Anthony Padilla and why he holds a special place in my heart
Anthony Padilla is an internet personality that used to be a part of a group he co-founded, Smosh. I found out about him when he was creating skits with Smosh and I found him so funny. However, I somehow retracted from their content.
Anthony Padilla and Defy Media
Then, the issue with Defy Media came around which caught my attention. The company forced him and co-founder Ian Hecox to do things that they didn’t agree with. This included starting and stopping shows without prior warning.
Defy Media was, then, the official reason for discontinuation being that it was due to marketing conditions. When it shut down, Smosh was left with complete creative freedom, giving them a chance to be an independent channel for the first time since June 2011.
In the immediate aftermath of leaving Smosh, Anthony Padilla would create a wide variety of videos in an attempt to find his own voice.
Then, on February 5, 2018, Anthony uploaded a video called I Spent A Day With Flat Earthers. This, then, became the bulk of his content. Anthony, then, found out that these kinds of interviews actually do something good in spreading awareness about their communities.
So many of the people he invited and the comments under the videos felt thankful for him for talking to a misunderstood community in a respectful way — especially since he is genuinely trying to find out more about these said communities.
That is why Antony Padilla holds a special place in my heart.
From then on, he decided to take these interviews more seriously. That way, people can see these niche groups in a new light. Aside from that, other people can also give them the chance to express themselves rather than being judged all the time.
Aside from having a quarter of Filipino blood, Anthony Padilla allows me to find out more about these communities. I was able to differentiate mental health disorders like Dissociative Identity Disorders and Schizophrenia from each other. It made me understand these two a little bit better.
Anthony Padilla is truly the best interviewer ever.
