Arin Hanson

Arin Joseph Hanson was born on January 6, 1987, to Lloyd and Maurette Hanson in Margate, Florida. His early life involved a developing interest in art and stop-motion animation, leading him to create animated shorts for Newgrounds.com under the pseudonym “Egoraptor.” His animated work, particularly “The Awesome Series,” gained significant attention in the early 2000s, contributing to Newgrounds’ popularity. MTV recognized his talent, offering to produce and host “The Awesome Series” on their sub-site, The G-Hole. Hanson expanded his creative endeavors with projects such as “Girlchan in Paradise,” a satirical anime parody series created with Joshua Tomar, and “Sequelitis,” a YouTube show where he shared his perspectives on game design. At this time, he became engaged to model and fellow YouTuber Suzy Berhow, who he credits as a significant influence in his life.

In 2012, Hanson co-founded “Game Grumps” with Jon Jafari. This video game-focused web series quickly amassed a large fanbase, with Hanson as ‘Grump’ and Jafari as ‘Not-So-Grump.’ The duo engaged in humorous banter and philosophical discussions while playing video games. Their collaboration led to Hanson making a guest appearance on Jafari’s web-show, “JonTron.” By 2013, the demands of “Game Grumps” impacted their individual creative work. Jafari departed the show in June 2013 to pursue other projects, and Dan Avidan joined as Jafari’s replacement. Despite initial fan reaction, the new dynamic between Hanson and Avidan allowed “Game Grumps” to continue its success, celebrating its first-year anniversary.

Following “Game Grumps”‘ continued growth, Hanson launched spin-off shows, including “Steam Train” in 2013, hosted by Dan Avidan and Ross O’Donovan, and “Table Flip,” a live-action show featuring tabletop games with his wife Suzy and editor Barry Kramer. He also created “Grumpcade,” which featured an alternating cast of “Grumps.” Hanson has expanded his work into voice acting for various video games and television series. His personal YouTube channel (Egoraptor) has nearly 3 million subscribers, and the “Game Grumps” channel has over 5 million subscribers. In 2013, he co-founded the musical trio Starbomb, which achieved success on the Billboard Comedy Charts. In 2018, Hanson co-founded Real Good Touring, a tour management company for internet personalities. He also authored the novel “Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau” in 2020 under the pen name Dr. Cecil H. H. Mills.