who remained the owners until June 20, 2023, when Hecox, alongside Padilla (who returned), announced that they purchased and acquired Smosh to be independent once again.[22]
Outside Smosh
Hecox was a producer for the web series Krogzilla, and was also an executive producer for the series Oishi High School Battle, for 23 episodes between 2012 and 2014.[23][24] Hecox acted in The Angry Birds Movie (2016)[25] and Hedgehogs (2017).[26] In 2016, Hecox made a guest appearance on an episode of Chelsea.[27] He also hosted a weekly series for the streaming service
Crackle in 2017,[28] and starred in the
Tastemade cooking series "Sunday at Nana's" in 2019.[29]
Episode: "Rewind YouTube Style 2012" Episode: "What Does 2013 Say?" Episode:"Turn Down for 2014" Episode: "Now Watch Me 2015" Episode: "The Shape of 2017"