Who Are Rhett and Link?
“Does bacon taste better after it's been licked by a dog?” asks Rhett.
“Let’s talk about that,” says Link.
The intro begins, and you hear a greeting into a wonderfully mythical, sometimes gag-worthy world, “Good Mythical Morning!”
Rhett and Link host one of YouTube’s most popular shows, Good Mythical Morning. But — who are these guys? How did two middle-aged dads become some of the most famous people on Youtube?
Well — let’s talk about that.
Family
Rhett McLaughlin was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1977. When he was three, his family moved to Thousand Oaks, California. When Rhett was five, his family moved to Buies Creek, North Carolina. Rhett has one older brother named Cole. He is married to Jessie, and they have two children: Locke and Shepherd.
Link Neal was born in Boone Trail, North Carolina, in 1978. While he was still very young, his mother and step-father moved to Buies Creek, North Carolina. Link is married to Christy, and they have three children: Lily, Lincoln, and Lando.
Rhett and Link’s friendship started over a punishment they received in the first grade.
They grew up together as best friends, always interested in creating something. That creative passion only grew as time passed.
How they got started
Rhett and Link started by making commercials for local companies. They tried to be funny and different — and it worked!
Here is an example of some of their early work.
Although they had gone to college to be engineers, they wanted to pursue comedy and their passion for creativity.
The sort of guiding principle is make something for yourself, and you’ll attract an audience that is like-minded and appreciates it, Rhett McLaughlin says. — thewrap.com
Rhett and Link started producing songs to get laughs and putting them on YouTube. They eventually grew a loyal following.
After building an audience, Rhett and Link posted the first episode of Good Mythical Morning on January 9, 2012.
Ten years later, GMM is in its twenty-first season with 17.5 million subscribers.
Authors
As creators, Rhett and Link are always looking to grow their creative abilities.
Together, Rhett and Link have written and created three books.
All three of these books show a different creative side of Rhett and Link while remaining focused on their audience.
Podcasters
Rhett and Link open up more about their personal lives and struggles during their podcast Ear Biscuits.
They discuss their creative influences, family trips, spirituality, and much more.
The podcast has over 300 episodes — so if you want to get started, you have plenty of content to catch up on!
Entrepreneurs
Rhett and Link also focus on building something more significant than their own show.
For their next act, they’d like to be investors, too, and they’ve put aside $5 million to start their grandly named Mythical Accelerator fund, using the money to acquire ownership stakes in other social media stars’ businesses. — Forbes
Mythical Entertainment — the parent company over all of Rhett and Link’s ventures — bought SMOSH in 2019 for $10 million.
Rhett and Link have also started other channels and podcasts that their employees are hosting.
- Mythical Kitchen (YouTube cooking channel)
- A Hot Dog is a Sandwich (Fun podcast discussing popular food debates)
- Trevor Talks Too Much (High Energy Podcast talking to popular young creators, musicians, athletes, and more!)
Rhett and Link are no longer just content creators themselves — they are investing in the next generation of content creators.
Lessons from Rhett and Link
- Create something that you love, and you will build an audience of people who think like you and love the same things.
- Don’t be afraid to try new things.
- Always be prepared to change directions if something isn’t working.
- Don’t limit your creativity to one area — challenge yourself to go beyond where you are comfortable.
- Think about what lies ahead — and invest your creativity in that direction.
- Lift others around you.
So we’ve talked about Rhett and Link (briefly) and how they got their start.
My family and I enjoy watching Good Mythical Morning, and as a creator, I’m inspired by Rhett and Link.
