With a contagious enthusiasm for all things automotive but a visual style that owes more to skateboarding videos than a Top Gear episode, Donut Media has spent the last three years turning its YouTube channel into a destination for a new generation of car lovers.

Today the channel boasts more than 3 million subscribers and up to 38 million views monthly. It’s a following they’ve built by embracing the platform’s culture of imperfection, making room for failure, and using instant feedback from viewers to shape and direct future content.

Having a used wheelchair on set doesn’t hurt, either.

Making an Authentic Connection

Donut Media got its start as a niche commercial agency producing viral content for automotive brands. Fairly quickly, though, the team realized there was enough interest in what they were doing that they could create their own channel and bring a much-needed voice to the world of car fandom.