Steve Zaragoza | |||||||
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.png) Zaragoza in 2016 | |||||||
| Born | Esteban Zaragoza[1] (1982-06-09)June 9, 1982 (age 42) Oxnard, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | YouTube personality, host, creative producer, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, podcaster | ||||||
| Years active | 2009–present | ||||||
| Employer(s) | The Valleyfolk, Comic-Con HQ,Phil DeFranco Networks & Merchandise (former) | ||||||
| Notable work | SourceFed,The Valleyfolk | ||||||
| Style | Current events, gaming, nerd culture, surrealist | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
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| Subscribers | 107 thousand[2] | ||||||
| Total views | 4.4 million[2] | ||||||
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Last updated: August 30, 2024 | |||||||
Esteban "Steve" Zaragoza (born June 9, 1982) is an American online personality, singer-songwriter, musician and web series host, notable for his work on the current events and news seriesSourceFed. Zaragoza became a host on the series in 2012. The following year, Zaragoza became a host on its spin-off channel,SourceFedNERD. On his personal YouTube channel, Zaragoza frequently combines or crosses betweendark,deadpan,surreal,character, andsketch comedy in a non-sequitur fashion.[3]
Zaragoza's first appearance was in 2008 for a music video byBuckcherry titled "Too Drunk...".[citation needed] Zaragoza received a sound department credit forCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009).[citation needed] In 2011, Zaragoza appeared on an episode of the television series,1000 Ways to Die.[4] Prior to SourceFed, Zaragoza worked as a sound designer atSony.[5]
Making his first appearance on March 1, 2012, Zaragoza joinedSourceFed early on as a recurring host, before developing into a full-time co-host.[6] Zaragoza would become ingrained with the SF community, appearing at live meetups and being interviewed by online publications.[7][8] In February 2013, Zaragoza, along withPhilip DeFranco & hisSourceFed co-hosts at the time,were awarded the Audience ChoiceStreamy Award.[9] In May, Zaragoza became a co-host on the spin-off channel,SourceFedNERD.[10] In August 2013, Zaragoza joined boss Philip DeFranco and co-hostMeg Turney in the meetup event, "DeFranco Loves DatAZ".[11] Zaragoza would appear at VidCon 2014, as well.[12]
In September 2014, Zaragoza co-hosted a video withLee Newton, focusing on charities refusing donations fromReddit following the leaks of celebrities' nude photographs, which Reddit commonly referred to as "The Fappening." According to StatSheep, the SourceFed channel lost over 20,000 subscribers due to the video, which were quickly recovered.[13] Days later, Zaragoza along with the rest of theSourceFed crew were awarded the Streamy for Best News & Current Events series.[14]
Zaragoza starred as the male lead, Paul Schue-Horyn, in the 2020 YouTube miniseriesWayward Guide created by the Tin Can Bros. The series features many notable supporting stars, such asDarren Criss,Sean Astin, andCarlos Valdes.
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Aside from hosting series forPhil DeFranco Networks & Merchandise, Zaragoza has frequently collaborated with YouTube personalityDane Boedigheimer. Zaragoza has been a recurring guest voice actor on Boedigheimer'sAnnoying Orange.[15] Zaragoza also appeared as the lead role onThe Misfortune of Being Ned, and on the pilot episode ofOrange spin-off,The Marshmallow Show.[16][17]PBS Newshour would publish an article commenting on Zaragoza's reception ofTaco Bell's breakfast waffle taco.[18]
In 2014, Zaragoza appeared in SoulPancake'sThe FlipSide series.[19] Zaragoza was also announced to play the role of Iggy DeLacey on the Pemberley Digital andPBS Digital Studios collaborative seriesFrankenstein MD.[20][21] The series is produced byBernie Su who has won Emmy Awards for his previous webseries projects,The Lizzie Bennet Diaries andEmma Approved.[22] Zaragoza's character is based on theIgor character.[22] Due to his role onFrankenstein, MD, Zaragoza appeared atLeakyCon 2014, with co-actress Anna Lore.[23]Frankenstein, MD is an online video adaptation ofMary Shelley'sFrankenstein, and is shot at YouTube Space LA.[24]
Zaragoza was theMC for the NMR! Live event.[25]
Zaragoza also appeared inOscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures portraying Manny, themantis landscaper at the titular hotel.[26]
In 2015, Zaragoza confirmed he would releasing an album titledAnimals. It would feature songs written by various other web personalities, including Chelsea Dunaway, Owen Carter and Andy Kaufman's Ghost.[27] In the same year, Zaragoza hosted a short-lived online revival of the classic game showPassword[28] forYouTube's Official channelBuzzr featuring various web personalities as contestant until 2016.
In 2016, he started to hostMostly Harmless forComicConHQ, as well as launching three podcasts:Cloverfeels with comedian Mike Falzone;Dynamic Banter also with Mike Falzone; andIt Feels Like the First Time with Owen Carter and Brett Register. All of these podcasts are a part of theHeadGum Network.
In 2017, Steve Zaragoza guest starred in theBizaardvark episode "In Your Space" portraying Sore Loser Guy. In that same year, Zaragoza also guest starred inParker Plays.
In 2017, Zaragoza released an Internet series called "Torty Cloud" the first episode being named "Welcome to Torty". The series features Steve Zaragoza and McKenzie Stith acting.
In 2018, Zaragoza co-foundedThe Valleyfolk, a YouTube channel and production company, with fellowSourceFed membersJoe Bereta,Elliott Morgan (former host of the online revival of the classic game showBeat the Clock), andLee Newton.[29] In 2019, the Valleyfolk competed on the short-livedNBC reality comedy competition showBring the Funny hosted byAmanda Seales, winning the show's first season.
