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- Dude Perfect is planning a new studio facility in Texas for YouTube and other creators, BI revealed.
- Dude Perfect, with 60M YouTube subscribers, is expanding its media empire in Frisco.
- Dallas is emerging as a film hub, capturing 2% of US film and TV jobs in 2023.
Dude Perfect is adding to its Texas expansion with plans to build a production facility for its flagship YouTube channel and other creators and brands.
Started in 2009, Dude Perfect is made up of five guys — Garrett Hilbert, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Coby Cotton, and Cory Cotton — known for their viral, family-friendly content featuring sports tricks. Based in Frisco, Texas, it’s grown into a sprawling enterprise with more than 60 million YouTube subscribers plus a best-selling book, merchandise sold in Walmart, a tour, and a connected TV app.
It just hired its first CEO, Andrew Yaffe, to try to grow the company into a full-fledged media empire. Earlier this year, it landed a $100 million-plus investment from Highmount Capital, estimating revenue this year would be over $50 million. It’s now opening an 80,000-square-foot entertainment destination headquartered in Frisco with features like a Dude Perfect museum, mini-golf course, and restaurants. The 25-person company is hiring, with plans to potentially double in the next 12 to 18 months.
Andrew Yaffe/Dude Perfect
Dude Perfect hasn’t previously shared its production studio plans. The company describes it as customizable and adaptable for different types of content and plans to use it to film its own shows like “Overtime,” a variety series, and high-production videos like a recent one with fellow YouTuber Mark Rober. It also intends for the studio, which is scheduled to open in 2025 and will be tricked out with Samsung tech, to be available to brands, creators, and production companies seeking to film in the Dallas area.
“Dude Perfect started in a backyard 15 years ago and has evolved from there,” Yaffe said. “What we’re going to be opening is on a totally different level. Whether it’s creating something in a physical production space or in any professional sports setting, we’ll be able to do it on-site.”
“We’ve never seen this much energy and interest in DFW. Between major companies, entertainers, and athletes, DFW as a market, and our new headquarters specifically, will be a creative hub,” Coby Cotton said. “By giving ourselves and others world-class facilities, we can continue to build Dallas as a critical home for media and entertainment.”
While Los Angeles remains the dominant entertainment hub for traditional filmed entertainment and the creator economy, it’s lost ground in recent years to markets like Dallas, Atlanta, and Chicago. Dallas captured 2% of traditional US film and TV jobs in 2023, making it one of the third biggest film markets after LA and New York, with 27% and 12% of jobs, respectively, according to a May Otis College report on the creative economy. Texas’ 17-year-old film incentive program has made the state a draw for productions like “Yellowstone” and “Friday Night Lights.”
On the sports and creator front, it’s also the home of several major sports teams; Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s highly anticipated Netflix fight will take place in Arlington, Texas on November 15.
Big YouTubers like Dude Perfect are increasingly blurring the lines between social media video and traditional filmed entertainment as YouTube captures more of viewers’ screen time. Amazon just announced a deal with creator-focused firm Spotter to give its clients (which include Dude Perfect) opportunities to monetize their content on the e-commerce giant.
With big companies, teams, and talent located in Texas, does Dude Perfect need LA? “We certainly don’t think so,” Yaffe said. “We’ve been Texas-based for 16 years, and we’ll be here as far in the future as we can see. There’s no shortage of opportunity for us here.”
