Josh Richards

Josh Richards is the son of Chloe and Derward Richards and has two younger siblings, Olivia Richards and William Richards. His family relocated to Los Angeles in January 2020 to support his social-media career. Olivia has also built a following as a content creator, dancer and ice hockey player, while William has largely stayed out of the public eye.

Richards dated Nessa Barrett, with the relationship dated in different accounts from 2019 to 2020 or 2021. He has been in a relationship with Gabriela Moura since 2023. Richards also described the late TikToker Cooper Noriega as his “brother” in an Instagram tribute, although Noriega was his close friend rather than a family member.

Richards began attracting attention on Musical.ly, the app that later became TikTok, at 14. His content has included sports, dancing, lip-sync performances, comedy and video skits. He joined Sway House in 2019 alongside Jaden Hossler and Anthony Reeves, and later maintained a secondary TikTok account under the username zootedjosh.

His early promotional work included a 2018 collaboration with the shoe brand Call It Spring. He also appeared as a guest VIP at the Rock Your Hair Tour event in Toronto in 2018 and spoke about climate change at the Consumer Electronics Summit in January 2020.

Richards made his early film appearances in Under the Stadium Lights and Summertime Dropouts. He was cast opposite Laurence Fishburne and Glenn Morshower in Brother's Keeper. His film credits also include Dream Scenario, in which he played Hunter as Joshua Richards.

He appeared in the television series Read the Room, playing multiple characters including Jack, Influencer, David, Aiden, Matt and Good Doc. He also received writing and executive-producer credits on six episodes of the series. His other screen work includes voice roles in Fright Krewe and Invincible.

Richards co-founded TalentX Entertainment, a digital management company, and signed a recording contract with Warner Records in 2020. He co-founded the caffeinated drink brand Ani Energy and previously served as chief strategy officer of Triller. He also helped establish the venture capital firm Animal Capital.

Richards co-founded CrossCheck Studios with Michael Green and Chris Sawtelle. The production company later entered a first-look agreement with Amazon. In partnership with Mark Wahlberg, he formed the Gen Z marketing agency HawkeZ.

Richards released the 2020 single “Still Softish,” featuring Bryce Hall, after signing with Warner Records. He later released “Smallest Man” with Dave Portnoy in 2024.

He is a co-host of the Barstool Sports podcast BFFs with David Portnoy. In 2025, Richards, Erik Anders Lang and Brad Dalke won the third Creator Classic at Philadelphia Cricket Club.