The Runaway Guys (TRG)

Originally three, now so much more
The Runaway Guys is the collaboration group founded by Proton Jon, Chuggaconroy, and NintendoCapriSun at MAGFest 2011. They have been making collab videos for 12 years as of February 2023 (first video was posted on February 5th, 2011). The channel is known best for their Mario Party and other board game collabs, Wheel of Fortune gameplay, and series of blind playthroughs of games unfamiliar to one of the core members, just to name a few. Through various connections, the group has since grown to include many other content creators that usually appear as "player 4" in the multiplayer games done on the channel, and make appearances on each others' individual channels.

They are also no strangers to bigger collabs beyond the comfort of a hotel room or recording office. A major event that brings many of the members together is a yearly charity streaming event known as TRG Colosseum, which brings their fellow creator-turned-friends in for a chaotic week(end) full of laughs and fun times all around (and lots of money for charity!). They also have their own game show that they host at certain conventions called Thrown Controllers, inspired heavily by game shows such as Nick Arcade! In the past, they have hosted invitational tournaments with other prolific content creators, though they haven't done one since their Smash Bros. 4 Wii U tournament.

Many of the TRG members are strongly associated with Nintendo and their IPs due to their choice of games to make videos or stream with; some have amicably called them the "Nintendo LP'ers" in the early days of YouTube. While they may be Nintendo-focused by nature, they are not completely against doing games outside of the Nintendo sphere as they have done Little Big Planet, Castle Crashers, and Rayman Origins and Legends, just to name a few.

Some creators "outside" the TRG sphere, for one reason or another, have also become honorary members of TRG for their involvement in major productions or being close with one or more existing members. Tom Fawkes and The8BitDrummer, for example, started out as fans and eventually worked up enough rapport to become one with the friend group. VTubers who have interacted with the TRG members (primarily Lucah, Jon, and Tom) like Haruka Karibu have also effectively become VIP guests in the circle in a similar fashion. Those from Direct Relief Gaming and Kinstone (the latter being known for Zeldathon) help with TRG Colo's production and have become closer with the TRG crew year after year. Beyond all that, the fanbase has grown ever closer with itself, especially after the introduction of TRG Colo and with advancements in online communications over the years. The most dedicated fans can be referred to as the Greater TRG Community, as tight-knit groups within their official community chat spaces started to form around the shared fandom between TRG members and friends. There's even a fanzine dedicated to them that shows how much love there is to throw around.

TRG Members and Friends
Listed in order of first video appearance.


 * Chuggaaconroy (core)
 * NintendoCapriSun (core)
 * ProtonJon (core)
 * JoshJepson (NSMBWii)
 * Lucahjin (Smash Bros. Brawl invitational tourney before LittleBigPlanet)
 * Donnabellez (Smash Bros. Brawl invitational tourney before TRG Colo 2021)
 * SuperJeenius (Mario Power Tennis invitational before Castle Crashers)
 * TheCompletionist (Bomberman Live Battlefest invitational before TRG Colo 2021)
 * StephenGeorg (MK: Double Dash invitational before Zelda Four Swords Adventures)
 * MalMakes (MK: Double Dash invitational before TRG Colo 2018)
 * [“Co-Owner”] MasaeAnela (Super Mario 3D World)
 * [“Co-Owner”] TomFawkes (Rayman Legends)
 * AttackingTucans (Smash 4 Wii U invitational before TRG Colo 2018)
 * Marriland (TRG Colo 2018)
 * FamilyJules (TRG Colo 2018)
 * ToxicxEternity (TRG Colo 2018)
 * AdrianaFigueroa (TRG Colo 2018)
 * SuperMCGamer (TRG Colo 2018 Tech)
 * Jyggy11 (TRG Colo 2018 Tech)
 * KampyDK (TRG Colo 2018 Tech)
 * Insaneintherain (TRG Colo 2019)
 * Sab Irene (TRG Colo 2019)
 * The8BitDrummer (TRG Colo 2019)
 * MotionDan (TRG Colo 2019)
 * FireLordBrooke (TRG Colo 2020)
 * Chatia (TRG Colo 2020)
 * Bassoonify, Klinkit, Romscout (TRG Colo 2023 Tech)

VIPs


 * Haurka Karibu (appeared in Jon, Reese, and Tom's streams, but not in a formal TRG video or stream)

Trivia

 * Emile made a bet during a TRG Mario Party 3 stream on November 7, 2019 that he would "give" the channel away to Tom and Masae (who were both controlling Player 4 playing as Peach at the time) if they won the board. Tom and Masae did end up winning and have since become supposed "co-owners" of the channel. This is purely a gag and does not represent the organizational structure of the group.
 * TRG's early fanbase is responsible for the early characterization of Electron Jen. The term was coined by Emile in a New Super Mario Bros. Wii episode and fanart of genderbent Emile/Tim/Jon followed. The most famous of these was female ProtonJon, dubbed Electron Jen after Jon's pseudonym for his sister.
 * It is no secret that TRG and their friend group had led the first charge of Let's Plays on YouTube, especially of the Nintendo-focused variety, and their influence has not slowed down. They have gone long enough that the influence has spread to their fans and it's not quite uncommon to potentially find someone online on YouTube or Twitch who's at least heard of them, let alone be their main inspiration. This doesn't just apply to the TRG circle itself (like with Lucahjin and StephenPlays), as major creators such as company VTubers Haruka Karibu (VShojo, previously indie) and Ceres Fauna (Hololive EN Promise) have come out to credit a TRG member (in both of their cases, ProtonJon) as inspiration, and many fans within the TRG community have started content creation on their own, usually on the smaller-scale side. Certain moments from some members, like Jon, Emile, and Stephen, have also elevated into cult meme status outside of the community.
 * When YouTube still had channel backgrounds, their background depicted a city referencing many Nintendo IPs. While stripped from Nintendo references now, the city aesthetic has been kept intact in their branding and even some fan works. It is unknown if there is any relation to St. Jonsabooru, but fans of Jon speculate as such.
 * The latest (and now iconic) version of the TRG logo was designed by Stephen and Mal in 2013, which followed similar design cues to the channel's first logo (more info is in this vlog). During TRG Colo 2022, Mal finally gave the original design drafts and documentation to Emile as a gift.
 * The vlog in 2013 partially goes over a Tumblr post by Mal, under her original screen name "melcat". You now need to be logged into Tumblr to see it, unfortunately.