Germán Garmendia Real Name
Germán Alejandro Garmendia Aranis (Spanish pronunciation: [xeɾˈman aleˈxandɾo ɣaɾˈmendja aˈɾanis];[a] born April 25, 1990) is a Chilean YouTuber, singer-songwriter, comedian and writer. He became famous for his YouTube channel HolaSoyGerman, which uploaded humorous videos about everyday situations. In 2013, he created his gameplay channel, JuegaGerman which, over time, would surpass his previous channel in subscribers.
In 2016, he became the first YouTuber to receive two Diamond plates, and outside his YouTube career, he formed a musical career with bands like Zudex, Feeling Every Sunset, and Ancud; he also released
several songs in his solo career. In April 2016, he released his first book, #ChupaElPerro. Another book, Di Hola, was released in 2018. He has received praise for his YouTube channels. In the MTV Millennial Awards, he won the Digital Icon and Master Gamer categories in 2014 and 2015, respectively. He was listed as one of the biggest YouTube stars by The Washington Post, one of the most popular by BBC, and one of the most influential in Time magazine.
On May 16, 2024, the JuegaGerman channel became the First Hispanic Channel to surpass 50 Million subscribers. It was also the first Spanish-language YouTube channel to receive the “Ruby Play Button” award, given to creators for surpassing that number of subscribers.
Currently, his JuegaGerman channel is the 73st channel in the world and has 53.2 million subscribers. He is also the sixth most-subscribed YouTuber in Spanish, behind the El Salvadorian channel “Alfredo Larin.” He is currently the most-subscribed YouTuber in Chile.
Early life
Germán Alejandro Garmendia Aranis was born on April 25, 1990, in Copiapó, Chile, and lived there until he was 12 years old. In 1993, when he was three, his father, Germán Luis Garmendia, died in a car crash on Christmas Eve. After the death of his father, he, his mother Cecilia del Carmen Aranis, and his brother Diego Garmendia traveled across the country until they settled in Los Vilos, a coastal city located to the north of Santiago, where he lived much of his adolescent life. In that town he met his first love, to whom he dedicated a song called “Para Ti”. He had originally planned to study civil engineering, however he never carried it out.
At 13, he and his brother and some friends formed a Pop rock band called Zudex. In 2006, he would start his career as a YouTuber by uploading videos of his band. They made several presentations in youth festivals and schools, achieving some renown in that field. Individual obligations and responsibilities precipitated the end of the band.[12] In the early 2010s, he was the vocalist of his next group Feeling Every Sunset.
Career
On September 9, 2011, he uploaded HolaSoyGerman’s first video titled Las cosas obvias de la vida (lit. “The obvious things in life”).The videos on the channel consisted of humorous monologues talking about everyday life situations. In an
interview with BBC Mundo, he stated that “The humor I do on YouTube is quite innocent. I’ve always liked
making people laugh by making fun of myself, never of others. In 2013, he created another YouTube channel called JuegaGerman, where he mainly uploads gameplay videos and other content.
A Spanish YouTuber named YoLordestructor uploaded a video accusing him of using bots to artificially boost his subs. He cite a deleted video from HolaSoyGerman, Internet y Redes Sociales, in which it displayed various websites marked as AddSocials, YouLikeHits and SocialClump, which are allegedly for using bots. Days later, he uploaded another video in which he accused Germán of having deleted his previous video due to copyright claims. Later, other YouTubers such as the Mexican Diego de La Mattaz known as Diego Mexivergas and the Chilean Xodaaa uploaded videos giving the accusations as true. On August 24, 2013, he uploaded a video responding to these accusations, claiming they were false, which racked up over four million views before being removed. In that same year, he uploaded the HolaSoyGerman most popular video titled Los Hermanos. At the end of 2013, through his channel HolaSoyGerman, which by then had 12 million subscribers, he became the YouTuber with the second most subscribers, only behind PewDiePie, according to data provided by YouTube Rewind. In August 2014 he won the “Digital Icon” category from MTV Millennial Awards.
In April 2014, he was scheduled to appear at the Telmex Aldea Digital in Zócalo, Mexico City. The event had many problems, the talk he gave did not have a good sound, the tent was filled with many more people than it could bear. People pushed each other and those who tried to enter were injured. After the Secretary of Public Security of the
Government of the Federal District regained control of the situation, the crowd dispersed and the event was cancelled. In 2015 he went together with El Rubius and other YouTubers to the Club Media Fest. In October 2015, Jack Black appeared in a video titled Tipos de alumnos (transl. ”Types of students”) to publicize the movie Goosebumps. In March 2016, the Canadian rock band, Simple Plan was featured in the intro of a video entitled La Comida. In April 2016, he would reach 10 million subscribers in his two main channels HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman, which led him to be the first YouTuber to obtain two Diamond plates. In June 2016, he won the category “Master Gamer” from MTV Millennial Awards,[41][42] at the Pepsi Center WTC in Mexico City.
YouTube Channels
| Channels | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel name | Year of creation | Videos | Status | Category | Subscribers | Views | YouTube Creator Awards | Ref. | |||
| Zudex | 2006 | 12 videos | Idle | Music | 63.1 K | +3.56 Million | — | — | — | — | [61] |
| FeelingEverySunset | 2010 | 9 videos | Idle | Music | 234 K | +13.28 Million | 100.000 | [62] | |||
| German Garmendia | 2010 | 9 videos | Idle | Music | 1.74 Million | +37.28 Million | 100.000 | 1.000.000 | [63] | ||
| HolaSoyGerman. | 2011 | 136 videos | Idle | Entertainment | 44.2 Million | +4.93 Billion | 100.000 | 1.000.000 | 10.000.000 | [64] | |
| HolaSoyGerman2 | 2011 | 11 videos | Idle | Entertainment | 3.24 Million | +43.89 Million | 100.000 | 1.000.000 | [65] | ||
| JuegaGerman | 2013 | 2.304 videos | Active | Gaming | 53.2 Million | +16.8 Billion | 100.000 | 1.000.000 | 10.000.000 | 50.000.000 | [66] |
| Ancud | 2016 | 25 videos | Idle | Music | 1.92 Million | +138.79 Million | 100.000 | 1.000.000 | [67] | ||
| GermanComiendo | 2020 | 1 video | Idle | Entertainment | 107 K | +565 K | 100.000 | [68] | |||
| Juanito Alcachofa | 2022 | 1 video | Idle | Entertainment | 336 K | +1.81 Million | 100.000 | [69] | |||
| El Baúl de Germán | 2023 | 53 videos | Idle | Gaming | 472 K | +37.15 Million | 100.000 | [70] | |||
| Total | +18 years on YouTube | 2.561 Videos | Active | Gaming, Entertainment and Music | 105.51 Million | +22 Billion | 9 Silver Play Button | 5 Gold Play Button | 2 Diamon Play Button | 1 Ruby Play Button | [71] |
| 17 YouTube Play Buttons (currently). | |||||||||||
| Last Update: April 25, 2025 | |||||||||||
Music career
He was vocalist for the band Ancud, made up of both him and his brother Diego. whose name was given in honor of the namesake city of Chiloé. On April 5, 2016, they released a four-track EP, Así es Normal. On November 12, 2016, he announced via Twitter that he would be present at the third Club Media Fest that would take place on December 10 of
that year, in Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires. On November 22, they posted on his band’s official account the music video for “Cambia”, a song with “quite soft guitars and melodies with German on the microphone.” In March 2017, Ancud was nominated in Best South Region Artist and Revelation Artist categories in the third edition of the Heat Latin Music Awards. In April, they released the studio album, Se hacen realidad, which contains 4 songs from the previous EP, Así es normal plus another 3 new songs, including the homonymous single that, like “Cambia”, had a promotional video clip.
Other works
In August 2014, he uploaded in HolaSoyGerman, Agua para Africa (lit. ’Water for Africa’), in which he shows his support for a non-profit campaign known as Agua Mi Caridad, whose main objective was to raise $100,000 to help the northern region of Sahel. In September of that year $72,000 was raised. In June 2015, he was the protagonist in an advertisement for the Mexican snack brand Crujitos. In 2016 he dubbed Julian’s voice in Ice Age: Collision Course in Latin Spanish,[120][121][122] whose character was described by Garmendia himself as “loud and scandalous”.
In August 2014, he uploaded in HolaSoyGerman, Agua para Africa (lit. ’Water for Africa’), in which he shows his support for a non-profit campaign known as Agua Mi Caridad, whose main objective was to raise $100,000 to help the northern region of Sahel. In September of that year $72,000 was raised. In June 2015, he was the protagonist in an advertisement for the Mexican snack brand Crujitos. In 2016 he dubbed Julian’s voice in Ice Age: Collision Course in Latin Spanish,[120][121][122] whose character was described by Garmendia himself as “loud and scandalous”.
Since April 9, 2018, he was Chilean ambassador of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In December 2021, he made an appearance in the Digital Table of the Teletón, in which he donated 30,000,000 Chilean pesos on behalf of the Antofagasta region. He also
participated in an episode of the show Socios de la Hamburguesa, directed by Pancho Saavedra. In it, he dedicated himself to chatting with Saavedra, Jorge Zabaleta and Pedro Ruminot, the latter stated that he contacted Germán to appear in an old CHV program, El club de comedia. In 2023 he was invited to participate in La Velada del Año 3 of the Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos, where he would face off against the Argentine streamer Coscu in a boxing match on July 1.During the boxing match, he lost by knockout to Coscu. In December 2023, he was invited by Gerard Piqué to be the president of a Kings League team, naming his team Real Titán. On November 4, 2024, Garmendia, Fede Vigevani, Ricky Limón, and other teammates visited MrBeast’s offices and took advantage of the meeting to create content for their respective channels. In January 2025, he traveled to Dubai to give a talk at the 1 Billion Followers Summit, where he discussed his career, successes, failures, content creation tips, and more.
Personal life
In November 2015, he uploaded a twenty-minute video to JuegaGerman in which he talked about how an alleged “obsessed fan” had threatened to kill people close to him. In 2015, he ended his relationship with Mexican YouTuber Allison Smith and returned to Chile. On May 29, 2016, he uploaded a video entitled Mi novia (lit. ’My Girlfriend’), in which he reveals his relationship with Lenay Chantelle Olsen, also known as Lele.
In a video from November 21, 2016, titled Mi Historia de Bullying (lit. ’My Bullying Story’), he spoke about the bullying that he suffered because of his thinness. In March 2017, during his stay in Chile, he uploaded the video “Esto tiene que parar… por favor” (lit. This has to stop… please), in which he talks about all the harassment he and his girlfriend had received from some fans.
n 2021, he returned to live in Chile for a time. During his stay, he continued creating content for JuegaGerman and gave a few interviews. In December of that same year, he appeared on Teletón Chile (an annual charity television event held in that country), to which he contributed a donation of 30 million Chilean pesos (approximately $32,000). In 2022 he returned to live in the United States.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | MTV Millennial Awards | Digital Icon | Won | [207] |
| 2015 | MTV Millennial Awards | Master Gamer | Won | [208] |
| 2016 | MTV Millennial Awards | Master Gamer | Won | [209] |
| 2016 | Streamy Awards | International | Won | [210] |
| 2017 | Heat Latin Music Awards | Best South Region Artist | Nominated | [211] |
| Revelation Artist | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Won | [212] |
| Argentina Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Nominated | [213] | |
| 2019 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Nominated | [214] |
| 2020 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Nominated | [215] |
| 2021 | Eliot Awards | Leyend Award | Won | [216] |
| 2022 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Chilean Celebrity | Nominated | [217] |
| 2023 | ESLAND Awards | Best Trajectory | Won | [218] |
| 2023 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Trajectory Award | Won | [219] |
| 2023 | Mexico Kids’ Choice Awards | Chilean Celebrity | Won | [220] |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course | Julian | Latin Spanish dubbing |
Discography
Studio albums and EPs
- 2006: Hecho en Casa (EP as Zudex)
- 2007: Punto De Partida (EP as Zudex)
- 2008: Mil Sueño (EP as Zudex)
- 2009: Rande Rande (EP as Zudex)
- 2011: Homemade (EP as German Garmendia)
- 2011: Die Trying (EP as Feeling Every Sunset)
- 2014: Cuando Desees Recordar Mi Voz (EP as Feeling Every Sunset)
- 2016: Así Es Normal (EP as Ancud)
- 2017: Se Hacen Realidad (Studio album as Ancud)
Singles
| Title | Year | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHI[115] | PR[113] | ||
| “Cambia (Remix)”(as Ancud) | 2017 | — | — |
| “Supernova (COVER)” | 2018 | — | — |
| “Cantando Comentarios”(as JuegaGerman) | 2018 | — | — |
| “Excepcional”(as Ancud) | 2019 | — | — |
| “Jovenes”(as Ancud) | 2019 | — | — |
| “Tregua” | 2020 | — | — |
| “Plan B” | 2020 | — | 123 |
| “Simplemente Perfecta” | 2020 | — | — |
| “Titán” | 2022 | 6 | — |
| “Bajo la Lluvia” | 2022 | — | — |
| “Tkm” | 2022 | — | — |
Works
- (2016) #ChupaElPerro: Uno que otro consejo. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-956-958-365-0.
- (2018) Di Hola. Planeta. ISBN 978-956-360-492-4.
Bibliography
Hall, Kevin (July 15, 2019). Germán Garmendia: Star Chilean Gamer with 10 Billion+ Views. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 978-1-7253-4608-6. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
See also
List of YouTubers
