# E410 Bryan Smiley: How to Reach a Gen Z Male Audience Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-no-fluke-6406125/e410-bryan-smiley-how-to-reach-a-gen-z-male-audience Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-no-fluke-6406125/e410-bryan-smiley-how-to-reach-a-gen-z-male-audience.md Podcast: [It's No Fluke](https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-no-fluke-6406125) Published: 2026-07-24T15:22:41+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shorty-awards/episodes/E410-Bryan-Smiley-How-to-Reach-a-Gen-Z-Male-Audience-e3mgc3t Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/e1479ff0/podcast/play/123268669/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-24%2F428549488-44100-2-01501856b55f9.m4a Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-no-fluke-6406125/episodes/e410-bryan-smiley-how-to-reach-a-gen-z-male-audience Duration seconds: 2029 ## Resource Bryan Smiley is CEO of Hard Carry Media (HCM), a digital-first media company dedicated to building multi-platform brands and IP specifically for Gen Z men. Under Smiley's leadership, HCM bridges the content gap for this demographic with plans to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally native brands for every stage of Gen Z male life across verticals, including sports, entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle. A veteran Hollywood executive with nearly two decades of experience spanning content development, production, and studio leadership, Smiley has a proven track record of scaling global media powerhouses. At HCM, Smiley oversees a seasoned team responsible for the company’s core offerings in development, sales, audience analytics, and in-house production out of its 20,000 SF studio in Los Angeles. HCM’s flagship entertainment brand, Full Squad, is one of YouTube’s leading variety and social entertainment channels for Gen Z with more than 11 million followers and 260 million monthly views. Prior to HCM, Smiley served as President & Chief Content Officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, where he oversaw more than $500 million in production and helped grow the company into a global studio with hits across TV, film, audio and digital for partners including Netflix, Peacock, Audible, and SiriusXM. Prior to that, he held an executive role at Columbia Pictures, where he led talent-driven deals including Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and a multi-picture pact with Issa Rae. He has also consulted for Fox Digital Studio, 20th Century Fox’s digital arm for early web-first series and films with social influencers. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-no-fluke-6406125/episodes/e410-bryan-smiley-how-to-reach-a-gen-z-male-audience/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-no-fluke-6406125/e410-bryan-smiley-how-to-reach-a-gen-z-male-audience.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.