Welcome to Created, the newsletter that’s more reliable than your Premiere Pro autosave. Here’s what we got today:
- IShowSpeed's $1M American Tour
- How Joyride climbed to the #1 Candy in Target
- Best YouTube thumbnails this week
Inside Speed's 35-Day Tour Across America
IShowSpeed’s just completed his Speed Does America tour. 25 states in 35 days all livestreamed 24/7 — and it cost him over $1M.
I was with Speed at Tuesday’s finale in LA to see it first-hand and get the inside scoop.
The $1M Budget
Speed’s team said the tour has cost well over seven figures with:
- Custom $300K tour bus and rental cars at every stop
- Security following him from city to city
- Last-minute shopping sprees (he spent $1,500 at Nike without realizing he was buying for everyone around him)
When I interviewed Speed last year, he talked about how much prep goes into each livestream.
But this tour was a notch above. When Speed was told about how much his tour cost, he looked stunned:
“Seven figures? God damn! I don’t even realize because I just be streaming,” he said.
Re-Inventing The Red Carpet
Speed’s tour culminated in LA with a red carpet premiere of his new show Speed Goes Pro.
Produced in tandem with OBB and Dick’s, the show puts Speed against world-class athletes like Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, and Randy Orton.
During Speed’s livestream, the feed switched to show the first episodes which drove instant viewership.
Our Take
Speed turned a cross-country road trip into a month-long reality show, livestreaming to tens of millions and earning him 1.5M new followers across YT and Twitch.
What used to be the domain of touring musicians — packing cities and spending millions on the road — is now something YouTubers can pull off too.
Expect to see a trend of more creators going on tour. But few may ever get close to what Speed accomplished this past month.
Ryan Trahan's Joyride Becomes #1 Candy at Target
A year ago, Ryan Trahan set a wild goal: make his candy brand, Joyride, the top-selling candy at Target.
And he did just that.
Joyride recently hit #1 non-chocolate candy brand at Target — ahead of Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, and Nerds.
Modern Marketing
Trahan took a different approach to marketing Joyride. He gamified it into a full blown campaign to become #1.
When Joyride launched at Target in June 2024, it was shoved on the bottom shelf in a three-month trial.
So Trahan turned the struggle into a story. Every time Joyride rose in Target’s rankings, he turned it into content.
Fans were asked to buy Joyride, tag the brand with “🧗♂️” emojis, and help “climb” above competitors.
By January 2025, Joyride cracked the top 3. By March, it hit #2. And by September, it was #1.
Trahan celebrated with a candy truck giveaway and a message to fans:
“Becoming #1 is cool, but seeing the smiles on your faces while holding our candy is the greatest joy of all,” he said.
Side Quests
Trahan kept fans hooked with mini-challenges along the climb:
- Breaking a Guinness World Record: 1,733 photos of people holding Joyride in an hour.
- Urging fans to help Joyride surpass Sour Patch Kids in followers.
- Letting community decide what Jerry the mascot should do to hype new flavors.
Our Take
Other creators like Brent Rivera are already using this playbook with his chip brand Levels, positioning it as a healthier Doritos rival and urging followers to “help us pass Doritos.”
Why does it work so well?
For fans, it’s not just about buying candy or chips. It’s about being part of the squad.
Every tag, every emoji, every post is social proof. It’s a way to belong and show you were part of the climb.
That’s the real unlock: creator CPG turns marketing into community. And when the win feels shared, fans will push just as hard as the founder to get it there.
🎯 Weekly Roundup: Thumbnails
Why we love these YT thumbnails:
- Man holding a handmade red plane in a sky full of explosions creates instant drama (prestongoes)
- Bent iPhone under “iPhone Air” label makes you question how durable it really is (JerryRigEverything)
- Bomb fuse on Nicolas Cage’s head + $6M debt instantly grabs you (Dodford)
- “Toxic” label on a water tap makes you question what’s really coming out of it (Bryan Johnson)
🚀 Weekly Outlier
This video by Happy Mad Scientist has 774K views, which is 40 times higher than the channel’s average. Here’s why it took off:
- Everyday Problem, Big Solution: Turns wasted food into an engineering project with a homemade centrifuge.
- Science Meets Humor: Explains centripetal acceleration in playful ways before showing it in action.
- Satisfying Payoff: Watching jars come out spotless (even Nutella) gives a perfect visual reward.
🏆 The Created Referral Program
Know someone who’d also love this newsletter? Refer them and get gifts.
Refer 1 friend: you’ll get my Infinite Ideas book. It’s my 8 best tips to find viral ideas for your next upload.
Refer 5 friends: you’ll get my Top 50 Thumbnails book. It includes a detailed breakdown of why they work so you improve your packaging.
Trust me, these books are packed with more tips than most paid courses.
Copy this unique link and email, text, or post it: [RH_REFLINK GOES HERE]
👋 See You Inside
Join our Discord of 5,700 creators who help each other grow and give feedback on your ideas, videos, and thumbnails. Totally free.
Nothing great is created alone.
– Jon
Want to advertise with us? Go here.
Was this email forwarded to you? Join here.
Have a tip or story we should cover? Submit here.
