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The first generation of YouTube stars did not all follow the same path. Some turned their channels into businesses, some found a new format or a specialist career, and some stepped away. “Still around” can mean an active channel, a production company, work in another medium—or simply a creator whose old videos remain online.
Here, “OG” means creators who rose to prominence roughly between 2005 and 2012, built an audience primarily on YouTube, and helped define its early comedy, commentary, beauty, or filmmaking culture. It is an informal category, not a subscriber-count ranking. Status labels below distinguish public professional activity from regular YouTube uploads; a quiet channel is not proof that someone has retired.
At a glance: what happened to YouTube’s early stars?
| Creator | Best-supported status | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Smosh, Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla | Active; expanded into an independent media company | A sketch channel became a multi-format ensemble and production operation. |
| Anthony Padilla | Active in a different format | Alongside Smosh, he developed interview and documentary-style work under his own name. |
| iJustine | Professionally active in technology and digital media | Her tech focus is a more durable specialist lane than the early viral-video model. |
| Michelle Phan | Creator whose career extends into consumer-brand activity | Beauty tutorials helped make the creator-to-product path visible. |
| Jenna Marbles | No verified return to regular YouTube publishing | She posted a farewell/apology video in June 2020 and withdrew from regular public creator activity. |
| Ryan Higa, Ray William Johnson, Freddie Wong, Philip DeFranco, Lucas Cruikshank and Shane Dawson | Legacy creators; exact current status needs current first-party confirmation | Their influence is clear, but the available evidence here does not establish a reliable 2026 activity schedule or business status for each. |
The pattern is more revealing than a simple list of who still uploads: early YouTube fame became ownership, specialist media work, products, production, or—sometimes—an intentional exit.
Smosh: from sketch channel to creator-owned media company
Founded by Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla in 2005, Smosh is one of the clearest examples of a YouTube brand outgrowing its original format. Its official About page describes an independent media and production company spanning the flagship channel, Smosh Pit, Smosh Games, podcasts, livestreams, merchandise, and live experiences.
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The ownership story matters as much as the comedy. After outside corporate ownership, the founders regained majority ownership in 2023, according to Inc.’s reporting. The company had been acquired by Mythical in 2019 following Defy Media’s collapse, as recounted in Fast Company’s coverage. That distinction is important: appearing in a channel is not the same as controlling its name, intellectual property, revenue, or future.
Fast Company reported plans for a roughly 32,000-square-foot Los Angeles studio for 2026 operations. That points to a very different scale from two people making sketches for an internet audience: production infrastructure, a broader cast, multiple formats, and a brand designed to outlast any one upload. Smosh is still a YouTube presence, but it is also an operating media business.
Padilla’s return to the Smosh orbit is symbolically significant, but the founders’ careers are not identical. Padilla also built a distinct interview and documentary-style body of work, spending time with people from underrepresented or misunderstood groups. First-party episode credits identify him in creative and executive roles. Hecox, meanwhile, remains central to Smosh’s continuing creative and business operation; leadership is not always measured by who is most visible on camera.
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Creators who found a second career in their original niche
iJustine: technology as a durable specialty
Justine Ezarik, known as iJustine, is associated with technology coverage and creator-led digital media. Forbes’ creator profile describes her as a leading voice in technology. Her career illustrates why specialization can travel well: product launches, consumer technology, and explainers give a creator a subject area that can remain relevant even as viral formats and recommendation systems change.
That does not mean every early tech creator automatically became a reviewer or that a particular sponsorship or upload cadence should be assumed. The useful distinction is between a personality channel built around one era’s format and a professional identity built around a continuing subject. Tech coverage anticipated parts of today’s product-review economy, where access, expertise, sponsorships, and commerce can intersect.
Michelle Phan: tutorials and the creator-to-product path
Michelle Phan helped make beauty tutorials a defining YouTube format. Tutorials do more than entertain: they show a technique, name products, and let viewers imagine using them. That creates a direct bridge from audience trust to product discovery. Current creator-economy reporting from TechCrunch uses Phan as an example of a beauty creator whose business activity extends beyond advertising revenue.
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A creator-founded product business is not simply a channel with a shopping link. It brings inventory, product quality, capital, retail distribution, fulfillment, and customer support—and reputational risks if the product disappoints. Founding a brand also does not, by itself, establish that the creator still owns or operates it. Treat the broader career as a move into entrepreneurship, not as proof of current ownership or product availability.
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The creators who changed the format—or the platform
Early YouTube favored direct, repeatable formats: sketches, reaction and commentary videos, personal vlogs, gaming, parody songs, beauty tutorials, and short films. As audiences and production ambitions grew, some creators moved toward longer interviews, news and commentary, filmmaking, or work behind the camera. A career can remain active even when the old channel no longer defines it.
- Anthony Padilla: His interview-led work under his own name is a substantial shift from scripted Smosh sketches. It shows that leaving a shared brand need not mean leaving creator culture.
- Philip DeFranco: He is a key bridge between early YouTube commentary and the independent news-and-commentary model. But exact current upload frequency, business structure, and other revenue channels should not be inferred from old coverage; check his official channel for present activity.
- Ryan Higa (Nigahiga): An important figure in early scripted YouTube comedy. His legacy is clear, but a definitive current schedule or business status is not established here. His official channel is the appropriate place to check for current first-party updates.
- Ray William Johnson: His early reaction and commentary format helped make viral clips a recognizable YouTube genre. Old rankings and fan discussions cannot establish whether he is currently publishing under the same identity or has moved to another project. Check his official channel before describing him as active or retired.
- Freddie Wong and RocketJump: Wong represents an early attempt to turn online filmmaking, visual effects, and comedy into professional production work. Old RocketJump shows are not evidence that the brand remains active today. Current work and company status should be checked through RocketJump’s channel and official site.
- Lucas Cruikshank and Fred: The Fred phenomenon made the character nearly as recognizable as the performer behind it. Cruikshank’s later public work should be distinguished from the status of the character itself: a popular archive or nostalgia property does not necessarily mean Fred is an active ongoing project. His official channel is the best starting point for current updates.
These are not evasions so much as useful limits. A former upload schedule, a channel that still exists, or fan speculation does not prove what someone is doing now. When activity has shifted platforms or become private, “unclear from reliable current evidence” is more accurate than declaring a creator vanished or retired.
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Jenna Marbles: a public exit, not an obligation to return
Jenna Marbles was one of early YouTube’s most prominent comedy creators. On June 25, 2020, she posted “A Message,” a farewell/apology video. Recent coverage by The Daily Dot reports no verified official return to regular internet creator activity.
That is the responsible public status. Old videos, fan sightings, and unofficial accounts are not evidence of a comeback, and it is not appropriate to fill the gap with claims about her private life, work, location, or future plans. Her exit also resists the idea that a creator owes an audience indefinite performance. Accountability, burnout, privacy, and personal choice can overlap; a departure should not be reduced to a verdict that someone “lost relevance.”
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Why the business of being a YouTuber changed
For many early creators, the channel itself was the business—or at least the main public-facing asset. Advertising and sponsorships, merchandise, live appearances, and relationships with multi-channel networks helped some creators earn from an audience. But reliance on a single platform also meant dependence on its rules, distribution, and commercial decisions.
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Today, a creator may combine video advertising with memberships, podcasts, live events, consumer products, licensing, or a production company. Those routes bring different risks: a membership depends on ongoing value for fans; products require operations and quality control; a production studio carries fixed costs; podcasts and interviews demand consistent production and editorial care. Diversification can reduce dependence on one revenue stream, but it does not guarantee profitability or audience loyalty.
The scale of the present system is strikingly different from the informal late-2000s scene. In an October 2025 post, YouTube said its Partner Program had more than 3 million channels and that the platform had paid over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the previous four years (YouTube). Those are platform-reported figures, not a claim that every creator receives meaningful income. They do help explain why today’s careers can involve staff, ownership, multiple products, and professional production rather than one person uploading a video.
How to read a creator’s status without confusing fame with activity
- Check the right thing: “Active” may mean regular YouTube uploads, a current company, public appearances, or another creative format. Say which one.
- Separate the person from the brand: A channel can continue with an ensemble or new business structure even when a founder is less visible.
- Do not treat archives as new work: Old videos can still attract views without the creator actively building a channel.
- Use first-party evidence for current claims: Official channels and business sites are better evidence of recent activity than old rankings or fan threads.
- Respect privacy: No public update is not proof of failure, retirement, or a hidden comeback.
The OG cohort is not one story of stars fading away. Smosh became a creator-owned production operation; iJustine and Michelle Phan illustrate specialist and business paths; Padilla changed formats; and Jenna Marbles chose distance from regular public publishing. Others remain influential in YouTube history while their present status requires fresh, direct confirmation. Continued visibility is only one possible measure of what an early creator made of their success.
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