They're not just regular dads; they're cool dads. Vine, the popular video-sharing app, has spawned a new kind of star: the comedian father. They're not wearing Hawaiian shirts and spewing corny jokes — they're crafting full-on comedy sketches in a matter of six seconds, collaborating with their cute kids.
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Users like Ben Phillips, Marcus Kennard and Nick Confalone have grown a widespread Internet following thanks to their funny Vine videos, most of which feature their young children. What started out as personal Vine accounts became a mechanism to share the spotlight with their adorable kids. Phillips, for example, recently changed his Vine username to Ben & Harley, more accurately representing the Vine presence he shares with his 3-year-old son.

Vine user Josh Gaines (username JoshDarnIT) started out creating Vine videos that starred, well, himself. One day, he posted a funny video of his then-2-year-old son Evan playing with his teddy bear. He noticed that his account got a lot more action.
"I was like, 'I'll have to try something like that again,'" Gaines says. He soon started posting more videos of Evan and his daughter Johnna, with eldest son AJ helping out behind the scenes. The videos grew more creative and elaborate, resembling well-planned comedy sketches, rather than random videos. As a prank, he posted a video where he told the kids they were going to Disneyland ... "in four months."

"That one started getting copied over to other networks, and there were Facebook videos of it," Gaines says. "That’s the first time someone recognized us outside and said ‘Hey, are you the guy that made that Internet video?’"
Once the heat picked up, Vine users were quick to "like" and share Gaines' videos, especially those featuring his kids. One particular video took off: in which Evan pretended to punch his pops in the face.

"That one just went crazy. I went up to No. 2 on the popular page," Gaines says. "That was when I realized, 'Oh, Evan is what they want to see.'"
Since then, Gaines has reached nearly 1 million followers. He has also created separate Vine accounts for Evan (Evancredible) and Johnna (JohnnaMazing), while AJ (AJMG) is also a Vine star on the rise.
Yup, dads are becoming certifiable comedy stars. Just ask Blake Wilson, also known as BatDad. The father of four bought a Batman mask one day as a joke and made a Vine video in which he wore it and spoke in a Christian Bale-esque growl to his four kids. Slowly, he watched his follower count grow, with today's numbers approaching 2 million.
That's right: ordinary father-child moments turned into super funny superhero skits, all because of a little plastic mask from Target.

"As the followers started to rise, I guess more people started to take notice," Wilson says. "I made a Twitter account, Buzzfeed picked up the Vines and then everything just kind of picked up from there. The thing that is so crazy is that this has only been going on for three months."
Wilson, whose kids range from age nine to a pair of toddler twins, says his children enjoy jumping in front of the camera from time to time.
"The twins call them little 'bideos.' Like, 'Yeah, we're going to make a bideo!'" Wilson says.
Even though the dads are running the show, most of their kids have a growing grasp on their Internet popularity, and genuinely enjoy making Vine videos. Evan, who's now 3, understands his Vine fame, why people recognize him and his family out on the street — which happens a lot.
"We went to a pretty big mall in San Diego that has an ice skating rink in it, and we must've gotten recognized by 25 or 30 different people," Gaines says. "When we go to Disneyland, it’s just ridiculous, like every few minutes."
Thanks to the mask, Wilson enjoys a bit more anonymity, and says he's only been recognized once, whereas his wife and older kids will get spotted instead.
"Their friends at school say, 'Is your dad BatDad?' I think they get a little kick out of that," Wilson says.
Sometimes there's a monetary aspect to Vine fame. Thanks to the app's rising user base, companies like Lyft and Hot or Not tap popular Vine stars to promote their products.

While Vine isn't a full-time job for either of the dads, it's become a welcome, creative break from their careers.
"I don't anticipate that I'm going to be able to sustain my life and my family off of Vine," Gaines says. "I think it’s going to be side money at best. But I mean, this is a new year and I think a lot of brands and companies are getting involved in advertising on things like Vine."
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