Simon “Unge” is probably one of the best-known German content creators. He is followed by millions of people on YouTube and Twitch. But the person behind the online persona has not been doing well for a long time. Now the 32-year-old speaks openly about his psychological problems and how things should go in the future.
Who is the person you are talking about? Unge began uploading Let’s Plays to YouTube in 2012, specifically for the long-running hit Minecraft. He had previously run channels on longboarding, veganism, and his trademark at the time, dreadlocks.
What started as a hobby developed into a career over time. The channel now has “unplayed” 3.7 million followers on YouTube, and 1.4 million people follow the streamer on Twitch.
But the content creator has been quiet for weeks: The last stream took place in March, and no new video was posted on YouTube for 2 weeks. In a video the content creator posted to his YouTube channel on May 22, he explained what’s behind his absence.
Streamer speaks openly about mental difficulties
What’s up with Unge? The 32-year-old says he has been suffering from severe social anxiety and depression for years, for which he is also receiving professional treatment. Lately it has been increasingly difficult for him to stand in front of the camera in front of thousands of spectators.
It’s always a blatant challenge for me to sit in front of the camera and have the feeling that I’m being judged, condemned and judged.
In recent months he has tried to fight against social phobia, so Unge. His 55-day streaming marathon, which ended earlier this year, was already an attempt to confront the fear. Viewers could even watch him sleep – something that would probably have been too much for many people without social phobia.
In addition, the 32-year-old says he wants his privacy back after struggling with stalking. After many years in public, his life felt “like in a glass house”. You can watch the whole video here.
If you are also dealing with psychological stress, you can contact the telephone counseling service free of charge on 08001110111.
Unge becomes raik – With anime avatar and English streams
This is how it goes now: The content creator doesn’t want to stop, he loves YouTube and Twitch too much for that. However, things should not go on as before. Instead, the 32-year-old is planning a big change: he will become a so-called Vtuber.
Instead of standing in front of the camera with his face, he now presents his viewers with an anime avatar that can reflect his facial expressions and gestures. This should happen under the new name “raik”. The first streams with the new persona were already available on Twitch.
So far, raik has mainly been on the streaming platform in WoW and Diablo 4. There, viewers can already expect the next innovation: the streams of the 32-year-old should from now on take place in English.
That fits, since by German standards he is often on the air very late anyway, would gamble a lot with English-speaking fellow players and could also improve his language skills in this way.
Videos in German are to be uploaded to the Raik DE channel on YouTube. In terms of content, there should be reactions and “everything to which [er] Desire [hat]” give.
Fans show their support for the content creator
How is that received? Under his video, the fans of Unge or raik express their support. Many express their admiration for his openness to these difficult issues and urge him to take the time he needs.
Some are apparently determined to support the 32-year-old in his future projects. The new Twitch account gained over 6,000 new followers after the video was released, and 12,000 people are already subscribed to the new YouTube account.
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