Derin Emre

Is Derin Emre still in Yes Theory? Did Derin leave Yes Theory? Why did he leave?

No, as of November 2026 Derin Emre is not part of Yes Theory’s cast; he left in 2017. His own site lists Yes Theory as a 2015 to 2017 project, and his filmmaker profile on Shortverse calls him an active member from 2015 to 2017. Yes Theory’s November 1, 2026 video, “we have to leave” - 72 hours in the US town about to disappear, lists the hosts as Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil, Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer. His site gives no reason for leaving; a 2017 Yes Theory farewell video, Why I’m Leaving Yes Theory, gives one, and it is a topic we do not cover. He came back for one episode, Saying Yes to Everything for 24 Hours (Ep.2 Derin’s Comeback), and he has stayed close to the group off camera: he co-wrote Matt Dajer’s 2023 memoir about it, and on his site he writes of the founders, “I love the guys very much and miss them all the time, and couldn’t be prouder of the positivity that came out of it.”

What happened to Derin Emre from Yes Theory? Where is he now?

As of November 2026, Derin Emre is a filmmaker based in Montreal, per Institute of Time, and he makes essay films and video essays rather than YouTube adventures. His own site lists a series of video essays made for CBC since 2024, Those I Couldn’t Keep to Myself, and one of them, I fell in love with a Quebec reality dating show on the CBC Docs channel, was named in Sight and Sound’s poll of the best video essays of 2025, published December 17, 2025, where Scout Tafoya called it “Spritely and openhearted.” His feature-length project I’ve Kept You to Myself, about growing up on 1990s Turkish television and his years as a YouTube creator in Los Angeles, had a 78-minute work-in-progress screening in Istanbul on February 22, 2024, per Sinematograf.

Who are the Yes Theory members? Who founded Yes Theory?

Yes Theory was founded by four friends in Montreal: Derin Emre, Thomas Brag, Ammar Kandil and Matt Dajer, now Matt Dahlia, per McGill News in October 2018. Of the four, Thomas Brag and Ammar Kandil are still hosts as of November 2026, alongside Staffan Taylor and Thomas Dajer, per the credits on Yes Theory’s November 1, 2026 video. Derin Emre left in 2017, and Matt Dajer stepped back from hosting in February 2021 and said goodbye to the group after his book came out in December 2023; the full story of that exit is in his entry.

What did Derin Emre do on Yes Theory? Was he on camera?

Derin Emre was on camera as one of the four members in Yes Theory’s early videos, when the group was still called Generation Y Not. HuffPost Canada reported on December 24, 2015 that the four-member Montreal video troupe had posted a holiday card video with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on December 21, and that a member it named as Derin wanted to keep pulling handshake fakeouts on politicians and celebrities around the world. On his own site he says the videos “can tell much more than I can at this point” about some of the most interesting times of his life, and that he shot his first professional short scenes with his first pay from Yes Theory.

Did Derin Emre write a book with Matt Dajer? What is Talk To Strangers?

Yes, Derin Emre co-wrote Talk To Strangers: The Yes Theory Story with Matt Dajer, who published it as Matt Dahlia on December 3, 2023. The Seek Discomfort store credits the book “by Matt Dahlia & Derin Emre,” and Goodreads describes it as the story of how a 30 new things in 30 days summer project grew into Yes Theory, and of Matt’s decision to leave. On his site, Derin calls it “Definitely not the Yes Theory book I would have written, but I cannot thank Matt enough for bringing me on board to help write his story.”

How old is Derin Emre? What is his real name?

Derin Emre has not published a birthdate, so we do not print an age. Derin Emre is the name he is credited under on his own site, on Talk To Strangers and by McGill News.

Where is Derin Emre from?

Derin Emre is from Istanbul, where he was born and raised, per Institute of Time, and much of his own work is about the city, including an Encyclopedia of Istanbul project and a short film, 1001 Ways To Die In Istanbul, listed on his site. He studied at New York University, met the other Yes Theory founders in Montreal, and as of November 2026 is based in Montreal.

Where can I watch Derin Emre?

Derin Emre’s Yes Theory years, 2015 to 2017, are in the archive on Yes Theory’s YouTube channel, which has about 10.2 million subscribers. His CBC Docs video essay, I fell in love with a Quebec reality dating show, is on YouTube, and his other films and projects are listed with links on his site. The book he co-wrote, Talk To Strangers, is sold through the Seek Discomfort store.

What is Derin Emre’s net worth?

Derin Emre does not publish a number and neither do we.

Is Derin Emre Turkish? Does he have a girlfriend or wife?

Not something we cover.

Who represents Derin Emre?

As of November 2026, no agent or manager is named publicly for Derin Emre; his site lists a personal contact email and no representation. Ames Create does not represent him; we cover him because people searching Yes Theory’s founders want to know what happened to the fourth one, and much of the answer is in his own words. If that changes, this entry will say so.

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