The Untimely Demise Of Caleb Gritsko, The Unlikely Birth Of Dave Brown

Caleb Gritsko has died. Or more accurately, he has moved to Austin, Texas. So really it’s just a matter of time before he’s crushed under a mountain of delicious barbecue.

Almost exactly one year ago, Cracked aired the first-ever episode of Your Brain On Cracked. Today, we’re airing the 33rd. Every single episode was filmed and edited by Caleb Gritsko. Hell, each was shot in Caleb’s freaking basement. In many ways, this show is as much his as it is mine. I can quite confidently say that without Caleb and his ability to make my garbage look pretty, there would be no show. Caleb and I have been collaborating together creatively for nearly a decade now. He’s one of my best friends and makes for a kickass partner and rhythm section. Austin is lucky to have him.

But as Mufasa once taught us, we’re all caught up in the great circle of life, and from every bloated lion carcass springs new life. And from Caleb’s bloated lion carcass rises my imaginatively named friend, Dave Brown.

Dave and I met during our freshman year of high school, and we quickly hit it off thanks to our shared love of making stupid, stupid shit. We collaborated on every major project ever assigned us in our shared classes. Oh, you want a creative World History report? Here’s a 4 song EP with original cover art from a band called Propaganda featuring a song with a 3-minute bridge where we just yell the names of people who probably died during the Bubonic Plague. Biology report? More like a 13-minute, all-original music video, Mr. Dove.

After high school, our college professors were less interested in students submitting 10-minute Spanish-language rock operas about zombies in lieu of actual papers, so our collaborations came to a halt, but it appears we’ve found each other again like Charlize Theron and Will Smith do in the greatest romance film ever made: Hancock.

Anyway, the biggest motivator driving me to make all these crazy videos is the sheer joy that comes from creating nonsense with good friends. I’m thrilled that will continue, and I’m so thankful to everybody who has supported us along the way by giving me this platform, watching my videos, or yelling obscenities at me in the comments and inadvertently fueling the algorithm. 

Here’s to many more years and videos of myself and my friends not wearing pants. Cheers.

Check out Jordan's other work, or connect on Twitter.  Connect with Dave Brown on Instagram. Also, follow Caleb on Instagram.

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