Good morning. In honor of the 4th of July, we’re declaring our independence from this Friday’s newsletter. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in your inbox on Monday, bellies full of hot dogs and ready to take on the rest of the summer.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Creator Summer Series Roundup
This summer, (left to right) Speeed launches the "Summer of Speeed," AMP announces their streaming marathon, Brooke Johnson longboards across America, and Ryan Trahan visits 50 states in 50 days / Illustration by Moy Zhong with photography via Speeed, AMP, Brooke Does Everything, Ryan Trahan
School’s out—and creator summer series are in. We’ve been tracking a slew of special programming from some of our favorite creators so far this summer.
Here’s how creators are turning their social channels into the must-watch shows of the season →
Ryan Trahan and Haley Pham’s 50 States in 50 Days series is averaging 3 million views per video.
Just 23 days in, they’ve raised over $2 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (double their original goal of $1 million in 50 days) with over $700K in donations from brands like Lectric eBikes, T-Mobile, and Kia.
The series is bringing plenty of action—Trahan’s candy brand Joyride broke a Guinness World Record, Pham released pre-orders for her forthcoming book with Simon & Schuster, and creators from Doctor Mike to Mark Rober have donated to spin the Wheel of Doom (which adds challenges like getting to the next destination with phones on Airplane Mode).
Auto and lifestyle creators Speeed kicked off their Summer of Speeed—releasing videos on a summer project car, hosting live events, and dropping merch.
“Ironcially the Summer of Speeed is about slowing down a little bit—I encourage you to apply that to your own summer,” creator James Pumphrey said in a video.
“Dress for the occasion, eat some fruit, make some plans with friends, ride your bike, wash your car, play some tennis…then quit playing tennis in September.”
Travel creator Brooke Johnson is halfway through her longboard across America. She’s releasing a video every Sunday on YouTube and raising $50,000 for spinal cord research in honor of her late stepfather, Roger.
AMP kicked off a 30-day AMP Summer streaming marathon yesterday on Twitch. Over 138,000 concurrent viewers have tuned in to watch Kai Cenat, Fanum, ImDavisss, Duke Dennis, Agent 00, and ChrisNxtDoor stream for 12 hours a day through the end of the month. Fans can expect a pool party, celebrity cameos, and a twist: Each Twitch stream adds time through subs, bits, and donations—so viewers literally control the clock.
Tell us: What creator series are you loving this summer? Hit reply and share your rec.
Is IShowSpeed Dropping an Album?
IShowSpeed (right) released a music video is for his new song "Bailar" on Tuesday / IShowSpeed
It’s been a busy year for IShowSpeed—from livestreaming his way through Asia to playing soccer with the Sidemen.
His latest escapade? Releasing an original song and accompanying music video every Tuesday for the past three weeks, working with chart-topping producers RiotUSA and BRYVN.
Quick background:
Music isn’t new to Speed—he’s released a few singles over the past four years and dropped a six-track EP in March 2024.
He currently has 832K monthly listeners and over 200 million total streams on Spotify. After his year-long hiatus from releasing music, fans are wondering if the sudden return could signal a larger project like an album.
Zoom out: Creators leaning more into music has been a theme this year—from James Marriott and Alex Warren charting on Billboard to Brittany Broski’s musical debut.
If you want to hear some of our favorite creator hits—from this summer and beyond—check out our Spotify playlist. Reply and let us know your favorite track (or whether we missed any).
🔥 Press Worthy
Valkyrae, Mythical, and more creators are joining Creators In Action to raise money for the Saban Community Clinic, which provides free health care to Los Angeles residents.
Jools Lebron is releasing a docuseries with talent agency Viral Nation.
YouTube Shorts averages 200 billion views a day, nearly 3x last year’s average.
Labubus have made manufacturer Pop Mart more valuable than Hasbro, Mattel, and Sanrio combined—due largely to the social media craze surrounding the toy.
Creator livestream platform Streamlabs launches a new sponsorship tool that doesn’t take a cut of creator brand deals.
VTuber group Hololive is livestreaming from Dodger Stadium this weekend.
Food and culture writer Alicia Kennedy moves her newsletter from Substack to Beehiiv.
The NFL is releasing its Top 100 series as an X Original.
