| Justin Robert Young | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1983 (age 29) Ft. Worth, Texas |
| Occupation | Journalist and Podcaster |
| Website | |
|
weirdthings.com |
|
Justin Robert Young (born March 5, 1983)[1] is the editor-in-chief of iTricks.com,[2] the foremost magic news site on the web, editor of WeirdThings.com,[3] and is a podcaster for the TWiT.tv network, co-hosting the weekly show NSFW.[4]
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Justin Robert Young is a graduate of the Syracuse University journalism program where he also worked at The Daily Orange, the independent student newspaper of Syracuse, New York.[5] He has also worked as a newspaper journalist for “The South Florida Sun-Sentinel” of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and “The Morning Call” of Allentown, Pennsylvania.[3] He decided to include his middle name in his professional moniker, as several persons were already utilizing the name “Justin Young” in a professional capacity.[6] In his early career, Young practiced and performed stand-up comedy and improv in addition to attempting a comedy podcast.[6]
Following his brief tenure in newspaper journalism, Young was recruited by longtime friend and magic inventor Andrew Mayne to serve as the editor-in-chief of iTricks.com, published by Mayne. Young later went on to serve as editor of WeirdThings.com, also published by Mayne.[3] Young first met podcasting collaborator and magician Brian Brushwood in Florida while interviewing him for iTricks.com and soon after became a regular guest on Brushwood’s BBLiveShow podcast following a swarm of call-in appearances.[6] Young and Brushwood were picked up by Leo Laporte’s TWiT.tv network to co-host a show that went on to be named NSFW and premiered on November 24, 2009.[4] Only one month prior in October 2009, Young, with co-hosts Andrew Mayne and Brian Brushwood, began the WeirdThings.com podcast, which has appeared as one of iTunes top science podcasts.[7] In 2009 he also served as an Associate Producer on the first season of G4 Underground.[3] Through the NSFW podcast, Young has interviewed AMC network’s The Walking Dead star Michael Rooker who has affectionately proclaimed to be Young’s “stepfather”.[8] Young has also co-hosted a podcast film festival with film director and producer Christopher Coppola,[9] and has written advertisements for Greg Grunberg’s website Talk About It, which promotes epilepsy awareness.[10]
On March 10, 2010 at Digg's South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) festival party, Young, along with NSFW co-host Brian Brushwood, initiated one of the largest Twitter hoaxes ever when they prompted a packed audience to tweet and re-tweet with the hashtag #omgconan that Conan O’Brien, recently departed from NBC, was going to join Revision3, an internet television network co-founded by Digg founder Kevin Rose. Word even spread that Conan walked out live on stage to make the announcement[11] The stunt was originally orchestrated to set the record for the “Most Tweeted Hoax”, and now Justin Robert Young currently holds the record at 525 tweets with the Universal Record Database.[12] During Magic Month at Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida (January 30 - February 25, 2011) Young was featured in “Stars of Magic” alongside performer Andrew Mayne. This marked Young’s first performance in magic.[13]
For the 2011 World Series of Poker, Young served as the spokesperson for Bicycle Cards, interviewing players in the tournament and providing commentary. His interactions during the tournament were documented in a series of YouTube videos on the channel Bicyclecards.