The Truth About Donut and Why James Left

What it was like working with James Pumphrey and why he left Donut Media to start his own channel @SpeeedCo . Go watch his Up To Speeed video about Donut, if you haven't. I'm not as nice as he was about the situation. I also talk about what goes into making a 2M view automotive video.

Update 8/8/24: Today, I was told that some people working in automotive content have been harassed by a small number of their channel's audience who disagree with how they may have done their jobs. In the interest of caution, I have removed portions of this video that could potentially provide information to similar idiots.

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#donut #donutmedia

[kennyhrabar]

Kenny with the Robin here… I could see/feel the amount of effort Tiernan/James and Team put into the videos! Thanks for highlighting the Robin and making it look so cool, it was such a blast working with you guys!

[genericsomething]

The lesson here is whenever your company is bought out, start looking for a new job.

[syedmakbul]

Thinking the corckscrew isnt famous tells me how much this manager knows the car community

[SB-kwoo]

If any of the Donut guys deserves his flowers is James

[NuclearMinnow]

Almost everyone in your audience has worked for a manager or ownership like this. So we all love to hear you spilling the tea and naming names. Put their incompetence on blast!

[civilrant]

This whole Donut drama just reminds of the saying. Built vs Bought.

[themanA]

Thanks for all this insight and exposing the situation for what it is.

As fans, we deserve to know this stuff so we can make informed decisions on the content we consume.

Alot of people in your place would either be too intimidated or have signed NDAs stopping them from truly commenting on the situation.

I really appreciate your transparency, and you have definitely earned a new sub!

[someperson]

Anyone that has ever played Gran Turismo (ie the entire Donut target demographic) knows about the corkscrew

[RonaldjamesF]

Seeing the perfectly linear growth chart of Donut is impressive.

[TomLichti]

Sooo...anyone going to name names in the comments? I'm currently still subscribed to Donut, but after the Ranger series is done I might call it quits. BigTime is killing it so far, and we have yet to see what Speeed will bring, but I'm looking forward to it. Donut, not so much.

[HeavyDutyPillow]

I was naturally watching Donut less and less, none of the content was really intriguing enough for me. I can't tell you exactly when I stopped watching but I know it wasn't recent. I did keep on paying into Donut Underground and subscribed in the hopes that content would get better. I've known about the buyout for a while as well and knew that any future videos would be more profit driven (and drop in quality) but still kept up hope.

Once you mentioned that nepotism was going on and you had employees who were "fans" of the channel but really were just friends of the exec, I went into my settings and canceled my membership to Underground, then unsubbed from the channel. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

I wish those that had left would be more scathing in their details as to why it exactly fell apart. Like... when you love something so much, especially something you had a hand in creating, there's going to be a point where you need to let it go. It's a bittersweet moment as love for someone or something can't last forever. However, when you love something like Donut and it gets to the point where the systems in place keeps you alienated from your work and your community, and you start questioning why you continue, then in my opinion the only option left is to leave while burning it all to the ground. I know you might still have colleagues you care about at Donut, but what had happened to you will eventually happen to them. I hope they see the light and leave with middle fingers way up in the air and onto bigger and better things.

[TKsGarage]

I'm glad everyone that was there has created there own channels. Im glad you all have ownership over your journeys moving forward

[_carlosamontoya_]

That Reddit AMA remark you made is well deserved, I saw that and instantly knew it was a relational against James. That man grew Donut into what it is today, he deserved their support.

[umarmars]

When the "Big 3" shown in Donut video last month without James, (the de facto face of Donut), I knew something's terribly wrong...

[palpitateguy]

damn the longer I watch the Why I quit videos the better I understand which level is now the fire alarm.

Basically the boss of an automotive channel, really doesn't understand cars

[wes]

Why is it that @AutoTea is the only one really gunning to be the whistleblower in all this? Is it a contract thing with the others? Your insight is incredibly interesting, i just wish i could hear such unfiltered accounts from the other guys, too.

[DucatiPaso]

Thank you very much for keeping us in the loop. I hope you do consider giving us more insight. It truly is a shame that instead of paying their star employees a fair wage or even royalties, they brought in a PR firm for crisis control and spin (to basically insult the intelligence of the viewers). In my opinion, the most positive thing Donut has going for it at the moment is Angelina and Sandro on Real Mechanic Stuff. I like Nolan, but I miss James.

[garylucas]

All this stinks, but I wholeheartedly believe that this allows for the growth of bigger better things. These videos help us understand alot and we appreciate it my guy. Great video, thanks!

[manhattanskylinesnow]

Loving the videos. Gives more information and paints a bigger picture about what's been going on! Keep being your awesome self and keep us informed! 🖤🤘

[Xicor]

I did feel VERY weird seeing all these random guys just showing up in the videos, when for the most part its only the Hosts that typically should show up. Now I know where they came from lol.