Comedians Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have been ruling the internet for several years.
Together since childhood, they are most known for their show, Good Mythical Morning,
and their podcast, Ear Biscuits. Let's take a look at the lives of the comedic duo.
Rhett and Link's association is an old one, with a bond of friendship that has held strong for over
30 years. They first met as first-graders in school, where they connected over their
love for creating new things. Link explained that it surprises them today how despite the
passage of time, they still end up cracking up over stuff together. Things are still the same,
and they still amuse each other the way they did when they were children,
when they experimented with cassette tapes and conducted mock interviews throughout school.
Now in their 40s, they've both expressed amazement at the idea
that they've somehow managed to earn a living by making each other laugh.
They didn't have it easy, even as kids. Implying that there were times when the pair
doubted themselves, the pair agreed that they'd like to go back in time and reassure their past
selves that it would work out. As they explained in an interview with Lifehacker:
"In Steve Martin's book, Born Standing Up, he said he wishes he could have gone back to his
younger self and said, 'Everything is gonna be okay.' We tell that to ourselves a lot."
As children, the pair began seriously working on creative projects together.
They produced their first screenplay when they were just 14 years old. While they didn't finish
it back then, years later, when they were famous, they posted a reading of the screenplay on YouTube
and asked their fans whether they should finish the project, which was called "Gutless Wonders."
Fans of the duo were actually impressed with their script despite the fact that
it was something they wrote as children. When their viewers asked Rhett and Link to film it,
they decided that it would be better for their fans to make their versions.
Fans didn't disappoint and came up with their versions and interpretations.
Rhett and Link both studied engineering at North Carolina State University, after they both agreed
it would be a field they could succeed in because they were good at math in school.
In 2018, they came back to their alma mater and spoke to students about the benefits
they got from their educations and pre-YouTube careers. Though they've since moved on from it,
both agreed that their engineering careers were, quote, "worth investing in."
Rhett ended up getting a degree in civil engineering, while Link pursued industrial
engineering. In terms of how their education helped them later in life,
Rhett explained that they approach their work as problems to solve. Basically,
even though they're in a creative field, they have not drastically changed their work ethic
and still maintain a technical approach while coming up with creative ideas.
After getting their college degrees, Rhett and Link tried to give regular jobs a shot
and did end up working separately for a few years. They tried to work in the corporate world,
building their individual career paths before they realized entertainment was their true calling.
Their YouTube channel was founded in 2006,
when the duo spotted how popular the videos on their website were.
Because they tried their hand at jobs outside the entertainment world at first,
Rhett and Link are actually somewhat late bloomers in terms of their entertainment careers.
They began their journey by posting videos online to amuse themselves,
then began to work at building an audience. Though they didn't achieve anything close to the heights
they've now risen to, the duo found some success early on, and were landing branded deals by 2007.
Rhett and Link found some success early, but it took a long time to build the following
they have now. After growing little by little, they've now reached heights that surpass their
wildest expectations. The duo was believed to be making as much as $17.5 million every year,
as of June 2020, and their Good Mythical Morning channel on YouTube
has more than 16 million subscribers at the time of this video. Combine that with the number of
subscribers on the other YouTube channels connected to the show that they maintain,
and more than 75 million people are subscribing to their content. As they told Lifehacker in 2018:
"YouTube provided a way for us to reach a global audience beyond
the friends/relatives we had forced to endure our shenanigans for so long."
In discussing their success, they explained that they never had what they consider a big break
and found little triumphs that helped them reach a point where
they were able to run a profitable company, Mythical Entertainment.
They tried the most ludicrous ideas and went down an unconventional route, cold calling potential
sponsors with pitches while constantly working on content ideas. For example, one of their ideas
involved a song about Cornhole, which featured their products. It clicked, and they were paid for
their efforts. What helped the two, according to them, is the fact that they had families when they
started on YouTube, which meant that they were strategic and responsible in the way they worked.
As a creative team, Rhett and Link have consistently pushed their limits instead
of sticking to their comfort zone, a fact that has helped them immensely. For example, in 2016, they
worked on a scripted streaming show called Rhett & Link's Buddy System that saw the pair act in a
bid to entertain their viewers. On the show, the two comedians play versions of themselves and are
put in a tough spot when a mutual ex-girlfriend gets her hands on Link's lost phone. She uses the
opportunity to her advantage and promotes her own products on the pair's successful channel.
The duo conceived the show as a vehicle for some of their wildest ideas, while also rooting it in
their own personalities so their viewers would still recognize the hosts they've come to love.
Rhett and Link have also consistently challenged themselves while working on Good Mythical Morning,
where the two pull off the strangest antics with panache.
For example, Rhett got a strange hairstyle inspired by peanut butter in one of their videos,
and in another recent video the duo tried to use a full-size catapult to launch a hot dog into a bun.
Despite the fact that they're celebrities in their own right,
Rhett and Link are known to be kind, approachable, and friendly. This is what works to their
benefit — they are relatable entertainers, and viewers can identify with them. They told The
Wrap in an interview how this approach has helped their careers. As Rhett explained:
"The vast majority of what we are doing is just unscripted stuff where we're just being ourselves.
The sort of guiding principle is make something for yourself,
and you'll attract an audience that is like-minded and appreciates it."
The duo have also been transparent about roping in other key team players to avoid burnout
and help their creative strategy, handing over the reins whenever necessary to keep
their videos fresh and engaging. They believe that they wouldn't have gotten this far if they
didn't have their team of reliable collaborators who understand and work within their vision.
Doing this allows them to maintain a work-life balance without overwhelming
themselves with the pressure that comes with creating viral videos on a daily basis.
The versatile duo haven't restricted themselves to a particular platform. In addition to YouTube,
they also have a weekly podcast called Ear Biscuits, where they discuss random
topics together. For example, in one of their recent podcasts, they wondered whether they'd
be friends if they met as adults. Their podcast also tackles eclectic topics such as pop culture,
personal tales, and offbeat stories. The podcast first made its debut in 2013
and managed to peak at number four on the iTunes Charts in October of that year.
With the success of Ear Biscuits, Rhett and Link have also helped their crew at
Mythical Entertainment to launch their own shows. These include Good Mythical Crew,
a podcast starring the team that make Good Mythical Morning possible, and A Hot Dog
is a Sandwich, a podcast devoted to culinary dilemmas hosted by the Mythical Kitchen crew.
Staying true to their versatile personalities, Rhett and Link have also branched out even
beyond the realm of web shows and podcasts. In 2017, the pair became authors with the release
of their first book, The Book of Mythicality, a nonfiction guide to their approach to life
and creativity. The book was a bestseller and was accompanied by a sold-out book tour.
In 2019, the pair also pulled off a second tour, "Rhett and Link: Live in Concert," and performed
songs like "First Comment Song" to laughter and widespread enthusiasm. They paid tribute to their
time on YouTube with a bunch of other songs, such as "The Sunburn Song," "Middle School Girlfriend,"
and "Water Dispensing Tab Song." The tour once again sold out across the country.
Also in 2019, the duo released their first novel, The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek,
which was heavily inspired by their childhood.
Rhett and Link offer what they call "internetainment."
Their offerings cannot be narrowed down to a single category,
as they experiment with food challenges, comedy videos, skits, science experiments, fun anecdotes,
and more. They also take their viewers seriously and pay attention to feedback,
closely tracking comments instead of only putting up content that appeals to them.
Rhett explained that they've learned and gotten better over the years by not getting psyched
about a new idea until they consider everything they need to look at, such as the trends on the
internet, their viewers' preferences, and their personal likes and dislikes.
They also try to avoid curbing their content to the extent that it starts seeming too
orchestrated. For them, it's vital to stay true to their roots and original voice in
order to ensure that they don't forget what made their videos tick in the first place,
a factor that has probably played a major role in their sustained popularity over the years.
Despite their popularity, Rhett and Link have also courted their share of controversies.
A notable example is their faith transition, which drew ire from several viewers as the duo announced
their departure from their evangelical Christian roots. In March of 2020, Rhett addressed this in
his blog on Medium, writing that choosing to step away from evangelical Christianity
wasn't a decision that they took lightly, and they knew that publicly discussing something so
controversial and polarizing would be difficult. He further explained that their stories on their
podcast have been increasingly personal, as they took on several tough topics like exploring
parenthood, dealing with losing loved ones, and understanding the path to self-discovery.
As Rhett explained on his blog:
"Given the fact that our Christian faith has played such an integral role
not only in who we are today but also in what we do for a living,
it was becoming somewhat unbearable (not to mention disingenuous) to keep it to ourselves."
He went on to further explore how the decision to step away from the church
made him realize how marginalized communities are sometimes neglected or overlooked as they try to
make their voices heard. In response to backlash to the comments, Rhett and Link both appeared on
the A Conversation With podcast in an effort to further explain their journey.
Rhett and Link, like other entertainers, were affected by the coronavirus pandemic
and had to rethink their strategy as they worked on strategies to keep their show going.
They figured out how to work together and brainstormed over producing content while
being physically apart. In an interview with CNET, the duo explained how they continued
working as they coped with the ups and downs of being isolated.
One of the major things that they realized was that while helping
out their kids with distance learning, it was important to find ways to stay afloat.
They also were grateful that they had pre-recorded videos that they could share
with their viewers while staying isolated. As they released pre-recorded content,
Rhett and Link also found ways to do Good Mythical Morning while isolated in their own homes,
inventing new games to play together based on things each host had in their house. Eventually,
Good Mythical Morning returned to the Mythical Entertainment studio with a limited crew,
allowing a degree of normalcy for one of the internet's favorite shows.
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