Danny Zappin
Danny Zappin (born 1975) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder of Maker Studios, and the founder, president and CEO of Zealot Networks. 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. 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. Career Internet videos Zappin began creating videos for the Internet in the early 2000s, while working for CrapTV, an early online video streaming website. In mid-2005, he began uploading videos to the then new website YouTube under the name Danny Diamond. Along with several other YouTube content creators, he began signing up online talent to create a digital studio for YouTube. Maker Studios In 2009, Zappin co-founded the YouTube multichannel network and online video producer Maker