Yes Theory
YouTube travel and adventure group from Montreal, built on the motto Seek Discomfort, whose 30-day summer project in 2015 grew into a 10 million subscriber channel, a clothing brand and books.
YouTube group · 4 creators in the index · Updated Nov 2, 2026
Yes Theory is a YouTube travel and adventure group known for its Seek Discomfort motto and long, documentary style trips to places most viewers have never heard of. It began in Montreal in the summer of 2015 as Project 30, 30 new things in 30 days, made by four friends, Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil, Matt Dajer and Derin Emre, and grew into a YouTube channel with about 10.2 million subscribers, the Seek Discomfort clothing brand and its own books. Two of the four founders have left: Derin Emre in 2017, and Matt Dajer, who stepped back from hosting in February 2021 and said goodbye to the group after his memoir came out in December 2023. As of November 2026, Yes Theory is still together and posting, and its November 1, 2026 episode credits Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil, Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer as hosts. In October 2026 it released The Yes Theory Atlas, a book its store calls “Ten years in a book.”
Yes Theory members
Current and former members, from the creator entries in our index, the host credits on Yes Theory’s own videos and press. Status is as of November 2026.
| Name | Role | Years | Status (November 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Brag | Co-founder and host | 2015 to present | Current. Credited host on the November 1, 2026 episode |
| Ammar Kandil | Co-founder, host and director; directed Project Iceman | 2015 to present | Current. Credited host on the November 1, 2026 episode |
| Staffan Taylor | Host | Since at least March 2024 | Current. Credited host on every credited 2026 episode; named as a co-host in Yes Theory’s March 2024 newsletter |
| Thomas Dajer | Host | Not disclosed | Current. Credited host on every credited 2026 episode |
| Matt Dajer (Matt Dahlia) | Co-founder and host; wrote the newsletter and the memoir | 2015 to 2023 | Left. Stopped hosting February 25, 2021; said goodbye after his book came out in December 2023 |
| Derin Emre | Co-founder; on camera in the early videos | 2015 to 2017 | Left in 2017; came back for a later episode and co-wrote Matt’s memoir |
Yes Theory also has an off-camera team of editors and producers whose names it does not publish as members; we list the people the channel credits as hosts and the four founders. Sources: McGill News (October 2018), Tubefilter (September 2020, December 2023), Yes Theory’s community newsletter (March 2024) and video descriptions read for the creator entries in our index.
Yes Theory books, brands and projects
What Yes Theory sells and has made besides the main channel, from its own store and trade press.
| Project | What it is | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seek Discomfort | Clothing line and second YouTube channel | 2018 | T-shirts and caps at first, per McGill News; the channel has about 895,000 subscribers |
| The Yes Theory Podcast | Weekly podcast with Cadence13 and Headspace Studios | September 2020 | First hosted by Thomas Brag, Matt Dajer and Ammar Kandil, per Tubefilter |
| Talk To Strangers: The Yes Theory Story | Memoir by Matt Dahlia and Derin Emre, published by Yes Theory LLC | December 3, 2023 | 216 pages, sold through the Seek Discomfort store |
| Project Iceman | Feature documentary directed by Ammar Kandil | Free on YouTube December 22, 2023 | Follows Anders Hofman’s long-distance triathlon in Antarctica; Yes Theory turned down a $1.25 million offer for it, per Tubefilter |
| Fan of a Fan | Merch fulfillment and creator services company co-founded by Yes Theory | Fulfillment assets sold May 2025 | Sold to Selery in what a press release called a multi-million dollar asset sale, per Tubefilter |
| The Yes Theory Atlas | Book marking the channel’s first ten years | October 2026 | Hardcover and ebook; second printing shipping late November 2026, per Seek Discomfort |
Timeline
- Jul 2015Thomas Brag and three friends run Project 30 in Montreal, 30 new things in 30 days, and CBC News reports on July 22 that one episode drew more than 100,000 views in 24 hours.
- Dec 21, 2015Still known as Generation Y Not, the four post WE GOT OUR HOLIDAY CARD WITH PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA JUSTIN TRUDEAU, per HuffPost Canada.
- 2017Derin Emre leaves Yes Theory; his own site dates his time with the group to 2015 through 2017.
- 2018Yes Theory launches its Seek Discomfort clothing line, per McGill News and the group’s newsletter, which marked five years of Seek Discomfort in July 2023.
- Sep 2018Will Smith marks his 50th birthday with a helicopter bungee jump over the Grand Canyon, answering a Yes Theory challenge, and the video passes nearly 6 million views in under 24 hours, per Tubefilter.
- Oct 2018A viral photo of Justin Bieber eating a burrito sideways turns out to be a Yes Theory prank with a lookalike, which the group admits in a video, per Complex.
- Sep 7, 2020The Yes Theory Podcast launches with Cadence13 and Headspace Studios, hosted by Thomas Brag, Matt Dajer and Ammar Kandil, when the channel had 5.78 million subscribers, per Tubefilter.
- Feb 25, 2021Matt Dajer steps away from hosting after five and a half years, in I’m Leaving YouTube.
- Oct 30, 2023Yes Theory posts a new chapter (Matt Leaving Yes Theory), Matt Dajer’s farewell to the group.
- Dec 3, 2023Talk To Strangers: The Yes Theory Story, by Matt Dahlia and Derin Emre, is released, per the Seek Discomfort store; Yes Theory’s newsletter says Matt then “officially said goodbye to Yes Theory.”
- Dec 22, 2023Project Iceman, directed by Ammar Kandil, goes free on YouTube after a festival run and a turned-down $1.25 million offer, per Tubefilter.
- Mar 2024Yes Theory opens a Yes Hostel in Amsterdam for 72 strangers, with Staffan as co-host, per its newsletter of March 13.
- Mar 2025Ammar Kandil drives an Andretti Formula E car in the Evo Sessions in Miami, per Andretti Global.
- May 6, 2025Fan of a Fan, the merch company Yes Theory co-founded, sells its fulfillment assets to Selery, per Tubefilter.
- Oct 11, 2026Yes Theory releases our secret project is finally out, announcing The Yes Theory Atlas, sold through Seek Discomfort.
- Nov 1, 2026Yes Theory posts “we have to leave” - 72 hours in the US town about to disappear, credited to hosts Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil, Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer.
Questions people ask
Who is in Yes Theory now? Who is still in Yes Theory in 2026?
As of November 2026, Yes Theory’s credited hosts are co-founders Thomas Brag and Ammar Kandil, with Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer, per the description of its November 1, 2026 episode; every credited episode of 2026 carries the same four names. Thomas and Ammar are the two founders who never left. The other two founders, Matt Dajer and Derin Emre, are no longer part of the group. Behind the camera Yes Theory has a team of editors and producers, but it presents these four as the hosts.
Who left Yes Theory, and why? Why did everyone leave Yes Theory?
Two of Yes Theory’s four founders have left as of November 2026, not everyone. Derin Emre left in 2017, per his own site; the channel posted Why I’m Leaving Yes Theory that year, and the reason given there is not something we cover. He came back for SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING FOR 24 HOURS (Ep.2 Derin’s Comeback) and later co-wrote Matt’s memoir, and he writes of the founders, “I love the guys very much and miss them all the time.” Matt Dajer stopped hosting on February 25, 2021 and said goodbye to the group after his book came out in December 2023. Neither has described a falling out, and we found no report of one in a major outlet.
Why did Matt leave Yes Theory? When did Matt leave?
Matt Dajer, now Matt Dahlia, left Yes Theory in two steps, stepping away from hosting in February 2021 and saying goodbye to the group in late 2023. On February 25, 2021, Yes Theory posted I’m Leaving YouTube, saying that after five and a half years as a host he had decided to step away from the channel; on October 30, 2023 it posted a new chapter (Matt Leaving Yes Theory). His Substack About page says that in 2023 he published his first book and “left those businesses to go on my Eat, Pray, Love journey.” As of November 2026 he writes full time from Barcelona; the full story is on our Matt Dajer entry.
When did Yes Theory start? Who founded Yes Theory, and how did they meet?
Yes Theory started in Montreal in the summer of 2015 with Project 30, a series in which Thomas Brag and three friends tried 30 new things in 30 days, posting a video each day, per CBC News and the group’s own newsletter. McGill News reported in 2018 that Matt Dajer and Thomas Brag, both McGill graduates, were working in bars and felt their lives had become routine when they met “their future Yes Theory partners Ammar Kandil and Derin Emre.” Late in 2015 the four were still called Generation Y Not, per HuffPost Canada. The YouTube account itself dates to January 13, 2014, per its About page.
Is Yes Theory still together? Did Yes Theory split up, disband or fall off?
Yes, as of November 2026 Yes Theory is still together and posting long travel episodes, the latest on November 1, 2026; it has not split up or disbanded. The channel has grown rather than shrunk: 5.78 million subscribers in September 2020, per Tubefilter, about 8.6 million in December 2023, per Tubefilter, and about 10.2 million on YouTube in November 2026. Recent videos such as 50 hours in a Secret Russian town in America had about 9 million views within two weeks. What changed is the cast, with two founders gone and two newer hosts. The moment people ask about for Ammar Kandil is a 2020 car crash he survived, per Dexerto; he is still a host.
Who is Staffan in Yes Theory? When did Staffan Taylor join Yes Theory?
Staffan Taylor is one of Yes Theory’s four credited hosts as of November 2026, named on every credited episode of 2026. Yes Theory has not announced a join date we could find; the earliest record we have is its March 13, 2024 newsletter, which names him as co-host of a Yes Hostel event that brought 72 strangers to Amsterdam. On December 14, 2024, the Swedish broadcaster TV4 reported on his trip to Australia with a 102-year-old woman he met while living at a care home in San Francisco, a journey Yes Theory filmed; he told TV4, “Det är aldrig för sent att drömma” (it is never too late to dream). He has no entry in our index yet.
Who owns Yes Theory? Is Yes Theory owned by private equity?
As of November 2026, Yes Theory has not published who owns it or in what shares, and we found no report in an accepted outlet of a private equity firm or outside investor buying into Yes Theory itself. Its books are published by Yes Theory LLC, per the Seek Discomfort store. Its merch company, Fan of a Fan, was co-founded with Zack Honarvar and CEO Ryan Westberg, who told Tubefilter in May 2025 it had “No funding rounds”; that company sold its fulfillment assets to Selery, not Yes Theory itself.
How does Yes Theory make money? How is Yes Theory funded?
Yes Theory makes money from YouTube, brand partnerships, its Seek Discomfort clothing and its books, per its own channel and store. Its YouTube About page lists a brand partnerships contact, and Seek Discomfort sells tees, hoodies, hats, jewelry and books including The Yes Theory Atlas. Early on, a California studio, Vertical Networks, invited the group to Venice Beach to host a show on Snapchat Discover, which brought its first 200,000 subscribers, per McGill News. For Project Iceman it turned down a $1.25 million offer from Hollywood firms and used backers from 72 countries to fund post-production, per Tubefilter.
What is the Yes Theory book? What is The Yes Theory Atlas?
Yes Theory has two books on the record as of November 2026. Talk To Strangers: The Yes Theory Story, by Matt Dahlia (Matt Dajer) and Derin Emre, came out on December 3, 2023, a 216-page memoir the store describes as the story of a small group of friends who suddenly had millions of strangers watching, per the Seek Discomfort store. The Yes Theory Atlas, announced in our secret project is finally out on October 11, 2026, is billed as “Ten years in a book,” and Seek Discomfort says its second printing ships in late November 2026, in hardcover and as an ebook. The store also sells SPARK by Seek Discomfort, in its second edition.
Where is Yes Theory based? Why did Yes Theory leave America?
Yes Theory began in Montreal in 2015 and moved to Venice Beach, California, when Vertical Networks invited the group to host a Snapchat Discover show, per McGill News. As of November 2026 its YouTube channel lists its country as the United States, and the Seek Discomfort channel gives a Venice, California mailing address. We found no announcement that Yes Theory has left America: 2026 episodes were filmed in Pakistan, Japan, the Amazon, Italy and Germany, and three of its four most recent travel episodes were filmed in the United States, including the November 1 episode, “we have to leave” - 72 hours in the US town about to disappear, whose title is about the town, not the group.
Is Yes Theory fake? What is the Yes Theory controversy?
The best known staged Yes Theory moment is a prank it admitted: in October 2018 a viral photo of Justin Bieber eating a burrito sideways turned out to be a Yes Theory lookalike stunt, and the group posted a video owning up to it, per Complex. As of November 2026, we found no report in an accepted outlet that its travel episodes are staged, and no other controversy covered by a major outlet. Its biggest stunts are on the record: Will Smith did bungee jump over the Grand Canyon for his 50th birthday after Yes Theory challenged him, per Tubefilter.
How old are the Yes Theory members, and where are they from?
Yes Theory’s founders are in their early thirties as of November 2026, per Famous Birthdays. Matt Dajer is 34, born March 28, 1992 in New York City and raised in Paris; Thomas Brag is 33, born July 9, 1993 in Paris; and Ammar Kandil is 32, born April 28, 1994 in Sadat City, Egypt. Derin Emre is from Istanbul and has not published a birthdate. Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer have not published birthdates in a source we accept, so we print no age for them.
What is Yes Theory’s net worth? What are the members worth?
Yes Theory does not publish a number and neither do we.
Is Yes Theory Swedish or Canadian? Is Yes Theory Christian? Is Yes Theory pro Israel, or does it support Palestine? Are the members married, and who are their girlfriends?
Not something we cover.
Our read
Ames Create does not work with Yes Theory. This is our view, from a team that works on creator brands for a living.
The format. Yes Theory is a travel documentary made like a dare: a strange place, a question nobody has answered on camera, and a small crew that shows up to meet the people who live there, usually over 24 to 72 hours. It started as 30 one-minute challenges in a Montreal apartment and grew into hour-long episodes and a feature film, with the Seek Discomfort motto on every shirt.
Why it travels. The titles carry the hook, a forgotten town, a remote island, a man living alone in the Amazon, and the answer comes from strangers on camera. The audience followed the idea rather than any one face: the channel kept growing after two founders left, from about 8.6 million subscribers in late 2023 to about 10.2 million in November 2026.
Brand fit. Travel, eSIM, VPN, outdoor gear and books fit the audience, and the channel lists its own partnerships contact. Yes Theory has shown it will turn down money that does not fit, as with the $1.25 million Project Iceman offer, so a brand should expect the group to keep creative control.
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Sources: Yes Theory on YouTube and its About page, Seek Discomfort and the Yes Theory Podcast; videos WE GOT OUR HOLIDAY CARD WITH PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Why I’m Leaving Yes Theory, SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING FOR 24 HOURS (Ep.2 Derin’s Comeback), I’m Leaving YouTube, a new chapter, our secret project is finally out, 50 hours in a Secret Russian town in America and the November 1, 2026 episode; Seek Discomfort store and Talk To Strangers; Yes Theory’s community newsletter of July 2023 and March 2024; CBC News, July 22, 2015; HuffPost Canada, December 24, 2015; McGill News, October 2018; Tubefilter on Will Smith, September 2018, the podcast, September 2020, Project Iceman, December 2023 and Fan of a Fan, May 2025; Complex, October 2018; Dexerto, September 2020; Andretti Global, February 2025; TV4, December 14, 2024; Matt Dahlia’s Substack; Derin Emre’s site. Subscriber and view counts read from YouTube, November 2, 2026.
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