Cody Ko

Ko was born Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk in Calgary on 22 November 1990, the son of professional cyclist Greg Kolodziejzyk and his wife Helen. He enrolled at Duke University in North Carolina after being recruited on their swimming and diving team.{{Cite tweet|number=1197943172799725569|user=codyko|title=I invented birthdays|author=Kolodziejzyk, Cody Michael|date=November 22, 2019|access-date=March 17, 2023}} At Duke, he joined a fraternity and became captain of the varsity team, but later regretted some of his fraternity experiences.{{Cite web |title=Cody Kolodziejzyk |url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1593502&DB_OEM_ID=4200 |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Go Duke! |publisher= |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Belavadi |first=Navya |date=March 25, 2021 |title=From studying computer science to regretting parts of the fraternity experience, Cody Ko reflects on time at Duke |url=https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2021/03/duke-university-cody-ko-computer-science-regret-fraternity-membership |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=Duke Chronicle |publisher=Duke University}} Ko graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. The same year, he moved to Silicon Valley.{{Cite web |last=McNicholas |first=Kym |date=June 25, 2012 |title=Need An iOS Developer? 21-Year-Old's App Tops AppStore, and Now He's Looking to Join a Startup |url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/06/25/need-an-ios-developer-21-year-olds-app-tops-appstore-and-now-hes-looking-to-join-a-startup/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627224513/http://pandodaily.com/2012/06/25/need-an-ios-developer-21-year-olds-app-tops-appstore-and-now-hes-looking-to-join-a-startup/ |archive-date=June 27, 2012 |access-date=October 8, 2022 |website=PandoDaily}}

Ko shortened his professional surname from Kolodziejzyk early in his career,{{Cite news |last=La Gorce |first=Tammy |date=February 10, 2023 |title=Private Moments for a Very Public Couple |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/style/cody-kolodziejzyk-kelsey-kreppel-wedding.html |url-access=limited |access-date=February 12, 2023}} as his Polish surname was too difficult to spell and pronounce. In March 2012, he began to develop the photo-sharing mobile app I'd Cap That, which automatically added meme-like captions to images. It went viral and was the App Store's Free iOS App Of The Week in May, amassing over four million users in four months. Ko wanted to join a startup and continue developing apps.{{Cite web |last=Kingkade |first=Tyler |date=July 7, 2012 |title=Cody Kolodziejzyk, Duke Grad, Would Rather Join Company Than Pursue His Popular iPhone App (VIDEO) |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/college-students-make-iphone-apps-irise_n_1607120 |access-date=October 8, 2022 |website=HuffPost |language=}} I'd Cap That was acquired several months later by a startup called Iddiction, and Ko worked there on the app for two years before quitting in 2014.{{Cite web |last=Robison |first=Kylie |date=May 6, 2021 |title=Cody Ko explains how his 5 years as an app developer helped prepare him for a career as a YouTube superstar with 5.5 million subscribers |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cody-ko-youtuber-vine-creator-computer-science-engineering-iphone-apps-2021-4 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 4, 2021 |website=Insider}}{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2012 |title=Calgary's I'd Cap That Acquired by Silicon Valley's Iddiction |url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgarys-id-cap-that-acquired-by-silicon-valleys-iddiction |access-date=January 26, 2022 |website=Calgary Herald |language=}} He moved to San Francisco to work for the company.{{Cite web |last=Guzman |first=Ivan |date=May 13, 2024 |title=Cody Ko's Comfort Core |url=https://www.papermag.com/cody-ko-youtube |access-date=July 2, 2024 |website=Paper}}

Ko first began uploading to Vine, a six-second video platform, in 2013. He partnered with the now-defunct multi-channel network Fullscreen, with Mahzad Babayan becoming his full-time talent manager.{{Efn|As of December 2022, Babayan still works with Ko. She is currently employed as a talent agent by United Talent Agency, which represents Ko and Miller.}} He credited the network and his background in computer engineering for his early success.{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Geoff |date=July 18, 2018 |title=Fullscreen Has Quietly Offered 360-Degree Talent Management For 2 Years — And Its Client Roster Is Growing Fast |url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/06/18/fullscreen-360-degree-talent-management-division/ |access-date=October 8, 2022 |website=Tubefilter}} In May 2014, Ko and his friend Devon Townsend left on an eight-month backpacking trip in southeast Asia. Throughout the trip, the pair created Vines and started several side projects for ad revenue and experience creating apps with other technologies such as Node.js. The videos were unexpectedly viral and Ko became a popular figure on Vine.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Abram |date=October 26, 2020 |title=The Many, Many Lives Of Cody Ko, One Of The Internet's Original Stars |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/10/26/the-many-many-lives-of-cody-ko-one-of-the-internets-original-stars/?sh=7aedc8df142d |url-access=limited |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=Forbes}} He had amassed over 290,000 followers by July.{{Cite web |last=Votta |first=Rae |date=July 11, 2014 |title=6-second auditions on Vine are comedy gold |url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/cody-ko-vine-auditions/ |access-date=October 15, 2022 |website=The Daily Dot}}

In January 2015, the two returned to the United States. Moving to Los Angeles, they looked for software jobs and continued to make Vines. Ko collaborated with comedian Hannibal Buress to promote Buress' Comedy Central show Why? with Hannibal Buress (2015). By November 2015, he had almost two million followers on the platform.{{Cite web |last=Emmanuele |first=Julia |date=November 12, 2015 |title=Vine Star Cody Ko Reveals the Apps He's Addicted to and the Secret to Making Great Vines: 'Don't Try Too Hard' |url=https://people.com/celebrity/cody-ko-vine-star-one-last-thing/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |website=People}}

Ko worked for the company Victorious for eight months and had less time to create content. He also frequently had to leave midday for auditions. His manager gave him a job as a senior iOS developer at her employer Fullscreen, where they would be more relaxed about him leaving midday for content creation as a social media company. Ko contributed to the code for Fullscreen's subscription service. At Fullscreen, Ko also met Noel Miller, a web designer from marketing and fellow Viner, by chance after they had previously talked online. The pair became close and often created internet content on their lunch breaks.{{Cite web |last=Konstantinovic |first=Danny |date=June 30, 2021 |title=Exclusive Interview: How Cody Ko went from software engineer to YouTube comedy millionaire |url=https://www.businessofbusiness.com/videos/cody-ko-interview-from-software-engineer-to-youtube-millionaire |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=The Business of Business |type=Transcript}} He quit his job at Fullscreen in July 2016, deciding that he could support himself on sponsorships alone.

{{Quote box

| quote = [That's Cringe started when Miller] sent me this video of a blowjob robot [...] Super funny. And I was like, we could do this for a video—watch it, and rip it on for 20 minutes.

| author = Cody Ko, Forbes

| align = right

| width = 200px

}}

Ko joined YouTube on 30 May 2014.{{Cite web |title=About Cody Ko |url=https://www.youtube.com/c/codyko/about |access-date=October 10, 2022 |website=YouTube}} After Vine was discontinued, he shifted to YouTube content. He and Miller became popular on YouTube with their series That's Cringe, hosted on Ko's channel, where the two react to content they consider dumb. That's Cringe has over 153 million combined views and makes up most of his channel's most popular videos.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Adlan |date=June 29, 2022 |others=Illustrated by Karl Russell Vickers |title=The Accidental Media Critics of YouTube |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/magazine/youtube-critics.html |url-access=limited |access-date=October 7, 2019 |website=The New York Times Magazine |issn=2269-9740}} An episode on controversial YouTuber Jake Paul in October 2017 amassed over seventeen million views.{{Cite web |last=Haylock |first=Zoe |date=March 2, 2021 |title=Welcome to the Circus |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/youtube-drama-channels-guide.html |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=Vulture |publisher=New York}} Another episode on the Christian lifestyle channel Girl Defined spurred viral TikTok memes mocking Girl Defined and their videos' themes of extended chastity.{{Cite web |last=McNeal |first=Stephanie |date=November 6, 2019 |title=How These Small-Time Christian Influencers Became A Viral TikTok Meme About Purity Culture |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/girl-defined-tiktok-meme |access-date=October 10, 2022 |website=BuzzFeed News}}

Ko's other content focuses on internet culture, such as criticism of internet personalities, NFTs or ASMR videos involving dangerous acts. He and other commentary YouTubers have been described as "media critics" for an online millennial audience.{{Cite web |last=O'Sullivan |first=Eilish |date=May 20, 2021 |title=ASMR YouTubers are eating deodorant, glass, and rocks |url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/asmr-artists-eating-deodorant-rocks/ |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=The Daily Dot}} Vulture said that his videos helped bring attention to YouTube commentary and help it grow from a subsection of reaction videos. Ko is also part of the cast of Jimmy Tatro's web series The Real Bros of Simi Valley, which airs on Facebook Watch. He used to edit his videos himself, but began to hire outside editors and a production team.

Ko and Miller have made satirical rap songs together as Tiny Meat Gang (TMG) since 2017. Miller dubbed the pair "Tiny Meat Gang" after joking about "the weird idea of an 'unborn child as an {{sic|fboy}}' posing in a sonogram".{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=December 7, 2022 |title=How Comedy Duo Cody Ko and Noel Miller Built a Growing Podcast Network With Tiny Meat Gang Studios |url=https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/cody-ko-noel-miller-tiny-meatgang-podcast-network-1235452812/ |access-date=December 8, 2022 |website=Variety}} However, the two began considering music earnestly after they were contacted by producer Diamond Pistols{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Charlie |date=January 29, 2021 |title=Cody Ko talks tech, entertainment and taking risks |url=https://pittnews.com/article/163052/arts-and-entertainment/cody-ko-talks-tech-entertainment-and-taking-risks/ |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=The Pitt News |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |quote=Ko and Noel Miller started releasing music under the name Tiny Meat Gang in 2017, but according to Ko, the duo hadn't considered doing music seriously until producer Diamond Pistols reached out to them about recording an EP.}} and released their first extended play Bangers & Ass the same year.{{Cite magazine |last=Glicksman |first=Josh |date=October 24, 2019 |title=Tiny Meat Gang Signs to Arista Records: Exclusive |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/tiny-meat-gang-signs-arista-records/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 4, 2022 |magazine=Billboard}} After struggling with repeated demonetization, Ko and Miller began the Tiny Meat Gang Podcast in October 2017 to make up for losses. Each hour-long episode discusses various topics related to pop and internet culture.{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=TINY MEAT GANG |url=https://shortyawards.com/11th/tinymeatgang |access-date=October 7, 2022 |website=Shorty Awards}}{{Cite magazine |last=De Freitas |first=Ryan |date=January 24, 2020 |title=Tiny Meat, Huge Dreams: TMG's Cody Ko and Noel Miller on their Wild Ride from Vine to a Major Label Deal |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/tiny-meat-gang-interview-tmg-broke-8548952/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |magazine=Billboard}}

In 2018, Ko and Miller went on tour and reached 1 million subscribers on his main channel in June. In an interview with Tubefilter, Ko attributed his success to "ripping on the Paul brothers."{{Cite web |last=Gutelle |first=Sam |date=June 7, 2018 |title=YouTube Millionaires: Cody Ko Celebrates "Awesome And Rewarding" Response To His Videos |url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/06/07/youtube-millionaires-cody-ko/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=Tubefilter}} The same year, Post Malone was featured in an episode of their podcast and Tiny Meat Gang released their second EP, Locals Only.

In early 2019, Tiny Meat Gang won Best Podcast at the 11th Shorty Awards.{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2019 |title='Tiny Meat Gang' wins 2019 Best Podcast Shorty, 'Bag Man' Best Branded Podcast |url=https://news.yahoo.com/tiny-meat-gang-wins-2019-best-podcast-shorty-162031899.html |access-date=October 7, 2022 |website=Yahoo! News |language=}} Ko and Miller also appeared in a live comedy tour across the United States as Tiny Meat Gang. After Jake Paul released a vlog confronting Ko, who he called a 'cyberbully', in person on Jeff Wittek's podcast, Paul was widely criticized online and the video received over 800,000 dislikes.{{Cite web |last=Sung |first=Morgan |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Jake Paul's attempt at calling out 'cyberbully' Cody Ko backfired beautifully |url=https://mashable.com/article/jake-paul-cody-ko-cyberbully |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=Mashable |archive-date=October 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023044240/https://mashable.com/article/jake-paul-cody-ko-cyberbully }} The Washington Post described it as an example of celebrities dismissing genuine criticism as hate;{{Cite news |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |date=May 20, 2019 |title=The new hot thing on YouTube is destroying someone else |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/20/new-hot-thing-youtube-is-destroying-someone-else/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 7, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} however, Ko gained around 140,000 subscribers directly after the incident and surpassed four million by late 2019.{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Harry |date=May 22, 2019 |title=Cody Ko addresses Jake Paul's failed attempt at canceling him |url=https://mashable.com/video/cody-ko-jake-paul-bullying-response |access-date=October 7, 2022 |website=Mashable}}{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Geoff |date=November 25, 2019 |title=Cody Ko Launches Standalone Collection With Killer Merch |url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2019/11/25/cody-ko-launches-collection-killer-merch/ |access-date=October 15, 2022 |website=Tubefilter}}

Tiny Meat Gang collaborated with Blackbear for the single "Short Kings Anthem". In October, they signed with Arista Records and announced a new EP. In October 2020, Ko hosted an eight-episode podcast on iHeartRadio titled The Pleasure is Ours, with guest stars such as Drew Gooden and Emma Chamberlain, in which they discuss truisms and popular sayings.

Adlan Jackson of The New York Times Magazine noted that as Ko and Miller rose in popularity, many of the figures they have mocked appeared in their videos. After criticizing Dhar Mann for his formulaic videos, Ko produced one of his videos and shifted his opinion, saying they were made that way so that his audience, mainly foreigners and children, could understand.{{Cite web |last=Iovine |first=Anna |date=December 17, 2021 |title=How Dhar Mann turned cheesy life lessons into a YouTube empire |url=https://mashable.com/article/dhar-mann-youtube |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=Mashable}} Controversial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk also appeared in a 2021 episode of Tiny Meat Gang. Due to this, some fans began to worry about a potential conflict of interest and that the two "would [be incentivized] to pull their punches."

In October 2021, Ko and Miller co-founded Tiny Meat Gang Studios, a comedy podcast network. They are represented by United Talent Agency, who have assisted in the network's expansion. The flagship Tiny Meat Gang Podcast became divided into one free and one subscriber-only hour-long segment. It had over 200 million downloads in 2022. An October 2022 episode featuring the YouTuber MrBeast became one of the most-viewed episodes of the podcast.{{Cite web |last=Gutelle |first=Sam |date=December 7, 2022 |title=The Tiny Meat Gang podcast has received 200 million downloads. Its hosts are expanding in a big way. |url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/12/07/tiny-meat-gang-podcast-studio-cody-ko-noel-miller/ |access-date=December 8, 2022 |website=Tubefilter}}{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Breanna |date=October 7, 2022 |title=Logan Paul and MrBeast considering run for president and people are worried |url=https://www.indy100.com/celebrities/logan-paul-mr-beast-considers-us-president-run |access-date=October 9, 2022 |website=Indy100 |publisher=The Independent}} In 2024, TMG brought several more podcasts under their umbrella, including Emergency Intercom.{{Cite web |title='Emergency Intercom' Podcast Nears 3rd Anniversary — and Its Hosts 'Still Knock on Wood Every Day' (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/drew-phillips-enya-umanzor-emergency-intercom-interview-8649972 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}} He stepped down from the company's day-to-day operations in 2024.

Ko got into marathon running during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he "got into a weird rut" and signed up for his first ultramarathon. Documenting his running training on a separate channel, Cody Trains, Ko ran three more marathons and an Ironman Triathlon by late 2023.{{Cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Izzy |date=October 31, 2023 |title=The Real-Life Diet of Cody Ko, Whose Favorite Meal Is Chicken and Waffles |url=https://www.gq.com/story/real-life-diet-cody-ko |access-date=July 2, 2024 |website=GQ}} In the 2020s, Ko started making popular reaction videos to dating web shows, especially those produced by Jubilee Media and The Cut. He voiced the eponymous button on one such show, The Button. Ko has steadily released singles, such as "Not Going Home" and The Button{{Endash}}inspired "Nightmare" and is a resident DJ at Wynn Las Vegas.

Ko met American teacher Kelsey Kreppel at a friend's party in June 2017, and they began dating three months later. In 2018, they moved into an apartment in Marina del Rey, California, and Kreppel started appearing in his videos. In 2020, they purchased their first home in the Venice area of Los Angeles, which they sold when they purchased a new home in Malibu, California. They became engaged on 18 December 2021, and were married on 4 February 2023 in Indian Wells, California. In 2023, they sold their Malibu home and purchased Reese Witherspoon's former holiday home in a different area of Malibu.{{Cite web |last=Tallal |first=Jimy |date=2023-05-27 |title=The latest celebrity and high-dollar real estate news in Malibu • The Malibu Times |url=https://malibutimes.com/the-latest-celebrity-and-high-dollar-real-estate-news-in-malibu |access-date=2023-10-19 }} They announced the birth of their first child, Otis, in January 2024.{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Brahmjot |date=January 22, 2024 |title=YouTubers Cody Ko and Kelsey Kreppel Welcome First Baby |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1393564/youtubers-cody-ko-and-kelsey-kreppel-welcome-first-baby |access-date=January 30, 2024 |work=E!}}

In May 2024, YouTuber Tana Mongeau stated on her podcast Cancelled that she and Ko had had sex in Florida when she was 17 and he was 25. Florida law forbids sex where one partner is under 18 and the other over 24. While the allegation was reported on by Rolling Stone the following month, it did not receive widespread attention from other YouTubers and the larger media until YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace uploaded a video covering the subject in July.{{cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=CT |title=This YouTuber Thinks Creators Need To Talk About Cody Ko |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/dangelo-wallace-cody-ko-allegations-youtube-1235064343/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=21 July 2024 |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=5 November 2024}} Ko did not immediately respond to the allegation,{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/7000579/tana-mongeau-cody-ko-dangelo-wallace-explained/|magazine=Time|title=Breaking Down the Controversy Surrounding YouTuber Cody Ko|first=Moises II|last=Mendez|date=July 19, 2024|accessdate=July 21, 2024}}{{Cite news |last=Goffe |first=Nadira |date=2024-07-17 |title=The Cody Ko Controversy, Explained |url=https://slate.com/culture/2024/07/cody-ko-tana-mongeau-allegations-d-angelo-wallace-youtube.html |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=Slate |issn=1091-2339}} but he stepped down from day-to-day operations at TMG Studios on 26 July. Emergency Intercom{{'s}} creators also left the network, bringing the studio's number of podcasts to six. According to Social Blade, his YouTube channel lost around 250,000 subscribers in the following 30 days.{{Cite web |last=Tolentino |first=Daysia |date=July 27, 2024 |title=Popular YouTuber Cody Ko steps down from his podcast network following allegations that he had sex with an underaged influencer |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/youtuber-cody-ko-steps-podcast-network-sex-underaged-influencer-rcna163906 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727064026/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/youtuber-cody-ko-steps-podcast-network-sex-underaged-influencer-rcna163906 |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |access-date=July 27, 2024 |website=NBC News}} He subsequently took a hiatus from YouTube for several months, gradually returning from December 2024.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/cody-ko-tana-mongeau-allegations-youtube-side-channel-1235216696/ |title=Cody Ko Addresses Tana Mongeau Allegations on YouTube Side Channel |last=Paul |first=Larisha |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=24 December 2024 |accessdate=7 April 2025 }}

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/@CodyKo Official channel]
• [https://www.ko-official.com/ Official website]
• [https://tmgstudios.tv/ Official TMG Studios website]
• {{IMDb name|8150896}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Cody}}

Category:1990 births

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