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Cody Ko

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Cody Ko
Ko in June 2023
Born
Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk

(1990-11-22) 22 November 1990 (age 33)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma materDuke University (BA)
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • podcaster
  • comedian
  • rapper
Spouse
Kelsey Kreppel
​
(m. 2023)​
Children1
RelativesGreg Kolodziejzyk (father)
Musical career
GenresHip hop
Years active2017–present
LabelsArista
Formerly ofTiny Meat Gang
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2014–present
Genres
  • Commentary
  • comedy
Subscribers5.88 million[1]
Total views1.61 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers2016
1,000,000 subscribers2018
Last updated: 25 August 2024

Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk (born 22 November 1990; /ˌkɔːləˈdʒɛ.sɪk/ kaw-lə-JEH-sik,[2] Polish: [kɔwɔˈd͡ʑɛjt͡ʂɨk]), better known as Cody Ko, is a Canadian YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, and rapper. His style of content is often crudely comedic and profane.[a] As of April 2023, his five YouTube channels have collectively earned over 9.37 million subscribers and 1.86 billion views.

After majoring in computer science at Duke University, Ko worked as a mobile developer and began making Vines, garnering almost 2 million followers on Vine before the social media platform closed in 2017. He shifted to uploading commentary and reaction videos to YouTube, where he and fellow YouTuber Noel Miller became popular with their reaction series That's Cringe and the Tiny Meat Gang Podcast. They also began a comedy hip hop group called Tiny Meat Gang. In 2019, influencer Jake Paul was criticized for accusing Ko of cyberbullying in his commentary videos, inadvertently causing Ko to gain 140,000 subscribers. In 2021, Ko and Miller expanded their podcast into Tiny Meat Gang Studios, a comedy podcast network. Ko stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2024 after YouTuber Tana Mongeau accused him of statutory rape.

Early life

Ko was born Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk in Calgary on 22 November 1990, the son of professional cyclist Greg Kolodziejzyk and his wife Helen. He enrolled at Duke University in North Carolina after being recruited on their swimming and diving team.[3][4][5] At Duke, he joined a fraternity and became captain of the varsity team, but later regretted some of his fraternity experiences.[4][5] Ko graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. The same year, he moved to Silicon Valley.[6][7]

Career

2012–2016: I'd Cap That, computer engineering, and Vine

Ko shortened his professional surname from Kolodziejzyk early in his career,[6] as his Polish surname was too difficult to spell and pronounce.[2] In March 2012, he began to develop the photo-sharing mobile app I'd Cap That, which automatically added meme-like captions to images. It went viral and was the App Store's Free iOS App Of The Week in May, amassing over four million users in four months. Ko wanted to join a startup and continue developing apps.[7][8] I'd Cap That was acquired several months later by a startup called Iddiction, and Ko worked there on the app for two years before quitting in 2014.[9][10] He moved to San Francisco to work for the company.[11]

Ko first began uploading to Vine, a six-second video platform, in 2013. He partnered with the now-defunct multi-channel network Fullscreen, with Mahzad Babayan becoming his full-time talent manager.[b] He credited the network and his background in computer engineering for his early success.[13] In May 2014, Ko and his friend Devon Townsend left on an eight-month backpacking trip in southeast Asia. Throughout the trip, the pair created Vines and started several side projects for ad revenue and experience creating apps with other technologies such as Node.js. The videos were unexpectedly viral and Ko became a popular figure on Vine.[9][14] He had amassed over 290,000 followers by July.[15]

In January 2015, the two returned to the United States. Moving to Los Angeles, they looked for software jobs and continued to make Vines.[9] Ko collaborated with comedian Hannibal Buress to promote Buress' Comedy Central show Why? with Hannibal Buress (2015). By November 2015, he had almost two million followers on the platform.[16]

Ko worked for the company Victorious for eight months and had less time to create content. He also frequently had to leave midday for auditions. His manager gave him a job as a senior iOS developer at her employer Fullscreen, where they would be more relaxed about him leaving midday for content creation as a social media company. Ko contributed to the code for Fullscreen's subscription service. At Fullscreen, Ko also met Noel Miller, a web designer from marketing and fellow Viner, by chance after they had previously talked online. The pair became close and often created internet content on their lunch breaks.[9][17] He quit his job at Fullscreen in July 2016, deciding that he could support himself on sponsorships alone.[9]

2016–2019: YouTube commentary, music, and podcasts

[That's Cringe started when Miller] sent me this video of a blowjob robot [...] Super funny. And I was like, we could do this for a video—watch it, and rip it on for 20 minutes.

Cody Ko, Forbes[14]

Ko joined YouTube on 30 May 2014.[18] After Vine was discontinued, he shifted to YouTube content. He and Miller became popular on YouTube with their series That's Cringe, hosted on Ko's channel, where the two react to content they consider dumb. That's Cringe has over 153 million combined views and makes up most of his channel's most popular videos.[14][19] An episode on controversial YouTuber Jake Paul in October 2017 amassed over seventeen million views.[20] Another episode on the Christian lifestyle channel Girl Defined spurred viral TikTok memes mocking Girl Defined and their videos' themes of extended chastity.[21]

Ko's other content focuses on internet culture, such as criticism of internet personalities, NFTs or ASMR videos involving dangerous acts. He and other commentary YouTubers have been described as "media critics" for an online millennial audience.[19][22] Vulture said that his videos helped bring attention to YouTube commentary and help it grow from a subsection of reaction videos.[20] Ko is also part of the cast of Jimmy Tatro's web series The Real Bros of Simi Valley, which airs on Facebook Watch.[14] He used to edit his videos himself, but began to hire outside editors and a production team.[17]

Ko and Miller have made satirical rap songs together as Tiny Meat Gang (TMG) since 2017.[23] Miller dubbed the pair "Tiny Meat Gang" after joking about "the weird idea of an 'unborn child as an fboy [sic]' posing in a sonogram".[17][12] However, the two began considering music earnestly after they were contacted by producer Diamond Pistols[24] and released their first extended play Bangers & Ass the same year.[25] After struggling with repeated demonetization, Ko and Miller began the Tiny Meat Gang Podcast in October 2017 to make up for losses. Each hour-long episode discusses various topics related to pop and internet culture.[9][26][23]

In 2018, Ko and Miller went on tour and reached 1 million subscribers on his main channel in June. In an interview with Tubefilter, Ko attributed his success to "ripping on the Paul brothers."[27] The same year, Post Malone was featured in an episode of their podcast[23] and Tiny Meat Gang released their second EP, Locals Only.[25]

2019–2021: Tiny Meat Gang and continued growth

In early 2019, Tiny Meat Gang won Best Podcast at the 11th Shorty Awards.[26][28] Ko and Miller also appeared in a live comedy tour across the United States as Tiny Meat Gang.[25] After Jake Paul released a vlog confronting Ko, who he called a 'cyberbully', in person on Jeff Wittek's podcast, Paul was widely criticized online and the video received over 800,000 dislikes.[20][29] The Washington Post described it as an example of celebrities dismissing genuine criticism as hate;[30] however, Ko gained around 140,000 subscribers directly after the incident and surpassed four million by late 2019.[31][32]

Tiny Meat Gang collaborated with Blackbear for the single "Short Kings Anthem".[23] In October, they signed with Arista Records and announced a new EP.[25] In October 2020, Ko hosted an eight-episode podcast on iHeartRadio titled The Pleasure is Ours, with guest stars such as Drew Gooden and Emma Chamberlain, in which they discuss truisms and popular sayings.[14]

Adlan Jackson of The New York Times Magazine noted that as Ko and Miller rose in popularity, many of the figures they have mocked appeared in their videos.[19] After criticizing Dhar Mann for his formulaic videos, Ko produced one of his videos and shifted his opinion, saying they were made that way so that his audience, mainly foreigners and children, could understand.[33] Controversial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk also appeared in a 2021 episode of Tiny Meat Gang. Due to this, some fans began to worry about a potential conflict of interest and that the two "would [be incentivized] to pull their punches."[19]

2021–present: Tiny Meat Gang Studios

In October 2021, Ko and Miller co-founded Tiny Meat Gang Studios, a comedy podcast network. They are represented by United Talent Agency, who have assisted in the network's expansion. The flagship Tiny Meat Gang Podcast became divided into one free and one subscriber-only hour-long segment.[12] It had over 200 million downloads in 2022. An October 2022 episode featuring the YouTuber MrBeast became one of the most-viewed episodes of the podcast.[34][35] In 2024, TMG brought several more podcasts under their umbrella, including Emergency Intercom.[36]

Ko got into marathon running during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he "got into a weird rut" and signed up for his first ultramarathon. Documenting his running training on a separate channel, Cody Trains, Ko ran three more marathons and an Ironman Triathlon by late 2023.[11][37] In the 2020s, Ko started making popular reaction videos to dating web shows, especially those produced by Jubilee Media and The Cut. He voiced the eponymous button on one such show, The Button. Ko has steadily released singles, such as "Not Going Home" and The Button–inspired "Nightmare" and is a resident DJ at Wynn Las Vegas.[11]

Personal life

Ko met American teacher Kelsey Kreppel at a friend's party in June 2017, and they began dating three months later. In 2018, they moved into an apartment in Marina del Rey, California, and Kreppel started appearing in his videos. In 2020, they purchased their first home in the Venice area of Los Angeles, which they sold when they purchased a new home in Malibu, California.[38] They became engaged on 18 December 2021, and were married on 4 February 2023 in Indian Wells, California.[6] In 2023, they sold their Malibu home and purchased Reese Witherspoon's former holiday home in a different area of Malibu.[38] They announced the birth of their first child, Otis, in January 2024.[39]

Statutory rape allegations

In May 2024, YouTuber Tana Mongeau stated on her podcast Cancelled that she and Ko had had sex in Florida when she was 17 and he was 25. Florida law forbids sex where one partner is under 18 and the other over 24. While the allegation was reported on by Rolling Stone the following month, it did not receive widespread attention from other YouTubers and the larger media until YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace uploaded a video covering the subject in July. Ko did not immediately respond to the allegation,[40][41] but he stepped down from day-to-day operations at TMG Studios on July 26. Emergency Intercom's creators also left the network, bringing the studio's number of podcasts to six. According to Social Blade, his YouTube channel lost around 250,000 subscribers in the following 30 days.[42]

Discography and additional works

Singles, features, & alternate versions
Title Type Additional artists Release date Year Ref.
"Cuddle Bug" Single March 20 2019 [43]
"Fuck Halloween" October 14
"One for the Billionaires" March 1 2022
"Fiat" Matt Miggz September 16
"Knock it Off - Space Rangers Remix" Space Rangers October 14
"Moderation" December 9
"Til I Die - Cody Ko Remix" Remix Space Rangers, Disco Lines July 14 2023
"Bop It" Single Space Rangers September 22
"Not Going Home" Sunday Scaries November 10
"Nightmare" Young Nut April 5 2024
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" Moonlght May 28
Appears on & additional works
Title Additional contributors Year(s) Type of work Ref.
Tiny Meat Gang (TMG) Noel Miller 2017–2024 Comedy, music production [43]
The Tiny Meat Gang Podcast Podcast, comedy

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Camp Unplug Himself Vine series [44]
2017 GOAT Rodeo with Cody Ko Weekly Fullscreen series [45]
2017–2020 The Real Bros of Simi Valley Wade Sanders Main role [46]
2017 The Boonies Teddy [47]
2024 The Real Bros of Simi Valley: The Movie Wade Sanders [48]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2018 10th Shorty Awards YouTuber of the Year Cody Ko Nominated [46]
2019 11th Shorty Awards Best Podcast The Tiny Meat Gang Podcast Won [26]
9th Streamy Awards Show of the Year Nominated [49]
Podcast Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Robison (2021): "often-crude videos involving silly bits with friends, sexual innuendo, and jokes about internet culture"
    Emmanuele (2015): "(and often profane)"
  2. ^ As of December 2022, Babayan still works with Ko. She is currently employed as a talent agent by United Talent Agency, which represents Ko and Miller.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "About Cody Ko". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Hales, Andrew Gerald; Kolodziejzyk, Cody Michael (15 June 2017). Chatting with Cody Ko (Interview). LAHWF. Event occurs at 0:16–0:37. Pronunciation begins at 0:19. Retrieved 9 October 2022 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Kolodziejzyk, Cody Michael [@codyko] (22 November 2019). "I invented birthdays" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b "Cody Kolodziejzyk". Go Duke!. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b Belavadi, Navya (25 March 2021). "From studying computer science to regretting parts of the fraternity experience, Cody Ko reflects on time at Duke". Duke Chronicle. Duke University. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b c La Gorce, Tammy (10 February 2023). "Private Moments for a Very Public Couple". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b McNicholas, Kym (25 June 2012). "Need An iOS Developer? 21-Year-Old's App Tops AppStore, and Now He's Looking to Join a Startup". PandoDaily. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  8. ^ Kingkade, Tyler (7 July 2012). "Cody Kolodziejzyk, Duke Grad, Would Rather Join Company Than Pursue His Popular iPhone App (VIDEO)". HuffPost. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Robison, Kylie (6 May 2021). "Cody Ko explains how his 5 years as an app developer helped prepare him for a career as a YouTube superstar with 5.5 million subscribers". Insider. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Calgary's I'd Cap That Acquired by Silicon Valley's Iddiction". Calgary Herald. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Guzman, Ivan (13 May 2024). "Cody Ko's Comfort Core". Paper. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Spangler, Todd (7 December 2022). "How Comedy Duo Cody Ko and Noel Miller Built a Growing Podcast Network With Tiny Meat Gang Studios". Variety. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  13. ^ Weiss, Geoff (18 July 2018). "Fullscreen Has Quietly Offered 360-Degree Talent Management For 2 Years — And Its Client Roster Is Growing Fast". Tubefilter. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e Brown, Abram (26 October 2020). "The Many, Many Lives Of Cody Ko, One Of The Internet's Original Stars". Forbes. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  15. ^ Votta, Rae (11 July 2014). "6-second auditions on Vine are comedy gold". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  16. ^ Emmanuele, Julia (12 November 2015). "Vine Star Cody Ko Reveals the Apps He's Addicted to and the Secret to Making Great Vines: 'Don't Try Too Hard'". People. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  17. ^ a b c Konstantinovic, Danny (30 June 2021). "Exclusive Interview: How Cody Ko went from software engineer to YouTube comedy millionaire". The Business of Business (Transcript). Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. ^ "About Cody Ko". YouTube. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d Jackson, Adlan (29 June 2022). "The Accidental Media Critics of YouTube". The New York Times Magazine. Illustrated by Karl Russell Vickers. ISSN 2269-9740. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  20. ^ a b c Haylock, Zoe (2 March 2021). "Welcome to the Circus". Vulture. New York. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  21. ^ McNeal, Stephanie (6 November 2019). "How These Small-Time Christian Influencers Became A Viral TikTok Meme About Purity Culture". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  22. ^ O'Sullivan, Eilish (20 May 2021). "ASMR YouTubers are eating deodorant, glass, and rocks". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d De Freitas, Ryan (24 January 2020). "Tiny Meat, Huge Dreams: TMG's Cody Ko and Noel Miller on their Wild Ride from Vine to a Major Label Deal". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  24. ^ Taylor, Charlie (29 January 2021). "Cody Ko talks tech, entertainment and taking risks". The Pitt News. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 26 October 2022. Ko and Noel Miller started releasing music under the name Tiny Meat Gang in 2017, but according to Ko, the duo hadn't considered doing music seriously until producer Diamond Pistols reached out to them about recording an EP.
  25. ^ a b c d Glicksman, Josh (24 October 2019). "Tiny Meat Gang Signs to Arista Records: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  26. ^ a b c "TINY MEAT GANG". Shorty Awards. 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  27. ^ Gutelle, Sam (7 June 2018). "YouTube Millionaires: Cody Ko Celebrates "Awesome And Rewarding" Response To His Videos". Tubefilter. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  28. ^ "'Tiny Meat Gang' wins 2019 Best Podcast Shorty, 'Bag Man' Best Branded Podcast". Yahoo! News. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  29. ^ Sung, Morgan (20 May 2019). "Jake Paul's attempt at calling out 'cyberbully' Cody Ko backfired beautifully". Mashable. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  30. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (20 May 2019). "The new hot thing on YouTube is destroying someone else". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  31. ^ Hill, Harry (22 May 2019). "Cody Ko addresses Jake Paul's failed attempt at canceling him". Mashable. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  32. ^ Weiss, Geoff (25 November 2019). "Cody Ko Launches Standalone Collection With Killer Merch". Tubefilter. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  33. ^ Iovine, Anna (17 December 2021). "How Dhar Mann turned cheesy life lessons into a YouTube empire". Mashable. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  34. ^ Gutelle, Sam (7 December 2022). "The Tiny Meat Gang podcast has received 200 million downloads. Its hosts are expanding in a big way". Tubefilter. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  35. ^ Robinson, Breanna (7 October 2022). "Logan Paul and MrBeast considering run for president and people are worried". Indy100. The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  36. ^ "'Emergency Intercom' Podcast Nears 3rd Anniversary — and Its Hosts 'Still Knock on Wood Every Day' (Exclusive)". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  37. ^ Goldberg, Izzy (31 October 2023). "The Real-Life Diet of Cody Ko, Whose Favorite Meal Is Chicken and Waffles". GQ. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  38. ^ a b Tallal, Jimy (27 May 2023). "The latest celebrity and high-dollar real estate news in Malibu • The Malibu Times". Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  39. ^ Kaur, Brahmjot (22 January 2024). "YouTubers Cody Ko and Kelsey Kreppel Welcome First Baby". E!. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  40. ^ Mendez, Moises II (19 July 2024). "Breaking Down the Controversy Surrounding YouTuber Cody Ko". Time. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  41. ^ Goffe, Nadira (17 July 2024). "The Cody Ko Controversy, Explained". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  42. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (27 July 2024). "Popular YouTuber Cody Ko steps down from his podcast network following allegations that he had sex with an underaged influencer". NBC News. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  43. ^ a b "Spotify – Cody Ko - Discography". Spotify. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  44. ^ Weiss, Geoff (27 June 2016). "Vine Premieres Its First Long-Form Original Series, 'Camp Unplug', Starring Lauren Giraldo, Cody Ko". Tubefilter. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  45. ^ Spangler, Todd (9 March 2017). "Fullscreen Adds Rae Sremmurd's Spring Break Special, 'Undateable' and KSI's 'Laid in America' to SVOD Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  46. ^ a b "CODY KO". Shorty Awards. 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  47. ^ Pedersen, Erik (21 July 2017). "Complex Networks Sets Q3 Slate: Skateboarders, Haunted Treasure Hunt & More Set For Go90". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  48. ^ White, Peter (28 March 2024). "'The Real Bros of Simi Valley' Returns As A Movie For Roku". Deadline. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  49. ^ "9TH ANNUAL WINNERS". Streamy Awards. 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
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