MisterEpicMann (called MEM for short) is a YouTube channel run by friends Nick Sjolinder and Ian Deibert which was created on November 16th, 2009. The duo became known for their short-form comedy skits, some of which have since become internet classics. Their most notable video is “How Animals Eat Their Food”, which was released in April 2013.
Nick Sjolinder began releasing videos to the channel in 2009 and, while still a student at Liberty University, was joined by dorm roommate and friend, Ian Deibert, when they transitioned to making comedy skits in 2012. Following the sale of the channel to the entertainment network Fullscreen in 2014, Sjolinder and Deibert moved their production to a new channel called The Men Who Do Nothing (or MWDN) where they were joined by Andrew Eckhoff and Jack Mentzer. They continued to produce short-form video skits on the channel until reacquiring creative control over MEM around 2016. However, both channels have mostly sat inactive ever since.
Their second channel, MisterEpicMann2, features blooper reels from some of their skits including “How Animals Eat Their Food”, as well as other behind-the-scenes extras. This channel has also been inactive for a number of years.
Channel history[]
The first video was posted to the MisterEpicMann channel on December 20th, 2009, and features Nick performing a Ding Dong Ditch prank with one other person. Uploads from this point on were sporadic and all of them generally involved Nick and his early foray into his eventual comedic style. The first skit done in the manner emulated by all other MEM-produced videos was “7 Ways to Stop a Burglar”, published on August 1st, 2012.
The channel promptly began gaining traction, and the first video to feature Ian was “Patience Test”, released on October 27th, 2012. Ian was Nick’s dorm roommate while the two attended Liberty University, during which time Nick was a film student. Other videos of note during this period include “How to have fun in a dorm room”, “20 dances to try at home”, “Interpretive Rapping”, and “Seven Ways to Discipline Your Child”. Most of these videos still mainly featured Nick on-camera.
However, their best-known video, posted on April 9th, 2013, was “How Animals Eat Their Food”. It features Nick doing impressions of several animals in front of an unbothered Ian as both are eating plates of plain lettuce. Some of the impressions resulted in the table—which was made of cardboard boxes—being completely destroyed. The video quickly became one of the most viral on YouTube, receiving a million views within an hour of posting and went on to become the third most watched video of that year, catapulting the MisterEpicMann channel into the vast YouTube spotlight. The video also spawned multiple parodies which featured impressions in place of animals such as “How Celebrities Eat Their Food”. As of May 2023, the video boasts over 141 million views and still maintains a strong reputation as a YouTube classic.
Within a month, the channel’s subscriber count went from thirty thousand to over one million. The success, which was due in large part to the positive reception of “How Animals Eat Their Food”, attracted the attention of the entertainment network Fullscreen, who bought the channel from Nick and Ian in late-2013 but retained both as employed creators. The videos from this point would seldom feature Nick and Ian, and Fullscreen’s control of the channel was seen as unwelcomed change by viewers and subscribers alike. In response to the criticism, the channel announced a “reboot” where Nick and Ian would return as the predominant cast members in videos. Roommates Andrew Eckhoff and Jack Mentzer would be introduced as the additional cast.
On March 29th, 2014, Nick suddenly announced that he and Ian would fully step away from the channel, initially citing other creative endeavors they wanted to pursue outside of it. However, it became apparent in a video posted to their new channel, The Men Who Do Nothing, that Fullscreen’s presence and the duo’s relinquishing of creative direction was a major factor in why they both left, with Nick himself ultimately taking responsibility for it. After leaving MisterEpicMann, Sjolinder, Deibert, Eckhoff, and Mentzer would all produce skits on The Men Who Do Nothing (MWDN) with occasional crossovers on their original channel. Sjolinder would regain creative control of MEM in 2016 with Fullscreen still maintaining ownership and subsequently, the MWDN channel ceased activity. Nick would only publish seven more videos to the channel before it too would cease activity, the last video of which was posted in February of 2017.
Nick and Ian's post-MEM life[]
While Nick and Ian still appear to be good friends, they both lead very different lives. Since the end of their YouTube careers, both men have been married, with Ian fathering children. Nick currently owns a real estate company while Ian works as a project manager for a granite and marble making company.
Nick briefly ran yet another YouTube channel centered around the game Rocket League where he would stream himself playing, but this ultimately ceased activity by early-2020.
Video style[]
The MisterEpicMann channel consists mainly of comedy sketches averaging around 2-5 minutes in length and made in a home video-like style typical of YouTube at the time. Their skits were characterized by Sjolinder’s eccentric and idiosyncratic character performances juxtaposed with Deibert’s deadpan, nonchalant, and seemingly indifferent reactions to him. Some videos would also feature Deibert receiving some forms of physical abuse by the other characters.
After Fullscreen’s acquisition of the channel in 2013, it also became host to other content creators within the network including Rhett & Link, Harley Morenstein, PrankvsPrank, iJustine, and Third String Kicker. Their sudden introduction and the abandonment of the channel’s original format was negatively received by viewers, prompting Fullscreen to revert their efforts. Still, many videos remain on the channel including the sequel to “How Animals Eat Their Food” which star other YouTubers as cast members.