If you haven’t played a prank, you’re not a true Aussie larrikin. Dylan and Mitchell are as Aussie as it gets as they’ve garnered a massive following from pissing off their Dad and posting it on YouTube. We had a chat to the pranksters about their clips, the fame and just how angry their Dad really is.
Hey Lads, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte Magazine, on a scale of 1 – 10 how angry is your old man?
Fair to say an easy 10. But who can blame him, we ask for it. Who wouldn’t be angry having their kids constantly filming him, and waiting for his next reaction – we’re poking the bear and I don’t think we’re far off getting bitten.
How did the concept start? Was it just a case of having a video posted and it taking off, or did you think, ‘This is a pisser, we think people will love this’ and you decided to push it?
Dylan uploaded a video one day of AngryDad cracking it on Snapchat and we had a massive response to it. People took time out to message us and say how good it was. It sparked an idea, we had always filmed him but never did anything with it. So we started putting them on our personal profiles, and we had randoms tagging randoms. Before we knew it we made the page and had a few thousand likes, and that’s all she wrote. Now we’re at almost 450k and we haven’t spent a cent on boosting.
Is it a bit of a trip watching those ‘likes’ on Facebook pile up each day after every video? I bet you wouldn’t have guessed this could be possible 12 months ago?
Six months ago we had 2,000 likes on our page and we screenshot it like, ‘Oh my god this is insane’. Watching videos have millions of views and thousands of likes is something we just never planned for. It’s fair to say it’s still surreal.
Do you think you lads are internet savvy, or is this all purely by chance, learn as you go type stuff?
In terms of being Internet savvy, we are both technically equipped with basic knowledge in terms of social media. We understood how good content has value, and we worked out our target audience quickly, but we have learned so much as we have gone from public figures such as Fortafy, that have showed us how to take it to the next step.
What do you think it is about your vids that makes people relate to/love them so much?
People love the organic nature to our videos. Everyone has angry parents – to a certain degree – ours so happens to be to the most heightened value. It also allows other people to get a good look inside other Australian families to see where they can and can’t relate. Being a typical Aussie also helps.
How is AD dealing with it all, he must be getting stopped in the street a bit and stuff like that? Is he embarrassed about any of it?
It’s now at a point where every day AD is stopped and filmed etc. He is starting to adjust and find positives out of it (which he has done well if he can find any) but he still hates us for our pranks and will one day get his revenge.
We would imagine that the powerful following and interest would have led to some opportunities, what sort of doors have opened as a result of AD?
As well as every database it strikes opportunity. The value of having access to hundreds of thousands of people at the click of a button is powerful, and it’s shown moderate interest. We are smart with how we use it and what we do, we don’t want to damage our brand. But yes, we have a few things in the making that hopefully everyone looks forward to seeing.
We know you’re selling tee’s, is there a way in which you boys can make some coin off all the fame? Forte mag think Foxtel or Channel 10 would be pretty keen on an AD series?
We are selling some merchandise, not so much to profit, but just to market our brand – which we love. We often think it is perfect for reality TV, such as I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Big Brother etc. But we would be more than happy to discuss TV opportunities if given the chance, as it would be a remarkable opportunity.
Do your friends constantly want to come over and watch you fire him up?
Our friends generally love hanging out with AD more than they do with us, cause he’s fun to observe. Watching us razz him up as well as doing it themselves is truly the most entertaining experience. So yes – our house is always full.
Is there ever a time you think, ‘This is a bit too far for the old boy’ or is it just open season 24/7?
We are clever in the way we pick our times and know when it will and when it won’t affect him long term. He has a short fuse, so we play on that. We try stay clear of doing anything that will cause a major grudge.
What’s do you think has been your best video so far?
Best video so far is the chilli one – it’s just so Aussie and raw. Brings me to tears still.
What’s in store for the team at AD? Can you give us the scoop on any pranks you’ve got lined up?
For now we just want to keep making videos and growing our database. Keep it modest and if any opportunities arise, we will be sure to jump on them given they are the right circumstances.
Good luck lads and keep posting the goodness.
Check them out at angrydad.com.au, on Facebook or on Twitter.