Wikipedia

Danny Gonzalez

For the football coach, see Danny Gonzales.

Daniel James Gonzalez (born June 12, 1994) is an American commentary YouTuber and musician who originally came to prominence for his short comedy sketches on Vine in 2014. He created his main YouTube channel that same year, subsequently moving over to YouTube full-time when Vine closed down in 2017. His three personal channels and three group channels have collectively earned around 9.62 million subscribers,[a] and 1.94 billion views,[b] as of December 2024.

Danny Gonzalez
Danny Gonzalez in a video on his second YouTube channel in 2022
Gonzalez in 2024
Personal information
Born
Daniel James Gonzalez

(1994-06-12) June 12, 1994 (age 30)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other names
  • Young Face[1]
  • Ned Flames
  • Fox Szn
Education
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • comedian
  • musician
Spouse
Laura Fuechsl
​
(m. 2017)​
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
LocationChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Years active2014–present
Genres
  • Commentary
  • comedy
  • gaming
Subscribers6.81 million (main channel)
9.62 million (combined)[a][2]
Total views1.7 billion (main channel)
1.94 billion (combined)[b][2]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2017
1,000,000 subscribers2018
Twitch information
Channel
Followers419 thousand
Last updated: December 7, 2024

Personal life

 
Gonzalez and his wife, Laura Fuechsl, in April 2018

Daniel James Gonzalez[P 1] was born on June 12, 1994,[P 2] in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Wheaton, Illinois.[3] He lived in England for two years when he was around 8 or 9.[P 3] He has an older brother (born 1992), and a younger sister. His brother is a server at a restaurant in Austin, Texas.[P 4] Gonzalez attended Wheaton North High School.[P 5] As a child in the mid-2000s, he and his friends uploaded short comedy sketches to YouTube, but they broke off when he went to college.

Gonzalez graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in computational media in 2016.[4] He married his high school sweetheart, Laura Fuechsl[P 6] (/fjuˈʃɛl/ fyoo-SHELL[P 7]), on July 1, 2017.[5] On May 19, 2023, Gonzalez announced that he and Fuechsl were expecting their first child in October.[P 8] Their son was born in September.[P 9]

Career

Vine (2013–2017)

In Gonzalez's sophomore year of college, a friend of Gonzalez showed him Vine,[4] an app where users could only upload six-second short videos ("Vines").[6] While initially uninterested, Gonzalez was convinced to start making Vines in late 2013 after his favorite comedian Bo Burnham posted on the app.[4]

His early videos attempted to imitate Burnham's and were based around small quips. In early 2014, he tried to distinguish his Vines by using special effects, which few Viners were doing at the time, including using green screens to insert himself into music videos. Gonzalez's Vines began to grow in popularity with this strategy. His most viral Vine was one where he edited shoes onto the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993) scenes while a digital voice sang "What are those?" to the theme music.[4]

Gonzalez appeared in the Vine-produced web series Camp Unplug (2016), where he first met fellow Viner Drew Gooden.[7] As Vine was a newer platform compared to other social media, most Viners knew each other—what Gonzalez described as a "tight-knit" atmosphere. When owner Twitter, Inc. announced it was shutting down Vine in 2016, he had graduated from college and moved to Illinois to join a group of other successful Viners. He became apprehensive with this news.[4][8]

Gonzalez had 2.9 million followers on Vine by the time it closed in January 2017. With large audiences but no platform, he and many other former Viners moved to YouTube. He told The New York Times that he decided on YouTube because it was a well-known website and also expressed interest in making videos on Twitter and TikTok.[8][9]

YouTube (2017–present)

 
 
Gonzalez (left) and Drew Gooden (right) on their "We Are Two Different People" tour in 2019

From 2017 to 2018, Gonzalez wrote, edited, and starred in various shorts and "Corridor Crew" videos for Corridor Digital.

Drew Gooden also started a commentary channel on YouTube and the two began traveling to appear in each other's videos, becoming close friends.[7] A running joke between their fans is that they pretend to confuse the two YouTubers together because of their various similarities.[4] This inspired their We Are Two Different People Tour in 2019, with YouTuber Kurtis Conner as a guest star. The tour, with music, effects, and theatrical elements interspersed with sketches and comedy routines, was their first major live performance and ran from September to October.[10][11][12] The two also released a parody song called "We Are Not the Same Person" to promote the tour.[P 10]

YouTube style

Gonzalez's videos are often commentary on different aspects of Internet culture, criticism of YouTube, B movies, and general cultural criticism.[13] His 2018 Troom Troom reaction videos popularized the channel.[14] He is known for his criticisms of Jake and Logan Paul,[13] and for his commentaries on Musical.ly (later TikTok) stars.[15] In addition to commentary videos, he is also known for his parody music. He refers to his fanbase by the singular name "Greg".[4]

Gonzalez is associated with fellow YouTubers Drew Gooden and Kurtis Conner.[16]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2018 10th Shorty Awards YouTube Comedian Nominated [17]
2019 9th Streamy Awards Breakout Creator Nominated [18]
2020 10th Streamy Awards Commentary Nominated [19]
2021 11th Streamy Awards Commentary Nominated [20]
2022 12th Streamy Awards Commentary Won [21]

Discography

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions
Comedy Albums
[22]
Bump This
  • Released: May 11, 2019
  • Label: Self-released
 2

Singles

Title Year
"Vape Tricks"
(featuring Aaron Chewning) 		2016
"Beef with Me" 2017
"Spooky Boy"
"Dab on the Haters (Young Face)" 2018
"Greg (Young Face)"
"Hop Out the Whip (Young Face)"
"Spooky Guy"
"Johnny Johnny"
"Slime"
"This Video Is Over Now" 2019
"I'm Gonna Kill Santa Claus"
"We Are Not the Same Person"
(featuring Drew Gooden)
"Help Let Me Go"
"Spooky Ho"
"Daddy"
"La Croix"
"Sad and Deep"
"Yummy" 2020
"My Dad Is Rich"
"Spooky Man"
"Circus"
(as Fox Szn)[23]
"In Love with a Creeper"
(featuring Kurtis Conner) 		2021
"I Ghosted Kevin Jonas" 2022
"Nepo Baby"
(as Fox Szn) 		2024
"Last Night"
(as Fox Szn, featuring Kurtis Conner) 		2024

Notes

  1. ^ a b Subscribers, broken down by channel:
    6.81 million (Danny Gonzalez)
    2.32 million (2 Danny 2 Furious)
    452 thousand (Danny GAMEzalez)
    26.2 thousand (LazyNeighbors)
    8.65 thousand (TheLazyNeighbors)
    3.43 thousand (hylitezone)
  2. ^ a b Views, broken down by channel:
    1.7 billion (Danny Gonzalez)
    206.57 million (2 Danny 2 Furious)
    36.73 million (Danny GAMEzalez)
    2.7 million (LazyNeighbors)
    165.37 thousand (TheLazyNeighbors)
    68 thousand (hylitezone)

References

  1. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James (June 9, 2017). Worst Rapper Ever. - Young Face (Video). Retrieved September 24, 2023 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "About Danny Gonzalez". YouTube.
  3. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel (February 2, 2023). Danny Gonzalez Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions | WIRED (Video). Wired. Event occurs at 9:53—9:57. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via YouTube. I was born in the suburbs of Chicago. I've lived there for most of my life. I, uh, grew up in Wheaton, Illinois.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rosenblatt, Kalhan (January 21, 2022). "'A Vine-shaped hole in my heart': How Danny Gonzalez's time on Vine helped him grow a following on YouTube". NBC News. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel (February 2, 2023). Danny Gonzalez Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions | WIRED (Video). Wired. Event occurs at 10:43. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via YouTube. I got married on July 1st, 2017.
  6. ^ Wong, Wilson (January 17, 2022). "A look back at Vine — the six-second video app that made us scream, laugh and cry". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Rosenblatt, Kalhan (January 18, 2022). "Confidence to shine: Drew Gooden says Vine came around right when he needed it". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Rogers, Katie (August 28, 2016). "5 Vine Stars Share Why They Loved, and Outgrew, Platform". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Alexander, Julia (April 6, 2019). "The golden age of YouTube is over". The Verge. Illustrations by Castro, Alex. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Wynne, Kelly (September 5, 2019). "Danny Gonzalez and Drew Gooden talk tour, comedy and YouTube careers". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Guzman, Richard (September 23, 2019). "Why these YouTube stars are going from the internet to real life". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  12. ^ McDaniel, Taylor (September 11, 2019). "YouTubers Danny Gonzalez and Drew Gooden captivate fans on comedy show tour". The Oakland Post. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Wilbur, Brock (September 9, 2019). "Drew Gooden and Danny Gonzalez: The John Olivers of YouTube Culture". Paste. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Jennings, Rebecca (November 12, 2018). "Why YouTube is riddled with bizarre DIY videos". Vox. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  15. ^ Alexander, Julia (March 17, 2019). "YouTube creators are using a hilarious tactic to combat copyright policies". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Faruk, Joyita (January 31, 2020). "The shift in YouTube comedy". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "Danny Gonzalez - YouTube Comedian". The Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "9th Annual Nominees & Winners". The Streamy Awards. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  19. ^ "10th Annual Nominees & Winners". The Streamy Awards. December 12, 2020. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  20. ^ "11th Annual Streamy Nominees & Winners". The Streamy Awards. December 12, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "12th Annual Streamy Nominees & Winners". The Streamy Awards. December 4, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  22. ^ "Danny Gonzalez". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  23. ^ Gonzalez, Danny (October 21, 2020). "I Made a Viral Tiktok Song". YouTube. Event occurs at 16:51–17:10. Retrieved October 11, 2023. This is where I had to come up with an artist's name. [...] I named him Fox Szn. I also decided to make his real name Ned Flames, because I had to put that in like the credits of the song. And I just thought that Ned Flames sounded cool.

Primary sources

  1. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel (January 31, 2022). someone edited my wikipedia page. Event occurs at 6:06. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022 – via YouTube. 'Daniel James Gonzalez' - that is my actual middle name.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, Danny (June 28, 2018). I Googled Myself And Hated What I Found (video). Event occurs at 3:45. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020 – via YouTube. I went on it one time and it said my birthday was, like, June 13, 1994, which is one day off of my actual birthday, June 12.
  3. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel (June 29, 2022). i think i might have lied (Video). Danny Gonzalez. Event occurs at 2:39–2:43. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via YouTube. I did live in England for two years, but it was when I was, like, eight or nine.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James; Johnson, Jarvis Allen; Cope, Jordan Adika (July 7, 2023). Danny Gonzalez Is A Dad Now | Sad Boyz (Video). Event occurs at 58:08–58:48. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James (April 17, 2023). reviewing my younger self (Video). Event occurs at 4:32. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James (October 10, 2014). Go Dumb - Danny Gonzalez (Video). Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James (July 31, 2024). Tech Products That Should Not Exist (Video). Event occurs at 11:17. Retrieved August 3, 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James [@dannygonzalez] (May 19, 2023). "mom and dad 🤗🎃 due in october 🎃". Retrieved July 30, 2023 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Daniel James [@dannygonzalez] (September 23, 2023). "home from the hospital with our little guy! everybody is healthy and happy❤️ i'll be enjoying life off of social media for a while :) see you in a bit". Retrieved September 24, 2023 – via Instagram.
  10. ^ Gooden, Drew; Gonzalez, Danny (May 19, 2019). We Are Not The Same Person (MUSIC VIDEO ONLY) (Video). Archived from the original on September 4, 2022 – via YouTube.
 
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