 |  |  |  |
| “ | Childish. | ” |
―TGFbro's Hoodie Logo | ||
| “ | Taking all seriousness from life and replacing it with cake. | ” |
―TGFbro's original slogan. | ||
Jamie Michael Swingler (born: March 17, 1995) and Romell Claudius Henry (born: February 8, 1995), better known collectively as TGFbro or just TGF (which stands for The Ground Floor), were a duo of English YouTubers best known for their videos depicting challenges, stunts, pranks and paranormal investigations. Originally consisting of just Jay and Romell, the channel later featured appearances from their friends, who would all eventually became official members. When TGF was created, Jay and Romell were also accompanied by another guy named Brad[1].
They were also known for their surreal brand of humour, which relied on unusual statements and outlandish situations to create comedy, and this has largely played a role in their outstanding success as a channel. The channel also made additional revenue from sales of clothing, some of which has become surprisingly collectable and commands high prices from resellers. The channel has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2022, but Jay and Romell have continued making content on their solo channels.
History[]
Backstory[]
Jay and Romell were raised in the town of Dudley in the West Midlands; just outside of Birmingham, England. Jay being born at Wordsley hospital in West Midlands, and Romell being born in Lisbon, Portugal, before later settling down in Birmingham, where he would soon meet Jay and Luke at school.
YouTube Career[]
Before the creation of the TGFbro channel, Jay and Romell uploaded on a channel called TGF Madness. The channel was deleted later and the main TGFbro channel was created.
On the TGFbro channel, Jay and Romell (also joined by Luke, Phelan, Axel, Louis and Jay Dimmock later on) usually recorded and upload videos depicting challenges, stunts and pranks. Most of these usually result in pain and vomiting due to the aspects that they eat and take part in. They usually record their videos locally in Dudley, Halesowen, Oldbury and Birmingham whilst also visiting other places such as Leeds, London (Thailand as they referred to it as), Los Angeles, New York and Japan.
Their channel had over 5.3 million subscribers and 1 billion views. One of their most popular series was the annual "Christmas Calendar", which consisted of 12 to 24 videos for every day of December, usually including risky challenges. This series ran from 2017 to 2020. No Christmas Calendar was made in 2021.
During April 2020, TGF ran a small series titled "TGF on Lockdown" featuring Jay, Romell, Luke, Phelan, Dimmock, Louis, Jake, James and Jay's pet dog Gatsby. The series was a brief collection of videos styled as a TV show akin to The Office, where supposed segments of their lives play with sections of them talking to the camera as if they were being interviewed occasionally.
Channel hacking, controversies and indefinite hiatus[]
On July 9, 2022, the channel was hacked and taken over. The channel name was changed to "MicroStrategy [US]", and livestreams about cryptocurrency speeches from MicroStrategy Chairman, President and CEO Michael Saylor were being uploaded to the channel. The channel was then shut down and terminated completely on July 11. The same day, Romell stated in a reply to a user on Twitter that they knew about the situation, and were trying to get it back. On July 14, Jay and Romell got the channel back.
TGFbro were known for their extreme videos that gained attention from news media. Notably, a video called 'I cemented my head in a microwave and emergency services came.. (nearly died)' which involved Jay cementing his head into a microwave and getting stuck while being unable to breathe. Another video, called 'Extreme Driving Test With TGF (CAR FLIPPED)' would result in Jay and Romell being summoned to court for reckless driving. The latter video has since been taken down by TGF themselves, however reuploads exist online. The video also led to the TGFbro channel becoming inactive from 2022 onwards, after the release of the channel's last video "How The Police Ended TGFbro". Since the channel became inactive, Jay and Romell have continued making content on their solo channels, occasionally collaborating.
The TGF Store[]
The official merchandise website of TGFbro, which Jay and Romell used to sell various products, such as childish hoodies and the TGF Do It Cards. This website is frequently advertised in their videos. All of the merchandise released on The TGF Store was limited edition, meaning that once any items were sold out, fans who didn't order in time would be unable to purchase them. As a result of this, the childish hoodies usually sold out quickly.
In 2020, several counterfeit versions of the 2019 Childish Hoodies were released on other websites, claiming to be the official products. When Jay realised this was happening, he made a video on his personal channel informing fans of the situation, and stating that The TGF Store is their only official merch website. Romell would also make a video about the counterfeits in 2021.
Members[]
Jay Swingler[]
Jay Swingler is an English YouTuber and the co-founder of TGFbro. Jay ran the channel TGFbro with Romell Henry, where they uploaded a variety of content. On November 7, 2013, Jay created his solo YouTube channel, which also features challenges, stunts, pranks and other related material. After TGFbro became inactive in 2022 following the court case, Jay began uploading more regularly on his solo channel, occasionally collaborating with Romell.
Romell Henry[]
Romell Henry, better known online as Uncle Romell,is a Portuguese-English YouTuber and the co-founder of TGFbro. Romell ran the channel TGFbro with Jay Swingler, where they uploaded a variety of content. On May 31, 2016, Romell created his own YouTube channel, which featured him doing various comedy and prank videos with Jay and Phelan. After TGFbro became inactive in 2022 following the court case, Romell began uploading more regularly on his solo channel, occasionally collaborating with Jay.
Phelan McCormack[]
Main article: Phelan
Phelan McCormack is an English YouTuber and a member of TGFbro. He is friends with Jay Swingler and Romell Henry, and frequently collaborates with them on the popular TGFbro YouTube channel, as well as on their solo channels. In 2020, he became the main cameraman for TGFbro.
Luke Spittle[]
Main article: OiiLuke
Luke Spittle is an English YouTuber, a Twitch streamer and a member of TGFbro. A running gag on the channel is people calling his trim dead.
Chloe Constance[]
Jay Swingler's girlfriend, Chloe Constance frequently appeared during videos on most TGF channels. Chloe also has her own channel.
Jay Dimmock[]
Jay Dimmock is an English music producer and a member of TGFbro. He was the only member of TGFbro to not have his own solo channel.
Axel Grassi-Havnen[]
Axel Grassi-Havnen is an English YouTuber and a member of TGFbro. He first collaborated with Jay and Romell in 2017, and became an official member of TGFbro in 2019.
Jake Briggs[]
Jake Briggs is a self-proclaimed "influencer manager" who often worked with TGF. He has worked with TGFbro in videos such as 'Travelling To Every City In The UK To Say The Word 'Childish'' and 'I turned my friends iPhone X into a garlic scented candle...'. He also appeared in the TGF in Lockdown series. He has a LinkedIn page[2].
James Painter[]
James Painter is a member of TGF who occasionally appeared in their videos. He appeared frequently in older videos, but has only appeared rarely since. He is prominent, however, in the TGF in Lockdown series, and other videos like 'I Started A Discord DISS TRACK Server...' and 'Why TGF Shouldn't Play AMONG US'.
Louis Wright[]
Louis Wright is an English YouTuber and a member of TGFbro. He became an official member of TGFbro in 2020.
Roger Jones[]
The newest 'member' of TGFbro, joining in December 2020 during TGF's annual Christmas Calendar series. Roger is a 68-year-old customer service agent who works at Jay and Romell's local Tesco supermarket in Telford, England. He made recurring appearances in TGFbro's videos and was known for his humour matching that of others appearing in the videos, despite being the oldest person to appear.
Rob[]
Rob is a man aged in his 60s who frequently appeared in TGFbro videos beginning in late 2020. According to Jay, he was hired to paint his kitchen before beginning to take part of the TGF videos. He is sometimes referred to as "Susan" by Jay.
Jamie[]
A man named Jamie joined TGF in 2021.
Controversies[]
I Cemented My Head In A Microwave[]
Following the incident, Swingler was criticised by both the public and the West Midlands Fire Service for "a call-out which might have prevented us from helping someone else in genuine, accidental need".[3] After the story went viral, Swingler responded to the controversy, stating that the negative attention did not bother him. He also stated that he was thankful for the help from the firefighters and would be willing to pay a fine.[4][5][6]
In 2018, the incident was dramatised in the Fox television series 9-1-1.[7]
Extreme Driving Test[]
In March 2020, TGFbro uploaded a video called "Extreme Driving Test", in which the duo, accompanied by Richard Percival, a driving instructor, drive recklessly onto grass embarkments, crash into parked vehicles, and flip their car in the areas of Telford and Wrekin and Staffordshire.[8]
In a statement, West Mercia Police announced that Swingler, Henry and Percival faced prosecution under "Operation Snap".[9]
The duo were charged with dangerous driving on 6 March 2020, while Richard Percival has been charged with two counts of aiding and abetting dangerous driving.[10]
On 15 September 2022, Swingler and Henry pleaded guilty to careless driving and were sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court. Both were fined £1000 each, ordered to pay £95 court costs, and given five penalty points on their driving licenses. The instructor will be sentenced at a later date for aiding and abetting the driving of a car without due care and attention.[11]
Trivia[]
- For a very brief period of time in December 2020, the channel's name was shortened from TGFbro to just TGF. It was quickly switched back later, though.
- According to an older video of theirs, TGF stands for "The Ground Floor".[12]
- In 2021, TGF changed their profile picture to be mostly bald. According to Jay, this was so that they could incorporate Luke into the picture.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDRci2AY-e4
- ↑ https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jake-briggs
- ↑ YouTuber comes unstuck
- ↑ This guy cemented a microwave to his head for a YouTube video, and had to be rescued by the fire brigade
- ↑ A YouTuber cemented his head in a microwave for views and firefighters were not impressed
- ↑ Man cements his head in a microwave as prank to get more ‘likes’
- ↑ '9-1-1' Premiere: The Best Procedural On TV Returned ... And Killed Harvey Weinstein
- ↑ Telford YouTuber charged over 'extreme driving' video
- ↑ Three men facing prosecution for driving offences - UPDATE
- ↑ Black Country YouTubers charged over 'extreme driving' video
- ↑ YouTube duo TGFbro fined £1k for flipping car near Wrekin
- ↑ https://youtu.be/_CG9pXeK_4I?t=585