In December, news broke that Buzzfeed had sold its First We Feast production studio to a group of private investors for US$82.5 million. One of the buyers was Sean Evans, who has hosted the studio’s wildly popular YouTube interview series Hot Ones since its first episode in 2015.

In the nine years since, Evans has brought numerous celebrities, including Tom Holland, Margot Robbie, Shaquille O’Neal and Jennifer Lawrence, to tears during interviews that saw participants try to eat 10 chicken wings doused in sauces that get increasingly hotter. American Rapper Coolio couldn’t take the heat during his appearance – he reportedly passed out for several hours after his Hot Ones interview.

Here’s everything to know about Hot Ones’ very own Sean Evans.

Sean Evans, 39, was born in April 1986 in Evanston, Illinois.

During his years at Crystal Lake Central High School, he played football and baseball, even appearing in a state final for the latter. But a career in sports wasn’t in the cards for Evans.

He went on to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism at the University of Illinois and revealed in an interview that one of his professors had even suggested he become a weatherman because of his natural talent in front of the camera.