Bryan Smiley, the former president and chief content officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, is launching his own digital-first media company, TheWrap has exclusively learned. Hard Carry Media will house media company and YouTube channel Full Squad as its flagship entertainment brand. The company plans to help sports, entertainment, comedy and lifestyle brands reach Gen Z men.
The goal of Hard Carry Media is to build multi-platform brands and IP for Gen Z men. The venture is backed by the privately held entertainment company Hard Carry Gaming, Inc., and seeks to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally native brands for every stage of a Gen Z man’s life. As part of this new company, Smiley will oversee a team that will be responsible for development, sales and audience analytics. He’ll also oversee a 20,000 square foot in-house production studio in Los Angeles.
“That audience is massive. They’re highly engaged — consuming content primarily on digital platforms — but the infrastructure around them hasn’t caught up yet,” Smiley told TheWrap. “It felt like the new frontier and the most exciting place to be in this creator economy, where you can build something that has staying power but that is also hyper relevant to a very specific generation.”
As part of Hartbeat, Smiley helped grow the company into a global studio that included Netflix, Peacock, Audible and SiriusXM among its partners. Smiley also oversaw more than $500 million in production and projects that earned Emmy, Cannes Lion and NAACP Image awards. Prior to Hartbeat, Smiley held an executive role at Columbia Pictures, where he led talent deals with Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and Issa Rae, and he consulted for Fox Digital Studio, 20th Century Fox’s digital arm for early webseries.
“I’ve always spent my career at this intersection of Hollywood and digital-first storytelling, going back to the early Vine days,” Smiley said. “What’s happening now is more of a full convergence of those worlds. Hard Carry Media is designed for this moment exactly.”
Gen Z men are one of the largest digitally native audiences. “They’re watching the majority of their content on YouTube, TikTok, Snap, stream or Twitch,” Smiley said. But despite their prevalence, there are few premium brands that are building content directly for this audience.
“A lot of the existing male-focused digital content is polarizing or commentary heavy. We’re intensely building high-energy, fun, communal formats that feel inclusive, rather than divisive,” Smiley explained. “That’s a big differentiating point for us. We have an opportunity to create brands that feel culturally resonant and commercially scalable at the same time.”
To accomplish this goal, Hard Carry has brought on Full Squad as its first member of its entertainment vertical. The team of four creators has accumulated more than 11 million followers and 260 million monthly views.
Looking ahead, the company plans to partner with both established and emerging creators to debut new formats and franchises on digital before expanding into the FAST, SVOD and audio markets. As for Hard Carry’s brand partners, the company has a longterm deal with Spectrum Cable as well as partnerships with Rockstar Energy Drink, Morgan & Morgan and Monopoly Go!
“It is a thrill to spin out Full Squad into Hard Carry Media behind Bryan’s leadership,” said Andy Miller, chairman of Hard Carry Media. “Full Squad has been pumping out billions of views a year to our loyal fans, and with Bryan and a new round of capital, the time feels right to expand content properties across topics that are important to the GenZ male audience.”
Hard Carry Media will receive strategic support from Hard Carry Gaming, Inc., board members, including Madison Square Garden Sports executive Colin Kelly. The company will announce additional digital brands in 2026.
