United States
Ryan Trahan is an American YouTuber and entrepreneur who built his following through challenge-driven, documentary-style content, most notably the viral 'penny series' in which he attempted to travel across the United States starting with a single cent, raising funds for St.
Total Followers -0.1%
3.3M
Across Instagram
Primary Platform
YouTube
3.3M followers · 100% of audience
Engagement
6.7%
vs. 1.5% category median
Sponsorship Tier
Macro
Est. $40K–$93K / IG post
On June 14, 2025 — "Joyride Day" and the brand's Target launch date — fans uploaded 1,733 photos of Joyride products to Instagram within 60 minutes, securing an official Guinness World Record title.
The better-for-you candy brand, where Trahan serves as co-owner and chief creative officer, closed a $30M round per an SEC Form D filing. Funds are expected to support a major retail ramp-up across Target, Whole Foods, and CVS.
Food industry publication NOSH recognized Joyride in its Best of 2025 Awards, noting the brand surpassed legacy names like Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, and Skittles to become the top seller in Target's sugar candy category.
A three-day real-world activation promoting Joyride saw Trahan turn a busy New York City street into a large-scale candy-themed pop-up, described by Shopify as one of the biggest offline stunts of his career.
| Platform | Followers | 30d Growth | Engagement | Posts / wk | Last upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,312,362 | -3K | 6.7% | 0.2 | 5 days ago |
| Window | Combined | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 7 days | +3K +0.1% | +0 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | +3K |
| Last 30 days | -3312 -0.1% | +0 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | -3312 |
| Last 90 days | +331 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | +331 |
| Last 365 days | +331 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | +0 +0.0% | +331 |
Daily follower snapshots from CreatorDB's longitudinal index.
| Brand | Type | Platform | Date | Performance vs. baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target Sponsorship | Sponsored content | Dec 2025 | — | |
| Joyride Food & Beverage / Candy | Founder / owned brand | Long-term | — | |
| McDonald's QSR / Food | Sponsored content | 2025–2026 | — | |
| Brooks Running Footwear / Athletic | Brand ambassador | 2025–2026 | — | |
| NordVPN Tech / Cybersecurity | Channel sponsor | YouTube | Long-term | — |
Ryan Trahan is an American YouTuber and entrepreneur who built his following through challenge-driven, documentary-style content, most notably the viral 'penny series' in which he attempted to travel across the United States starting with a single cent, raising funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Originally from Texas, Trahan began creating content rooted in running and personal endurance before evolving into emotionally resonant, narrative-led videos — a format that sets him apart from standard vlog-style creators. He co-founded Joyride, a candy brand that anchors his commercial identity and represents a meaningful creator-to-consumer business extension beyond sponsored content.
On Instagram, Trahan maintains a macro-scale presence with engagement rates that run well above category norms, a signal that his audience is actively invested rather than passively accumulated. His demographic skews toward millennial and older Gen Z women — a profile well-suited to consumer-facing brands in lifestyle, retail, and food. Partnerships with Target, McDonald's, and running label Brooks reflect the breadth of his positioning across both everyday retail and active-lifestyle verticals. The blend of heartfelt storytelling, brand integrations, and founder identity through Joyride places Trahan at a useful intersection for marketers: a creator whose commercial reach carries genuine audience trust, and whose trajectory as a brand-builder gives him leverage beyond platform follower counts alone.
Ryan-Trahan reaches an audience concentrated in United States primarily through YouTube, and is best activated via Instagram Reels and Stories. Their sponsorship history skews toward Food & Beverage / Candy, QSR / Food, Footwear / Athletic, a clear signal of fit for brands in those categories. Demonstrated partners include Target and Joyride. Engagement on YouTube runs around 6.7%, which points to an audience better suited to category-relevant, mid-funnel campaigns than to pure-reach buys. Their YouTube-first format lends itself to integrations that sit inside the creator's usual content rather than running as standalone ads. Because the audience follows vlog content rather than arriving through untargeted reach, sponsorships that match the channel's subject matter tend to convert more efficiently than broad placements. A consistent, on-topic posting focus gives sponsors a predictable, brand-safe environment, lowering placement risk compared with broad, general-interest channels. Campaigns here are best measured on qualified engagement and consideration within the niche rather than on raw impression volume. For United States-focused brands in Food & Beverage / Candy and related categories, Ryan-Trahan offers a defined, creative-fit audience rather than broad, low-intent impressions.
Benchmark estimates for a creator at Ryan-Trahan's tier (Macro, 3.3M combined followers, United States). Pulled from CreatorDB's category benchmarks.
The CreatorDB Agency runs end-to-end influencer campaigns globally — shortlisting, outreach, contracting, and performance reporting. Talk to our team about building a campaign around creators in this niche.
Joyride is Ryan Trahan's own candy brand, which he actively builds and promotes across his platforms. He references it directly in his Instagram bio — "candy @joyride" — and runs dedicated campaigns like #joyrideday to mark brand milestones. It's one of the more prominent examples of a top YouTube creator successfully launching a consumer product brand.
Yes, Ryan Trahan is married to Haley Pham, who is herself a well-known YouTuber. The two are one of the more recognized creator couples online and have appeared in each other's content over the years. Their relationship has been public since well before their marriage.
Ryan Trahan's penny series was a viral multi-part YouTube challenge in which he started with a single penny and attempted to grow that amount over 30 days through a series of creative trades and tasks. The series drew massive viewership and also tied into a charitable cause, raising money for people in need. It remains one of the defining moments of his YouTube career.
Yes, #brookspartner appears in Ryan Trahan's recent sponsored content, confirming an active partnership with Brooks, the running shoe and apparel brand. This fits naturally with his running-heavy content, including challenges promoted under the #letsrunthere hashtag. Brooks is one of several major brands currently in his sponsorship lineup.
#letsrunthere is a recurring concept in Ryan Trahan's content built around running as the actual mode of getting somewhere or reaching a goal, rather than driving or flying. It plays into his broader love of endurance and physical challenge videos that have been a cornerstone of his YouTube identity. His Brooks partnership makes particular sense given how central running is to this content.
Ryan Trahan attended Target's Wonder Drop activation at Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York, where he gave followers an early look at the event as part of his paid partnership with the retailer. Target is a confirmed sponsor from his late 2025 campaign work. It reflects the kind of in-person brand activation content that has become a regular feature of his Instagram presence.
Yes, #mcdspartner appears in Ryan Trahan's content hashtags, confirming a sponsored partnership with McDonald's. He joins a long list of high-profile creators who have worked with the chain on social media campaigns. Along with Target and Brooks, it places him among creators who regularly attract household-name brand partnerships.
Joyride Day is a promotional campaign tied to Ryan Trahan's candy brand, Joyride, marking a key moment in the brand's annual calendar. As the creator behind Joyride, he uses his large platform to build hype around the event and drive awareness for new products. It's a direct example of how he blends his creator identity with his entrepreneurial ventures.
Ryan Trahan is from the United States and grew up in Texas. His audience remains overwhelmingly American, with the clear majority of his followers based in the US. Despite his roots, his content regularly takes him to locations across the country, including New York City for brand events.
Ryan Trahan built his name primarily on YouTube, where viral challenge series — including the famous penny series — made him one of the platform's standout creators. He also maintains a strong Instagram presence with over 3 million followers and engagement that runs well above the typical rate for his category. YouTube remains his main creative home, with Instagram serving as an active companion channel for brand work and shorter content.
Stats (followers, engagement, audience demographics, growth) are pulled live from the CreatorDB API covering YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Bio and FAQ content is AI-assisted; news items are sourced from cited public press at generation time. Read the full methodology →
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