Many who surfed the Internet in the 2000s came across the video of the “Angry German Kid”. It features a youngster smashing his keyboard in anger at not being able to play an Unreal Tournament. But the Angry German Kid’s real name is Norman Kochanowski and he says the video destroyed his life.
What was that video? The video dates back to 2005 and shows Kochanowski trying to load the shooter Unreal Tournament. When that fails, he apparently freaks out, yells at the top of his lungs and smashes his keyboard.
The recordings went around the world under the title “Angry German Kid”. But many were unaware that the then 14-year-old Kochanowski only played one role. He now told his story to the media magazine of the NDR, ZAPP.
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A boy with a camera
How was he before the video? At 13, Kochanowski was given a camera and began making short action films and spoofs of rap videos with his buddies. For this he developed various art figures, such as the “real gangster”.
Kochanowski posted these videos online on various forums or sites for funny videos – that was before YouTube. His films were well received and received numerous views: ZAPP calls him a kind of early content creator.
How did the video actually come about? Kochanowski finally received an offer in a forum: he should shoot a video in which he really freaked out for €300. The user who issued the order is said to have been 17 at the time.
The 14-year-old agrees to the deal and produces the infamous video. Actually, he wanted to say before that it was a staged recording, but he was already too immersed in his role, says Kochanowski.
However, he could not count on the consequences: his client, who went online under the name Hack-Panther, published the video and made it available for others to download. From there it spread, changed and parodied more and more, eventually ending up on YouTube.
Kochanowski himself no longer had any control over the distribution of his work and felt powerless. And the spread soon became quite excessive.
Funny video has unexpected consequences
What was the problem? The video went viral at a time when, as a result of several killing sprees, a major debate was taking place in Germany about video games with violent content: the supposed “killer games”.
Eventually, Kochanowski’s film was featured in a feature in Focus magazine, which described him as a gambling addict “Leopold” who is said to have escaped from a clinic in Amsterdam. Suddenly he became the symbol of a young killer game junkie.
The youth’s attempts to obtain a correction are said to have failed. Because in the early years of YouTube, everyone could freely dispose of the content uploaded there, and there were hardly any copyright regulations.
Even Kochanowski’s own attempt at a humorous correction in another video can no longer change the narrative: hate comments follow online, but also hostilities in real life.
What were the consequences? The youngster finds it difficult to cope with it and becomes more and more angry. He tries to differentiate himself from his fictional character by changing his appearance and look, but by then it was far too late.
On a school trip, Kochanowski finally announced a real killing spree so that his classmates would finally leave him alone. However, the false threat had real consequences: according to his own statements, he was expelled from school, sentenced to community service and youth detention.
You can watch the whole article here or in the ARD media library.
The Angry German Kid becomes a gangster rapper
What happened next? His past was also his undoing later when he was looking for a job, nobody wanted to hire a supposed gunman. Kochanowski withdrew more and more, his life consisted only of strength training, eating and sleeping.
The sport helped him a lot and finally his life seemed to take a turn for the better: he found an apprenticeship, had a great car and met his first great love, and went out more again.
But the young man wanted to know it again and started uploading videos to YouTube again: it was just his hobby, his passion. This went well for a while until more and more people recognized him.
Kochanowski admitted to having been the Angry German Kid while simultaneously marketing himself as a rapper. The strategy worked and he again received millions of views. However, the boundaries between the real person and his artificial characters are becoming increasingly blurred.
With increasingly harder lyrics, he slipped into crime in real life and was finally sentenced to probation. That was the wake-up call for him to lead a normal life.
How is he today? The post ends on a positive note: Kochanowski can now enjoy the attention on YouTube and has a real fan base. Nevertheless, the case impressively shows what consequences involuntary virality can have – especially at a time when nobody really knew how to deal with it.
The killer game debate is still raging today:
Journalist revives the killer game debate in 2023: “Young men sit in front of these games and chase others”