Max Gilardi

Max Gilardi
Gilardi in 2014
Born
Max John Gilardi

(1988-01-28) January 28, 1988 (age 38)
Other namehotdiggedydemon
EducationArt Institute of Boston (dropped out)
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2003–present
GenreComedy
Subscribers2.18 million
Views483 million
Last updated: August 5, 2026
Websitehotdiggedydemon.com

Max John Gilardi (/dʒɪˈlɑːrdi/ jil-AR-dee; born January 28, 1988), also known as Max G. or his pseudonym hotdiggedydemon, is an American internet personality, YouTuber, cartoonist, animator, and voice actor. He is best known for his PONY.MOV web series, a gory, adult-oriented parody of the popular children's animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, other viral videos, and his media analysis series known as Brain Dump.

Life and career

Max John Gilardi was born on January 28, 1988. He is of Italian descent and has an older sister. He attended the Art Institute of Boston briefly before dropping out after one of four years in an animation major.

2003–2010: Early career

Gilardi, under the name "hotdiggedydemon", first started creating Flash animations in the mid-2000s on Newgrounds as a teenager. Among shorts, he would experiment in launching his own original cartoon. These early efforts included Adam Android, about a superpowered robot boy, and Spookyville USA, about a town of monsters. In 2007, he began uploading his work to his YouTube channel. That year, he created the Jerry series, a collection of web animations detailing the terrible and mundane life of a man named Jerry, and people related to him.

In 2010, he created the Wacky Game Jokez, 4 Kidz! series, starring a fictional criminal named Mickey the Dick who is kidnapped by a corporation specializing in video-game parody content. In addition to creating animations, Gilardi co-hosted the Wisenheimers podcast with fellow animator Yotam Perel, also known as LazyPillow or LazyMuffin, from 2010 to 2012.[non-primary source needed]

2011–2015: PONY.MOV and parody videos

From 2011 to 2013, Gilardi gained notoriety for releasing his six-part video parody of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, PONY.MOV, an adult animated dark comedy web series in the art style of John Kricfalusi and Spümcø's The Ren & Stimpy Show. The series obtained a spin-off in the form of a Tumblr webcomic, Ask Jappleack, and each video highlights a different character from the main cast of the television series. Gilardi also gained notability for his comedic parodies of video games such as Five Nights at Freddy's, Cuphead, and Animal Crossing, due to their dark nature and subversive themes. The Animal Crossing parody has Isabelle, an innocent character in the game, worshipping Karl Marx.

2016–2022: Brain Dump

The majority of Gilardi's YouTube videos are self-made: written, animated, and voiced by himself. In his more recent projects, he has experimented with 3D animation in conjunction with his 2D work.

On September 2, 2016, Gilardi launched a new YouTube series titled Brain Dump in which he reviews movies and other media, often satirically. The series became the main focus of Gilardi's channel from 2016 to 2022, with an overarching narrative exploring his career and the show's three main characters. Brain Dump stars Gilardi himself, a ghost named Goofball, and a living television named Burnbot.[citation needed][needs update] In 2018, Gilardi released the video THE APU THAT I KNOW - Brain Dump, a 45-minute documentary about The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. It explores the 30-year history of the show and offers a critique of the 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu by Hari Kondabolu.

Personal life

Avatar of Max (relaxed)
Avatar of Max (relaxed)
 Max (relaxed) Twitter
@BrainDumpTweets

JEEEEZ you guys okay fine haha jk just kidding!! Nevermind!! Jk just kidding jk jk!!

Aug 2, 2026

Avatar of Max (relaxed)
Avatar of Max (relaxed)
 Max (relaxed) Twitter
@BrainDumpTweets

Decided I'm not thinking clearly, will reassess

Aug 2, 2026

In November 2022, Gilardi came out as bisexual.: 2:18:45  On May 3, 2024, Gilardi revealed that he had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which had affected the scope of his animated work.

On August 1, 2026, he disclosed he had decided to seek euthanasia in Switzerland, as his fibromyalgia had become more debilitating, along with medical treatment for the condition becoming financially impossible. He also announced that he had developed chronic hypersalivation and tinnitus. On August 2, he stated on X that he was "not thinking clearly" and would reevaluate his choice. On August 4, Gilardi explained that he could no longer go through with his decision as support from fans and friends had made him feel guilty and ashamed, and he did not want to emotionally hurt his audience.

Filmography

Web

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007–2009 Jerry Jason, Junior Creator
2010 Wacky Game Jokez, 4 Kidz! Mickey the Dick, June, Eric, The Boss Creator
2011–2013 PONY.MOV Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, various Creator
2016 Isabelle Ruins Everything Mayor, various Animator
2016–2022 Brain Dump Himself, Goofball, various Creator
2017 A Cuphead Cartoon Cuphead, Mugman Animator

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
TBA Rolus in the Outskirts Cylo Voice [citation needed]

References

  1. 1 2 "Gilardi Animates Jerry's Daily Grind". Cold Hard Flash. June 27, 2007. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lewis, Moe (September 22, 2021). "9 of the Best Animators on YouTube". Collider. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  3. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (June 26, 2012). "Incredibly messed-up short gives My Little Ponys's Pinkie Pie a sex tape". io9. io9. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ Stohs-Krause, Hilary (December 26, 2013). "BEST OF 2013: 'Brony' fandom carves out space for young men to enjoy friendship ... and cartoon ponies". Netnebraska.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "『Cuphead』海外ファンメイドアニメーションが登場―ブラックユーモア満載……". Game*Spark - 国内・海外ゲーム情報サイト (in Japanese). November 20, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ "A Cuphead fan has made his own cartoon". Hypertext. November 20, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Fahey, Mike (January 23, 2016). "Isabelle Has Some Revolutionary Ideas For Running Your Animal Crossing Town". Kotaku. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ Person, Chris (August 19, 2013). "King of the Hill, In Eye-Popping 3D". Kotaku. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Hobbs, Renee (January 7, 2021). Media Literacy in Action: Questioning the Media. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 294. ISBN 9798881849283.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ↑ Chinman, Luke (August 3, 2026). "YouTuber Max Gilardi, 38, Says He's Considering Assisted Dying After Years of Chronic Pain from Fibromyalgia". People.
  11. ↑ Frevele, Jamie (October 15, 2011). "My LIttle Pony NSFW Parody". The Mary Sue. Retrieved August 3, 2026.

Primary sources

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ↑ "Hotdiggedydemon Tumblr". Tumblr. Tumblr. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  2. ↑ Max G [@hotdiggedydemon] (January 29, 2016). "Thanks for all the birthday drawings ..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2016 – via Twitter.
  3. 1 2 "Hotdiggedydemon • Frequently Asked Questions!". Hotdiggedydemon.com. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Wisenheimers by Wisenheimers on iTunes". iTunes. April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ Max G [@hotdiggedydemon] (September 2, 2016). "Please watch my new clickbate / movie review show, BRAIN DUMP! ..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ Max Gilardi [@BrainDumpTweets] (August 2, 2026). "JEEEEZ you guys okay fine haha jk just kidding!! Nevermind!! Jk just kidding jk jk!!" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  7. ↑ Max Gilardi [@BrainDumpTweets] (August 2, 2026). "Decided I'm not thinking clearly, will reassess" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  8. ↑ hotdiggedydemon (November 20, 2023). The ICONIC Minecraft Monday! | RWM. Retrieved March 19, 2026 – via YouTube. wait wait I'm confused are you gay or bisexual" – "I'm bisexual I guess
  9. ↑ SAD announcement, then HAPPY stream | RWM, May 3, 2024, retrieved February 28, 2025
  10. ↑ hotdiggedydemon (August 4, 2026). HAHA YOU KNOW WHAT. Retrieved August 6, 2026 – via YouTube.