The name goonzquad comes from the famous YouTube duo known for their exciting car-fixing and rebuilding videos, who have over the years made their way into the hearts of car lovers and DIY fans worldwide. Since launching their channel, these brothers have moved from simple repair videos to complex car rebuild stories, winning over more than 2.6 million subscribers. Their teamwork shines brightly all over the videos, in which they show everything from taking apart car pieces to the elaborate, finished vehicles. Their success story isn’t just that of fixing cars – it’s also about creating a loyal group of fans, shown by their massive online presence and how much viewers interact with them on the platforms. Even though they’ve become very popular on YouTube, goonzquad has faced some tough financial times, seen in a drop in their earnings.
Various signs, including reports on their estimated financial inflow, point to volatile ups and downs in how much they make each month, with two big drops happening close together, as noted by websites such as Social Blade. Like many online creators, how much money they make can change a lot because their platforms can be unpredictable, with earnings potentially going down suddenly. This could happen due to numerous factors, such as changes in how YouTube recommends videos, more competition from other YouTubers, or different ways YouTube shows ads. Even alterations in how much companies spend on ads at different times of the year, and what viewers choose to watch can explain these drops. Hence, even popular channels such as goonzquad can face financial difficulties from time to time.
What’s goonzquad all about?
Hailing from Ukrainian immigrant parents in rural Tennessee, brothers Simon and Billy started down their automotive career paths by rebuilding a damaged Jeep in their parents’ driveway. Their channel name is a combination of the nickname ‘Goons’ that they had for themselves, and their beloved four-wheeler term ‘quad.’ They eventually constructed the Original Goonzquad Garage, which is where all of their daily business dealings take place. The brothers later purchased a piece of commercial property, and built another premises there, meanwhile also buying and completely remodeling a mountain home.
The content on their channel is quite diverse, ranging from full-blown rebuilds of modern sports cars to the restoration of vintage classics, and even occasionally delving into the realm of motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Their videos meticulously document each step of the restorative journey – disassembling damaged components, troubleshooting mechanical issues, sourcing parts, and the detailed art of bodywork and painting. This all-encompassing approach both educates and entertains, as viewers are treated to a satisfying compilation of hard work that ends up in a stunning, sometimes almost miraculous final revealing of a fully restored vehicle.
Their most popular videos often feature high-end models such as Lamborghinis and Ferraris, feeding the audience’s appetite for luxury and speed. That said, it’s not just the allure of pricy gas guzzlers that draws viewers, it’s the authentic, hands-on nature of their work, along with a sense of humor and down-to-earth personalities that broadly resonate with their fans. What sets goonzquad apart from other channels in the same genre is their ability to make complex automotive repair accessible to the wide masses. They demystify the process, breaking down seemingly intimidating and complex repairs into understandable and achievable tasks. This approach has not only garnered them a legion of loyal subscribers, but also an active community eager to interact, learn, and be inspired by two brothers who turned a passion for cars into an online empire.
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How do they make their money?
YouTubers such as goonzquad have various avenues through which they can generate income, provided that they’re content creators who usually depend on various platforms. While the exact figures for their earnings remains undisclosed, a few things can be inferred from the way YouTubers generally monetize their content. Primarily, they earn revenue through ads placed in their videos, whereby YouTube pays creators a portion of the ad revenue, which is influenced by factors including the number of views and the engagement rate on their videos. Sponsorships play a significant role in addition to that, as brands collaborate with celebrities to promote products or services directly within their content. These deals are often quite lucrative and not directly tied to the number of views, which offers much more stable income streams.
As if that’s not enough, merchandise sales present another massive revenue channel, with many YouTubers launching their own product lines, including apparel, accessories, and other branded items, which not only provides an additional income but also helps in strengthening their brand identity among the audience. For example, goonzquad in particular have their own merch website, which offers not just a variety of purchasable items, ranging from hot sauces to hoodies, but also massive giveaways, like their most recent 2024 RAM TRX, the average price of which is $25,000. Giving back to the community is often seen as the most noble of endeavors for any YouTuber, though at the end of the day, these seemingly generous gestures also serve the purpose of driving even greater numbers to their website, and thus significantly increasing profits.
Win it all to lose it all
The earnings of YouTubers can fluctuate significantly owing to a wide variety of factors, the most notable of which is YouTube’s ad policy changes. For example, adjustments in the rules of what can be considered ad-friendly content can suddenly leave millions of videos demonetized, which can greatly diminish or even outright erase creators’ earnings overnight. Such was the case in the 2017 so-called YouTube Adpocalypse, whereby thousands of channels suddenly had their earnings revoked. Having been on the platform for two years at that time, goonzquad themselves were also affected, although nowhere near as significantly as they would be today if a similar thing were to happen.
Shifts in audience behavior also contribute to irregular earnings, as changes in viewer preferences can lead to decreased views and engagement, which directly affects ad revenue. Additionally, increased competition on the platform can spread the audience more thinly across channels, thus lowering the viewership of previously popular creators. With the explosion of automotive content on the platform, it’s no surprise that many high-quality creators are vying for the spot that goonzquad enjoy. Alterations in content strategy can also present unpredictable shifts in viewership, which is a threat that all channels face, especially ones as innovative as goonzquad. While diversifying content can attract a wider audience, straying too far from original content that attracted the channel’s initial following may result in decreased viewer interest overall, so the brothers try to strike a delicate balance between their core content and more ambitious, out-of-the-box projects.
There are also various external factors that can impact advertisers’ budgets, such as impactful global events, leading to reduced ad spending on YouTube, and consequently lower earnings for creators. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, caused a significant drop in ad rates on the platform, though this was compensated by unprecedented viewership rates, as most people became housebound and so dove head-first into the wealth of the internet.
With all of that put in perspective, it becomes a given that no YouTube channel is safe from the ever-shifting, unforgiving nature of company policy, viewer preference, and world events. However, even while facing such risks, the goonzquad brothers seem to be doing well for themselves, as their weekly viewership remains relatively stable, and their weekly subscriber count doesn’t appear to be diminishing.
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