Erik Range (born April 10, 1977 [Age 42]) is a German YouTube and Twitch sensation. You most likely know him as Gronkh. He started his career as a video game developer and journalist. However, that parlayed into a very lucrative career in front of the camera. Now, Range is a multimillionaire with a wide range of interests.
Beginnings for Gronkh
The son of a German father and Russian mother started his gaming career during the days of the RP game, Meridian 59. When the future star first signed up for the service, that was when he came up with the moniker of Gronkh. We now know that he stumbled upon that name as a pseudonym for the name Gregor Onkh.
He started with uploading YouTube videos about Bard characters. His videos were sort of a tutorial, as he acted as a guide for the Meridian 59 characters. In 2009, it was revealed that Eric Range landed a job as a managing partner and co-founder for PlayMassive GmbH. To this day, Gronkh still collaborates with another co-founder of the company, Valentin Matthias Rahmel. Gaming circles know Rahmel better as Sarazar.
Gronkh and Let’s Play
In 2010, Gronkh started publishing for Let’s Play videos much like Markiplier. In Let’s Play videos, Gronkh discussed his progress on the other side of the video games. His first video under the Let’s Play umbrella saw him testing out the Allods Online game.
Out of all the Let’s Play videos he has done, the series that saw the most success for the star was his Minecraft episodes. The series lasted over three-and-a-half years, wrapping up with 1,278 videos. Each video in the series ranges from ten to twenty minutes. Almost every episode in this web presentation clocks in at over one million views.
Interest in this sort of content continued to boom. Over just a couple of years, Gronkh’s followers topped the millions, and his views reached an excess of 2 billion. These statistics make Gronkh the fourth most successful German YouTuber. However, he does hold the record of being the most successful member of the Let’s Play family.
Now, video game manufacturers outside of Gronkh’s main circle are asking for reviews. He has worked with game developers such as Daedalic Entertainment to preview games and churn out exclusive content. This partnership proved fruitful for Daedalic Entertainment as they saw a massive jump in sales for their Edna & Harvey: The Breakout release following Range’s videos.
Success Outside of YouTube and Twitch
Gronkh has two main passions–creating video games and content. Thanks to the success of his video game page, Gronkh has been able to allocate resources elsewhere. The advertising he has earned through his channel bankrolls another YouTube page Gronkh oversees–Die Superhomies.
The Die Superhomies page is yet another collaboration with Rahmel. This time the twosome document their travels in their ever-growing business. These videos have made the page yet another hit for the duo.
Gronkh and MyVideo Live Streams
In addition, Gronkh has been upping his live stream presence. At his peak, live streams with Gronkh top out at about 65,000 real-time views. These sort of statistics made an eight-hour live stream a no-brainer for the star. He partnered up with the MyVideo platform to create a record-setting live stream against PietSmiet. The gamer played against the hard reset in what was known as his “Last Man Standing” series.
In addition to this competitive live stream, Gronkh also does interactive features with his followers. Together with Sarazar, the two interact with fans while the stars play each other in a number of role-playing games. Due to the success of these videos, a long-standing partnership between Let’s Play and MyVideo has forged. This breakthrough in the gaming world makes Gronkh a trendsetter.
Gronkh took on his most important task recently as he got involved in a 24-hour live stream. Using the MyVideo platform, Gronkh was one of the performers regularly featured in 24-hour live streams that were released over the period between April 2014 all the way until the summer of 2016. The German sensation was regularly used in advertising, time fillers, and as the centerpiece for this streaming initiative.
While he seems to be all over the place, the popularity of Gronkh doesn’t seem to be dying down. He currently has over seven million subscribers and counting. More companies have been reaching out about partnering with his PlayMassive GmbH brand. The star has trademarked this brand since 2012, so he sees tons of supplemental income.
