Donut Media, also known simply as Donut, is an American automotive YouTube channel.[1] Real Mechanic Stuff is a secondary channel.
Donut Media was founded in 2015 by Matt Levin, a former product head at AwesomenessTV, Ben Conrad, and Nick Moceri.[3] The channel’s first video was about the 24 Hours of Lemons.[4] It achieved early viral success with its 2016 video Two Grannies, One Lamborghini, which for many years was the channel’s most-viewed video.[5][6][7][8]
In February 2016, Up to Speed “debuted” with a video describing nine must-know facts about the Nissan 240SX.[9]
In February 2018, Donut Media tried to recreate the Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster stunt by sending a Hot Wheels Tesla Roadster car into space.[10]
In May 2018, Donut Media received $800,000 in seed funding in a round led by Techstars Ventures.[5] In November of that year, it partnered with NASCAR to offer lighthearted racing-related content.[11]
Between 2018 and 2020, the channel saw breakout success due to its “Up To Speed” series. In the series, host James Pumphrey explains the origins of automotive models, brands, and other car related items with cult followings such as the Nissan GT-R, Plymouth Barracuda, and Suzuki Samurai.[12][13] According to Levin, “Up To Speed” marked the moment Donut Media moved from dependence on viral one-offs to having a sustainable content model.[5]
In June 2021, Donut Media released a Kickstarter project called Stocky which is a series of collectable toy cars based on real cars, but the Stocky toys have cartoonish proportions, similar to Hot Wheels‘s Tooned line of toy cars. Stocky debuted on Donut’s channel on their Up to Speed video about Type R. The first Stocky made was an Acura Integra Type R.[14]
On November 9, 2021, Donut Media was acquired by Recurrent Ventures, a digital media company which also owns The Drive and Car Bibles automotive content brands, as well as Popular Photography and Outdoor Life.[15]
In November 2022, Donut Media partnered with Forza Horizon 5 for the 14th Festival Playlist, also adding a new story simply called ‘Donut’. In June 2023, Donut Media partnered with the game again, adding another story called Donut Media Hi-Low, named after their show of the same name.
In September 2023, The Crew Motorfest released, adding a Donut Media playlist at launch, called Rule The Streets: Presented By Donut.
On June 21, 2024, long time hosts Jeremiah Burton and Zach Jobe announced they would leave Donut Media to start their own channel BigTime.[16]
On August 2, 2024, James Pumphrey also announced that he would be leaving Donut Media and that he would start an independent YouTube channel called Speeed with his friend Jesse Wood.[17]
On July 27, 2026 Donut Podcasts released an ominous message via their Instagram Story that simply stated “Thanks for listening all these years. Bye.” Host Joe Weber confirmed that the podcast division of Donut Media had been closed, which resulted in layoffs.[
| Channel | Donut |
|---|---|
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genres | Automobiles Comedy |
| Subscribers | 9.26 million |
| Views | 3.02 billion |
| Last updated: 24 April 2026 | |
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