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Roman Atwood

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Roman Atwood
Atwood in 2019
Personal information
Born
Roman Bernard Atwood

(1983-05-28) May 28, 1983 (age 41)
Millersport, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)YouTube personality, comedian, vlogger
Spouse(s)
Shanna Riley
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2008)​

Brittney Smith
​
(m. 2018)​
Children4
Websiteromanatwood.com
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2009–present
Genre(s)Family, inspiration, comedy, pranks
Subscribers15.3 million (RomanAtwoodVlogs)
10.1 million (RomanAtwood)
532 thousand (RomanAtwoodPodcast)[1]
Total views5.56 billion (RomanAtwoodVlogs)
1.56 billion (RomanAtwood)
56.6 million (RomanAtwoodPodcast)[1]
NetworkStudio71
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2013
10,000,000 subscribers2016 (×2)
Last updated: September 14, 2024

Roman Bernard Atwood (born May 28, 1983) is an American YouTube personality and prankster. He is best known for his vlogs, where he posts updates about his life. His vlogging channel, "RomanAtwoodVlogs", has a total of 5 billion views and 15 million subscribers. He also has another YouTube channel called "RomanAtwood", where he used to post prank videos. The channel has been inactive since 2016. His pranks have gained over 1.4 billion views and 10.4 million subscribers. He became the second YouTuber after Germán Garmendia to receive two Diamond Play Buttons for his first two channels.

On May 28, 2022 he officially launched his third channel, "RomanAtwoodPodcast". The channel is focused around his podcast where he features numerous friends and special guests, such as Steve-O, Vitaly, and FouseyTube.

Personal life

Born in Millersport, Ohio, Atwood has been filming and producing videos since high school. He was born to Curt Dale Atwood and Susan Atwood. He began his independent career by producing a series of DVDs called "The Nerd Herd" which he sold at the Warped Tour in 2006.[2] Atwood has also worked on various film projects and commercials in Columbus, Ohio until 2010, when he decided to focus on his passion of comedy and created the YouTube channel "Sketch Empire".

Prior to his YouTube career, he worked at his family's rope factory called "Atwood Rope".[3] In 2001, he married Shanna Riley, who gave birth to Atwood's first son, Noah Vaughn Atwood (born 2004).[4] In 2008, after his wife cheated on him with a friend while on vacation, he filed for a divorce.[5]

In 2013, Atwood founded his own merchandise line called "Smile More", selling T-shirts, hoodies, bracelets and other items.

He currently resides in Ohio with his wife Brittney Smith-Atwood, with whom he shares two sons, Kane Alexander Atwood (born 2011), Knox Atwood (born 2021),[6][7] and a daughter, Cora Atwood (born 2017). Atwood met Smith at the wedding of his friend, Chase Gilroy, where Roman was his best man in 2008. Smith is the sister of Gilroy's wife, Veronica, and the two started dating from there. Atwood proposed to Smith on April 30, 2018, and the two married on July 27, 2018, in Maui, Hawaii.[8]

On May 29, 2019, Atwood's mother, Susan Atwood, died unexpectedly after a tragic accident while on vacation with the entire Atwood family. Atwood subsequently took time out from his social media activity to grieve for his mother.[9]

After uploading a video on New Year's Eve of 2019, Atwood underwent a large period of inactivity on social media for an undisclosed reason. He uploaded a video on August 18, 2020, in which he greeted his fans and stated that while he could not disclose the reason for his absence, he wanted to reassure fans that he and his family were okay, and that several conspiracy-style videos that had been uploaded by fans and content creators to YouTube discussing his absence were all inaccurate.[10] Two days later on August 20, the Atwoods revealed that they were expecting a fourth child, though they added it was not the reason for their absence.[11]

On January 11, 2021, Atwood uploaded a video titled "Welcome to the world!" in which he and Brittney revealed that their son, Knox Atwood, was born five days earlier on January 6, weighing in at just under 9lbs.[6]

Atwood is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[12]

Career

YouTube

Plastic Ball Prank

In this video, Atwood fills his house with plastic balls 2.5 ft high, turning it into a massive ball pit. This video was uploaded on January 18, 2015, and currently has almost 86 million views. This video was noticed by Nissan, who gave him a 2015 Nissan GTR in exchange to use his video in the "WithDad" campaign during their half-time advert at Super Bowl XLIX. This was awarded the best "Brand Campaign" for the 5th Streamy Awards.[13]

Anniversary Prank

His video "Anniversary Prank Backfires!!" was posted on November 20, 2013, and currently has over 86 million views. It features Atwood pranking Smith on their five-year dating anniversary by confessing that he has cheated on her. The prank backfires when she sees the camera beforehand and pranks him back by pretending that she has cheated on him too. She only reveals her own prank after a few seconds of Atwood reacting badly to the news. At the end of the video, Smith says "I thought you were going to propose".[14]

Killing My Kid Prank

A prank titled "Killing My Own Kid PRANK!!", posted on November 30, 2014, and currently has over 50 million views. The video shows Atwood pranking Smith by throwing a mannequin in a Spider-Man costume, pretending it was their son Kane. When Smith runs to the mannequin, she quickly pulls off its mask, realizing it was not Kane, and in fact the mannequin. At this point, she breaks down into tears as Atwood enters the room snickering at her. She then storms off, but returns when Atwood asks her "Are you really that mad?" She then starts shouting at him and tells him he's "sleeping on the couch".[15] The prank was referenced during Atwood and Smith's appearance on the reality TV series Tanked, where Smith revealed that Atwood did in fact sleep on the couch that night.

ATM prank and freedom of expression case

In March 2014, Roman, along with his accomplices, were arrested by the Columbus Police Department for inducing panic and disorderly conduct during the filming of a prank where he pretended to rob an ATM in public. He was released on bail and was summoned to court.[16] The case was widely contested, with his fans showing up to court to support and watch the case. As a defendant, he won the case on the basis of expression of art and freedom of speech, and was acquitted.[17]

Toilet Paper Prank

A video titled "INSANE Toilet Paper PRANK!!" was posted on March 15, 2015 and currently has over 20 million views. The prank features Atwood toilet papering Howie Mandel's house with the help of Mandel's son, Alex.

Later, Mandel discussed the prank on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and his experience with his son and the clean up.

Film

Natural Born Pranksters

In 2016, Atwood, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy and Dennis Roady released a film produced by Lionsgate, called Natural Born Pranksters[18][19] which has received little critical attention. Neither Rotten Tomatoes[20] nor Metacritic[21] have yet aggregated enough reviews to even give the film a score.

On September 24, 2016, the film was released on Netflix.

Television

Tanked

On July 1, 2016, Atwood and his family appeared on an episode of Tanked titled "Internet Tank Sensation". The episode features Brett and Wayde building a customized tank in Atwood's office for Smile More.[22]

Tour

In 2016, Atwood and fellow YouTuber Yousef Erakat started a worldwide tour called "Roman vs. Fousey".[23] They have performed shows in the United States, Canada and the UK.[24]

Business career

Smile More

In 2013, Atwood founded his own merchandise line called "Smile More", selling T-shirts, hoodies, bracelets and other items. At the time, merchandise was handled exclusively by Atwood and his wife, with orders being processed in their basement.

In 2016, Atwood moved the business to its own building located on the same property as his residence. Atwood hired more employees, some of which were family, to help process orders faster and in-house.[25]

On May 7, 2022, Atwood posted a video to his vlog channel announcing that Smile More would be moved entirely to Texas in a collaboration with longtime friend and business partner, Matt Carriker, and his company, Bunker Branding. It was also announced that Atwood and his wife would take part ownership of Bunker Branding.[26]

NFTs

On October 26, 2021, Atwood announced the first NFT of his Smile More collection on OpenSea. The collection was made collaboratively with multiple artists.

Bunker Branding

On May 7, 2022, following the announcement of Smile More's move to Texas, Atwood announced that he and his wife would be taking part ownership of longtime friend Matt Carriker's company, Bunker Branding.[26]

Awards and nominations

Year Work Category Award Result Ref.
2014 Roman Atwood Pranks 4th Streamy Awards Nominated [27]
2015 Crazy Plastic Ball Prank #WithDad, Roman Atwood (Nissan) Brand Campaign 5th Streamy Awards Won [28]
2016 Roman Atwood YouTube Comedian 8th Shorty Awards Won [29]
Entertainer of the Year 6th Streamy Awards Nominated [30]

References

  1. ^ a b "About RomanAtwoodVlogs". YouTube.
  2. ^ "the nerd herd Video by roman atwood on Myspace". Myspace. September 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  3. ^ "Atwood Rope MFG : Atwood Rope MFG : Arm Rope, Arbor, Utility, Solid Braid, Dozer". Atwoodrope.net. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "Noah Vaughn Atwood (b. 2004)". birth-records.mooseroots.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  5. ^ TheGeektrick (May 2, 2014), Roman Atwood Speech, archived from the original on June 8, 2016, retrieved August 19, 2016
  6. ^ a b "Welcome To The World - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  7. ^ RomanAtwoodVlogs (November 1, 2016), WE ARE FINALLY HAVING A BABY!!, archived from the original on November 2, 2016, retrieved November 5, 2016
  8. ^ "Roman Atwood & Brittney Smith tie the knot!". GoldCrownMag. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  9. ^ Atwood, Roman (May 30, 2019). "This hurts so much.pic.twitter.com/PL3dMVIm1y". @RomanAtwood. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  10. ^ "We Will Never Recover - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  11. ^ "We Can't Hide This Anymore! - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "'I am Mormon, actually,' Roman Atwood says on popular podcast with Logan Paul". Deseret News. September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "5th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "Anniversary Prank Backfires!!". Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Killing My Own Kid PRANK!!". Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Famous Prankster Arrested, Video Confiscated for 'Evidence'". Activist Post. March 6, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  17. ^ "Popular Youtube Pranksters RomanAtwood & VitalyzdTv Arrested For Inducing Panic & Disorderly Conduct Over ATM Prank". WORLDSTARHIPHOP. March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  18. ^ "Natural Born Pranksters the Movie: Official Site for News & Updates - NaturalBornPranksters.com". naturalbornpranksters.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  19. ^ Atwood, Roman; Pluimer, Ben (April 1, 2016), Natural Born Pranksters, archived from the original on August 10, 2018, retrieved March 31, 2016
  20. ^ "Natural Born Pranksters". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  21. ^ "Natural Born Pranksters". metacritic. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  22. ^ Haas, Cyndi (July 1, 2016), Internet Tank Sensation, Tanked, retrieved August 12, 2022
  23. ^ "YouTube stars Roman Atwood and FouseyTUBE are going on tour". Mashable. Mashable, Inc. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  24. ^ "YouTube Pranksters Roman Atwood, FouseyTUBE Join Forces For Five-City Tour". Tubefilter. Tubefilter, Inc. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  25. ^ IT WAS ALL TAKEN!!, retrieved August 12, 2022
  26. ^ a b WELCOME TO THE BUNKER!!, retrieved August 12, 2022
  27. ^ "4th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  28. ^ "5th Annual Winners". Streamys. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  29. ^ Ngak, Chenda (April 11, 2016). "Shorty Awards 2016 Best YouTube Comedian". Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  30. ^ "6th Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamys. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
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