Dude Perfect have built a 61-million-subscriber empire on a simple premise: keep people watching.
Their blend of mind-bending trick shots and high-octane sketches has made them the unofficial kings of the American living room.
But a shift is happening in Frisco, Texas. After a decade of vying for screen time, co-founder Tyler Toney is issuing a message that flies in the face of consumption culture. Tyler doesn’t want his fans glued to the screen – even if it’s his face they're looking at.
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Tyler Toney Wants Fans to ‘Go Outside’
In the modern world, it feels like everyone is fighting for space and attention. With billions of views and people all over America tuning in weekly, Dude Perfect co-founder Tyler Toney might’ve already won that battle.
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Carving out a unique brand of family-friendly content which resonates with kids and adults alike, Tyler is well aware of the reach and impact Dude Perfect has on American families.
"When Dude Perfect came out, it was all on computers, then 90% of people were watching on mobile devices,” Tyler told Hook & Barrel. “Now, if you look at our analytics, 70% of people are streaming it on their living room TVs, and that's the coolest thing when families send us pictures of their family sitting down and watching together."
But with great power comes great responsibility. Despite all the success, there’s a bigger mission at hand. At a time when it’s getting increasingly harder to put down our devices, Dude Perfect are urging everyone to get off their phones and into the great outdoors.
"We like it when you watch Dude Perfect videos,” Toney told Hook & Barrel. “But we love it when you don't. If you've got a choice between watching [our] videos and going outside, we say go outside every time."
Introducing Dude Perfect Outdoors
The comments come as Tyler Toney heads up the launch of Dude Perfect Outdoors, a dedicated channel designed to be an evolution of the group’s brand. The project is about the group returning to their Texan roots and trying to share the outdoors with a generation of fans who have grown up behind a screen.
It is a change in tempo for the group – moving beyond the stadium-sized stunts of the main channel to focus on:
- Traditional Sporting: Hunting and fishing trips across the American landscape.
- Skills & How-To: Accessible guides for the next generation of outdoorsmen.
- Conservation: Why protecting the wild is a core part of the group's mission.
The Full Story
Dude Perfect is more than just a YouTube channel – it’s a cultural phenomenon. But while their production value has skyrocketed over the last 15 years, the ‘Dudes’ behind the brand have managed to keep their core identity intact: a group of friends driven by faith, family, and a genuine love for the traditional outdoors.
How does a 61-million-subscriber empire stay true to its roots? And what is the "big news" Tyler is teasing regarding a permanent Dude Perfect destination?
This interview is just the tip of the spear. For the full, high-gloss 'State of the Outdoors' experience featuring Tyler’s exclusive cover shoot, grab our May/June print edition, The State of the Outdoors: Unfiltered.