Gus Johnson (comedian) - Wikipedia

American comedian (born 1995)

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Gus Johnson
Johnson in June 2019
Born	Gustav Emil Johnson (1995-06-20) June 20, 1995 (age 30)Grantsburg, Wisconsin, U.S
Occupations	Comedian filmmaker musician podcaster
Years active	2010–present
YouTube information
Channel	Gus Johnson
Genres	Comedy music commentary
Subscribers	2.98 million
Views	1.07 billion
Last updated: September 11, 2025

Gustav Emil Johnson (born June 20, 1995) is an American YouTuber and comedian.

Early life

Gustav Emil Johnson was born in Grantsburg, Wisconsin,[1] on June 20, 1995,[2][1] the son of Debra and Pete.[3] He is of Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish descent.[4] In middle school, he filmed what he called "stupid sketches that kids would think are funny", sometimes with his younger brother Sven.[3] He was elected governor of Badger Boys State in 2013,[5] and graduated from Grantsburg High School in 2014.[3] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Stout with a degree in entertainment design with a focus on digital cinema in May 2018.[6]

Career

Johnson started his YouTube channel in 2010 with his first video, "Ian's Song".[7] He created popular meme videos starring himself and friends.[1] Johnson has released two albums: Lightning Rods and Leaky Roofs and Champagne Seats in 2016.[8][9]

In late 2017, Johnson began performing longform comedy, using Kickstarter to raise funds for a comedy series about a run-down golf course called "Par 9".[10] Johnson and fellow YouTuber Eddy Burback later moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles[1] and started The Gus & Eddy Podcast.[11] Johnson stepped away from the podcast in October 2021.[12]

In January 2019, Johnson was nominated for Best YouTube Comedian at the 11th Shorty Awards.[13] On April 10, 2019, Johnson's YouTube channel reached one million subscribers during his appearance on the H3 Podcast.[4] In 2019, he signed a talent deal with Viacom to create content for Comedy Central.[14]

Personal life

Johnson currently resides in Los Angeles, California.[15]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
Champagne Seats	Release date: June 24, 2016 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download
Lightning Rods & Leaky Roofs(with Joe Dumas)	Release date: December 14, 2018 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2021	11th Streamy Awards	Comedy	Nominated	[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Stingl, Jim (May 25, 2018). "Small town dude makes a living posting funny videos for millions to view worldwide". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
2. ^ Johnson, Gus [@Gusbuckets] (June 20, 2021). "it is my birthday https://t.co/RNRqM3Mk7k" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
3. ^ a b c Richie, Jonathan (June 7, 2018). "Local YouTube creator honed skill in town and in college". Burnett County Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
4. ^ a b Gus Johnson - H3 Podcast #112. H3 Podcast. April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via YouTube.
5. ^ "Badger Boys State Governors". Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
6. ^ Powers, Pam (May 5, 2018). "Graduate's social media comedy sketches viewed a billion times". University of Wisconsin-Stout. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
7. ^ Ian's Song (original - by Gus). Gus Johnson. September 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via YouTube.
8. ^ Johnson, Gus [@Gusbuckets] (December 11, 2016). "Here is an original album for you entitled "Lightning Rods & Leaky Roofs."" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
9. ^ Johnson, Gus [@Gusbuckets] (June 22, 2016). "This week. My next album. Champagne Seats. Get ready" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
10. ^ Gutelle, Sam (September 22, 2017). "YouTube Comedian Gus Johnson's 'Par 9' Web Series Arrives For Fast-Growing Audience". Tubefilter. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
11. ^ "Gus & Eddy - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
12. ^ Johnson, Gus [@Gusbuckets] (October 26, 2021). "I'm aware of a recent video that calls out some actions that I'm not proud of and I want to apologize" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 26, 2021 – via Twitter.
13. ^ "Gus Johnson - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
14. ^ Bouma, Luke (April 29, 2019). "Viacom Is Creating New Original Shows for YouTube, Hulu, and Facebook". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
15. ^ Wentland, Emilee (June 4, 2018). "All Gussied up for Viral Laughs". VolumeOne. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
16. ^ "11th Annual Winners". The Streamy Awards. December 12, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.

External links

• Gus Johnson's channel on YouTube
• Gus Johnson at IMDb

Authority control databases: Artists	MusicBrainz