| “ | Seek discomfort. | ” |
―Yes Theory's motto | ||
Yes Theory (formerly known as Project 30 and Generation Y Not) is a YouTube channel run by a multinational group of content creators. The group are known for their vlog and documentary-type videos that commonly involve travel and wild adventures.
Yes Theory was initially formed in 2015 in Montreal, Canada, as "Project 30" by Thomas Brag, Matt Dajer, Derin Emre and Ammar Kandil. The channel has since expanded significantly and has found significant success, having amassed over 8 million subscribers as of 2023.
Members[]
Main crew[]
Thomas Brag[]
Thomas Brag (born: July 9, 1993) is originally from a Swedish family, though he was born and raised in France. He possesses dual citizenship. He is a founding member of Yes Theory.
Ammar Kandil[]
Ammar Kandil (born: April 28, 1994) is originally from Egypt. He was born in Sadat City and spent his childhood there. Since 2021, he has also held citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis. He is a founding member of Yes Theory.
Staffan Taylor[]
Staffan Taylor is originally from Sweden. After first meeting the crew in Sweden in 2019, he became an official member of Yes Theory in 2023.[1]
Former main crew[]
Matt Dahlia[]
Matt Dahlia (né: Dajer;[2] born: March 28, 1992) is originally from the United States. He was born in New York City and grew up in both Paris and Connecticut. He was a founding member of Yes Theory, but announced his departure from the group's videos in 2021.[3]
Derin Emre[]
Derin Emre is originally from Turkey. He was a founding member of Yes Theory, but left the main crew in 2017 following passport issues.[4] He has occasionally appeared in videos since.
Other members[]
Thomas Dajer[]
Thomas "Tommy" Dajer (born: July 9, 1993) is a member of the Yes Theory team, and is often featured in their videos. He is Matt's younger brother.
Content[]
The content on the Yes Theory channel mainly consists of vlog and documentary-esque videos revolving around travel adventures in which the main crew connect with locals and find ways to enjoy their time in a certain area.
History[]
2014-2015: Early channel history, the group's formation, Project 30, Generation Y Not[]
The four founding members of Yes Theory.
From left to right: Ammar Kandil, Thomas Brag, Derin Emre, Matt Dajer
The Yes Theory channel was created on January 13, 2014 by Thomas Brag. It initially went under the name "Practical Procrastination", and revolved around hybrid comedic-"useful info" videos made by Thomas throughout 2014.[5] He later discontinued this project.
Thomas and Matt met in early 2015 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They had both attended McGill University, and got in contact through a marketing class.[6] Although they initially did not stay in touch, the two later reconnected and agreed to work together on a project Thomas had started to develop. This came to be known as "Project 30". In Project 30, Thomas and Matt were to try 30 different things they had never done before in 30 days, while documenting their experiences.
The duo later encountered a person also living in Montreal named Andrea, who was originally from Turkey.[7] Andrea allowed Thomas to stay at his apartment and edit videos there, and he later became their producer.[8] Soon after, they would meet Ammar Kandil, who hailed from Egypt. They quickly became friends and Ammar joined Project 30, initially only to help film the videos.[9] As Project 30 had begun, Andrea hosted another person from Turkey, Derin Emre. Derin first joined the crew on the fifth day of Project 30, and immediately joined them as part of the crew afterward.[10]
Project 30 took place throughout July of 2015. By the time the 30 days were over, the channel had amassed around 1,500 subscribers.[11] The group would continue to create content together beyond the initial project. In September 2015, they announced they were changing their channel name to "Generation Y Not" (referencing them being millennials, or "Generation Y") as they expanded on the content revolving around doing things outside of their comfort zones.[12]
2016-2019: Relocation to the U.S., Yes Theory, rise to popularity[]
The fake photo created by Yes Theory in 2018 of Justin Bieber eating a burrito sideways, which went viral.
After receiving an offer to move from Montreal and get paid to make videos late in the previous year, the crew moved together to Venice, California, in May 2016.[13][14] Once they were settled and came back to consistently making content on YouTube, they again changed their name to "Yes Theory". Channel growth started to become more significant, and by the end of 2016, Yes Theory had surpassed 100,000 subscribers.[15]
2017 saw the continuation of growth for the channel as they made videos featuring major creators such as Logan Paul.[16] In October 2017, it was announced that Derin Emre would leave Yes Theory due to a difficult visa situation; the United States had just suspended visas from Turkey, forcing Derin to leave the U.S. and thus be absent from the main crew.[17] He has occasionally appeared in videos since.
Yes Theory reached 1 million subscribers in February 2018. In October, the group pulled off a major internet prank in which they fabricated a photo of who appeared to be Justin Bieber, eating a burrito sideways.[18] After creating the photo with someone who looked very similar to Bieber, it was posted to Reddit, where it quickly started to gain major attention. The photo ended up on many news outlets and sparked widespread conversation across the internet. 2018 saw more growth for the channel than all of the previous years combined, going from less than 1 million subscribers at the beginning of the year to over 3 million by the end.
2020-2021: COVID-19 pandemic, additional channels[]
The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 prevented Yes Theory from doing any major travel. However, they continued to make content locally with some minor breaks. In April 2020, they created a second channel known as "Yes Theory PLUS".[19] It was later rebranded to "Seek Discomfort" in 2021. In May, another spinoff channel featuring other members of the Yes Theory team was created, a cooking channel known as "The Greatest Cooking Show in Human History".[20] The show ran from August 2020 to January 2022.
In February 2021, Matt announced he would be stepping down from the main Yes Theory crew.[21]
2022-present: Leaving the U.S., major endeavors outside of YouTube[]
In May 2022, Thomas announced that he had left the United States and moved back to his home city of Paris, France.[22] In December, Yes Theory released Project Iceman, a documentary about Anders Hofman, who attempted to complete an "Ironman Triathlon" in Antarctica. Project Iceman received several red carpet premieres and was released in some theaters in the United States.
In March 2023, Staffan Taylor, who first appeared in one of their videos in 2019,[23] was announced as an official member of the main Yes Theory crew.[24] As of April 2023, Yes Theory remains active and their main channel has amassed over 8 million subscribers.
Trivia[]
- Multiple Yes Theory videos have featured prominent politicians. These include:
- Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada[25][26]
- Tshering Tobgay, former Prime Minister of Bhutan[27]
- Denis Coderre, former Mayor of Montreal[28]
Channel milestones[]
Note: The following dates are according to Social Blade. Dates may vary by one or two days due to differences in time zones.
Subscriber milestones[]
- 100,000 subscribers: December 29, 2016
- 1 million subscribers: February 22, 2018
- 2 million subscribers: June 30, 2018
- 3 million subscribers: November 21, 2018
- 4 million subscribers: July 20, 2019
- 5 million subscribers: January 12, 2020
- 6 million subscribers: December 4, 2020
- 7 million subscribers: October 26, 2021
- 8 million subscribers: November 4, 2022
Video view milestones[]
- 1 billion video views: May 10, 2023
References[]
- ↑ I Took a Stranger to the World’s Most Beautiful Country — Yes Theory (YouTube). 5 Mar 2023
- ↑ Why Matt From Yes Theory Changed His Name: The Power of Letting Go | Know Thyself EP67 — André Duqum (YouTube). 10 Oct 2023
- ↑ I'm Leaving YouTube — Yes Theory (YouTube). 25 Feb 2021
- ↑ Why I'm Leaving Yes Theory — Yes Theory (YouTube). 24 Oct 2017
- ↑ WE'RE CHANGING OUR NAME | YES THEORY — Yes Theory (YouTube). 29 Sep 2015
- ↑ Finally telling the story of HOW WE MET. (Yes Theory) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 3 Aug 2017
- ↑ Finally telling the story of HOW WE MET. (Yes Theory) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 3 Aug 2017
- ↑ PROJECT 30 TEASER — Yes Theory (YouTube). 28 Jun 2015
- ↑ Finally telling the story of HOW WE MET. (Yes Theory) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 3 Aug 2017
- ↑ Finally telling the story of HOW WE MET. (Yes Theory) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 3 Aug 2017
- ↑ Never Thought This Day Would Come... | Yes Theory — Yes Theory (YouTube). 2 Feb 2017
- ↑ WE'RE CHANGING OUR NAME | YES THEORY — Yes Theory (YouTube). 29 Sep 2015
- ↑ OUR BIGGEST FEAR | YES THEORY — Yes Theory (YouTube). 21 Jan 2016
- ↑ How We Became Yes Theory!! — Yes Theory (YouTube). 6 Aug 2017
- ↑ @yestheory on Instagram: "**100,000 THANK YOU** 18 months ago we started this channel as 4 strangers who had literally just met. Getting to a 100,000 subscribers was a mountain we've been starring at from the bottom for several months and we're BEYOND thrilled to have reached it today before the new year. It was an important objective for us and we already got our eyes on the next objective: 1 million Yes Theory family members on YouTube before 2018. We're all beyond excited to have ALL OF YOU along for the ride. Sending love from Egypt, France, Turkey and Puerto Rico ❤" 29 Dec 2016
- ↑ LIVING WITH LOGAN PAUL FOR 24 HOURS (what he's like) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 28 Nov 2017
- ↑ Why I'm Leaving Yes Theory — Yes Theory (YouTube). 24 Oct 2017
- ↑ We Fooled the Internet w/ Fake Justin Bieber Burrito Photo — Yes Theory (YouTube). 28 Oct 2018
- ↑ Seek Discomfort - YouTube
- ↑ The Greatest Cooking Show in Human History - YouTube
- ↑ I'm Leaving YouTube — Yes Theory (YouTube). 25 Feb 2021
- ↑ Why We Left America — Yes Theory (YouTube). 29 May 2022
- ↑ 2 Strangers Swap Lives Across the World for 72hrs!! — Yes Theory (YouTube). 29 Sep 2019
- ↑ I Took a Stranger to the World’s Most Beautiful Country — Yes Theory (YouTube). 5 Mar 2023
- ↑ WE GOT OUR HOLIDAY CARD WITH PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA JUSTIN TRUDEAU — Yes Theory (YouTube). 21 Dec 2015
- ↑ JUSTIN TRUDEAU teaches YOU how to be a BETTER MAN (Interview) | Yes Theory — Yes Theory (YouTube). 11 Mar 2017
- ↑ Traveling to the Happiest Country in the World!! — Yes Theory (YouTube). 1 Dec 2019
- ↑ HOW WE BECAME BEST FRIENDS WITH THE MAYOR | Project 30 #22 | YES THEORY — Yes Theory (YouTube). 22 Jul 2015
- ↑ The Yes Theory HOUSE TOUR!! (BIG REVEAL) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 16 Feb 2017
- ↑ Why We Left America — Yes Theory (YouTube). 29 May 2022
- ↑ I Secretly Took My Friend to His Dream Destination — Seek Discomfort (YouTube). 8 Apr 2023
- ↑ Born Different: Life With ADHD — Seek Discomfort (YouTube). 18 Jun 2022
- ↑ Finally telling the story of HOW WE MET. (Yes Theory) — Yes Theory (YouTube). 3 Aug 2017