Youtube Stars Matt Cobuzio and Nick Matarazzo

By: Kari Monk Maybe it's my lack of computer skills or my stereotypical and self- diagnosed ADHD, but I can't help but wonder how people find the time to become acquainted with video equipment and editing shots—or achieve YouTube stardom. Syracuse students Matt Cobuzio and Nick Matarazzo seized the opportunity to make themselves known not only on campus, but to thousands of viewers with access to YouTube. The two students jumped on the idea of making a YouTube channel dedicated to showcasing their humor and remorseless actions. Now, coming into their fourth or so month of small-time fame, they have accumulated just under 6,000 subscribers that addictively watch all of their prankster antics.

Both Nick and Matt are Television, Radio and Film Majors, and have worked with cameras and computers since their high school days. Although they did not know each other very well before going to Syracuse, they wound up coming together, and good thing! Why are these students being featured? These guys took a seemingly simple idea of making a Super Bowl spoof video, and managed to hit over 66,000 views on it—casual, right? Now, my only question is: how did that insane amount of people find a video made by college kids on YouTube? I can't even get more than 25 likes on a picture of my sushi platter from Koto. Naturally, I had to find these guys and ask them how they did it.

I don't know what I expected when I met Matt and Nick, but they definitely lived up to the humorous and sarcastic wit of their YouTube channel. My immediate question was the obvious, "So how did you guys get started?" I took no offense to the fact that they couldn't even hold a straight face after I had asked. Apparently, Nick and Matt have had way more success than I could have anticipated—that was pretty much the millionth time that week they were asked that identical question. With the upmost commitment to their YouTube channel, they hired a PR rep, which has given them the opportunity to expand what they are doing, and who they are doing it with.

Okay, let’s skip all of the boring stuff now—I still was anxious to know how they got such a high number of hits on their Super Bowl spoof. Interestingly enough, Nick had the idea that if they post their video while these commercials were playing during the Super Bowl, and use hashtags that were promoted during the game, their number of views would continually rise. Thanks to my dear friend Twitter, these guys did exactly what they sought out to do, if not more. Such a simplistic idea with so much reward—if that’s not a touchdown, I don’t know what is.

I next asked what other videos are popular from their channel. Immediately, Nick laughed while recalling their video titled “Shreddin The Gnar.” I personally am a fan of their videos “Things That Annoy Me” and “Expectations vs. Reality.” Matt and Nick have the ability to take normal, everyday activities and twist them into comedic sketches. It is not an easy task to get the attention and appreciation for humor from such a diverse and wide audience—humor is almost like a taste, and not all taste buds are alike. Amazingly enough, these guys are creating pranks and all that shit in a way that we like to watch.

I know that your Netflix options are probably running low as you anticipate the return of Orange is the New Black and you need a new way to procrastinate—so here’s your perfect pastime. Subscribe to their YouTube channel, and when they blow up you can say “Yo I went to school with those guys.”