Danny Zappin

Early life and education

Zappin was born in Columbus, Ohio. His mother ran a Christian heavy-metal record label. His brother is hip hop artist John Reuben. He spent a few quarters at Ohio State University before moving to Florida. In the mid-1990s, he moved to New York, and then to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. He had a small role in the 1999 Spike Lee film Summer of Sam. At some point in 2000, Zapplin was convicted of a felony drug possession charge.

Online video beginnings

Zappin began creating videos for the Internet in the early 2000s, while working for CrapTV, an early online video streaming website. Surfing the Web in mid-2005, he happened upon YouTube, which was then just months old. Zappin was struck by the large number of actors and creators trying to break through on the site, and the fact that anyone could upload videos without needing to go through a Hollywood-like system. He began uploading videos himself, under the name Danny Diamond, and quickly gained a following. Along with several other YouTube content creators, he came up with the idea to sign online talent and create a digital studio for YouTube.

Maker Studios

In 2009, Zappin co-founded the YouTube multichannel network and online video producer Maker Studios, serving as its CEO until his resignation in April 2013. Founded in Venice, California, Maker was one of the first content providers on YouTube to reach 1 million views. By the end of 2012, Maker was one of the top five networks on YouTube, with over 2 billion views per month, according to comScore. The idea behind Maker was to create a new type of studio model, a collaborative, creator-friendly multichannel network helping to boost views and better monetize online short-form content. Zappin is considered to be one of the first to recognize the platform's potential for new types of content and talent.

Zappin's legal immigration history came up in the midst of a 2012 dispute between Maker Studios and YouTube celebrity Ray William Johnson over the terms of a new contract. In 2001, Zappin was convicted of felony drug possession for smuggling Ecstasy. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and released to home confinement in 2004.

In June 2013, two months after his resignation, Zappin sued Maker Studios' partners and investors, alleging there was a conspiracy to oust him from the board. Along with three other former Maker executives, he sued Maker for a second time in April 2014, to block a shareholder vote on the acquisition of the company by the Walt Disney Company, shortly after the studio agreed to purchase Maker in a deal worth up to $950 million. The lawsuit was rejected by a California judge and the sale went through. Zappin earned $25 million in the sale.

On October 17, 2013, Zappin announced that he had acquired digital entertainment news website NewMediaRockstars, intending to broaden its coverage of new media.

Zealot Networks

In the summer of 2014, Zappin raised $25 million from former and current Maker employees, talent and executives, along with his own money, to form Zealot Networks. In an August 2014 press release, Zappin announced the launch of his new digital media company, "a digital-first media company and growth accelerator." By the end of the year, Zealot had raised additional capital from UK broadcaster ITV, the largest commercial television network in the UK. Zealot is based in Venice, California, with Zappin serving as the company's president and CEO.

Zappin has stated that the company is a continuation of his work with content creators at multi-channel network Maker Studios. Rather than focusing solely on YouTube talent, Zealot is a multi-company network, made up of a variety of interconnected digital media companies with different areas of expertise working together in an effort to accelerate their collective growth.

By May 2015, Zealot had acquired 13 companies, including talent management firm Converge Media Group, content-licensing company AudioMicro, and three advertising agencies. After the acquisition of three Nashville-based companies, Zealot expanded with a new division in Nashville, Tennessee.