{{Short description|German YouTuber and Twitch streamer}} {{for-multi|the film|Rezo (film)|the song by Carlos Ponce|Rezo (song)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox social media personality | name = Rezo | image = | caption = Rezo in 2019 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|8|14|df=yes}} | birth_place = Wuppertal, Germany | education = Technical University of Dortmund | youtube_handles = {{plainlist| * [https://www.youtube.com/@rezomusik Rezo] (inactive) * [https://www.youtube.com/@Rezojaloley Rezo ja lol ey] (inactive) * [https://youtube.com/@Renzo69 Renzo] * [https://www.youtube.com/@Schlumpf Schlumpf] }} | youtube_years_active = 2015–present | youtube_genre = {{hlist|Music|comedy|vlog}} | youtube_subscribers = 1.72 million (rezo)<br>1.63 million (Rezo ja lol ey)<br>1.23 million (Renzo)<br> 606 thousand (Schlumpf) | youtube_views = 195 million (rezo)<br>402 million (Rezo ja lol ey)<br>361 million (Renzo)<br> 201 million (Schlumpf) | stats_update = May 11, 2025 }}
'''Rezo''' [ˈɹiːzo] is a German content creator, podcaster, musician and entrepreneur.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MEEDIA |first=Tobias Singer |title=Youtuber Rezo bringt eigenes Social-Media-Analyse-Tool Nindo heraus |url=https://www.meedia.de/marken/social-media-youtuber-rezo-bringt-eigenes-social-media-analyse-tool-nindo-heraus-6eae47eb17146c8d62460d2804403750 |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=www.meedia.de |language=de}}</ref> In addition to his YouTube presence and entrepreneurial activities, he has appeared on entertainment television and contributed his own topical column to Zeit Online from 2019 to 2020. His video ''Die Zerstörung der CDU'' (The Destruction of the CDU), in which he criticized the ''CDU/CSU'' shortly before the 2019 European elections, particularly for their climate policy, gained a lot of attention and sparked a political debate.<ref name="duck">{{ill|Amelie Duckwitz|de}} (Friedrich Ebert Foundation) [https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/akademie/15736-20200702.pdf Influencer als digitale Meinungsführer ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325095408/https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/akademie/15736-20200702.pdf|date=25 March 2022}} 2020-07-01</ref> The outcome of the election and the decision of many young voters to vote against the Union parties was linked to the impact of the video, for which the term ‘Rezo effect’ became established.
Rezo also runs a podcast with Julien Bam called ''Hobbylos''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Stefan |date=2023-07-06 |title=Deutscher Podcast Preis 2023: Die besten Ohrwürmer |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/deutscher-podcast-preis-2023-verleihung-1.6004660 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Süddeutsche Zeitung |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-29 |title=Taylor Swift: »Global Top Artist« 2023 bei Spotify – Enthüllung per Großplakat |url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/taylor-swift-ist-global-top-artist-2023-bei-spotify-a-550d0ac9-4ada-487f-8102-4e267fa2c338 |access-date=2025-10-18 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Rezo was born in Wuppertal on 14 August 1992<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-10 |date=2021-01-12 |publisher=Munzinger Archiv – Ravensburg |title=Rezo |url=https://munzinger.de/search/portrait/Rezo/0/32200.html |website=Internationales Biographisches Archiv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2020-06-18 |archive-date=2021-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219115652im_/https://i.imgur.com/G1dWIlG.jpg |author=Rezo |date=2017-05-25 |title=Zeugnis / Urkunde: Master of Science (M.Sc.) |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BUhQOXUlgam}}</ref><ref name="tonline">{{Cite news |last=David Ruch |date=23 May 2019 |title=Das ist der YouTuber, der die CDU "zerstört" |language=de |work=.t-online.de |url=https://www.t-online.de/-/85797832 |access-date=2021-11-19 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413181413/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_85797832/rezo-zerstoerung-der-cdu-video-geht-viral-wer-ist-der-youtuber-.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="youtube_20181116">{{cite video |people=Rezo, Julien Bam |date=2018-11-16 |title=Wie gut kennen sich rezo und Julien Bam |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcIjFePxPo |accessdate=2020-06-18 |time=2:27–2:33, 8:59–9:04 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020081443/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcIjFePxPo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rezo und die neue Generation Subito|periodical=Neue Züricher Zeitung|publisher=|url=https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/medien/rezo-und-die-neue-generation-subito-ld.1486060|url-status=live|format=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608033509/https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/medien/rezo-und-die-neue-generation-subito-ld.1486060|archive-date=8 June 2019|last=|date=June 2019|language=|pages=|quote=}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news|title=YouTuber Rezo im Interview: "Ich sage nicht, dass die komplette Verantwortung für alle Probleme bei der CDU liegt"|publisher=|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/youtuber-rezo-im-interview-ich-sage-nicht-dass-die-komplette-verantwortung-fuer-alle-probleme-bei-der-cdu-liegt-a-c842dada-fc71-49b0-9bf8-d654fe4dce37|url-status=live|format=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906191521/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/youtuber-rezo-im-interview-ich-sage-nicht-dass-die-komplette-verantwortung-fuer-alle-probleme-bei-der-cdu-liegt-a-c842dada-fc71-49b0-9bf8-d654fe4dce37|archive-date=6 September 2021|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=22 May 2019|language=|pages=|quote=|last1=Rothe|first1=Yannick von Eisenhart}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Wegner |first1=Jochen |last2=Amend |first2=Christoph |title=Interviewpodcast: Rezo, warum willst du Bundeskanzler sein?|periodical=Die Zeit|publisher=|url=https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2019-10/rezo-interviewpodcast-alles-gesagt|url-status=live|format=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910193741/https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2019-10/rezo-interviewpodcast-alles-gesagt|archive-date=10 September 2021|date=11 October 2019|language=|pages=|quote=}}</ref> and grew up in a pastor's family.<ref name="nov16">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcIjFePxPo&t=539 ''How well do rezo and Julien Bam know each other?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016185949/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcIjFePxPo&t=539 |date=16 October 2021 }} In: YouTube from 16 November 2018, 8:59 min.</ref> His parents are Protestant ministers, as are several of his relatives. He was bullied during his school years and underwent psychological treatment for a short time.<ref name="spiegel_20190106">{{citation|author=Alexander Kühn, Lothar Gorris et al. |date=2019 |issue=23 |pages=1, 5, 12–21 |periodical=Der Spiegel |title=Kinder der Apokalypse |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/kinder-der-apokalypse-a-e3e8fa31-0002-0001-0000-000164181061?context=issue}}</ref> Music provided him with an escape, and he inherited his musical talent from his father.<ref name="spiegel_20190106" /><ref name="nfte">{{citation|author=Connie Hasenclever |chapter=Kapitel 4: Neue Sichtweisen entdecken und von bahnbrechenden Erfindungen erfahren – Eine Blitzkarriere im Web hat der YouTube-Star Rezo hingelegt |date=2018 |edition=6 |isbn=978-3-945177-57-0 |location=Bonn |pages=55 |publisher=Free Pen Verlag |title=NFTE Schülerbuch: Von der Idee zum Ziel |url=https://www.nfte.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Eine-Blitzkarriere-im-Web-hat-der-YouTube-Star-Rezo-hingelegt-Seite-55.pdf}}</ref> From the age of 14 until one and a half years before his master's degree, he played in various bands. He plays the guitar.
According to his own information, Rezo studied computer science at the Technical University of Dortmund and had taken music as a minor subject.<ref>{{citation|author=Hajo Schumacher |date=2019-05-27 |pages=A6 |periodical=Rheinische Post |title=Rezo und die Grenzen der Politik |url=https://rp-online.de/digitales/netzentdecker/kolumne-netzentdecker-hajo-schumacher-ueber-rezo-und-das-cdu-video_aid-39002987}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> From 2015 onwards, he was supported by the Dortmund Model SME Scholarship, which is funded by medium-sized companies.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2020-05-13 |archive-date=2016-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131150901/https://www.alumni-informatik-dortmund.de/node/3759 |date=2016-01-04 |publisher=Alumni der Informatik Dortmund |title=Verleihung DoMo-Stipendien |url=https://www.alumni-informatik-dortmund.de/node/3759}}</ref> He obtained his bachelor's degree in 2013 and his Master of Science in 2016 with a thesis in the field of graph theory.<ref name="imgur">[https://imgur.com/a/hGFTTOj Picture with Rezo and an anonymous certificate as ''Master of Science''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219115903/https://imgur.com/a/hGFTTOj |date=19 February 2021 }} In: Imgur.</ref>
Since Rezo says he is vegan and does not use intoxicants such as nicotine and cannabis, he has been classified as straight edge.<ref name="nfte" /><ref name="sz_20190524">{{cite web|access-date=2020-05-13 |author=Nicolas Freund |date=2019-05-24 |publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung |title=Profil – Rezo |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/profil-rezo-1.4460957 |website=SZ.de}}</ref> He also publicly advocates for veganism.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-01-12 |date=2019-11-22 |language=de-DE |title=REZO: »Vegan? Alles andere wäre nicht logisch!« |url=https://veganmagazin.de/2019/rezo-vegan-alles-andere-waere-nicht-logisch/ |website=veganmagazin}}</ref>
Although he does not describe himself as Christian, he says he has internalised Christian values.<ref name="spiegel_20190106" /><ref name="jetzt_20190521">{{cite web|access-date=2020-05-13 |author=Sophie Aschenbrenner, Nicolas Freund |date=2019-05-21 |publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung |title=Wie der Youtuber Rezo die Logik der CDU zerlegt |url=https://www.jetzt.de/politik/rezo-wie-ein-youtuber-die-cdu-zerlegt |website=Jetzt}}</ref> He attributes his eloquence to his upbringing, as there was always a lively culture of discussion at the dinner table at home.<ref name="ny_20191019">{{citation|author=Christopher F. Schütze |date=2019-10-19 |pages=6 |periodical=The New York Times |title=Delivering the Voice of a Generation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/world/europe/germany-rezo-youtube.html}}</ref> However, he sometimes stutters, which makes him uncomfortable in live situations such as panel discussions.<ref name="ds_20200114">{{cite web|access-date=2020-01-14 |author=Alexander Kühn |date=2020-01-14 |title=YouTube-Star Rezo: "Wichtig ist, was die Wissenschaftler sagen!" |url=https://www.spiegel.de/deinspiegel/youtube-star-rezo-im-kinder-interview-wichtig-ist-was-die-wissenschaftler-sagen-a-ff183be9-115f-4487-acda-00ee60361d73 |website=Dein Spiegel}}</ref>
Rezo does not reveal his real name in public and currently resides in Aachen.<ref name="tonline"/>
A distinguishing feature is his blue-colored hair.
==Career== Since September 2012, Rezo has had his own channel on YouTube, with almost 1.75 million users as of 2019 which is mostly about music, including his own performances, as covers, mashups or remixes. On his second channel ''Rezo ja lol ey'', he usually jokes and converses with other YouTubers about line-ups, bizarre chat messages or hate comments.<ref name="tonline"/>
In 2018, he created an ensemble cast music video of Hall of Fame (song) with 100 YouTube creators to celebrate having reached a million subscribers.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.t-online.de/digital/internet/id_84839768/rezo-100-youtuber-singen-zusammen.html | title=Rezo: 100 YouTuber singen zusammen | date=24 November 2018 | access-date=8 February 2022 | archive-date=8 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208161213/https://www.t-online.de/digital/internet/id_84839768/rezo-100-youtuber-singen-zusammen.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
On 18 May 2019, one week before the 2019 European Parliament election, Rezo published under his second YouTube channel ''Rezo ja lol ey''<ref name="schaible">{{Cite news |last=Jonas Schaible |date=May 22, 2019 |title=Wie sehr kann dieses Video der CDU schaden? |url=https://www.t-online.de/-/85797950 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413181445/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_85797950/youtuber-rezo-zerlegt-cdu-in-viralem-video-wie-sehr-kann-das-der-partei-schaden-.html |archive-date=13 April 2023 |access-date=2021-11-19 |work=T-online.de |language=de}}Jonas Schaible: [https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_85797950/youtuber-rezo-zerlegt-cdu-in-viralem-video-with-how-very-may-the-party-damage-can-do-it-all] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413181440/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_85797950/youtuber-rezo-zerlegt-cdu-in-viralem-video-wie-sehr-kann-das-der-partei-schaden-.html|date=13 April 2023}} on his YouTube second account.html ''"Destruction" on YouTube - How much can this video harm the CDU?''], T-online.de dated May 22, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.n-tv.de/politik/AKK-reagiert-auf-Anti-CDU-Video-von-Rezo-article21041938.html ''Wie im alten Ägypten - AKK reagiert auf Anti-CDU-Video von Rezo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013436/https://www.n-tv.de/politik/AKK-reagiert-auf-Anti-CDU-Video-von-Rezo-article21041938.html |date=12 November 2020 }}, n-tv vom 23. Mai 2019.</ref> a 54-minute video named "Die Zerstörung der CDU", which literally means "The destruction of/by the CDU", in which he said that essential political positions, especially of the parties CDU/CSU and SPD, are destroying "our lives and our future". The 55-minute video, with a list of 247 references and citations of scientific literature, accused the governing conservative alliance for a range of unsustainable policies such as inactivity in politics of global warming, making politics for the rich, war and internet censorship. He explicitly warned against voting for the right-wing populist AfD, as they would "only make the world worse". Towards the end, he stated: "You always say that young people should be political, in which case you have to get to grips with it when they think your politics are shit". His video went viral, receiving more than 13 million views within the first eleven days and triggered a broad social debate.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |date=2019-05-22 |title=German YouTuber Rezo's video attacking Merkel party goes viral |language=en |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/german-youtuber-rezo-video-attacking-merkel-party-cdu-goes-viral |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026200437/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/german-youtuber-rezo-video-attacking-merkel-party-cdu-goes-viral |url-status=live }}.</ref><ref name="elpais">{{Cite news |last=Müller |first=Enrique |date=2019-05-23 |title=Un 'youtuber' pone en jaque al partido de Merkel con un vídeo viral |language=es |work=El País |location=Madrid |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2019/05/23/actualidad/1558634251_116333.html |issn=1134-6582 |access-date=29 May 2019 |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205121408/https://elpais.com/internacional/2019/05/23/actualidad/1558634251_116333.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="figaro">{{Cite news |date=2019-05-24 |title=Un Youtubeur fait trembler la CDU d'Angela Merkel |language=fr |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/un-youtubeur-fait-trembler-la-cdu-d-angela-merkel-20190524 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119211533/https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/un-youtubeur-fait-trembler-la-cdu-d-angela-merkel-20190524 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |last=Schuetze |first=Christopher F. |date=2019-05-25 |title=Youth's Video Takes Aim at Merkel's Party in Run-Up to European Elections |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/25/world/europe/rezo-cdu-youtube-germany.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529200405/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/25/world/europe/rezo-cdu-youtube-germany.html |archive-date=2019-05-29 |url-status=unfit |access-date=2021-11-19 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 24 May 2019, two days ahead of the vote, Rezo was joined by more than 90 known bloggers in a three-minute followup video entitled ''A Statement of 90+ Youtubers'' which summarized the statements of the first video. They asked voters not to back Angela Merkel's bloc or the SPD, because of their politics of global warming.<ref>[https://www.wz.de/politik/rezo-veroeffentlicht-neues-video-ueber-90-youtuber-stellen-sich-hinter-ihn_aid-39018575 ''Shortly before the European elections: Rezo publishes new video - Over 90 Youtuber stand behind him''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213015539/https://www.wz.de/politik/rezo-veroeffentlicht-neues-video-ueber-90-youtuber-stellen-sich-hinter-ihn_aid-39018575 |date=13 February 2021 }}, Westdeutsche Zeitung of 24 May 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/rezo-dagibee-lefloid-70-youtube-stars-geben-nicht-wahlempfehlung-ab-a-1269225.html ''Criticism of GroKo and AfD - YouTube stars support Rezo with more video''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013554/https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/rezo-dagibee-lefloid-70-youtube-stars-geben-nicht-wahlempfehlung-ab-a-1269225.html |date=12 November 2020 }}, Der Spiegel, 24 May 2019.</ref>
In May 2019, after the EU election the leader of the CDU, Merkel's successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced she wanted to "regulate" political opinion in election campaigns. This was met with a wide political backlash. Bundestag Vice President Claudia Roth stated: "For years, the Union (CDU/CSU) has said that populist-right-wing discourse shifting, sometimes even national-right-wing agitation should not be approached too hard." As soon as a blogger expressed himself critically, "[Kramp-Karrenbauer] fabulates about the restriction of freedom of expression in the election campaign, one can only hope that it is rooted in helplessness and not in political conviction."<ref>[https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-05/cdu-saarland-ministerpraesident-tobias-hans-rezo-youtube "Ein beispielloser Angriff auf die Meinungsfreiheit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213171452/https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-05/cdu-saarland-ministerpraesident-tobias-hans-rezo-youtube |date=13 February 2021 }}, Die Zeit, 28 May 2019.</ref> In spite of the backlash, Kramp-Karrenbauer put the item "asymmetrical campaigning" on the agenda for a meeting of her party leadership on 2 July 2019.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/akk-laedt-cdu-mitglieder-via-fax-zu-tagung-ein-8731910.html|title=Digitale Inkompetenz: AKK lädt CDU mit Fax zur Konferenz ein – und das Internet lacht sich schlapp|publisher=Stern.de|date=29 May 2019|access-date=23 April 2020|language=de|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002824/https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/akk-laedt-cdu-mitglieder-via-fax-zu-tagung-ein-8731910.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/german-cdu-chief-annagret-kramp-karrenbauer-akk-under-fire-for-comments-about-campaign-speech-on-youtube German CDU chief under fire for comments about campaigning on YouTube] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214110254/https://www.politico.eu/article/german-cdu-chief-annagret-kramp-karrenbauer-akk-under-fire-for-comments-about-campaign-speech-on-youtube/ |date=14 February 2021 }}, Politico, 28 May 2019.</ref>
In September 2019, Rezo won a Goldene Kamera Digital Award as a special jury prize.<ref>https://www.goldenekamera.de/digitalaward/article227135225/Preistraeger-Special-Award-Rezo.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125111418/https://www.goldenekamera.de/digitalaward/article227135225/Preistraeger-Special-Award-Rezo.html |date=25 November 2020 }} , Goldene Kamera, 26 September 2019.</ref>
After the Halle synagogue shooting in October 2019, Rezo took to Twitter to criticise German interior minister Horst Seehofer for suggesting increased surveillance of the country's gaming community. Rezo accused Seehofer and the CSU of incompetent leadership.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schuetze |first=Christopher F. |title=The German YouTuber Emerging as the Voice of a Generation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/world/europe/germany-rezo-youtube.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021213736/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/world/europe/germany-rezo-youtube.html |archive-date=2019-10-21 |url-status=unfit |accessdate=21 October 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=18 October 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
He also made videos on the "climate crisis", denouncing for instance the doubts on the scientific consensus publicly expressed by one of the EU Parliament's vice-presidents, Nicola Beer.<ref>Ruth Ciesinger: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/rezos-appell-in-der-klimakrise-ihr-habt-die-zukunft-der-jungen-leute-in-der-hand/27582162.html Rezos Appell in der Klimakrise: „Ihr habt die Zukunft der jungen Leute in der Hand“] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311144039/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/rezos-appell-in-der-klimakrise-ihr-habt-die-zukunft-der-jungen-leute-in-der-hand/27582162.html |date=11 March 2022 }}. tagesspiegel.de. 4 September 2021, accessed on 5 September 2021. In German.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{YouTube|c=UCLCb_YDL9XfSYsWpS5xrO5Q}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Living people Category:German YouTubers Category:Video bloggers Category:1992 births Category:People from Wuppertal