Arin Joseph Hanson (born January 6, 1987), also known as Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well known for creating Flash cartoons and for being a co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Play series Game Grumps.
Hanson has made many short videos and web series on Newgrounds and YouTube, including The Awesome Series, which copies the style of video game franchises like Pokémon and Metal Gear, and Sequelitis, a series of animated videos where he humorously compares a video game with one of its sequels. He has also done voice acting for television and video games. He often works with Ninja Sex Party, a musical comedy group made up of Game Grumps co-host Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht. Together, they formed the nerdcore and parody musical group Starbomb.
Early life
Arin Hanson was born on January 6, 1987, in Margate, Florida, to Lloyd and Maurette Hanson. For a short time, his family lived in New Hampshire, but he mostly grew up in Florida. From a young age, he showed an interest in art and tried working with stop motion animation. His mother took him out of high school after the first day of his sophomore year. Instead, he completed a GED.
Career
Hanson joined Newgrounds using the name "Egoraptor" on September 16, 2001. He posted his first animation on DeviantArt titled "Final Fantasy 7 Flash Spoof" on September 18, 2004. He uploaded his first "Awesome" animation, "Metal Gear Awesome," to Newgrounds on February 23, 2006. Hanson later created other comedic animations and four animated webseries, which he later shared on YouTube. These included "Awesome," short parodies of video games; "Lemon 'n Bill," a series about a human-like bullet and lemon trapped in video game worlds; and "Girlchan in Paradise," a parody of shōnen anime. After MTV producers saw "Metal Gear Awesome," they invited Hanson to create animated shorts for MTV's online gaming show, The G-Hole.
Hanson continued making animations during the early 2010s with "Sequelitis," a series where he compared video games and their sequels. A fourth and final episode of the series was released in 2014.
In 2006, Hanson was the only voice actor in the animated short "J.I.M." on Newgrounds, created by Lee McGuire. That same year, he was cast as Bruce Banner in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. However, his voice was not used in the final version, though it appeared in the Wii port. His voice was later included in the 2016 re-release of the game.
In 2009, Hanson voiced John Gore in the game Minigore and reprised the role in the 2011 remake of Death Rally. In 2012, he provided his voice for Detective Grimoire, a Kickstarter-funded project launched on August 3, 2012. He also voiced characters in Hex Heroes, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Target Acquired, Red vs. Blue, Cyanide & Happiness, and Rick and Morty.
From 2016 to 2018, Hanson was a regular on Mighty Magiswords, a Cartoon Network show, where he voiced Gateaux, a character with one-syllable lines. He also voiced other recurring characters. The show's creator, Kyle Carrozza, initially asked Hanson to design characters but was unaware of Hanson's SAG-AFTRA membership until Hanson informed him, leading to his casting.
In 2016, Hanson became an announcer in Move or Die. He also voiced characters in The Owl House, including Snaggleback and The Titan.
In July 2012, Hanson and Jon Jafari (of the comedy webseries JonTron) created a YouTube channel called Game Grumps. In late 2013, Dan Avidan of Ninja Sex Party replaced Jafari when Jafari left to focus on his own channel. On Game Grumps, Hanson and Avidan play video games and discuss them in a comedic way. They also appeared on spin-off shows like Steam Train and GrumpCade, as well as 10 Minute Power Hour.
The popularity of Game Grumps led to live performances at the Hollywood Improv in 2016. These events expanded to New York, other East Coast cities, and eventually toured internationally.
In 2008, Hanson worked with Ross O'Donovan on the animated webseries Gamer Tonight, where he voiced the host. The show was broadcast on the Australian TV program Good Game. He also voiced a character in asdfmovie4 in 2011.
In February 2012, Hanson appeared on the Sony game show The Tester as a contestant. He admitted he joined to challenge a former bully and behaved in a way he described as "trolling" the show until he was reprimanded. He later said he would not do it again. He won the dance competition web series Dance Showdown with professional dancer Maxine Hupy. He also narrated episodes of Did You Know Gaming? and appeared in videos on ScrewAttack, including a collaboration with James Rolfe and Keith Apicary.
In May 2022, Hanson fought against Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time in a boxing match during the charity event Creator Clash, hosted by iDubbbz.
In 2013, Hanson performed the intro and outro for Gammer's mix on Clubland X-Treme Hardcore 9. That same year, he formed the band Starbomb with Game Grumps co-host Dan Avidan and musician Brian Wecht. Their first album, Starbomb, was released in December 2013 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Comedy Charts. A second album, Player Select, was released in December 2014. In 2016, Hanson performed with Starbomb at SXSW.
On April 15, 2014, the rap song "Fat Refund" was released on StamperTV, a collaboration involving Rice Pirate, Marc M., Stamper, and Hanson.
Hanson also provided spoken vocals for songs by the band Tupper Ware Remix Party. Starbomb released their third album, The TryForce, on April 19, 2019. Their fourth album, Starbomb Boom: Rise of Lyrics, was released on October 25, 2024.
In 2013, Hanson appeared on the webseries Hot Pepper Gaming, reviewing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate after eating a habanero pepper. He returned in 2014 to review Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes while eating a Bhut jolokia pepper and again in 2015 to review Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain while consuming Sichuan peppers.
Hanson also starred alongside Avidan in Good Game, a YouTube Original Series, and served as an executive producer.
In January 2018, Hanson and Game Grumps manager Brent Lilley co-founded Real Good Touring, a company that organizes tours for internet personalities and performers.
Hanson's channel name "Egoraptor" was included as a cheat code in the 2019 game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, along with other YouTube personalities.
In March 2020, Hanson released his first novel, Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau, under the pen name "Dr. Cecil H. H. Mills." Hanson described the name as being his uncle, though it was clearly a fictional character he portrayed in interviews and advertisements.
Personal life
Hanson met his wife, Suzanne "Suzy" Berhow (born July 3, 1989), at a convention in 2002. The two began dating a few years later. In 2011, Hanson proposed to Berhow, and they married on October 25, 2013, at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Berhow uses the online name Mortem3r and has a gaming channel called KittyKatGaming, where Hanson often appears.
In July 2009, Hanson moved from his parents' home in West Palm Beach, Florida, to California. He previously lived with Berhow in Glendale, California.
In a video on Hanson's and Avidan's YouTube channel The Grumps, the two briefly discussed how Hanson shared with his mother that he might be bisexual. He has since openly stated he is bisexual on several occasions.
Filmography
Hanson recorded his lines for the original version released in 2006. Although he was replaced by Robin Atkin Downes in the final version, his lines were used in the 2016 re-release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Discography
Albums and Songs with Release Years
- Starbomb – Released in 2013
- Player Select – Released in 2014
- The TryForce – Released in 2019
- Starbomb Boom: Rise of Lyrics – Released in 2024
- Ninja Sex Party – "Dinosaur Laser Fight" (2011)
- Clubland X-Treme Hardcore 9: Disc 3, Part 2 – "Intro & Outro" (Mixed by Gammer, 2013)
- Geezy – "Hashtag" (2013)
- StamperTV – "FAT REFUND" (2014)
- Ninja Sex Party – "6969" (2015)
- Tupper Ware Remix Party – "Groove Crusaders" (2016)
- Tupper Ware Remix Party – "Atomic Karate" (2017)
- Tupper Ware Remix Party – "Phantom Racer" (2018)