Hi Josh - Comedian, YouTuber & Content Creator
Hi Josh is a pastor turned comedian who's videos have amassed over 120 million views. Josh is best known for his MAFS & The Bachelor Bad Lip Reading, the Throwing Things challenge, and his How to Speak Australian video.
Hi Josh on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiz4msakNG8meaCv4MNyiYg
Hi Josh on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/hijosh/
Hi Josh on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hijosh/
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“I think more, more and more now, like our generation, where we're like, why would you do that?”
“There's no point in having an inauthentic faith.”
“I'm being paid in chocolate right now.”
“And the more relaxed and off-the-cuff they seem, the more crafted it is.”
“Like, screw you, algorithms.”
“I try as hard as I can to not value numbers because they often don't mean anything.”
“Like, I knew if I took the risk, um, even with the format that they wanted, yeah, yeah, um, that, and if I do a really good job, like, that's what they want.”
How do you decide whether to leave a stable job tied to community and identity (like being a pastor)?
Take time to make the decision — talk to many people for their wisdom, journal your thoughts, and revisit those journals to check for consistency of feeling before committing; once the decision is made, trust it and don't look back.
How do you avoid creative burnout when producing content regularly?
Keep a running list/bank of ideas and funny observations on your phone at all times, even if most of them (around 80%) never become anything; having a backlog of untried ideas prevents burnout because there's always something new to try.
How should creators measure success or value of their work?
Try not to value view counts or follower numbers as the primary measure of success, since a big number doesn't necessarily mean anything and some of your proudest, most creative work may never go viral.
Hi Josh describes filming his viral trick-throwing video (milk into the fridge, CD into the player, knife into the knife block) secretly in a run-down church kitchen, taking around 9 hours of attempts and causing some damage, with no one walking in on him.
Hi Josh agreed to headline a professional stand-up comedy night despite never having performed before. A 7-hour Jetstar flight delay meant he couldn't rehearse out loud, and he arrived just before his slot; the set went better than expected and he performed three shows total.
During a Wake Up Wednesday livestream in a park, an elderly woman named Sandy, who recognized Hi Josh from his videos, was encouraged by viewers to dance along despite a recent hip replacement, creating one of his favorite content moments.
While setting up for a Wake Up Wednesday dance session, Hi Josh's wife spotted former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull walking past, but Hi Josh missed the opportunity to get him dancing on camera.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
He worked as a church pastor (an Anglican youth/young-adults pastor) for several years, running his 'Hi Josh' YouTube channel as a side hobby for about 12 years before going full-time with content creation roughly a year before this episode.
From episode 465→He was asked to headline a professional comedy night despite having never performed stand-up before. His flight to Melbourne was delayed 7 hours, so he couldn't rehearse out loud and arrived just before his set, which went better than expected; he went on to do the gig three weeks in a row.
From episode 465→It started as his personal morning routine of dancing to a song to wake himself up, which he turned into a weekly Instagram livestream where fans vote on songs and submit their own dancing videos; it led to real-life encounters like an elderly fan named Sandy joining in.
From episode 465→Every episode featuring Hi Josh Josh Hawkins on The Daily Talk Show.
