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Ryan Trahan

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Ryan Trahan
Trahan in 2018
Personal information
Born
Ryan Michael Trahan

(1998-10-07) October 7, 1998 (age 26)
Sugar Land, Texas, U.S.
EducationRice High School
Texas A&M University
Occupations
Spouse
Haley Pham
​
(m. 2020)​
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Subscribers20 million[1]
Views4.78 billion[1]
Silver Play Button100,000 subscribers2015
Gold Play Button1,000,000 subscribers2018
Diamond Play Button10,000,000 subscribers2021
Last updated: June 13th, 2025

Ryan Michael Trahan[2] (/ˈtreɪ.hæn/ TRAY-hən;[3] born October 7, 1998) is an American YouTuber, vlogger, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his "penny series", which he has done several times since 2017. Trahan owns multiple businesses, including his water bottle brand Neptune Bottle and his clothing line Howdy Howdy. He is also the co-owner of Joyride Sweets.[4][5]

Early life & education

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Ryan Michael Trahan was born on October 7, 1998, in Sugar Land, Texas,[6] later attending Rice High School and becoming valedictorian.[7] While in high school and later attending Texas A&M University, Trahan was a cross country runner, placing third in the Aggieland Open Competition in 2017.[8]

YouTube career

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Trahan started his YouTube channel on October 26, 2013. Originally producing content on running, Trahan now creates eclectic content, ranging from Tesla races to outdoor camping.[9][10]

Trahan was the winner of the "First Person" category at the 2023 13th Streamy Awards; he also participated in a "creator roundtable" before the ceremony and presented a portion of the event.[11]

Penny challenges

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Originally inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk,[12] Trahan started a month-long series, dubbed the "Penny Challenge", in June 2022. The premise of the challenge was, starting in California with a single penny, to travel to MrBeast in North Carolina and deliver the original penny, using only funds from the penny. Trahan originally set a target to fundraise $100,000 for the nonprofit Feeding America, which he was able to fulfill, raising $1.38 million by the end of the month.[13]

Trahan financed the challenge through completing online surveys, mowing lawns, dog walking, DoorDash deliveries, and selling items such as soft drinks, bottled water, and golf balls, among other methods.[14] To help garner funds for Feeding America, Trahan created incentives for donations, in particular "THE GREAT RESET", where a $50,000 donation to the fundraiser would reset his earned funds to a penny.[15] In addition to this, for $100,000 donations (of which he received three), Trahan had donator-chosen designs tattooed on himself.[16] The series was largely sponsored by PayPal Honey.[17]

Premiering on July 1, 2023, the Penny Challenge returned with a new route from Paris to New York City. The challenge retained its original rules, aiming to raise $250,000 for the nonprofit organization Water.org.[18][19] With the support of the public, Trahan raised over $400,000.

United States Airbnb Challenge

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In June 2025, Ryan Trahan embarked on an ambitious journey to stay in 50 unique Airbnbs across 50 different states—one per day—to raise $1,000,000 for Saint Jude's Children's Cancer Charity. Each Airbnb has its own distinct charm, ranging from acorn-shaped houses to Frank Lloyd Wright homes. To keep the daily videos rolling out on time, two dedicated editors worked behind the scenes while Ryan continued his travels. He was joined on this adventure by his wife, Haley Pham.[20][additional citation(s) needed]

Business career

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Trahan started a water bottle brand in 2016 with his friend Caden Wiese, named Neptune Bottle. Trahan eventually left Texas A&M University after the National Collegiate Athletic Association ruled him ineligible due to using his YouTube channel to share running videos while advertising his company as a student athlete.[21][22][a] Although Trahan sought a waiver with the association allowing him to continue running his business while remaining an athlete,[24] he dropped out of university to continue working on the business[25][26] and his YouTube channel.[27] According to Trahan, in the first year of its existence, Neptune Bottle had earned over $50,000 in revenue.[28] In 2023, he started a clothing line, Howdy Howdy.[P 1]

Joyride Sweets

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In 2024, Trahan announced that he joined a candy company, called Joyride Sweets, he became co-owner[5] and CCO. Along with owner Tyler Merrick, Trahan aims for the creation of non-GMO, vegan, and low-carbohydrate products. On the day of the product's release, it sold out at Target.[29] Trahan established a mascot to represent Joyride by the name of Joyride Jerry.[30]

Personal life

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Trahan lives in Austin, Texas with wife YouTuber Haley Pham.[31] He is a Christian. Trahan came to faith after initially trying to challenge his wife's beliefs while they were dating. He described himself as a "cynical atheist" but become open to faith after she gave him logical answers to his questions. In July 2020, he started to feel unfulfilled with life despite his earnings from his YouTube career. That led him to take "a lot less cynical approach towards asking questions." Talking about his faith in an interview, he added "Starting to pray and starting to ask myself what I believe, ultimately I did land on Jesus. I started developing a relationship with God." "Now it is my source of joy. It is my source of love. It is my source of everything."[32][33]

Awards and nominations

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Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2022 12th Streamy Awards Creator For Social Good Nominated [34]
Breakout Creator Won
2023 13th Streamy Awards Creator of the Year Nominated [35]
First Person Won

Notes

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  1. ^ At the time, the National Collegiate Athletic Association had restrictions on student athletes taking sponsorships from brands; these rules were altered in June 2021.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "About Ryan Trahan". YouTube.
  2. ^ Ryan Trahan (February 13, 2024). My last video. Retrieved April 14, 2025 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Trahan, Ryan Michael (October 24, 2017). Q&A - Thanks for 20K subscribers!. Retrieved May 17, 2025 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "our story". JOYRIDE. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  5. ^ a b JOYRIDE. "YouTube Sensation Ryan Trahan Takes a Sweet Turn as JOYRIDE's Chief Creative Officer Launching First-of-its-Kind Sour Strips and Viral Social-First Ad Campaign". PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  6. ^ I Tested 1-Star Drive Thrus. Retrieved April 21, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Hale, James (February 7, 2023). "YouTube Millionaires: Ryan Trahan, Who's Gaining More Than 10K Subscribers Every Single Day, Is Ready To Make 2020 His Best Year Ever". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Price, Shawn (August 10, 2017). "Texas A&M's Ryan Trahan earns SEC Freshman Runner of the Week honor". KBTX. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Rosales, Lara (February 7, 2023). "How Ryan Trahan Really Became So Famous On YouTube". Nicki Swift. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Revenge is usually served hot. For Ryan Trahan, it's ice cold -- and sponsored by Google". Tubefilter. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  11. ^ Hale, James (August 28, 2023). "Here are your 2023 Streamy Award winners". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  12. ^ "What's Ryan Trahan's secret to going viral?". blog.youtube. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Gutelle, Sam (June 30, 2022). "Ryan Trahan's 30-day journey to MrBeast got more than 190 million views and raised $1.38 million for charity". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  14. ^ Rose Jr., Paul (July 15, 2022). "Every Business Ryan Trahan Used To Survive on One Penny for 30 Days | Wealth of Geeks". wealthofgeeks.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  15. ^ Green, Jonathan (June 24, 2022). "Ryan Trahan Is Flying Across America With Just A Penny - Travel Radar". Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Newman, Vicki (June 10, 2022). "YouTuber Ryan Trahan has to let $100k donor Paul Dodds pick his tattoo". HITC. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  17. ^ Gutelle, Sam (October 10, 2022). "Ryan Trahan has turned his "penny challenge" into a speedrun". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "Ryan Trahan's latest penny challenge raised $400,000 for Water.org". Tubefilter. July 7, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Hale, James (June 23, 2023). "Ryan Trahan's penny series is back...and going international?". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "Will This YouTuber Reach Maine in 50-State Fundraising Challenge?". Newsradio WGAN. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  21. ^ Chavez, Chris (September 21, 2017). "Texas A&M Runner Ryan Trahan Says He Was Ruled Ineligible For Popular YouTube Page". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  22. ^ Nathan, Alec (September 21, 2017). "NCAA Rules Runner Ryan Trahan Can't Use Athletics to Promote His Company". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  23. ^ Salvador, Joseph (June 30, 2021). "NCAA Approves Interim NIL Policy, Change Will Take Effect Thursday". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  24. ^ Huebsch, Tim (September 22, 2017). "Cross-country runner in hot water with NCAA for popular YouTube page". Canadian Running Magazine. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  25. ^ "Ryan Trahan's Journey From College Dropout to 6.8 Million YouTube Subscribers". Shopify. March 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  26. ^ Gruenling, Jessica (November 7, 2017). "Texas A&M cross country runner leaving school to grow his business". KBTX. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  27. ^ Weiss, Geoff (September 22, 2017). "Another Student Athlete Facing Scrutiny From NCAA For Budding YouTube Presence". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  28. ^ Payne, Marissa (September 22, 2017). "Texas A&M runner's water bottle company causes NCAA kerfuffle". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  29. ^ Wescott, Adam (February 27, 2024). "Ryan Trahan Leaves Sour New Taste In Audience Mouth". Forbes. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  30. ^ mascot. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via www.youtube.com.
  31. ^ I Proposed. Ryan Trahan. May 23, 2020. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ SmoshAlike (August 17, 2022). How Ryan Trahan turned a penny into $1,000,000 - I spent a day with RYAN TRAHAN. Retrieved June 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ Berns, Christel (June 29, 2023). "Atheist YouTuber With 12 Million Subscribers Accepts Christ After Challenging His Girlfriend's Faith". Christian Learning & News. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  34. ^ Chan, J. Clara (December 5, 2022). "YouTube Streamy Awards: MrBeast Takes Top Creator; Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  35. ^ Lewis, Hilary (August 28, 2023). "Streamy Awards: MrBeast Wins Creator of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

Primary sources

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  1. ^ Ryan Trahan [@RyanTrahan] (September 26, 2022). "NEW MERCH LIVE 🤠" (Tweet). Retrieved August 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
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