Martin and Hamzah are one of the internet’s best friendships. On their YouTube channel, Slushy Noobz, you can see them do many things (play video games, learn to DJ, go to Comic-Con on shrooms, box each other), but the reason to keep watching is to behold the simple beauty of two guys genuinely enjoying each other’s company.
Slushy Noobz was founded in 2023. This recency is notable both because it highlights how quickly it has grown, and because the kind of vlogging they do often feels like it’s from a previous era. The duo grew up watching YouTube during its golden era, and the DIY commitment of those creators has informed their own style, which is unplugged, highly natural, and for these reasons stands out at a time when YouTube is viewed as a staircase to fame and wealth.
And of course it is. YouTube and streaming are the engines driving a new class of celebrity. And while commercial interests are certainly catching on, these spaces are still a bit like the Wild West, and there is no rulebook for creators to follow. Martin and Hamzah are no exception. “You have to reinvent the wheel every single time,” Hamzah told us.
YouTube is not the only platform where Slushy Noobz content is viewable, and it certainly doesn’t exhaust Martin and Hamzah’s efforts. Their content is all over TikTok, and the pair can often be found in cultural spaces. When they learned to DJ, for instance, they took those skills to the park where they performed alongside bassvictim. Standing between them in one of their recent Instagram photos is 2hollis. This sort of placement is not all chance. The Noobz, for all their sincere silliness, understand the media environment as well as anyone. Their content initiatives, though diverse and off-the-cuff, are executed with a deft touch. They are not only internet celebrities, but pioneers of new-age content.
We spoke to Martin and Hamzah about all of this and much more. Read on.
-
Welcome: How did the two of you meet?
Hamzah: We e-met first through TikTok DMs. Then Martin was visiting Toronto for an EDM festival and spent a couple nights at mine.
Martin: That’s pretty accurate.
Hamzah: I’m the one in the relationship that remembers those moments. Every couple has that.
Martin: And I remember pulling up and seeing his beautiful face for the first time and it was incredible.
Hamzah: He used a rug for his blanket.
Welcome: At what point did you decide to start making videos together?
Hamzah: We played around in a TikTok here and there, but it was very intentional. The joining of forces was on, I want to say, May 25th of 2023.
Martin: I just said, “Hey, bro. We should start a YouTube channel.” And it actually happened.
W: Where did the name Slushy Noobz come from?
H: Funnily enough, before it was controversial, we plugged it into ChatGPT 1.0. The prompt was “make a gaming channel name incorporating ‘Wocky Slush.’” The ridiculousness of the name is the point. If you’re making something good people will come regardless.
M: The name doesn’t matter. People are still saying Slushy Noobz.
W: How have your lives changed since starting the channel? Materially, emotionally?
H: I’ve been addicted to stress now. I need to be doing five things at once, which is funny because I couldn’t even juggle one before. I’ve found stuff within me I didn’t think I was capable of. Passion brings that out.
M: For me, I used to be a very anxious individual. I still am in some ways, but I’m more confident and more willing to try new things. And I used to smoke a lot of weed but now I can’t because I don’t have the time.
W: That’s interesting you say less anxiety because some would assume being constantly filmed would make you more anxious. Why has it gone the other direction?
M: I used to work for the government of Canada, so I left a structured environment to an unstructured environment. Since then we’ve introduced more structure, so it’s been more comfortable. Knowing we’re having fun and making good stuff relieves all worries. We’re having fun, so there’s no stress. It doesn’t make me anxious much anymore.
H: Those big anxieties that you’re wasting your life away and doing nothing are probably the ones subsiding.
M: I agree.
W: Are the two of you usually aligned on what’s a good idea versus a bad idea? Or is there a compromising process?
H: Most of the time we’re on the same page, but there’s a compromising process, especially with creative stuff. When we hit those moments rather than compromising one way or the other, we say no to both.
M: I also think there’s an authenticity to doing that because if you don’t agree with this idea, I’m not going to make you do something you don’t want to do. The point is to do things we both want to do. We veto a lot of things.
W: The two of you also do a podcast together called Out of Character. Do you consider yourselves ‘out of character’ on the podcast versus ‘in character’ in vlogs?
M: I think any person when they’re in front of a camera puts on some persona. I don’t think anyone can be fully themselves, but we’re as close to real as we can be on Out of Character.
H: And also the format. It’s an hour unedited, so you can’t hide yourself as much or make yourself look extra funny. One of our editors was editing his first IRL video, and was like, “I had no clue it was just 30 minutes of footage getting chopped down to 28.” People don’t know that, and it’s worth highlighting. In editing, people can make it seem like they got it like that, but we are very natural in our delivery and dynamic. So Out of Character serves as a place to establish that.
W: Martin, on that point about the impossibility of being fully yourself: do you think the advent of cameras has made that worse, or is that a fundamental human trait? That we struggle to externalize our true essence.
M: I think the second option, that it’s fundamental, because when you go to a job interview, you’re not 100% yourself. When you meet someone for the first time, you’re not 100% yourself. The only time you’re really 100% yourself is when you’re by yourself.
W: Does that make either of you sad?
H: Well, I’m just sad all the time, so that doesn’t count.
M: I’m cool with it.
H: It doesn’t make me sad, but it leaves something to be desired and something to work towards. It’s why we started our Patreon BTS stuff, kind of Truman Show-ing ourselves. But it’s a risky game because the best stuff is people being authentic, but most people are not likable being themselves. So it’s a balance.
W: The 28-minute video out of the 30-minute raw is crazy. Why do you guys have it like that?
H: A lot of it is from the editing style I’ve created that highlights moments of Martin not understanding my joke or zoning out or miscommunications.
M: We just love awkward moments. You can’t force an awkward moment. You can’t edit that. That happens naturally. So it’s best to keep as much footage in as possible to capture all that, capture us being human.
W: What’s the worst vlog you’ve made on the Slushy Noobz channel?
M: They’re all good.
H: Our recent scare actor one was a nightmare. Me and Martin got into a tiff. It was so dark, copyrighted music playing, we were getting recognized in our makeup, which was the one thing we didn’t want. We’d scare someone and they’d be like, ‘Hamzah what are you doing?’
M: I also found the recent camping one tough. We wanted to make one of those ASMR wild cooking videos, and on paper it sounds easy, but it was the hardest thing to film. We were cooking from scratch for hours.
W: The tiff brings me to my next question. What’s the closest you’ve come to splitting up as Slushy Noobz?
H: I don’t think we’ve ever considered that. It’s like a romantic relationship: if you’re talking about breaking up, I’d see that as a bad sign. Not that we brush things under the rug, but there’s a sentiment in every tiff that we’ll get over this quickly and get back to work.
M: Yeah. There’s a greater good. It’s not a problem with me and you. It’s a problem we’re facing together.
W: Are you ever surprised by the videos that pop versus the ones that don’t?
H: Not really. There’s so little to look into about what worked and what didn’t. I think it has zero value because then you’re giving people what they want instead of reinventing the wheel every time. You have to pretend you’re starting a new channel with every video. Kai said something about if people want GTA and you keep giving them GTA…
M: He basically said, “If they want me to play GTA, I’m not playing GTA.” There was a time we thought we mastered the algorithm, but we’re all at mercy of it. Even the cooking one: we uploaded it and it did well. We’re just along for the ride.
W: There’s such a focus on content size. Long form vs short form. Your vlogs are as long as prestige TV episodes, but then they’re clipped into small bits. Do you think consciously about making content that performs in both long and short form?
H: You can’t think clips first. This is a very “I don’t understand the internet” conversation by old people. We talked to–was she the head of Google?
M: CEO of Google Canada.
H: She asked pretty much the same thing. I’m like, relax. There’s so much stuff being viewed everywhere. Short, long. Nothing’s disappearing. There’s no shortage of viewership. People aren’t going to stop watching YouTube videos and TikToks. You just give it a place to live and it’ll go where it needs to.
M: Our whole thing is underselling and overdelivering. With clips, people who watch clips will eventually find the long form. It’s a pleasant surprise when you watch clips and then the actual video is a bunch of clips put together.
H: Wait until they find out a video is made of a bunch of clips.
W: What do you think resonates or appeals to people about your videos?
H: Us being nice is a good start. Being in new situations, not Bear Grylls level, but making a pumpkin pie or something, and being in a good headspace and cooperating, that’s the main thing we protect. We can’t let the Good Mythical Morning-ification, the Rhett and Link-ification, happen to this duo of men. They’re definitely not hanging out outside the camera, I’ll tell you that.
M: I will say Hamzah is genuinely my best friend. I think there’s people who want to do a channel and they’ll do it with someone they’re not friends with. There’s the whole Cody Ko Noel fiasco and that’s something we’re actively avoiding. We’re best friends. If all else fails, I still have my best friend and we’ll still play games whether the camera’s on or not. And I think it’s the sincerity. Whoever we encounter, whatever we do, we approach it with sincerity. Very genuine. Most people forget to just react to the world around you.
W: On the spectrum of media personas today, it seems like you have people doing max authenticity and people doing other max manufacturedness. Do you feel one will win out?
H: If you look back, the stuff that made the biggest impact is the most authentic. I see a spectrum with authenticity on one end and relatability on the other. They can interact peculiarly the bigger the operation gets.
M: I see it as a pendulum that swings between authenticity and manufactured Mr. Beast vibes. Sometimes Mr. Beast is cool and then it swings back.
W: People compare your videos to the ‘golden age’ of YouTube, that you’re making a kind of content that has been missing in this era. Do you think about cultivating that feeling? What do you think you’re supplying that was missing?
H: Fully yes. That’s a big inspiration. People got jaded about the cost to enter the YouTube scene. It started at zero dollars and that’s what it should be. I also think we’re in a bit of a Vine wave, like when Vine died and Viners went to YouTube. TikTok deletion scares have started a new wave of people on YouTube. It’s refreshing. YouTube always seems dry. That’s where we started because we were like, ‘what do we watch?’
M: We saw the bat signal. We consumed YouTube as well, so we’re emulating what we saw before. I just go off what I remember YouTube feeling like. I incorporate some of that unconsciously.
W: I’m curious who’s on y’all’s YouTube Mount Rushmore — back in the day formative stuff.
H: EthosLab. PewDiePie. Door Boys. Ryan Higa. RiceGum.
M: Yeah. RiceGum. FouseyTube.
H: What made them iconic was that YouTube had no legitimacy. Their commitment to what they were making cannot be emulated again because built into ‘YouTuber’ now is clout, money, fame. You’re working toward that whether you like it or not.
W: Another public debate about media personas is whether they are being serious or not. When you’re being filmed, do you lose track of the line?
H: At times. The position you place yourself in might be harder to tap into your natural self. But it doesn’t have to be that serious. Just watch it, enjoy it.
M: I get that question a lot, of how much is an act. Am I serious or ironic? It can get blurry, but like Hamzah said, just watch the show. Hop on and let’s go for a ride.
H: Martin’s uncomfortably serious.
M: I find my humor rooted in real life situations. Day-to-day with my fiancée at home, I’m always acting a fool. As I get older it reminds me of my dad. I used to look at my dad like, “Bro, what are you doing?” Now I realize why he acts that way. Life isn’t that serious. I move like a cartoon character.
W: What’s your favorite thing to do on the internet these days? On your personal time, what are you pulling up?
H: I watch three to four body cam videos a day. I need it going at all times. I also find entertainment in American politics sometimes. I might dabble in a podcaster you might not expect.
M: I don’t know. I scroll.
H: You game.
M: I play games. I’ve been a gamer since I was a baby. I’m always playing games. I love making music and I’m always trying to find music, scrolling YouTube for random reuploads from the 80s. Searching for stuff that excites me.
W: Martin I discovered your music project, 2006WR, completely independently of Slushy Noobz. Tell me about your music-making part of your life.
M: It’s so funny because I never took it that seriously. I’m always playing around in FL Studio or Ableton. I started when I was maybe 10 or 11. I’d hear a song and be like, “Oh, I could make that.” Didn’t know instruments, didn’t know piano. I failed horribly, but learned something. I just kept it going. It’s a hobby.
W: Martin, what’s the thing you love most about Hamzah?
M: I love how direct and forward he is. I don’t think I ever have misunderstandings with him because of communication. His communication is A1. I’ve never been so close to someone before and it’s literally because his communication is perfect.
W: What about constructive criticism?
M: Oh, I think he knows this himself. I think he’s very cynical.
H: I would call it being a realist.
M: Yes, he’s a realist and I maybe float away sometimes and try to grab his hand to pull him with me. I think I’m here as a necessary ying to his yang or whichever one’s the darker one.
W: Hamzah, same two questions about Martin.
H: …hang on, because I care about the question.
M: Come on, bro.
H: He is so himself. There’s no code switching, no adapting, no reading the room. There’s just Martin. I’m always like, ‘we got to play the field here.’ We bump into artists sometimes, and sometimes I’m like do you know who we’re talking to? He’s talking to him like he talks to me. But then they adapt to him and show their quirkiness. It’s an admirable trait.
M: Wow.
W: And what about constructive criticism?
H: Terrible memory. The worst. His fear is getting dementia.
M: I always forget things. I irritate Hamzah by asking, “What do we have to do again?” And he’s like, “Dude, I’ve said this 12 times.”
H: Since the start of the channel, he’s like, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. I appreciate that because you need that. You can’t have both people do it. But sometimes I’m like, “Told you, bro.”
W: Hamzah do you have fears of ways you might meet your end? Are you hypochondriactic?
H: No. I embrace it to an uncomfortable degree. I’m ready to go. I was telling Martin, like, 50 years? You’re telling me I got 50 more? I don’t know if I got it in me. I think that’s how I got here. I was so depressed I was ready to go. I was like, let’s play life like we’re ready to go. I had my own mentally manufactured near-death experience. People come back painting their rooms yellow. Why don’t I cut to the chase? Let me paint my room yellow. That detachment, although harmful, helps me get by. It’s my little treat.
M: Hamzah is genuinely fearless with anything body health related. This dude is eating expired foods like candy. He doesn’t care. He’s fearless.
W: Speaking of expired food. What are we staying fueled with? How are you keeping energy on camera?
M: Celsius.
H: I would say I’m making mediocre bowls with cacao nibs, but honestly, we eat good.
M: We’re eating well every day, but could always improve. I could be healthier. Definitely my water intake is low.
H: Chick-fil-A, sushi.
M: And yes, we’re gassy, but a lot of people are gassy. They just don’t talk about it.
H: In fifth grade I read the average healthy amount of farts per day was 14. I was scared for my mom cuz I never saw her fart once.
W: What’s coming next for Slushy Noobz?
H: The biggest shift for us—I can’t give a timeline—but once I can go to America it will be big. Not that we would move. but that’ll open doors. Also music.
M: Opening that door of Hamzah being allowed into America is super exciting. I’ve never stepped foot in America with Hamzah. That’s going to be a weird experience. I’m excited. And music.
W: Anything else you want to get on the record?
H: I’d encourage people to take things less seriously and enjoy yourself.
M: I want to encourage people to go outside and try to make some friends. It’s important to seek friendship.
-
wow i love them
Although I’d never considered it, the 30 minute raw footage -> 28 edited makes so much sense. The allure for me really is those little moments that feel almost like forgotten footage but that make the videos feel that much more human.
Great piece.