Germán Alejandro Garmendia Aranis (born: April 25, 1990), better known online as HolaSoyGerman. or JuegaGerman, is a Chilean YouTuber, comedian, entertainer and vlogger.
On HolaSoyGerman., he uploaded comedic videos about various life and fictional topics, occasionally talking about events that occurred in his own life. Germán no longer uploads content to HolaSoyGerman., but does upload regularly on JuegaGerman, where he uploads gaming and reaction videos.
As of September 2024, both channels are among the largest Spanish-speaking channels on YouTube, with over 44 million and 51 million subscribers in HolaSoyGerman. and JuegaGerman respectively, for a total combined of over 95 million subscribers.
Rise To Fame[]
Germán began his YouTube career in early September 2011 after being encouraged by friends. He started to gain a following on the platform from standing and talking about everyday and unusual topics but in a fast-paced, quirky, and relatable manner along with doing comedy sketches to imitate what he was talking about which targeted mostly children to young adults as fans of him and his channel. Germán does these videos in his house, but he moves frequently meaning that every couple of videos, he is in a new location. A majority of Germán's fans are Spanish speakers but there are many who are of other nationalities as well due to many of his videos being subtitled in various languages, some of them already know the Spanish language, and some of them who doesn't even know the Spanish language but enjoys Germán's content and personality.
By late 2012, Germán's channel was already the most-subscribed Spanish-speaking channel and became the first to be in the top ten most-subscribed on February 20, 2013. Germán's subscriber growth skyrocketed in the same year as at that time he was gaining over a million subscribers a month on average, resulting in him gaining the second most amount of subscribers in 2013 only behind PewDiePie.
By the beginning of 2014, all the videos on the HolaSoyGerman. channel had amassed one billion total views and over 14 million subscribers, making him have the third most-subscribed channel behind Smosh and PewDiePie, although just a year and a half before then not even being in the top 100.
However, the popularity of Germán caused conflict. In April of that year, Germán was scheduled to attend a fan greeting at the Telmex Aldea Digital in Zócalo, Mexico City. However, the attendance for the occasion was overcrowded and many people in the crowd fainted due to heat exposure and had to be evacuated. Many disobeyed to leave because they wanted to see Germán, some moving past the barricades and moving to the tented area to see him and to get away from the hot weather. The occurrence caused many injuries, eventually a light element plunging and injuring ten more people. Security then aided the injured and dispersed the other people who attended the event. Although Germán didn't attend the gathering due to the incident, he expressed his condolences to the people affected afterward.
Despite this, Germán's HolaSoyGerman. channel finally surpassed YouTube veterans, Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla's Smosh channel (who just less than a year prior was the most-subscribed YouTube channel) to become the second most-subscribed user-generated channel of all time on June 21, 2014.
Due to Germán's fast channel growth, he received MTV's "Icon of the year" award in August 2014 and won it again a year later.
HolaSoyGerman.'s last video was uploaded on November 20, 2016, and the channel has been inactive since then, however the channel still gets a decent amount of views. With over 43.8 million subscribers and 4.8 billion views as of May 2024.
Channels[]
JuegaGerman[]
JuegaGerman is the secondary channel created by Germán in May 2013.
Germán uploaded his first video on the channel on June 20, 2013 where he played Slender. Near the end of 2013, he began to upload more of his commentaries of popular games such as The Walking Dead, Slender, Happy Wheels, etc. He has been consistent on this channel ever since, even more so than his main channel, uploading gaming videos, collaborations with other YouTubers such as fellow popular Spanish-speaking content creators, Fernanfloo and elrubiusOMG, and even personal vlogs, more so than his other two channels, some similar to the videos he uploaded on both, nearly daily. These videos include much more editing, sometimes much less but also include much more watch time and organized playlists of all of the channel's videos than both of his other channels. The channel has over 50 million subscribers and over 15.3 billion total views, and at its peak it was the 16th most subscribed channel five different times throughout 2017 to 2018.
Germán currently gains subscribers and views faster than his main channel and has double the views than the HolaSoyGerman. channel which used to be but is no longer in the top 100 most viewed channels, Germán being the only channel owned by Germán to be on the list currently. Germán's channel is as well among one of the fastest-growing channels in terms of subscriber and view gain.
On October 16, 2020, JuegaGerman surpassed HolaSoyGerman. in subscriber count, making Germán's second channel larger than his main channel.
On May 16, 2024, JuegaGerman reached 50 million subscribers, making him the first Spanish-speaking YouTuber to reach that milestone, and the second Spanish-speaking channel overall, after Argentine children's channel El Reino Infantil.
HolaSoyGerman2[]
This initially was Germán's second channel where he randomly schedule posts bloopers and behind the scenes from his main channel videos as well as posting extra vlogs and comedy sketches which consisted of more personal and serious things about his life with less video editing and transitions than his main channel. There have been twelve videos uploaded on this channel, the first being uploaded on October 7, 2011, a week after its creation, and the last being uploaded on June 2, 2013, nearly three weeks before his current second and most active channel released its first video. This account has not had any activity since then and there is no explanation from Germán as to why. The channel has had over 3 million subscribers since January 9, 2018, and over 43 million total views, his most viewed video on here being his second to last.
German Garmendia[]
In this channel, Germán uploads music he makes by himself or with his girlfriend. As of May 2024, this channel has 1.73 million subscribers and over 34 million total views, and his most popular song is a cover of the song Supernova by Ansel Elgort. Germán's music channel is still active today creating music.
Stalkers[]
Germán faced problems with stalkers and people coming up to his and his girlfriend's house which resulted in Germán having to constantly move houses. It got to a point where Germán had to be really careful and not show up his address or give any hint of where he specifically lives. Germán came out with a video called "Esto tiene que parar... Por favor" (This has to stop... Please) where he explains his situation along with his girlfriend and showing his audience videos of little kids and other people coming up to their house and recording the inside. Germán explains how his house had tall walls for people to not get in but it was no use since people still managed to traspass them, and Germán explains how the stalkers tried to take pictures of his girlfriend in the shower. After that video Germán moved houses and started being careful to not reveal anything that might give away his location.
Music[]
During his teenage years, Germán had a band with 2 other friends called "Feeling Every Sunset", the songs he made we're mainly in English, one of the most famous songs he made during that time was called "Heartless" which became his outro song for his channel HolaSoyGerman. The band broke up and went separate ways. Some years later Germán kept saying he wanted to make a band or start making music again. Some time later he created his band called Ancud.
All of Germán's fans started supporting Germáns band "Ancud" which it was mainly composed of him and his brother Diego Garmendia, and launched their first album "Se Hacen Realidad" Their songs were in spanish and genre rock. The first song Germán uploaded was his song "Señales" this song was made and dedicated to his girlfriend Lenay Olsen. Their music video for their song "Cambia" quickly becamed their most watched YouTube video reaching over 38 million views. The band also performed in big events like The Club Media Fest. Some years later the band broke up for unknown reasons.
Years later, Germán decided to make solo music with his channel "German Garmendia" where he uploads his songs, his first song and also his most famous song on that channel is a cover of Supernova by Ansel Elgort. After that Germán uploaded a song called "Tregua." he wrote this song along with his girlfriend Lenay Olsen AKA wiinter (Artist name). Germán's music channel is still active today.
Channel Milestones[]
Note: The following dates are according to Social Blade. Dates may vary by one or two days due to differences in time zones.
Subscriber milestones[]
HolaSoyGerman.[]
- 1 million subscribers: October 12, 2012
- 2 million subscribers: December 14, 2012
- 3 million subscribers: January 25, 2013
- 4 million subscribers: February 24, 2013
- 5 million subscribers: March 23, 2013
- 6 million subscribers: April 19, 2013
- 7 million subscribers: May 18, 2013
- 8 million subscribers: June 18, 2013
- 9 million subscribers: July 19, 2013
- 10 million subscribers: August 19, 2013
- 11 million subscribers: September 21, 2013
- 12 million subscribers: October 24, 2013
- 13 million subscribers: November 22, 2013
- 14 million subscribers: December 21, 2013
- 15 million subscribers: January 22, 2014
- 16 million subscribers: February 20, 2014
- 17 million subscribers: April 3, 2014
- 18 million subscribers: June 19, 2014
- 19 million subscribers: August 23, 2014
- 20 million subscribers: November 10, 2014
- 21 million subscribers: January 23, 2015
- 22 million subscribers: April 28, 2015
- 23 million subscribers: July 3, 2015
- 24 million subscribers: September 9, 2015
- 25 million subscribers: November 15, 2015
- 26 million subscribers: January 16, 2016
- 27 million subscribers: March 31, 2016
- 28 million subscribers: June 8, 2016
- 29 million subscribers: August 23, 2016
- 30 million subscribers: November 16, 2016
- 31 million subscribers: February 14, 2017
- 32 million subscribers: July 11, 2017
- 33 million subscribers: January 9, 2018
- 34 million subscribers: June 27, 2018
- 35 million subscribers: December 9, 2018
- 36 million subscribers: January 24, 2019
- 37 million subscribers: January 30, 2019
- 38 million subscribers: February 15, 2019
- 39 million subscribers: April 27, 2019
- 40 million subscribers: November 10, 2019
- 41 million subscribers: June 17, 2020
- 42 million subscribers: December 5, 2020
- 43 million subscribers: November 2, 2021
- 44 million subscribers: September 3, 2024
JuegaGerman[]
- 1 million subscribers: December 22, 2013
- 2 million subscribers: February 19, 2014
- 3 million subscribers: April 22, 2014
- 4 million subscribers: July 13, 2014
- 5 million subscribers: October 4, 2014
- 6 million subscribers: January 3, 2015
- 7 million subscribers: April 3, 2015
- 8 million subscribers: June 29, 2015
- 9 million subscribers: September 11, 2015
- 10 million subscribers: November 28, 2015
- 11 million subscribers: January 24, 2016
- 12 million subscribers: March 31, 2016
- 13 million subscribers: May 20, 2016
- 14 million subscribers: July 25, 2016
- 15 million subscribers: September 18, 2016
- 16 million subscribers: November 24, 2016
- 17 million subscribers: January 9, 2017
- 18 million subscribers: March 11, 2017
- 19 million subscribers: April 22, 2017
- 20 million subscribers: June 18, 2017
- 21 million subscribers: August 12, 2017
- 22 million subscribers: October 17, 2017
- 23 million subscribers: December 17, 2017
- 24 million subscribers: January 16, 2018
- 25 million subscribers: March 2, 2018
- 26 million subscribers: May 2, 2018
- 27 million subscribers: June 24, 2018
- 28 million subscribers: August 2, 2018
- 29 million subscribers: September 14, 2018
- 30 million subscribers: October 29, 2018
- 31 million subscribers: December 18, 2018
- 32 million subscribers: January 17, 2019
- 33 million subscribers: February 3, 2019
- 34 million subscribers: March 24, 2019
- 35 million subscribers: May 27, 2019
- 36 million subscribers: August 10, 2019
- 37 million subscribers: November 1, 2019
- 38 million subscribers: January 21, 2020
- 39 million subscribers: April 17, 2020
- 40 million subscribers: June 18, 2020
- 41 million subscribers: September 4, 2020
- 42 million subscribers: November 1, 2020
- 43 million subscribers: February 5, 2021
- 44 million subscribers: August 5, 2021
- 45 million subscribers: January 4, 2022
- 46 million subscribers: July 10, 2022
- 47 million subscribers: January 4, 2023
- 48 million subscribers: June 4, 2023
- 49 million subscribers: December 8, 2023
- 50 million subscribers: May 16, 2024
- 51 million subscribers: August 31, 2024
Video view milestones[]
HolaSoyGerman.[]
- 1 billion views: February 2, 2014
- 2 billion views: July 17, 2015
- 3 billion views: February 28, 2017
- 4 billion views: August 23, 2019
JuegaGerman[]
- 1 billion views: March 4, 2015
- 2 billion views: December 11, 2015
- 3 billion views: June 7, 2016
- 4 billion views: January 1, 2017
- 5 billion views: June 6, 2017
- 6 billion views: November 15, 2017
- 7 billion views: APril 18, 2018
- 8 billion views: October 10, 2018
- 9 billion views: April 1, 2019
- 10 billion views: October 18, 2019
- 11 billion views: May 8, 2020
- 12 billion views: November 28, 2020
- 13 billion views: November 19, 2021
- 14 billion views: November 27, 2022
- 15 billion views: January 9, 2024
Play Buttons[]
- 100 Thousand Subscriber Plaque
- HolaSoyGerman.: 2012
- HolaSoyGerman2: 2012
- JuegaGerman: 2013
- 1 Million Subscriber Plaque
- HolaSoyGerman.: 2012
- HolaSoyGerman2: 2013
- JuegaGerman: 2013
- 10 Million Subscriber Plaque
- HolaSoyGerman.: 2013
- JuegaGerman: 2016
Trivia[]
- German's YouTube partner was Machinima.
- From February to December 2017, his main channel was the most-subscribed channel with a YouTube partner.
- He is the first individual to have 2 channels with over 10 million subscribers.
- He is also the first person to receive two Diamond Play Buttons due to both his main channel and his gaming channel exceeding ten million subscribers.
- Germán currently dates former MTV VJ Lenay Chantelle Olsen (formerly known as Lenay Dunn) who also has her own YouTube channel, Lenay.
- Both Germán and Lenay made their relationship official to their fans in a YouTube video uploaded on the JuegaGerman channel titled Mi Novia (Spanish for My Girlfriend).
- The couple moved to Los Angeles in July 2017, they currently live in Miami Beach.
- Germán and Lenay own two cats named Lucy and Copito, an unnamed ferret and formerly had a Chihuahua dog named Mimi.
- Unfortunately in a YouTube video uploaded on the JuegaGerman channel, German announced that Mimi got lost and asked his fans to help him to look for her under the hashtag #DondeEstaMimi (Where is Mimi).
- He dubbed the character of Julian for the Latin American dub of Ice Age: Collision Course.
- American Actor, Jack Black appeared in an HolaSoyGerman. video in late 2015.
- Germán, often along with his girlfriend Lenay, has also collaborated with American YouTubers on multiple occasions, two examples being Bart Baker and Anthony Padilla.
- In June 2017, German appeared in Anthony Padilla's first sketch since leaving the popular sketch comedy YouTube channel, Smosh. Due to this, the video received a lot of views and likes, but an overwhelming majority of the video's comments were about Germán's brief moments in the video for the first several hours of it's upload. The comments were in Spanish, although Padilla's channel is in English.
- He collaborated with Anthony on his personal channel in August 2017 and March 2018 as the only guest star, where the same thing happened where this time, most of the video's comments were in Spanish permanently.
- He collaborated with Anthony on JuegaGerman in August 2017 and January 2018, with the latter collaboration featuring Shay Mitchell, as well.
- Germán knows how to speak English moderately well, and also understands it (but is slightly broken).
- Germán is the lead singer of his and his brother Diego's own fairly popular band, Ancud.
- Diego and Germán lived separately during most of his childhood until reuniting in Los Vilos.
- Germán also has his own successful book titled #ChupaElPerro (Spanish for Lick the Dog).
- Germán has his own website.
- He is one of the first Spanish speaking YouTubers to appear in the Fine Brothers Entertainment series, YouTubers React, along with CaELiKe and LuzuVlogs as well as the first to appear in YouTube Rewind.
- He has appeared in every single YouTube Rewind since 2013 all the way to YouTube Rewind 2018
- HolaSoyGerman means "HiI'mGerman" in English.
- JuegaGerman means "GermanPlay's" in English.
- The only 2 video's German uploaded on his main channel that was not a blog was the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" and "WATER FOR AFRICA".
- In 2016, he became the first YouTuber to have their 2 channels in the top ten most-subscribed YouTubers since Shane Dawson in 2011.
- German's father died in a car accident on Christmas Eve when he was three years old.
- German used to get bullied in school.