Mari Takahashi | |
|---|---|
.png) Takahashi in 2021 | |
| Born | Mariko Takahashi |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse | |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Genre | |
| Subscribers | 295 thousand |
| Views | 6.6 million |
| Last updated: May 21, 2025 | |
| Website | www |
Mariko "Mari" Takahashi, also known asAtomicMari, is an American YouTuber, internet personality and entrepreneur. She was a cast member of the YouTube comedy channelSmosh, hosting theSmosh Pit Weekly series on their second channel and becoming an original member of theSmosh Games channel. She departed from Smosh in 2020 and became a co-owner ofSpacestation Gaming in 2021. She also appeared as a contestant on the reality game showSurvivor in 2016.
Mariko Takahashi was born and raised in San Francisco, California and is Japanese-American.[1][2] Her father was an engineer and her mother was a ballerina, with the latter's occupation influencing Takahashi to pursue dancing and ballet in her adolescence.[1] Takahashi also played video games as a child, such asMortal Kombat andStreet Fighter.[1] She worked as a professional ballerina for ten years while working various jobs on the side.[1][3]
In 2010, Takahashi applied for a job with the YouTube comedy channel Smosh, formed byIan Hecox andAnthony Padilla.[1][4] At the time the channel had sought expansion of their content,[4] and according to aLifehacker interview, Takahashi claimed that they called for a Japanese speaker.[5] She first became a host for theirSmosh Pit Weekly series on their secondary channel, which detailed content from their Smosh Pit blog hosted on their individual website.[4] Takahashi initially dealt with negative comments according to Smosh's then-boss Barry Blumberg, with Hecox and Padilla telling her to ignore them.[4] The series initially lasted from 2011 to 2015 for over 200 episodes, before being revived in 2017 with Takahashi hosting once more.[6][7]
Takahashi joined Smosh Games – a collaborative venture between Smosh and members of ClevverGames – in 2012.[8][9] She hosted various series on the channel, includingMariCraft, a Let's Play series where she playedMinecraft with members of the Smosh Games crew.[5][10] She also partook in anAssassin's Creed Origins-based mini-series with member Joshua Ovenshire in 2017.[11] Takahashi has been noted for her transition from working as a ballerina in a female-dominated industry to gaming as a male-dominated industry.[1][12] She was the first female member of Smosh Games,[1] until Ericka "Boze" Bozeman joined in 2017.[9] With Smosh Games, she won twoStreamy Awards, and was listed amongForbes magazine's 2017 "Top Influencers" in Gaming.[12][13]
Outside of Smosh, Takahashi has pursued other ventures. In 2016, Takahashi was a contestant in the 33rd season ofSurvivor –Millennials vs. Gen X.[3][14] In anticipation, she hostedMariCraft: Outsider as aSurvivor-based version of theMariCraft series.[10] Takahashi played for the Millennial tribe, but was the first contestant voted out of her team.[14] After ten years, Takahashi departed from the Smosh brand in early 2020 to focus on her solo career.[15] The same year, she ventured into hosting as a correspondent for gaming websitePolygon'sSpeedrun news series.[3][16] Takahashi became a co-owner of the esports organizationSpacestation Gaming in 2021.[13][15][17] She also worked withLacoste for aMinecraft clothing collection in 2022,[18] and in 2023, she hosted theFailArmy gaming web series50 Vs. 50.[19]
Mari has been in a relationship with photographer Peter Kitch since 2010. They met in January of that year at a rock climbing gym, where Mari had decided to officially take lessons after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro; Peter was her instructor.[‡ 1] They became engaged in April 2017 and kept it a secret for many months. They got married in Japan on April 5th, 2018, in a traditional Japanese ceremony.[‡ 2]
| Year | Work | Role | Note(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | MatPat's Game Lab | Guest | YouTube Original series | [20] |
| 2016 | Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X | Herself | Reality Cast Member | [20] |
| 2016 | Smosh Live! | Choreographer | Livestream | [20] |
| 2017 | Home & Family | Guest | [20] | |
| 2019 | Retro Tech | Guest | YouTube Original series | [20] |
| 2021 | Could You Survive the Movies? | Guest | YouTube Original series | [20] |
| 2025 | Death Battle | Vampire Queen | Episode: "Blade VS Buffy" | [20] |
| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | 2017 | Top Influencers: Gaming | Won | [12] |
| Streamy Awards | 2014 | Gaming | Won (shared with Smosh Games) | [13] |
| Streamy Awards | 2017 | Gaming | Won (shared with Smosh Games) | [13] |
