Young Hot Guys podcast hosts partner with Movember for health campaign

Dublin Comedians Reframe the Hangout Show to Tackle Men’s Health

The global podcast market houses an estimated 4.58 million shows worldwide, The Irish Times reported in January 2026, with hundreds of thousands of new audio feeds flooding digital platforms every quarter. Amid this expansive landscape of true-crime thrillers, fictional death-row final meals, and high-concept celebrity retrospectives, a simpler format dominates the Irish airwaves: the loose, unscripted hangout show.

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Chief among them is Young Hot Guys, a weekly video and audio podcast hosted by Dublin-based comedians Tony Cantwell, Shane Daniel Byrne, and Killian Sundermann. Launched in November 2023 after a collaborative photoshoot that involved a satirical sexy calendar, the show relies on zero interviews, no structured film reviews, and no predefined segments. Instead, it relies on roughly an hour of freewheeling, absurd ad-libbing.

“The Government brought in the legislation that all male comedians have to have podcasts,” Sundermann joked to The Irish Times regarding the origins of the project. “It was a surprise to all of us, but we got our microphones and, you know, like miners and their pickaxes, we went to the mines.”

From Online Skits to Audio Companionship

Before cementing their partnership as an audio trio, each host built individual internet followings through sharp-witted online sketches. Sundermann carved out a niche examining cultural divergences between Ireland and Germany, Cantwell developed elaborate rosters of fictional students at Clongowes Wood College, and Byrne portrayed the Virgin Mary calling a friend to announce the resurrection of Jesus.

That digital footprint eventually transitioned into television projects for RTÉ, including Byrne’s offbeat clerical comedy These Sacred Vows, Sundermann’s sketch series No Worries If Not, and Cantwell’s sitcom Good Boy.

Yet the podcast serves a different function for its creators: an antidote to the isolation inherent in the live comedy circuit. “In a career like comedy, you’re on your own,” Sundermann noted. “What happens with the podcast is manufacturing co-workers and friends, so it’s a nice thing to have.”

Partnering for Movember and Addressing Mental Health

The trio’s cultural footprint has recently intersected with advocacy. joined forces with Movember as official ambassadors for the global men’s health campaign, authoring bespoke sketches for the organization’s “Growmittment” initiative to spotlight male friendship and mental health.

Research published by Movember indicates that 28 per cent of respondents believe men are still expected to navigate personal difficulties without asking for help, while only 11 per cent of surveyed men stated they would hug a friend.

The campaign themes arrived alongside high-profile conversations regarding vulnerability in Irish public life. Snooker player Mark Allen announced he was considering retirement following his exit from the Northern Ireland Open, speaking openly about his treatment in a mental health facility. His announcement contrasted sharply with comments from footballer James McClean, who told the Sunday Independent that speaking to someone about his feelings and emotions represented a personal weakness.

Reflecting on the skepticism often directed at awareness campaigns, Byrne told The Irish Times, “I think it can be easy to scoff at this stuff. People love doing that. But then at the same time, we need more men having conversations.”

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Cantwell added that breaking through comedic defenses remains a challenge even among outgoing individuals. “I probably still struggle to be genuine. Like even if I told a friend that I was grateful for something they did, I’d immediately have to undercut it with some hilarious joke.”

Byrne, as a gay man participating in the campaign, emphasized the broader scope of community health initiatives. “Sometimes there’s this illusion that gay men are great with our emotions and we’re just much more open and, actually… not really. Gay men have been looking after their health and their sexual health very openly together for decades. So I think there’s knowledge and attitudes that can be shared.”

For Cantwell, entering regular therapy over the past year reframed his understanding of emotional self-awareness. “You basically just go with the issue to talk about how you have the issue,” he said. “I realised now that being self aware of how you feel is the thing. It isn’t getting rid of it. You might just mitigate it, live with it.”

Disclaimer: The cultural analyses and financial data presented in this article are based on available public records and industry metrics at the time of publication.