Zane Hijazi And Heath Hussar’s Podcast Sold $600,000 Worth Of Ads In 3 Months

Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar’s podcast is off to a roaring start.

The two Viners-turned-‘Vlog Squad’ members launched a joint audio venture dubbed Zane and Heath: Unfiltered last September, and the duo works with podcast network HiStudios on distribution and ad sales. HiStudios says that it has sold $590,000 worth of ads in three months against Unfiltered, which is released on traditional podcast platforms as well as YouTube, Business Insider reports.

Hijazi and Hussar told Business Insider that while they haven’t generated much income from YouTube ad revenues on their individual channels, the podcast — where they share stories about their lives and the inner workings of the Vlog Squad — has marked something of a windfall. This is partially because marketers — including partners like HelloFresh, Dollar Shave Club, and Away — pay good money for host-read ads, and their YouTube content isn’t always traditionally brand-friendly.

“We don’t stick to the script,” Hussar told Business Insider of the duo’s ad reads. “We try the product out, and that way we’re familiar with it and we can speak from experience when we’re promoting it.”

HiStudios spun off of podcast firm Himalaya in August to focus on podcasts helmed by athletes and influencers. It collaborates with multi-channel network Studio71.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in subscribers,” Hijazi said of the duo’s YouTube channel dedicated to Unfiltered, which counts 490,000 subscribers. “Audio people love listening to the podcast, and our joint channel has grown really fast compared to our own channels in the beginning.”

You can check out the most episode of Unfiltered right here: