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ESPN dedicated almost 80 minutes of airtime recently to a documentary focusing on five North Texas sports stars, and it had nothing to do with the Dallas Cowboys.
The five friends behind Frisco-based Dude Perfect LLC have come a long a way since they got their start making viral videos of trick basketball shots while attending Texas A&M University in 2009. They now have more than 60 million subscribers on YouTube and their videos have amassed in excess of 17 billions views. The business has grown to include other ventures such as live tours, toys and books and even television deals.
Now, Dude Perfect features prominently in the latest documentary in the "30 for 30" series from ESPN Films, the studio behind series such as "The Last Dance" and "O.J.: Made in America." The documentary, "Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot," debuted Aug. 3 and traces the meteoric rise of Tyler Toney, Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert and Cody Jones as their group became a cultural phenomenon.
Oliver Anderson and Louis Burgdorf directed the film and followed the "Dudes" around for a year. The film provided a look at the personal lives of the group and how much effort goes into making their videos. Most of the group's members left other careers in areas like landscaping and commercial real estate to focus on Dude Perfect full time. They are all married now and collectively have 13 children ages 5 and under.
The film also shined a light on one of Dallas-Fort Worth's rising businesses and offered new insights about Dude Perfect as the company continues to grow and the Dudes chase their dream of building an amusement park to keep their legacy going after they're doing making videos. Here are three things we learned about Dude Perfect after viewing the documentary.
Dude Perfect's valuation
It's no secret that Dude Perfect has grown considerably from its humble beginnings in College Station. But exactly how much the company is worth has not been well known publicly. In April the company hauled in a nine-figure investment — believed to be between $100 million and $300 million — from New York-based Highmount Capital Management LLC. Hilbert, who left a career in architecture for Dude Perfect, said during the documentary the company was worth about $400 million, although it's unclear if that was before or after the investment and how the valuation might have changed.
Dude Perfect has almost ended multiple times
While it's easy to look at Dude Perfect as a group of friends just having a good time making silly videos, the documentary provided a look at the challenging side of business and how the endeavor almost came to an end several times.
The first time occurred in 2012, Hilbert said. At the time, Coby and Cory Cotton, twin brothers, primarily ran the business and filming for videos mostly took place on weekends while the rest of the group's members worked their primary jobs. Hilbert said a proposal was made for the twins and Tyler Toney, who had become the face of Dude Perfect, to take "like 20% to 30% of company, per person," while he and Jones would have gotten a 9% stake.
"I remember feeling undervalued," Hilbert said, adding that he and Jones spent "hours" on the phone talking about a potential split-off. The group ended up coming to terms on a more even split and stayed together.
A second potential ending happened when the group was at the airport and Toney received a text from his boss at the landscaping company he worked at informing him he would be fired if he missed one more Saturday for Dude Perfect. The group had to collectively make a decision about whether to pursue Dude Perfect full time or separate and move on with their individual careers.
At the time, Toney said the group would make about $15,000 per person for the year by doing Dude Perfect full time. They all agreed to leave their jobs. Hilbert said the one stipulation was all members agreed to have equal stakes in the company.
Finally, a third possible ending came after Dude Perfect parted ways with its longtime business manager, Jeff Toney, who is Tyler Toney's father. Tyler described it as "probably the worst day in Dude Perfect’s history." The decision was mutual, however, as both men felt like their relationship had become more about business rather than a father-son bond.
The week after the breakup, Dude Perfect signed to go on a tour. Hilbert said Toney informed the group it might be his last tour. However, they had a "really good tour" and kept moving forward.
"It was good for Ty’s soul to see the good he does in people’s lives," Hilbert said.
Plans for theme park remain alive
Dude Perfect unveiled plans in 2022 to build a new corporate HQ and entertainment destination, including a 330-foot tower that can be used for trick shots. The company claimed to be looking in North Texas and elsewhere. San Antonio-based architecture firm Overland Partners is helping to design the project.
Cory Cotton told Dallas Business Journal in April the group remains "extremely excited about that vision" and said plans "are moving forward," though he did not provide a timeline for the project. The documentary dedicated a chunk of time on the project, providing more insight into the Dudes' intentions.
Toney told ESPN Films the group's members "don’t want to be 65 doing water bottle flips." He described the project, known as the "Dude Perfect Factory." as a "crazy concept" that will be a destination where families can go to "compete, have fun and experience in real life what they have watched in videos."
"Our goal is to take this brand we’ve built and make that last, and we realize that’s not going to come from us necessarily being on camera," Toney said.
While Dude Perfect raised a large chunk of capital earlier this year, the group will need more funding to bring the HQ project to fruition. Cory Cotton said the group is willing to risk their homes to accomplish that.
"We’ll need a loan," he said. "In order to have a loan that big, you have to put collateral up. We are all willing to put our houses on the line."
Mark Cuban, the famed entrepreneur and former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks who still has a minority stake in the NBA franchise, featured prominently in the documentary and called the plan "crazy."
"If you’re mortgaging your house to build a theme park, you’re f***ing nuts," Cuban said.
