TheRunawayGuys

The Runaway Guys, often abbreviated as TRG, were a collaborative group of Let's Players on YouTube, comprising Proton Jon, NintendoCapriSun, and Chuggaaconroy. Chugga was in charge of maintaining the channel, although Jon has made posts and comments for the channel as well. They had special guests for many of their projects, with guest collaborators MasaeAnela and Tom Fawkes being considered the 'co-producers' of the channel.
For the first two years, updates usually only occurred every Saturday, but this was changed to Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday following an announcement on February 8, 2013. Videos for Mario Party games (starting with the third) and Fortune Street are also posted daily (each board beginning on Saturday and continuing every day until its end). Since the creation of the channel in 2011, 46 main collab LPs have been produced, along with five side collab LPs and six tournament LPs. They have 487 thousand subscribers and 397 total video views as of 2023.
At PAX East 2012, the group established a video game trivia and challenge show that would go on to become Thrown Controllers, which has grown into a hugely popular show, appearing in the United States and Canada at several conventions. In May of 2018, The Runaway Guys Colosseum was live streamed as a weekend long event to raise money for Direct Relief. This was followed up in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. All of them once again in benefit of Direct Relief. To date, The Runaway Guys Colosseum has raised over $1,000,000.
As of February 2024, the group's main projects are on indefinite hiatus due to controversies surrounding Chuggaaconroy that made it nigh on impossible to move forward with him involved in any capacity; however, Jon has confirmed that Thrown Controllers and Colosseum will continue under different branding.
==History==
The Runaway Guys was launched by Proton Jon, NintendoCapriSun, and Chuggaaconroy, and their first Let's Play, Mario Party, premiered on February 5, 2011. The three of them were the only ones participating, but many of their later videos have featured additional players. Chugga is in charge of maintaining the channel, although Jon has made posts and comments for the channel as well. They have had special guests for many of their projects, with guest collaborators MasaeAnela and Tom Fawkes being considered the 'co-producers' of the channel.
Along with their official long-running LPs, they have done one-shot filler LPs (labeled "The Runaway Gaiden"), tournaments featuring multitudes of guest players, and side collab projects that they gradually update and use as filler between regular projects.
On occasion at various conventions, the Runaway Guys have their own panel, called Thrown Controllers, a live game show which focuses on video game trivia and challenges. The event has been broadcast on numerous gaming conventions such as PAX, Magfest and Momocon. In its debut at PAX East 2012, two teams took turns answering questions and playing video game challenges, either against each other, solo, or against members of the audience. At PAX Prime 2012, they retooled the game into a single-person quiz show with challenges, similar to the initial concept except for one person at a time, and this is how it has been done since. Many prizes are awarded at these panels, ranging from character pins from Fangamer to (as a grand prize) an actual video game console, such as a Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, or Nintendo Switch.
In May of 2018, The Runaway Guys Colosseum was live streamed as a weekend long event to raise money for Direct Relief. This was followed up in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. All of them once again in benefit of Direct Relief. The Runaway Guys Colosseum is a weekend long event that is live streamed every year to raise money for Direct Relief to aid people around the world through crisis and hardships. Combining video games, music, art, and comedy, The Runaway Guys and friends go all out to raise money for charity. Be it comedic stream bumpers, video game modifier donation incentives, catching a rocking concert, or chilling out with some relaxing art time, there is something for everybody to watch and enjoy during the event. With the combined efforts of the community, event staff, and the performers, a total over $1,000,000 has been raised since the inception of the event.
As of February 2024, the group is now on indefinite hiatus due to controversies surrounding Emile that made it nigh-impossible to move forward with him involved in any capacity; however, Jon confirmed that Thrown Controllers and Colosseum would continue under different branding. Later in March, that year's Colosseum was confirmed to be happening in May, now rebranded as Thrown Controllers Colosseum. Following the release of Emile's response in April 2024 and his return to content creation in July 2024, Jon said that he and Tim are leaving things up to Emile.
==Main Members==
===Chuggaaconroy===
The first of the main three Runaway Guys, Chuggaaconroy is usually the best or at least better players of whatever game the group is playing. He is the loudest and most energetic of the three main guys. He also tries to annoy Proton Jon as much as possible and allow for situations where the viewers can laugh at the group's collective suffering.
In the Mario Parties (up to Mario Party 4), he played Donkey Kong. In Mario Party 5, he switched to Daisy. In Mario Party 7, he switched again to Toad. In Super Smash Bros, he played Ness. In Mario Kart 64, he played Wario. In the New Super Mario Bros. series, he played Mario, but switched to Yellow Toad in New Super Luigi U. In Kirby's Return to Dreamland, he played Kirby. In Fortune Street, he played Bowser Jr. for the first three boards, then switched back to Donkey Kong starting from Slimenia. In the Tournament Arc of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he played Lucas. In Mario Power Tennis, he played Bowser Jr. In Mario Kart: Double Dash, he played Toad on Team Streetpassers with Masae Anela. In the Rayman series, he played Rayman. In Castle Crashers, he played Red Knight. In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, he played Red Link. In Secret of Mana he played the Boy. In 100% Orange Juice!, initially he played as QP, but later switched to Sumika.
===NintendoCapriSun===
The second of the main three Runaway Guys, NintendoCapriSun (also just "NCS" or "Tim") is the quietest and nicest of the three. This usually means Chugga and Jon will beat him, though he's not by any means bad at games.
In the Mario Parties, Mario Kart 64 and Fortune Street, he played Yoshi. In the New Super Mario Bros.series, he played Luigi. In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, he played King Dedede. In Super Smash Bros, he initially played Yoshi in his match against Chugga, then switched to Fox for the remainder of the video. In the Tournament Arc of Super Smash Bros Brawl, he played Diddy Kong. In Mario Power Tennis, he played Yoshi. In the Rayman series, he played a Teensie. In Castle Crashers, he played Green Knight. In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, he played Green Link. In Secret of Mana he played the Sprite. In 100% Orange Juice!, he plays as Suguri.
===Proton Jon===
The third of the three main Runaway Guys, Proton Jon is also a great player, but is usually messed up by the game or Chugga. Tends to act like he's surrounded by idiots.
In Mario Party 1, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 2, and Super Smash Bros. 64, he played Mario. In the New Super Mario Bros series, he played Blue Toad. In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, he primarily played as Meta Knight. In Fortune Street and all Mario Party titles starting from 3, he played Waluigi (or Rosalina in games where she is available). In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he played Ike. In Mario Power Tennis, he played Luigi. In the Rayman series, he played Globox. In Castle Crashers, he played Blue Knight. In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, he played Blue Link. In Secret of Mana he played the Girl . In 100% Orange Juice!, he played as Kyousuke before switching to Sora (Military).
==Guest Members and Tournament Participants==
===Co-Producers===
During The Runaway Guys Colosseum 2019, Emille bet the channel with their two guest stars. Following the loss of the bet and the beginning of Mario Party 8, these two were considered the 'co-producers' of the channel.
*MasaeAnela
*Tom Fawkes
===Guests===
*Adrisaurus
*AttackingTucans
*Chatia12
*Dan Settembrini
*Donnabellez
*FamilyJules
*FireLordBrooke
*Insaneintherainmusic
*JoshJepson
*Jyggy
*Lucahjin
*Mal Georg
*Marriland
*MasaeAnela
*Sab Irene
*Stephen Georg
*SuperJeenius
*SuperMCGamer
*The8BitDrummer
*Tom Fawkes
*ToxicxEternity
===Tournament Participants===
*Yoshiller
*The Completionist (Formerly)
*Aloyalgamer
*SKArmedageddon
*DiabetusSA
*JonPaula
*cloudfangLP
*PurpleRodri
*AttackingTucans
*pcull44444
*WiiLikeToPlay
*SomeCallMeJohnny
== Controversies ==
=== The Completionist ===
Following the death of his mother in 2013 from frontotemporal dementia, Jirard organized the annual livestream charity event IndieLand under the Open Hand Foundation, a charity founded by his father Charles Khalil. The event showcases various indie games along with interviews with developers and guest appearances from gaming personalities, with the intent to raise funds for dementia research.
In November 2023, YouTubers Karl Jobst and Mutahar "SomeOrdinaryGamers" Anas uploaded videos revealing Form 990-PF records which showed that the Open Hand Foundation had not made any charity contributions since its inception in 2014, accumulating $655,520 in unspent assets by the end of 2022 despite recording tens of thousands in administrative expenses. In a call with the two YouTubers, Jirard said he did not discover that the funds had not been donated until 2022, and was currently seeking an appropriate charity, still not having yet donated any funds. However, Jobst highlighted that the foundation's website lists the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as a recipient of research funding. During IndieLand events, Jirard had said the Open Hand Foundation was donating to UCSF, the Alzheimer's Association, and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and also asserted that the Open Hand Foundation was one of the "main funding support partners" of UCSF.
Jirard uploaded a response video about the situation on December 9, 2023, in which he acknowledged that the funds had not been donated, apologized for making "statements potentially implying donations were made when they had not yet been", and announced his resignation as a board member of the Open Hand Foundation. Five days earlier, on December 4, 2023, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration announced it had received a donation of $600,000 on November 29. Ever since this controversy, many fans lost interest in him, resulting in his channel losing many subscribers, and his views on his recent videos not reaching the same watches as his older videos. In January 2024, Super Beard Bros. co-hosts Alex Faciane and Brett Bayonne announced that the channel would be separating from Jirard, and that they would be shifting to independent funding going forward.
=== Chuggaaconroy ===
In January 2024, Emile was accused of online misconduct involving uncomfortable behavior on his part mostly revolving around discussion of shoes. The earliest incident took place in 2010, with the rest scattered all the way until the latest in 2023. Those misconduct allegations started after video essayist Lady Emily said that Emile had persistently attempted to initiate erotic foot fetish roleplay with her, although it was later revealed that Emily never communicated with him that he'd said anything that made her uncomfortable.https://twitter.com/GreatCheshire/status/1747358571300266315https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpSy_2mM0gP4q4uZSnjtSg0vIAIBtMxe5FL-KM4wk5I/edit While Emile did make a full apology to Emily several days laterhttps://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1747425283710255439 https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1747425285035688416https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1749497144216588522https://www.facebook.com/chuggaaconroy/posts/939398944201531, the initial allegations led to Emile's ex-fiancee MasaeAnela saying that Emile had repeatedly made her feel uncomfortable and pushed boundaries with her.https://twitter.com/MasaeAnela/status/1749980618572677542https://twitter.com/BrettUltimus/status/1749982829964882260 This was followed by speedrunner Werster posting a sexual online chat with a 15-year-old fan named Lawly when Emile was 19, although it was later revealed that Lawly's goal was to manipulate him into having sex with her and that he had no intention of doing anything to her.https://twitter.com/wersterlobe/status/1750636240779792526https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpSy_2mM0gP4q4uZSnjtSg0vIAIBtMxe5FL-KM4wk5I/edit
Emile later revealed in April 2024 that he had not acted predatory or threatening towards any of the people involved, but admitted that he did push boundaries and not be the most appropriate to talk to, which stems from something in his childhood and he is working through it. He had been going to therapy or several months prior to this, as he knew that he had problems and was working to fix them of his own volition. The experience was extremely harmful to Emile's health, as seeing the online speculation about him unfold caused him so much stress; he lost eight pounds in a week, developed internal bleeding, was in the emergency room twice for blood loss, and had his existing health issues worsened by the situation. Emile had dreams and thoughts about ending his own life, and called the state suicide prevention hotline. He kept away from the online space under doctor's orders, staying with his girlfriend for a few months until the heat cooled down whilst continuing with therapy. Emile also asked that his fellow YouTubers dissociate themselves from him to protect their reputations until he was able to fight back. He initially planned to have a year-long hiatus from the internet, although he later reduced this to a three-month hiatus so he could release his side of the story earlier. He remained on hiatus until July 2024, stating that this was to protect his mental health, before beginning a gradual return that month and then making a full return in August the same year.
On April 16th, 2024, Emile posted his response to the allegations via a thread on Twitter, also posting a link to a Google Doc titled "Hey, Everybody" consisting of the same information.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314781074780242https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zOaX65dY3EmlTrpWZESY4Y3CKni62NOyONli_cfFP2E/preview# In the statement, Emile looked to "clear up speculation" surrounding the allegations and urged people not to bother anybody whom he talked about. In regards to Masae, he publicly revealed their previous relationship for the first time, writing that losing her was the hardest thing he's ever gone through and that he regretted how emotional he got about it and the way he handled it.
In the next section of the statement, Emile discussed his DMs with Emily. He said that in 2023 Emily reached out to him and let her know how their conversations made her feel and he apologized to her. He said she would never go public with the information, "immediately" got professional help and started seeing a therapist weekly. Then, she made it all public and "crushed" him.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314786737062245 He refuted the idea that he asked her for foot pictures constantly, writing that he asked once if he could see photos of her wearing shoes he bought her, not realizing it would make her uncomfortable.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314789748588906 Emile shared further screenshots of their conversations, including one where he said that Emily would "encourage [his] roleplay and jokes about shoes" and consent to and participate in it. He said that he thought he was "being dumb with consenting friends" and that at worst it was "a little embarrassing that my kink was probably one reason I liked the subject". Emile shared further screenshots of their conversations about shoes to show the tone of the conversations that led to the roleplay, writing that he believed this read as "pretty silly" from both ends. He then mentioned has autism and struggles with understanding social cues or people's limits, and said that he was confused when she stopped responding to his messages, which is why he sent her many messages after she stopped responding, writing, "I've learned now that repeated messages like this can be stressful to others."https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314792839741822
In the next section of the statement, Emile responded to the leaked DMs that took place when he was 19 and Lawly was 15. He refuted the idea that he was a predator, writing that he was an "idiot teenager who made dirty jokes," and reiterated that he had "no intention of doing anything to this person."https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314796186812645 Emile said that because the chat was so long ago, he "[doesn't] think something that old should be treated as representative of the person [he is] now.".https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314799391256747 He said that he grew uncomfortable with where the conversations were going due to her age and he told her this numerous times. He realized he had to stop it as she would constantly initiate "raunchy topics."https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314801832370495 Emile admitted that some of the humor in the messages was not acceptable by modern standards, but that he "lacked the experience" he gained and believes it showed he had "no romantic or physical interest in them as a teen." He said that he was surprised to find she initiated the roleplay when re-reading the logs.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314808266403958 He then shared that it was her goal to "manipulate [him] into having sex with them," sharing two times when it was touched on in conversations.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314810732691537https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314813224079529
Finally, Emile shared several more statements, covering how he was as a 19-year-old, regarding a trip to the mental ward, how he's been since the allegations and what he plans to do moving forward. In the "Me at 19" section, he recalls childhood trauma in which he was assaulted as a child, leaving him "unable to enjoy sex until well into [his] adult life." He also reiterated that he's never assaulted or threatened anyone.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314815812030940 In the "My visit to the mental ward" section, Emile admitted that he developed internal bleeding from stress, resulting in two trips to the emergency room and a prescription for sleeping medication, and admitted to having suicidal thoughts, writing that he was put in a mental ward after calling the suicide prevention hotline. He explained what he learned there and how it helped him move forward.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314819578507329 In the next section, "How I've Been," Emile wrote that after getting out of the psych ward, he went to live with his girlfriend and praised her for her help and describes a night when he opened up to her fully and cried about the situation, describing it as the moment he "forgave [his] past self." He said that after two months he began having suicidal thoughts and decided to move back home, continuing their relationship long-distance. She visited him, but he spent half the time writing his statement and another half in a mental ward.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314823030415696 Finally, in the "Moving Forward" section, Emile expressed his love for his friends for trusting him and holding him accountable. He apologized for "all the heartache and worry" he caused his friends and followers. He admitted he still made mistakes and needed psychiatric help for his depression and roleplay behavior and promised it wouldn't happen again. He then listed the things he's done to get help since, including visiting his therapist, doing behavioral health sessions, the five nights in the mental ward, never missing his medication, discontinuing his roleplaying and generally learning more about his mental health struggles.https://twitter.com/chuggaaconroy/status/1780314826926948859
==Let's Plays==
The Runaway Guys have completed numerous Let's Play series since Chuggaaconroy, Proton Jon and NintendoCapriSun began the collab channel in 2011. 46 main collab LPs have been produced, along with five side collab LPs and six tournament LPs. Below is a detailed list of them.
===Main Collabs===
#Mario Party (N64)
#New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) (with JoshJepson)
#The Subspace Emissary (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) (Wii)
#Mario Party 2 (N64)
#Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
#LittleBigPlanet (PS3) (with Lucahjin)
#Wii Party (Wii)
#New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U/NS) (with JoshJepson)
#Castle Crashers (XB360/Switch) (with SuperJeenius)
#Mario Party 3 (N64)
#WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! (GCN)
#New Super Luigi U (Wii U/NS)
#Dokapon Kingdom Story Mode (Wii)
#Mario Party 4 (GCN)
#Rayman Origins (XB360/Wii/PS3/Vita/3DS/PC)
#LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3) (with Lucahjin)
#Super Mario 3D World (Wii U/NS) (with MasaeAnela)
#Sonic Adventure (Xbox 360)
#Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES/SNES/Wii/Wii U)
#Mario Party 5 (GCN)
#Kirby's Dream Course (SNES)
#The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN) (with StephenPlays)
#Rayman Legends (Wii U/PS3/PS4/Vita/X360/X1/PC/NS) (with TomFawkes)
#Super Metroid (SNES)
#Mario Party 6 (GCN)
#The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes (3DS)
#Wii Party U (Wii U)
#Pokémon Snap (N64/Wii/Wii U)
#Mario Party 7 (GCN)
#The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES/GBA/Wii/Wii U)
#Pikmin (GCN/Wii/Wii U/NS)
#Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (GBA) (with StephenPlays)
#Star Fox 64 (N64/3DS)
#Mario Party 8 (Wii)
#Luigi's Mansion (GameCube/3DS)
#Overcooked (PC/PS4/X1/NS) (with TomFawkes)
#Nintendo Land (Wii U) (with MasaeAnela & TomFawkes)
#Secret of Mana (SNES, NS)
#100% Orange Juice (PC)
#Battletoads: Arcade (X1)
#Banjo-Kazooie (N64/360/X1/NS)
#TMNT: Turtles In Time (Arcade/SNES)
#Mario Party DS (DS)
#Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
#Metroid Prime Remastered (NS)
#Kirby Star Allies (NS)
===Side Collabs===
*Fortune Street (Wii)
*Dokapon Kingdom (Wii) Normal Mode
*Wheel of Fortune (Various)
*Nintendo Land (Wii U) (with MasaeAnela)
*Mario Party Superstars (NS) (with various guests as player 4)
===Tournaments===
*Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
*Mario Power Tennis (GC)
*Super Smash Bros. (N64)
*Bomberman Livefest
*Mario Kart: Double Dash (GC)
*Super Smash Bros. Wii U
It has been said that there has been a Super Smash Bros. Melee Tournament, but it has not been uploaded to YouTube. The results are unknown. Emile mentioned in the 10th anniversary TRG stream that the footage from this tournament was damaged beyond repair.
==Quotes==
===Emile (Chuggaconroy)===
*“Challenge Accepted!”
*“OH MY GOD!!!”
*“OK, true story, first time I read it, I read it as “Flying Squirrel Ovulation”.”
*“Jon, don’t eat the house!”
*“IT CRASHED! WE CRASHED THE GAME! WERE SMARTER THAN A WII!”
*“Yeah, we have had this game crash on us so much, when making Sackboy when decorating upon anything, and now it actually crashes.”
===Tim (NCS)===
*“I like that challenge."
*“See, so I play better when I’m an asshole!” *Emile says “Yes!”* “Everyone in the comments would just say when I’m a nice guy. You want to be nice, this is what happens!”
*“Since you’ve already crushed us very quickly and very easily suprisingly.”
*“It was literally on the screen!” *Emile laughs* “GAME, COME ON!!!!”
*“Are these all Miis you have?” *Emile says “Yes.”* “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
===ProtonJon===
*“I’m scared of my Wiimote and as if there was something.”
*“On GO... 3... 2... 1... GO!!!!!!”
*“GOT IT!” *everybody yells out*
==Other==
#Mario Power Tennis Invitational Tournament
#Super Smash Bros. Brawl Invitational Tournament
#Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Invitational Tournament
#Super Smash Bros. 64 Invitational Tournament
#The Runaway Gaiden
#Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Invitational Tournament
#Bomberman Live Battlefest Tournament
#Thrown Controller Shows
#The Runaway Guys Colosseums
Category:Users who joined in 2010
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Canadian YouTubers
Category:Gaming YouTubers