26-year-old makes his breakthrough after 5 years on Twitch – but now his own fans are criticizing him

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2024 has so far been the year of Zarbex on German Twitch. After years of only reaching a few viewers, the 26-year-old finally achieved his long-awaited breakthrough in the summer of 2024. With a shameless openness and clever collaborations, Zarbex is the favorite for the title of “Newcomer of the Year” on German Twitch, but now he has the first dent in his steep year of rise. A collaboration with MontanaBlack annoys many people.

Who was Zarbex for years? Zarbex started on Twitch in January 2018 but was relatively unsuccessful for years, although he has been streaming heavily since 2021.

In 2021, even though it was live for 1,600 hours, only around 70 people watched it on average. At that time he mainly showed gaming content: Rust, Grand Theft Auto IV, some Valorant. There was no success in 2022 either: 100 people watched the cut, even though he ripped off 1,700 hours.

As he later said, it was a tough time. In any case, he wasn’t a good match in the eyes of his girlfriend in 2021 – she later described him as “some homeless guy”.

In 2023, Zarbex switched its content to Just Chatting and it slowly went up, reaching 320 viewers. At that time, Zarbex was still the outsider who looked at the big boys from the outside and at whose expense jokes were often made. He played an unfortunate role in the Gamescom drama about Filow, which still embarrasses him today.

If things continue like this for Zarbex, he will soon be among them:

These are the 5 most relevant German streamers on Twitch in 2024, according to Google

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Shameless and vulgar – and that’s exactly why it’s successful

When did it really take off? Zarbex’s rise began in the summer of 2024. Suddenly he reached more than 5,000 viewers, his clips went around, he was everywhere and suddenly he was making a fortune through Twitch Subs alone.

This is also due to how well connected Zarbex is, so you often see him working with streamers like Schradin or Papaplatte. He is entertaining, has a surprising sense of humor and is quick-witted. He actually works best in a duo with the former TV presenter Schradin, at whom he can constantly shake his head.

Zarbex succeeds with a kind of shameless openness. He often makes gags at his own expense, is vulgar and obscene, and gets reprimanded by his girlfriend or mom for it:

  • A typical sentence from him is something like “I poop longer than I fuck” – for which he received almost 10,000 likes on Twitter.
  • For “The Female Orgasm? Not my department sweetheart” there were almost 14,000 hearts.

    • It is now also a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fact that he is so successful and earns so much money that he never expected is a recurring theme in his streams.

    Zarbex as brand ambassador for Gönergy

    This is now being criticized: Almost a week ago it was announced that Zarbex was the first brand ambassador for MontanaBlack’s energy drink Gönergy. He had already worked frequently with the most relevant streamer in Germany, but at the same time one of the most controversial.

    Gönergy introduces Zarbex as “Newcomer of the Year”, somewhat ironic considering he has been active on Twitch for so long (via Instagram).

    But the collaboration with MontanaBlack is now sparking a heated discussion among his fans:

  • For some, MontanaBlack doesn’t work at all, it’s “problematic”. People are disappointed with Zarbex, which has always stood for “good values”.
  • Some criticize Zarbex for selling out and MontanaBlack will exploit him “just as much” as previous friends
  • Others say: He should do his own thing and take the money with him. It doesn’t matter whether it’s from Holy or other partners
  • Still others congratulate Zarbex on the headwind, saying everyone who was “cancelled from the left” has benefited greatly from it recently.

    • Zarbex between “fire safe” and “vulgar”

    This is what lies behind it: From the perspective of the advertising industry, a broad distinction is made between two types of streamers, provided they have reached a certain size and are relevant for advertisers:

  • Anyone who is “family-friendly” or “brand-safe” is eligible for advertising with large corporations, where big money is made. These are people who are not controversial. These streamers are also eligible for exclusive deals. You are the “face” of a platform. YouTube has poached many such “brand-safe” streamers from Twitch over the years.
  • On the other hand, there are streamers who do controversial things, who comment on politics, who gamble or show bare skin. Streamers who promote controversial products – who generally don’t care so much about not causing offense anywhere. Many of these streamers have switched to Kick in recent years.
  • MontanaBlack is one of the few examples that, despite controversial appearances, is a stand-up artist at REWE. He himself therefore repeatedly emphasizes how much he has changed and that he is now a better person and sensible.

    • The exciting thing here is that in the eyes of its fans, Zarbex stands for “good values” and is considered “family-friendly”.

    But at the same time he makes gags about masturbating in the sink and is called an “old pig” by his own mother. Zarbex is unlikely to be the ideal candidate for the next advertising booking for Coca-Cola and McDonalds, as the door to Gönergy is more open to him: 3 years ago he didn’t have a cent, today Zarbex is making a lot of money on Twitch – his girlfriend asks what happened

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