So who out there has heard of Zyzz? For those who are fans of his, I would suggest you dont read on. For those who have never heard of it, I apologise in advance for informing you of this human beings presence in society but personally, I find him hilarious! I also apologise for some of the foul language used in this. If bad language offends you, please STOP READING :)
So Zyzz is just another Sydneysider who LOVES himself more than humanly possible. He was not known in a public forum until his appearance on the fitness athlete website Simply Shredded. On this website, athletes from all over the globe are interviewed. They share with likeminded people how their passion for fitness started, discuss their training styles, diet regime, plans for the future and much much more. In his initial interview, he seemed like just another gym junkie!
Thats when his 'fame' started. Along with his following, Zyzz proceeded to create videos of himself, his muscles, his workouts, him 'mirin his aesthetics' (aka. 'admiring the way he looks') and thats pretty much it. But he didnt create one video, he created hundreds. He started off with his own following, which grew, and grew, and grew. For some reason, his videos capute the likes of thousands and thousands of viewers. Now, he is known throughout Australia, all through building his own identity via Social Media.
Imagine making your own YouTube video of nothing but trash and copping 659,054 views... 2,917 likes, 539 dislikes which really isnt such a bad result considering the egotistical, self-obsessed and self absorbed way Zyzz presents himself!
It is important to look at what happens when such controvertial videos are uploaded to Social Media Forums. Despite Zyzz having a HUGE number of admirers and people who aspire to being just like him, it is apparent that many people despise him!
So Zyzz has succeeded in two ways at establishing himself amongst the Sydney scene and the bodybuilder scene, and developing his own language that people are actually using! As I flick through my Facebook updates after a long day in the office, I see people using his 'lingo' like its normal English.
'Your Mirin Brah?' ''Yeah, brah, I'm jelly.'' Wanna ride a bicycle tonight? ''Yeah, brah.'' Yes, I know you are all thinking what an absolute joke... but unfortuantely this is real... Zyzz is real! I am just hoping for everyones sake that the recent publicity on this 'wannabe' g-d brings young Zyzz back to reality before any more Gen Y and Z's follow in his foot steps!
I would love to get everyones feedback on this... but I know right now you will all be speechless as to what society has become! Sorry for bringing Zyzz into your vocabulary ;)
Great post Kate! Identity building through SM, pretty neat concept I think. Zyzz is quite funny watch, I've never heard of him, but the vids you posted are good!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few people around who do some crazy stuff and SM (particularly youtube) is the ideal way to entertain others with your crazy ideas and in this case, even build an identity that is quite unique and then gathering a following. I guess for brands it could work similar, but being something that people have to part with money to obtain (the products), my view is that will be much more difficult to gain this unique identity as a brand.
Ross
Interesting post! While I think he's been very good at cutting through the masses and finding a nice audience for himself, im not sure if he's capable of turning this into something commercial and/or sustainable. He should capitalise off this while he can...Does he do any merchandising?
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique individual! He's certainly using SM well to build his brand. But I wonder if his followers admire him, or are laughing AT him?
ReplyDeleteAs Craig says, it will be interesting to see if he can monetize his fame?
Well he does have a Protein supplement out called 'Protein of the g-ds', that has its own line of training singlets, and I believe has written a 'Bodybuilding Bible' so it appears he has actually used the attention gained from SM to educate his followers on his own product offerings. I have read quite a few forums on him and YouTube reviews as whilst he does attract some negative feedback, there are WAY TOO many people that idolise him!
ReplyDeleteBREAKING NEWS...
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Zyzz izz no more: This article in The Age has just reported his death.
that's amazing my 15 year old son was just talking about this fella the other day (when he died)! With SMM his memory will certainly live on. Despite the language I'm not sure his heart was that bad (no pun intended being as he died in a sauna!). Just a bit loopy.
ReplyDeleteWell much of the publicity has reported that his presentation through SMM was all a front and that he was actually a really decent, down to earth guy. He studied business/commerce at uni and was a family boy. Very sad! Amazing to see some of the posts on the new facebook page created 'RIP Zyzz'. Some people reporting that he gave them the drive to live and the motivation they needed at the gym - most of which had never met him. It would appear he really will be missed by many. Such a waste of life, too young!
ReplyDelete