Formed in January 2020, it was noted for its rivalry with The Hype House, another content house.[4][5] The group officially disbanded in February 2021.[6]
History
Sway was created on January 4, 2020 by Michael Gruen via his company TalentX Entertainment,[7] with founding members of the group Josh Richards and Bryce Hall.[4] The group originally resided and produced their content in a rented 7,800-square-foot mansion in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[1]
Cosmopolitan described the house as "eye-roll-inducing",[1] while Business Insider noted it as resembling a fraternity group engaging in controversies and feuds, and having supporters akin to those of boy bands from the 1990s.[8]
Often referred to as "the One Direction of TikTok",[2][9] the group consisted of nine members – Richards, Hall, Jaden Hossler, Griffin Johnson, Kio Cyr, Anthony Reeves, Quinton Griggs, Blake Gray and Noah Beck.[10]
In May 2020, Hall and Hossler, were arrested on drug-related charges.[1] This incident created instability in the group as it disrupted a business deal for its members.[6] Later, Richards and Hall released a single titled "Still Softish" as a diss track in response to a public feud they had with Hype House member Chase Hudson.[1][6][11]
Later in the year, Richards announced he was taking a hiatus from the group due to difficulties adapting to the lifestyle in Los Angeles.[1] Shortly after, Hossler left the group to focus on his music career under the stage name "JXDN".[4][12] Following the exit of Hossler and Richards, the group split into smaller groups, with Griggs and Johnson forming Sway Gaming,[13] and Hall, Gray and Beck remaining as the core Sway group.[6] The three members later moved into a 8,500-square-foot rented mansion for their content production.[14] In August 2020, the city council of Los Angeles disabled the electricity for their house, citing "irresponsible highly-infectious disease spreading", as Hall had hosted a party there a few days prior during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
In February 2021, Gruen confirmed to People that Sway House was officially dissolved,[16][17][1] stating: "if you view Sway as a content collective that lives together and is with each other every day, then yes, it’s over."[18] Despite disbanding in February 2021, Johnson revealed the group had separated as early as December 2020.[19] Several members of the group continued to work with each other for other projects of Sway, such as Sway Fitness, a workout supplement brand,[20] The Sway Life, a reality television show that premiered on March 29, 2021 on Facebook,[21] and Sway Stories, a game developed by Playco.[22]
