Mashable 101: The creators shaping the internet in 2026
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It's not often you get two of the most accomplished NFL players of all time in the same family, but that's the Kelce brothers for you. Travis Kelce, 36, is a Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs, while his older brother Jason Kelce, 38, was a Center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2008 until 2024. Jason is widely regarded as one of the best centers in NFL history, while Travis is considered one of the most accomplished tight ends.
Just in case they weren't busy enough, they co-host a weekly sports podcast, New Heights, which has 3.6 million followers on Instagram (@newheightshow) and 3.16 million subscribers on YouTube. In 2024, the podcast signed a deal with Amazon for over $100 million. The name is a nod to the brothers' upbringing in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and the show pulls in big-name guests such as Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling, and a certain person named Taylor Swift.
Travis and Taylor are betrothed to be wed and announced their engagement in an internet-breaking post with the caption, "Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married." When Taylor made her New Heights debut in August 2025, the podcast achieved record-breaking viewership. The episode gained almost 20 million views in five days on YouTube, prompting a 3,000 percent surge in new Spotify listeners, and a 618 percent rise in female listenership to the podcast.
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Travis has 7.7 million followers on Instagram (@killatrav) and 3 million followers on TikTok (@traviskelce), while Jason has 3.2 million followers on Instagram (@jason.kelce) and 626,200 followers on TikTok (@jasonkelce).
Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage to discover the internet's most exciting voices or see more of this year’s Mashable 101.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
