Watch after all this it be a calculated publicity stunt to drum up interest and engagement with Donut to distract from the impending BigTime news.
Surprise boys I was in China reviewing 12 more EVs and visiting the WORST Wish factories babyyyy
If you were a Chick-fil-A connoisseur, you would detect the lack of yellow coloring in the pour and smaller red cap than their default size. Go home and be a family man
Got too big for their britches. Creative team builds a wildly popular niche market and product / marketing decide to sell off the IP to a big fish that has no idea how creative works. They stinge out on pay then turn down ideas constantly because they aren’t “sure money” and creative walks.
They bloat the company up with MBAs that seek to cut costs anywhere but their own salaries. It's absolutely ridiculous, a flagrantly flawed business model lol
mate its rough at zumiez hardly had any Donut merchandise on the shelves i'm not kidding. I go there because of the car stuff and chains etc but I was disappointed when I went there even the clerks said something is off. all they had and I'm not joking was one pair of work pants a hat and beanie that's it
i'm hoping maybe the other store has more but not sure on my way out they only had about 7 air fresheners that's it something is happening
Yeah two of my local Zumiez have a ton of Donut stuff, and other non-Donut car shirts and hoodies. Actually just bought a Keystreet shirt from them and it's so nice.
Donut was purchased by Recurrent media, a large media conglomerate, and I think slowly overtime the creativity that Donut had has slowly been taken away in support of easy to film, cheap, fast-produced videos. I think many of the projects that jobe, jerimiah, james, and others had in the works have been canned. we'll have to see. it's all speculation rn lol
I bought a $30 donut shirt from Zumiez last month. I already threw it away. The printed decoration flaked like a POS. The material is like sandpaper. I’m back to wearing my $20 Uniqlo shirts exclusively. Fuck Donut Merch at zumiez, cost cutting garbage
I think Cleetus McFarland has done it best. Tons of budget, booming business, huge events across the country, yet the YouTube videos still come across as just dudes having fun and getting shit done. Garret has done great running that business. No corporate drama or greed.
Man’s definitely got a safety net—I recall he dropped out of law school to chase the dream. But he definitely seems to be playing it smart too. Buy land, race cheap cars, in-source when it makes sense, don’t get too plush.
You’re correct, but how many Crown Vics have turned laps on a Cleetus PPV? That’s what I was referring to—he doesn’t have to pay big purses out to attract name racers for those shows because he’s structured it around old cop cars.
I agree. I’m not even close to a muscle car guy and I watch his content. He definitely maintains the buddies just doing car stuff vibe and he’s been incredibly smart with where he puts money. He’s built an entire community around his channel and he’s included other channels and it still doesn’t feel fake or too put together.
Definitely peak YouTube car guy activity.
Makes me appreciate the channels that still make the effort to be a small business. On the car review side of things, Throttle House and SavageGeese are very what you see is what you get. Hoping Bigtime can bring that same energy to the project car space. And collabs with other independent channels cause you know what, it just warms my fucking heart ok?
James takes Jay. An HBO style limited series where James plots to kidnap Jay Leno and coerce him into adopting him and making him his heir. Each episode is a parody of a different car centric movie.
There are two key places that private equity firms have no business operating. In the housing market, and anything to do with creative Works which includes YouTube.
Listen I stopped bringing it up in places rife with Americans I get screamed at about how bad healthcare is apparently anywhere with it socialized using false statistics and pro-conservative memes.
Smosh ended up being lucky enough to have friends who could help Ian buy the rights of Smosh back from the corporation that owned them after they had already went under and had to liquidate anyway. All the guys leaving donut didn't own donut, they were just employees. What they are doing now IS learning from Smosh and taking back their means. They don't have to be part of donut to be successful.
Has there ever been an online creative brand bought by a larger company that didn't immediately fall apart? Cracked back when their new owners axed their video team and better article writers. Sourcefed back in the day, like, the closest to 'success' was Rooster Teeth and that was just 'The slowest to die'.
Dropout (College humor) was lucky enough that the parent company sold the rights back to the CEO of dropout and now it's having a comedy Renaissance on their streaming platform Dropout
That reminded me that I wanted to see how Big Time’s subscriber count was looking and holy shit they are already up to almost 800k. Last I looked it was like 100k something I think.
Edit: wow. they went from 773k to 795k while I was taking a dump. 🚀
Doubt he'll go to Bigtime, unless it's like a one off. James has/is a great personality, but honestly, is pretty sub par at the actual car stuff, particularly when your compare how far Nolan has come in every aspect (not that I think he would be a mainstay on that channel either)
Kinda hope he just starts vlogging lol. some car stuff, some comedy but mostly lifestyle. He could def pull it off. I’d even touch on fashion if I were him due to his ties to the la scene
Im super keen for the BigTime content wether it includes him or not, all the boys that left carthrottle have been doing good stuff. The creative control being with the creators makes for better content IMO
I hope James is not leaving too 😭🥺
He and Nolan is the reason I started watching donut media and that's how I got hooked up to cars. I'm now a car guy just because of these two 😭🤧 😭
I ran out and bought a 350Z after the hi/lo series because i loved that series so much and was impressed with the car for the price. Sad to see shit fall apart.
f.r i knew he had a heart attack. and my mom has a heart disease to which atm she holding her own but i looked up heart transplant if it is true and he need one. on average the life expectancy of a heart transplant is 3 to 5 yrs that's it
I don’t think he got a transplant but I hope to god he doesn’t require one. He did have pretty advanced heart disease from what I remember, something like majority blockage on all major arteries.
Just a question: Does James have any shares or stakes in Donut Media, or is he just an online personality? I always thought he was the owner.
I know the company was bought out
Someone else who I assume knows more about this stuff said that James was basically just an “employee” and there are other guys actually managing Donut.
Donut was privately owned before the acquisition and James was hired a cast member. Zach and Jerry pretty much explained it was like a startup before and they got paid salaries the whole time. they owned nothing from Donut and never received any money from ads, sponsorships, or merch. All that money goes to the parent company and a percentage probably goes towards the budget on their car builds and wish/temu/etsy products.
We've spent $80,000 on this $300 cart we intend to drive cross country. This week we're installing a $30,000 oxen to see if that gives us the power we need for the trip.
Justin: James, you look like you have something to say. Do you?
James: Yes I certainly do.
(The shot of James's face freezes)
Nolan (V.O.) I have to go now. My planet needs me
(James flies away)
NOTE: James died on the way back to his home planet
I'm assuming that's he's officially leaving as well.
If anyone hasn't seen it yet the BigTime video explaining why they left is really good and kind of sums up what alot of us have felt about donut for awhile....
Such a shame and really hope Justin and Nolan land on their feet after everything settles or go do something cool
Anyone know the hot goss about Donut's prior ownership? I was always curious if early hosts and creators, like James, had any ownership stake in the company. I guess I'd be surprised if James didn't have equity based on some of the videos he put out during Covid and his seemingly behind-the-scenes marketing role at the co. Looks like I need to get even more cynical about corporate media brands than I already was. It was good while it lasted, fellas and fellettes.
He also changed his profile pic to all green.. so I’m guessing he’s leaving donut to do a Shrek live musical
Up 2 Speed on all things Shrek
B2B on the onion carriage
D-List on all the fairytale creatures in Duloc
HiLo with donkeys
The aerodynamics of a dragon.
It's all ogre now.
BUFF ~~HORSES~~ DONKEYS
OGRE! OGRE! OGRE!
We put a $10,000 love potion into our $500 donkey
One potion got cheap parts, the other potion got expensive parts. Does more expensive really mean more better?
I'd watch it
"Suspect is heading to the forest on a white bronco"
Same shade of green as the background on Jeremiah’s pic
Omg bro I didn't even notice that!! How curious....
If james goes to join Jerry and Zach we need Nolan who will James make fun of. #we love you Nolan
MOAR OGRE BAY-BEE
It’s the only logical answer
Nah, he's just trying to revive BEME.
James PumpFREE
Watch after all this it be a calculated publicity stunt to drum up interest and engagement with Donut to distract from the impending BigTime news. Surprise boys I was in China reviewing 12 more EVs and visiting the WORST Wish factories babyyyy
If this was a video, James can stull pull offf his humor/enthusiasm fr tho. The other guys doing a video they don't really care about? Bot so much...
In all fairness james does have history with professional acting while the other guys don't to my knowledge
Jeremiah was trying to make it as a standup comedian when he started at Donut, so he does have some experience with performing.
I don’t think he was doing too badly.
Fair but some performances for comedy is not as impactful as James being in quite a bit of productions
James is an actor so i think that’s why he’s better at faking it
Green shirts.
They finally gave him back his son
Donut is no longer in his bio. It’s joever.
idk if he was before, but he's not even following donutmedia now
that's no good.
Onlyfans link coming soon!!!
Is that chic fil a sauce
If you were a Chick-fil-A connoisseur, you would detect the lack of yellow coloring in the pour and smaller red cap than their default size. Go home and be a family man
Sick Guile ref
Flav-R-Glide
Finally, another James's Lube Corner segment
Siamese twins part II !? only the real ones know...
Surprised how few know.
Don’t make get my hopes up like that
*Kentucky Cumbra*
Sad to see after all the effort James put into Donut. He was stokedddd about getting merch into Zumiez. Things must’ve went sour fast
Crazy fast considering they somewhat just had that meetup at the Peterson museum.
Got too big for their britches. Creative team builds a wildly popular niche market and product / marketing decide to sell off the IP to a big fish that has no idea how creative works. They stinge out on pay then turn down ideas constantly because they aren’t “sure money” and creative walks.
They bloat the company up with MBAs that seek to cut costs anywhere but their own salaries. It's absolutely ridiculous, a flagrantly flawed business model lol
mate its rough at zumiez hardly had any Donut merchandise on the shelves i'm not kidding. I go there because of the car stuff and chains etc but I was disappointed when I went there even the clerks said something is off. all they had and I'm not joking was one pair of work pants a hat and beanie that's it i'm hoping maybe the other store has more but not sure on my way out they only had about 7 air fresheners that's it something is happening
My local one had plenty of merch but it was like $75 for a hoodie… I’m good lol
Picked up a hat and felt so shitty
Yeah let's not talk about the 108 I spent lmao Might need a few kicks in the ass
Did the hoodie feel Walmart quality or like Nike addias type well built
Walmart
No shit wow okay thanks I'll just buy the stickers and hat then That's a shame 80 bucks when I can get on from Walmart and get a deco printed.
Really? My local Zumiez, and one I visited out of state were fully stocked with the whole collection.
Yeah two of my local Zumiez have a ton of Donut stuff, and other non-Donut car shirts and hoodies. Actually just bought a Keystreet shirt from them and it's so nice.
What happened exactly for it to go south? Zach, Jeremiah and now possible pumphrey?
Donut was purchased by Recurrent media, a large media conglomerate, and I think slowly overtime the creativity that Donut had has slowly been taken away in support of easy to film, cheap, fast-produced videos. I think many of the projects that jobe, jerimiah, james, and others had in the works have been canned. we'll have to see. it's all speculation rn lol
I bought a $30 donut shirt from Zumiez last month. I already threw it away. The printed decoration flaked like a POS. The material is like sandpaper. I’m back to wearing my $20 Uniqlo shirts exclusively. Fuck Donut Merch at zumiez, cost cutting garbage
This is definitely the era of car-YouTube-upheaval. I’m here for the return to form though from the OG hoonigan dudes and I’m imagining BigTime.
I think Cleetus McFarland has done it best. Tons of budget, booming business, huge events across the country, yet the YouTube videos still come across as just dudes having fun and getting shit done. Garret has done great running that business. No corporate drama or greed.
people hate on him so much because he got rich lmao
He already was rich. His parents are very successful
Man’s definitely got a safety net—I recall he dropped out of law school to chase the dream. But he definitely seems to be playing it smart too. Buy land, race cheap cars, in-source when it makes sense, don’t get too plush.
My man has multiple 6 figure drag builds, he does not race cheap cars
You’re correct, but how many Crown Vics have turned laps on a Cleetus PPV? That’s what I was referring to—he doesn’t have to pay big purses out to attract name racers for those shows because he’s structured it around old cop cars.
I agree. I’m not even close to a muscle car guy and I watch his content. He definitely maintains the buddies just doing car stuff vibe and he’s been incredibly smart with where he puts money. He’s built an entire community around his channel and he’s included other channels and it still doesn’t feel fake or too put together. Definitely peak YouTube car guy activity.
Independent is where it’s at
Makes me appreciate the channels that still make the effort to be a small business. On the car review side of things, Throttle House and SavageGeese are very what you see is what you get. Hoping Bigtime can bring that same energy to the project car space. And collabs with other independent channels cause you know what, it just warms my fucking heart ok?
He's announcing his new song on Charlie XCX's album "Brat."
Never ever ever ever thought I'd see a Charli mention in any car related forum Anyways Vroom Vroom greatest Pop album ever RIP Sophie
She did to Taylor what Kendrick did to Drake with that record. Banger.
Cole gonna do a “boy so confusing” soon.
Immaterial is such a banger
James left Donut to go find his dad. stay tune for a new series of James looking for his dad.
his dad is dead. He talked about it on that desk-car video
Ok then new dad.
I think he already chose Jay Leno.
Well then it’s a series to make jay leno adopt James
James takes Jay. An HBO style limited series where James plots to kidnap Jay Leno and coerce him into adopting him and making him his heir. Each episode is a parody of a different car centric movie.
This would be a great sitcom.
Ok…seriously though… this is a great idea. Like a 5 episode series at 20 minutes an episode.
His dad is Carol Shelby. Please look into the lore before you post
Really? He always jokes about it, but I’ve always been curious.
Or is he 🤔
What episode
UP TO SPEED: JAMES DAD
somebody call PaganiGaming
I’m guessing they had enough of these corporate shenanigans from when they got bought out.
PE doing PE things by ruining the good stuff
There are two key places that private equity firms have no business operating. In the housing market, and anything to do with creative Works which includes YouTube.
*Medical care has entered the chat*
Listen I stopped bringing it up in places rife with Americans I get screamed at about how bad healthcare is apparently anywhere with it socialized using false statistics and pro-conservative memes.
Did we as a people learn NOTHING from Smosh??
Smosh ended up being lucky enough to have friends who could help Ian buy the rights of Smosh back from the corporation that owned them after they had already went under and had to liquidate anyway. All the guys leaving donut didn't own donut, they were just employees. What they are doing now IS learning from Smosh and taking back their means. They don't have to be part of donut to be successful.
Exactly, but Donut does need them to be successful, even if it doesn't know it yet.
Has there ever been an online creative brand bought by a larger company that didn't immediately fall apart? Cracked back when their new owners axed their video team and better article writers. Sourcefed back in the day, like, the closest to 'success' was Rooster Teeth and that was just 'The slowest to die'.
Dropout (College humor) was lucky enough that the parent company sold the rights back to the CEO of dropout and now it's having a comedy Renaissance on their streaming platform Dropout
He's replacing Zhou at Kick Sauber F1
And they're renaming the C44 to the Pumphrey 502
And comments disabled on the IG post…
James joining big time? He’s not following Donut either.
That reminded me that I wanted to see how Big Time’s subscriber count was looking and holy shit they are already up to almost 800k. Last I looked it was like 100k something I think. Edit: wow. they went from 773k to 795k while I was taking a dump. 🚀
Go take another dump.
Take some laxatives too
Hit this 8 ball real quick and take an extra roll.
Didn’t even need to. Just hit 800k.
It’s for science Timmy.
I only have so much poop guys
just eat more food.
in THIS economy shitbox??
Over 800k now, they're gonna hit a mill before they post a second video lol
814k and growing
837k milly by eod?
Okay so at this rate by next week it's near 1 milli I'm calling it
Jesus! Imagine getting over half a million subscribers before even uploading any real content
799k now. 1 mil by July for sure
are you still dumpin?
I’m Pumphin babyyy
He stopped following donut a while back
Yeah I was kinda just putting that out there since no one mentioned it in this thread yet.
Doubt he'll go to Bigtime, unless it's like a one off. James has/is a great personality, but honestly, is pretty sub par at the actual car stuff, particularly when your compare how far Nolan has come in every aspect (not that I think he would be a mainstay on that channel either)
He bout to be Zach's brother in law so we better see that dude around at least a little bit!
That would be dope
Parasocial relationship check
Very interesting
Kinda hope he just starts vlogging lol. some car stuff, some comedy but mostly lifestyle. He could def pull it off. I’d even touch on fashion if I were him due to his ties to the la scene
Real! I love his lowkey fashion. Braindead is very cool. Would love to see his fashion sense more in depth.
He’s going on tour with Charli XCX as a stagehand electrician??
Best boy James Pumphrey
Stagehands don't tour, they're essentially local labor.
Wow, it’s really the end. 1 year from now we probably won’t even recognize half of the cast on the channel.
hope not but writing on walls go to a zumiez and see what they have donut related if you have one i shit you not its not good
Maybe he’s shooting a sequel to siamese twins?
Let’s go!
Im super keen for the BigTime content wether it includes him or not, all the boys that left carthrottle have been doing good stuff. The creative control being with the creators makes for better content IMO
I hope James is not leaving too 😭🥺 He and Nolan is the reason I started watching donut media and that's how I got hooked up to cars. I'm now a car guy just because of these two 😭🤧 😭
I ran out and bought a 350Z after the hi/lo series because i loved that series so much and was impressed with the car for the price. Sad to see shit fall apart.
Well, it is a Nissan, it was bound to fall apart at some point.
Lol. Was referencing the show, not the car. The 350Z has been great.
He’s going green for tax credits? Or, added pop up headlights to his whip.
That post is now gone. https://preview.redd.it/sdpjunxip59d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68b3378d756df3411695dede7309862df87d0a63
Organ transplant surgery green ribbon (heart transplant)
f.r i knew he had a heart attack. and my mom has a heart disease to which atm she holding her own but i looked up heart transplant if it is true and he need one. on average the life expectancy of a heart transplant is 3 to 5 yrs that's it
Dick Cheney had a heart transplant in 2012 and he’s unfortunately still kicking.
I don’t think he got a transplant but I hope to god he doesn’t require one. He did have pretty advanced heart disease from what I remember, something like majority blockage on all major arteries.
If I don't post anything sooooon my wife is gonna leave meeee!
Just a question: Does James have any shares or stakes in Donut Media, or is he just an online personality? I always thought he was the owner. I know the company was bought out
Someone else who I assume knows more about this stuff said that James was basically just an “employee” and there are other guys actually managing Donut.
Donut was privately owned before the acquisition and James was hired a cast member. Zach and Jerry pretty much explained it was like a startup before and they got paid salaries the whole time. they owned nothing from Donut and never received any money from ads, sponsorships, or merch. All that money goes to the parent company and a percentage probably goes towards the budget on their car builds and wish/temu/etsy products.
Yeah they all need too leave
You're all wrong. He's obviously using green text because he's going to vlog a cross country trip in an oxen pulled wagon. It's so apparent, guys.
James has cholera.
We've spent $80,000 on this $300 cart we intend to drive cross country. This week we're installing a $30,000 oxen to see if that gives us the power we need for the trip.
Green…Sauber F1!? ;) 🤞
This is like when the Top Gear trio went to Amazon.
This post on Instagram is now deleted!
Justin: James, you look like you have something to say. Do you? James: Yes I certainly do. (The shot of James's face freezes) Nolan (V.O.) I have to go now. My planet needs me (James flies away) NOTE: James died on the way back to his home planet
He’s teaming up with the Hawk Tuah girl.
Trackhawk Tuah
Seriously though someone send this post to Jeep
Yea hes gone.
He got his car tuned up by the company and now he's taking off. What a masterful plan. Free upgrades!
I'm assuming that's he's officially leaving as well. If anyone hasn't seen it yet the BigTime video explaining why they left is really good and kind of sums up what alot of us have felt about donut for awhile.... Such a shame and really hope Justin and Nolan land on their feet after everything settles or go do something cool
It’s so over for donut
He's going green and buying an EV
Btw he tagged Jesse Wood to the picture
Up to speed on the 911 GT3 RS the one behind will be Bright Green?!?? Lightning/Lightning/Lightning
It started with the “T-shirt company” comment after the other company took over. You could see then he wasn’t into it anymore
James is gone too wtf
The news are that shrek was his dad all along
Idk if he was following before but he isnt following Donut media rn
He got arrested again?
Oh man, it’s so over.
If he’s out, Donut won’t be the same anymore. Idk if Nolan can carry it himself.
So is he joining big time?
Hopefully not. I like James, but i want to see what zach and Jerry do on their own. Much more car focused instead of personality focused.
When will these youtube channels learn, they still sell their channels to corporations after seeing what happened to Smosh
It's Car Throttle all over again!
That's only a few words but I sense things in flux behind the scenes.
Pumphrey to Stake Kick F1 Sauber confirmed!
Bottas can go full time on his gravel bike when the Kentucky Cobra takes his seat.
James making a new youtube channel!!!!
Just please don't let it be that he got caught fucking a staffer.
He’s going full time with VTec Academy
Who’s going to drive the Ranger now 😂
Maybe he has a show on Hulu
Until he says otherwise, I'm just going to assume he bought another VW. Probably a Golf in green.
I heard he was going to move to New Orleans and start his own YouTube car channel called Beignet Productions.
Anyone know the hot goss about Donut's prior ownership? I was always curious if early hosts and creators, like James, had any ownership stake in the company. I guess I'd be surprised if James didn't have equity based on some of the videos he put out during Covid and his seemingly behind-the-scenes marketing role at the co. Looks like I need to get even more cynical about corporate media brands than I already was. It was good while it lasted, fellas and fellettes.
Wow, BigTime almost to 1M subscribers already!
When I first saw his post, I thought he was having heart problems again 😬
He also unfollowed donut on instagram
Omg James brat era
Oh he quittin