Draft:SuperCarlinBrothers

Jonathan and Ben Carlin are American YouTubers, podcasters, and content creators. Together, they are known by their YouTube channel name, SuperCarlinBrothers. While their early content was mostly vlogging, the channel became known for its fan theories about TV and film franchises such as Pixar, Disney, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Harry Potter. Theories popularized by the SuperCarlinBrothers have been picked up by Screen Rant, Mashable, Polygon, and CBR.

The brothers have established themselves as popular figures within the fandom community, having appeared alongside other creators in panels at NerdCon 2017 and RTXAustin 2022. Behind the scenes, the SuperCarlinBrothers channel content is produced with the help of a small production team. The channel was nominated for a Streamy Award in 2018.

YouTube career
During his time at Virginia Tech, Jonathan Carlin developed an interest in YouTube and began posting sketch comedy and observational humor videos to his own channel. Inspired by the VlogBrothers, he proposed the idea of a joint channel to his brother Ben. Ben was reluctant to participate in the project, but eventually agreed on the condition that he and Jonathan become roommates. Thus, the brothers began the channel as a year-long conversation from their basement in Salem, Virginia. They would take turns posting videos every weekday about random topics from their daily lives, each starting their videos by addressing the other with the catchphrase "Hey, brother!" They uploaded 260 videos in their first year (from June 25, 2012, to June 21, 2013).

Between 2013 and 2015 the channel shifted fully towards theory, fandom and pop culture. In 2013, Jonathan launched Super Carlin Gaming where he played Pokémon. Later, Ben would join him to play Super Mario Kart and other video games.

Jonathan and Ben eventually began to make enough money from the SuperCarlinBrothers channel that they decided to quit their full-time jobs to focus on the channel. Jonathan was first to transition to YouTube full-time, and Ben followed in October of 2016.

In February 2017, Jonathan and Ben participated in the VlogBrothers' convention, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria in Boston, Massachusetts. Ben participated in two panels, one of which was focused on fandoms. Jonathan moderated a panel called "We're All in This Together: Community," which focused on online communities that content creators have formed, fostered, and participated in.

In January 2018, in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the SuperCarlinBrothers were invited to cover the British Library's Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition, an exhibit dedicated to the Harry Potter series and its accompanying lore. In a video with British Library curator Julian Harrison, they discussed the connections between Harry Potter lore and the real folklore that inspired it. This video landed them on the front page on Pottermore (which later became Wizarding World Digital).

As of 2022, the Carlin brothers have a studio-office space in downtown Roanoke where they film, edit, and publish content with the aid of their staff members.

Podcast and other ventures
In late 2019, Jonathan and Ben launched Popcorn Culture, a podcast that releases episodes on a weekly basis where they talk about their personal and professional lives along with many other topics. They recorded live episodes two years in a row at The Anthem GO Outside Festival, an annual local outdoor sports festival in Roanoke, Virginia.

On March 24, 2021, Jordan Balke, Community Manager and "Jane of all Trades" for the SuperCarlinBrothers, was invited to host a workshop for Patreon on how to "Think Like a Community Manager".

In 2022, the brothers participated in Rooster Teeth events such as "A Very Normal Podcast Tour" with Annual Pass in Orlando and RTX Austin. Along with hosting their own event after some last minute changes, the SuperCarlinBrothers joined a panel hosted by fellow nerd and fandom YouTubers NewRockstars.

The Pixar Theory
In July of 2013, Jonathan posted a video titled "The Pixar Theory". The theory, first created by the youtube series Cracked After Hours witch, argues that all Pixar movies occur on one large, expanded universe timeline. While the brothers did not create he theory, their video brought it to the public eye; Google searches for the theory peaked the same month of their video. The original SuperCarlinBrothers video has amassed over 10.3 millions views, making it the channel's most popular video. Their 2018 follow-up titled "The COMPLETE Pixar Theory" expands on the original video to include all the Pixar movies released since 2013 video. It is their second most viewed video with over 6.6 million views.

On June 27, 2016, the SuperCarlinBrothers were invited by Jon Negroni, author of the book The Pixar Theory, to his podcast to discuss how Finding Dory fits into the Pixar Theory.

Awards and nominations
In 2018, SuperCarlinBrothers was nominated for a Streamy Award in the Pop Culture category.

In 2022, the SuperCarlinBrothers received the platinum award for Best Local Influencer and their podcast Popcorn Culture received the platinum award for Best Local Podcast from The Roanoker Magazine 's annual Best of Roanoke Awards. Their coffee company, Carlin Brothers Coffee, also received the silver award for the category of "Local Company that Gives Back." Again in 2023, The Roanoker Magazine named Popcorn Culture as the Best Local Podcast and The Super Carlin Brothers as the Best Local Social Media Presence in their "Best of Roanoke 2023" article.

The Roanoker Magazine named both Jonathan and Ben Carlin as part of their 40 Under 40 Class of 2023.

Other Recognitions
On March 5, 2024, the Virginia House of Delegates commended the Super Carlin Brothers "for their incredible achievements in business and social media and outstanding contributions to the Roanoke community."

Personal lives
Ben studied business at Radford University, graduating in 2012. Jonathan studied mass communication at Virginia Tech.