The Kid Mero

Born in The Bronx as Joel Martinez, cult celebrity The Kid Mero co-hosted a number of successful comedic internet and television talk shows, beginning with the podcast and web series "Desus vs. Mero" (Complex TV, 2013-2014). While working as a teaching aide at a Bronx junior high school, Mero developed a following on Twitter by sharing comedic tweets about his life and current events. He wrote music reviews for Vice's Noisey music platform from 2012 to 2014. He crossed virtual paths with Desus Nice, another Twitter user and former summer school classmate who shared his witty, hard-hitting style.

The two established "Desus vs. Mero" as an extension of their Twitter feeds. He translated the humor he often witnessed at school into a successful formula of off-color jokes that criticized subjects without demeaning them. Mero appeared with Desus on several MTV shows, including "Guy Code" (MTV2, 2011- ), "Joking Off" (MTV2, 2015- ) and "Uncommon Sense With Charlamagne'' (MTV2, 2015- ), before debuting a new podcast called "Bodega Boys" (2015- ). The pair also hosted the television series "Desus & Mero" (Viceland, 2016- ).