# Zach King

Zachary Michael King (born February 4, 1990) is an American internet personality based in Los Angeles. He is most known for his "magic vines," which are six-second videos digitally edited to look as if he is doing magic. He calls his videos "digital sleight of hand." He began posting videos on YouTube in 2008 and in 2013 he started posting videos to Vine. King posted his first video to TikTok (then known as musical.ly) in 2016, and has since attracted over 90 million followers, making him the sixth most-followed individual on the platform.
King won the Hewlett-Packard commercial contest in 2010, and got a trip to the red carpet at the London Film Festival. In 2013, he won YouTube's NextUp Creators contest. In 2015, King and his wife Rachel Holm competed in the 28th season of the American reality game show The Amazing Race. They were eliminated during the ninth leg of the race being placed sixth in the overall standings.
According to Insider, King was TikTok's 5th most followed content creator on August 4, 2021.

## Early life

King was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He is of half-Chinese descent from his paternal side, one-quarter Austrian and one-quarter Nicaraguan descent from his maternal side. He is also mixed-handed, mostly being right-handed. King's mother homeschooled him and his three sisters, including one adopted sister, while his father worked in their home office. When he was seven, King made his first film using a home video camera. When he was fourteen, he purchased video equipment including a Mac computer, cameras as well as a tripod and started making and editing videos. He graduated from Biola University with a Cinema and Media Arts Major in December 2012.

## Career
### Early work and YouTube

King started his website, FinalCutKing.com in 2008, to offer training and tips about using the editing software Final Cut Pro as he was unable to find tutorials for the software on the Internet. At the same time, he started using his YouTube channel to give tutorials for visual effects using the Software. After gaining an audience for his website, he began selling training seminars and used the money to pay for his college. He participated as a contestant on an episode of Viral Video Showdown that aired on Syfy in 2012.
In 2011, he posted a video titled Jedi Kittens on YouTube that he produced with a college friend. The video showed two cats fighting with lightsabers. The video gained over a million views in three days and went on to have over 18 million views. A sequel of the video titled Jedi Kittens Strike Back gained over 27 million views. A third part of the video, Jedi Kittens – The Force Awakens was posted in 2013, which has gained over 28 million views. King's official YouTube channel is named Zach King.
He was named by YouTube as one of the 25 most promising young film-makers in America in May 2013. As part of its Next Up Creators contest, YouTube awarded King $35,000 as well as a trip to New York City for a four-day YouTube Creator Camp. His submission to the contest was titled Contest Entry Gone Wrong. In the video, he appeared to dodge an assault by airstrikes and ground fire as he pleaded his case to be selected for the YouTube award. As of August 2024, he has 37 million subscribers and 669 videos with 15.17 billion views.
King posted a short video as part of YouTube Shorts which gained over 1.2 billion views. It is often referred to as "Zach King's graffiti video" on the internet by fans and netizens. King says, "It's not easy. People watch a dance video and think, 'I can do it.' But there's a magic to it. A lot of it is in their eyes, and their connections, and also with their real-life story."
On December 1, 2022 King broke a Guinness World Record for most viewed video on TikTok with 2.2 billion views. Titled "Zach Kings Magic Broomstick", the internet-famous video was posted on 9 December 2019. The viral magician then emerges on screen dressed in a Hogwarts uniform as he appears to fly through the streets on a broomstick before the illusion trick is revealed.

### Vine

King made his account on Vine on September 9, 2013, when he saw that many of his friends had an account on the social media website. After creating an account on Vine, he decided to create one Vine each day for the next thirty days. After the success of his first few Vines, he decided to continue with creating and posting new Vines.
He appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 29, 2014, and made several Vines with the crew of the show. King formerly created Vine videos for a living and worked out of his garage. In an interview with The Independent, he said that he would want to direct feature films, preferably action-adventure movies, in the future.
King has been featured in multiple media outlets for his Vines. Chez Pazienza wrote about King that "this guy's stuff is pure magic (or at least the work of some very clever editing.)" Mashable's Laura Vitto wrote of his work, "Vine star and filmmaker Zach King may not perform magic in the traditional sense, but his expertly-edited six-second videos could put David Blaine to shame."
Writing for Complex magazine, J. Duaine Hahn wrote that "While people have hit Vine stardom for skits, or splicing together commentary with popular YouTube videos, King has gone the extra mile to use his six seconds to create magic, or the closest thing you can get to it with on a smartphone."
In an interview, Zach said that “producing a Vine usually takes upwards of 24 hours, with three to four hours of filming”.

### TikTok

King posted his first video to TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly, on February 28, 2016, which was him escaping a jail cell. His video caption was "Need help posting bail, oh wait nevermind." As of November 2024, he has amassed a following of over 82.3 million followers on the popular app, making him the third most followed user on TikTok.
Zach King also posted the most viewed TikTok on December 9, 2019. The video was of him flying while riding a broomstick, where he later shows it's a trick and he was actually using a mirror. The caption of the video was "They rejected my application to Hogwarts but I still found a way to be a wizard." The video received an estimate of 2 billion views.
King shot most of his videos by himself throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He has a 25-person team on staff that helps him write and produce his video content. His videos can take up to 2 weeks to make, and their goal is to make two videos a week.

### Content

Zach King rose to fame with his content which he used his masterful editing skills to produce. He uses a sense of illusion and visual effects to create surprising and absorbable content. Most of his content contains everyday scenarios that take a "magical" turn, such as walking through walls or transforming objects into something else with a wave of his hand. Now King isn't actually magic, he uses his editing skills and effects to create this "magic", and give his viewers the appearance that it is all happening in real time.
King's content is family-friendly and appeals to people of all ages. He includes relatable content such as school, work, hobbies, yet puts a twist to make his videos relatable while also exciting. His videos are typically only a couple seconds to around a minute long, designed to be absorbed by anyone in this time of technology and short attention spans. Ultimately, his videos invite viewers to see the impossible and inspires imagination.

### Writing career

Zach King has been a published author since 2016. King has two different children's book series that are popular in their respective fields. King wrote three books on the hit game Minecraft, and another three for a trilogy on his own life in a fantasy fiction style. King's first published book was "My Minecraft Escapades", on January 21, 2016. The story is about a boy named Nathan who loved Minecraft, and is eventually sucked into the game, having to use his expertise and knowledge of the game to survive and get back home.
After gaining some traction, his second children's novel was published. It was called "Minecraft Mathematicians" and it was published on March 19, 2016. Steve's best subject in school is math, and when he magically turns his life into a Minecraft world, he has to use his math skills and knowledge to survive the Minecraft world.
His third book on Minecraft was published on April 10 of 2016 and is called "A Minecraft Wish Granted". A children's novel on a boy named Benjamin who has a Minecraft themed birthday party. During his cake and candles, Benjamin wishes his life would be a Minecraft universe. His wish comes true and he has to battle and survive.
King then after the popularity of his Minecraft series of books shifted his focus to writing about his own life. King released three books under his Magic Life Trilogy. It is a fantasy fiction series about his own life and events during his life that shaped the way he saw Magic. Each of the three books have a free downloadable app that is interactive with each book. The characters and story comes to life on your phone screen as you read along with the book and the app.
King's first children's book in the Magic Life Series was published on September 16, 2017 and was titled "Zach King: My Magical Life". It is a fictional fantasy story about Zach's life where his family all has magic powers except Zach. The book explores his journey in finding his magical powers. The second book published was "Zach King: The Magical Mix-Up" on May 1, 2018. Zach enters public middle school and tries to fit in with the normal kids. King wraps up his Magic Life Trilogy with the book "Zach King: Mirror Magic". Zach finally recovers his magical powers in the end of The Magical Mix-Up. In this adaptation, Zach travels through a magic mirror and has to find his way back to real life.

## Personal life

When King was seven, his family converted to Christianity, which he states is one of the "greatest things" that has happened in his life. He considers himself as a devout Christian, attempting to read parts of the Bible when he wakes up every morning. He is also vocal with his faith, even incorporating it into his videos. King attended Biola University, a non-denominational Christian university, and had led youth groups at various Christian camps.
King proposed to his girlfriend, Rachel Holm, while pretending to create a video advertisement for one of her brands. They got married in 2014. In 2016, they competed together on The Amazing Race 28 and placed 6th. As of 2017, they lived in Rossmoor, an unincorporated community in Orange County, California. Both King and his wife have adopted siblings, which would later inspire her to work as a case manager for adoptive and foster-care. The couple have fostered a few children, as well as having both an adopted son, Mason and a biological son, Liam. In 2023, it was announced on YouTube that the couple had another baby, a girl named Emerson.

## Controversies and legal Issues

A former producer for Zach named Elizabeth Logan filed a lawsuit against King and his studio King Studio LLC on accounts of "wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, wage discrimination, failure to prevent harassment discrimination or retaliation and various state Labor Code violations." During the trial, the prosecution stated "Zach King belittled, verbally attacked and yelled at Ms. Logan for the slightest perceived misstep, while turning a blind eye to male co-workers' grave errors,'' the suit states. During a zoom call in May 2020, King fired Logan because "she complained too much." As part of Mr. King's continuous pattern of misogyny, Mr. King told her to 'think of it like a breakup,''' the suit states. King has yet to release a public statement about the lawsuit.

## Filmography

Film roles :
| Year | Title | Director | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Zootopia | No | Muzzled Wolf | Voice only |
| 2018 | Would You Fire Me For This? | co-director | Zach King | Short film |
| 2018 | Magic Duel: Jack Black vs Zach King | Yes | Zach King | Short film featuring Jack Black |
| 2018 | A Magician Home Alone | co-director | Zach King | Short film featuring Jamie Costa |
| 2019 | Viking Academy | co-director | Zach King | Short film |
| 2019 | Stranded on Treasure Island | No | Zach King | Short film |
| 2019 | Zach King's the Magical Night Before Christmas | co-director | Zach King | Short film |
| 2020 | Zach King's Day Off | co-director | Zach King | Short film featuring Brian Patrick Butler and Nicholas Downs |
| 2021 | The Time Traveling Sheriff | No | Zach King | Short film |
| 2022 | First to the Gate | co-director | Zach King | Short film |
| 2022 | Stranded Part 2 | No | Zach King | Short film |
| 2023 | How I Got Cast In Shazam! Fury Of The Gods | No | Zach King | Short film featuring Zachary Levi |
| 2023 | Stranded 3 | No | Zach King | Short film featuring Terry Crews |
| 2024 | Zach King Magic vs Porch Pirates | No | Zach King | Short film featuring Mark Rober and Wayne Brady |
Television roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2021 | Nickelodeon's Unfiltered | Himself | Episode: "This DJ is Bananas!" |
| 2021 | Dave | Himself | Episode: "Somebody Date me" |

## Awards and honors

* 2009 – First place Film Festival for HP advertisement
* 2009 – Critic's Choice Award at Bridgestone Tires's Safety Scholars Teen Driver Video Contest.
* 2010 – First place London Film Festival: Heartbrand Ad
* 2010 – Bridgestone Safety Scholar Winner
* 2012 – Vidcon Golden Poop Award
* 2013 – YouTube's NextUp Creators Contest
* 2016 – Shorty Award for Best Vine Artist
* 2023 – Streamy Award for Visual and Special Effects