With over 43 million subscribers, Dude Perfect is one of the top ten most-viewed YouTube channels. The group is made up of five best friends who first got together on the campus of Texas A&M. Instead of participating in the normal college party scene—drinking and hooking up—the friends decided to channel their energies into practicing trick shots and playing sports.
But before the trick shots, the group formed around guys looking for encouraging Christian community. Group leader Tyler Toney, says that this is how the group really began: “Five friends coming together that were all Christians, building each other up, and having fun.”¹
All five members of the group grew up in Christian families and claim to be committed Christians. In their “About Us” video, each member boldly shares his testimony and how the Gospel has personally influenced his life. And why does Dude Perfect exist? Here’s what they have to say on their “about” page:
“A free sandwich, a simple camera, and 20 “I can do better than you” shots later, Dude Perfect was born. Obviously when that first ball swished, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but we believe that nothing happens by accident, that God’s given us this platform for a reason, and that we have an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of countless others all around the globe. Above all else, our ultimate goal is to glorify Jesus Christ in everything that we do. We want to use this platform for something much bigger than us.²”
Dude Perfect certainly has a platform. Following the incredible success of their YouTube channel, they now have their own TV show, their own video game, and a huge sports complex to film their crazy videos. The amount of fame and success that they have achieved is the kind of thing that most people cannot handle. One might think of other famous YouTubers like Logan Paul and PewDiePie, both of whose fame got to their heads and has ultimately hurt their reputations.
But the guys at Dude Perfect are adamant that the success, the fame, the fun, and the money aren’t what can really satisfy. According to them, the only thing that can ultimately satisfy is a relationship with Jesus Christ.³ Another point in their favor is that they are doing things together. Perhaps the strength of their friendship, which is built on their commitment to Jesus, is what allows them to avoid the pitfalls of fame that are much harder to navigate alone.
Of course, some would argue that the Dude Perfect videos are simply frivolity. It’s just a bunch of jocks blowing hours and hours throwing basketballs across the court. What’s the point? Couldn’t they be doing better things with their time? If they are devout Christians, couldn’t they be making more videos that directly share the Gospel?
However, in the incredibly dark space that is YouTube, Dude Perfect is doing something that is sorely needed—providing clean, uplifting, entertaining content. Other popular youtube channels like PewDiePie thrive or sexual, shocking, dirty, and downright nonsensical content. In contrast, Dude Perfect videos never contain objectionable content. In a world where most of us hear strong profanity on a daily basis, it’s refreshing to have a group of dudes who don’t ever drop the f-bomb or make sexual jokes.
Dude Perfect is an excellent example of Christians living faithfully and glorifying God in their normal activities. Christianity is not just about believing all of the right things, it’s about how it changes the way we live. We need more examples of Chrisitans who just live well day to day and know how to enjoy the blessings of life—like friendship and fun.
While many of their peers were out around campus exploring sexual venues, doing drugs, or getting slammed at the parties, the guys at Dude Perfect just got together to have fun. There are good natured contests, camaraderie, clean humor, and cool tricks—all of this is good, appropriate, and desperately needed on a platform that is used often enough for self-promotion, sexual expression, angry opinion, and demeaning criticism.
Watching Dude Perfect might not be educational in the traditional sense, but it might encourage you to go out and do something with your friends—and that’s a really good thing. Perhaps a couple of friends will see one of those videos and go out to spend a few hours together trying to get a golf ball into a plastic cup instead of getting themselves into trouble. Maybe a father and son will spend an hour together throwing a toilet plunger at a target in the backyard—time that might otherwise be spent in front of the television or in separate rooms on their phones.
In an age where much of our time (including social time) is spent in front of a screen, Dude Perfect offers plenty of ideas for getting out there and doing things with other people. Of course, you can spend too much time watching Dude Perfect too, just like any other kind of media. But ultimately, Dude Perfect seems like a pretty good thing. Creating good, clean, fun content for people to enjoy on a platform dominated by darkness is a service to us all.
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