Dross (YouTuber)
Ángel David Revilla Lenoci (born 16 July 1982), better known as DrossRotzank or simply Dross, is a Venezuelan YouTuber and writer who has resided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since 2007.[3]
| Dross | |||||||||||||
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Dross in 2019 | |||||||||||||
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| Born | Ángel David Revilla Lenoci 16 July 1982 Caracas, Venezuela | ||||||||||||
| Education | Universidad Santa María | ||||||||||||
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| YouTube information | |||||||||||||
| Channel |
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| Genre | Horror (2013–present) | ||||||||||||
| Subscribers | 23.2 million[2] (16 February 2024) | ||||||||||||
| Total views | 6.24 billion[2] (16 February 2024) | ||||||||||||
| Network | Mitú[1] | ||||||||||||
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Early life edit
Ángel David Revilla Lenoci was born on 16 July 1982 in Caracas.[4][5] His father was a pilot and his mother was a gastronomy-oriented businesswoman.[6][7] His ancestry comes from Spain,[7] Italy, and United States.[3] He studied at Santa Maria University, and graduated from Social Communication in 2007[7] and also worked as a journalist for a medical magazine.[5]
In 1998 created the blog entitled El Diario de Dross (The Diary of Dross),[7] whose username "Dross" originates due to a bad spelling of the name of the then wrestler Darren Drozdov, whom Revilla mistakenly refers to as «Warren Droz» in an interview with Radio Programas del Perú.[5] Revilla started in 2000 writing scathing game reviews for websites like MeriStation or Vandal,[8] he also made some posts in the forum GameFAQs.[9]
Career edit
YouTube career edit
Revilla created his YouTube account, DrossRotzank in 2006,[10] and in 2007, he moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he currently resides.[11] At first he was dedicated to uploading gameplays of different video games such as I Wanna Be the Guy. However, Dross had some videos that were older that in the end he deleted, among them is one that was re-uploaded by user Lucas Pedraza in which he calls a hacker.[4]
In addition, he made some video reactions, videos answering questions and also some sketches with his characters like "El Troll", "La Gorda", "La Chica Pepsi", "Estela Conchaseca" and "Fuyito Kokoyama".[12] His look consisted of wearing long hair, dark glasses and a straw hat with a leopard print.[13]
In mid-2013, he turned his content to horror videos,[14] and his most famous videos were the Top 7, which according to La Vanguardia, these videos "can take him twelve hours of work."[15] In 2015, Dross participated in a project called "Dross Dark Tales of Terror", where he told contemporary horror stories.[12] Revilla currently runs two additional YouTube channels: Los Vlogs de Dross (Dross's Vlogs), in which he deals with controversial issues, and Mi Querido Mussolini ("My Dear Mussolini"), in which he uploads videos of his pet fish, Mussolini.[16]
In March 2017, Dross was invited to the "La Mole Comic Con" event, which took place at the World Trade Center in Mexico City and which was dedicated to pop culture and Japanese culture. He participated in three meet & greet sessions, on March 17, 18 and 19.[17] Revilla traveled to the Horror Fest, held in the city of Monterrey, Mexico on October 6 and 7, 2018.[18] In 2018 and 2019, he won in the Digital Artist and Digital Vision Award categories from Martín Fierro Awards.[19][20][21] In 2020, he exceeded 20 million subscribers.[22] At the beginning of 2021, Dross lent his voice to a Manjarate commercial for the Chilean company Soprole, distributed through the Internet and Chilean television channels.[23] In December 2021, he won again in the category Best YouTuber of the Martín Fierro Awards.[24][25][26]
Writing career edit
In 2015, he was invited to the YouTube Media Fest in Buenos Aires, where he stated during a question and answer session that "the biggest dream of my life is to publish a book." The people from the Planeta Group decided to speak with him to make and publish his first novel, Luna de Plutón (Pluto's Moon).[27] It was released in Spain and Latin America in 2015, and it became one of the ten best-selling Argentine books in a few weeks.[28] David reported in Clarín magazine that he "wrote this book with my real name, Angel Revilla, but I know that Luna de Pluton has drama, mystery, suspense, adventure, everything that Dross has. Above all the normal humor of my channel, black humor."[29]
All his books from Luna de Plutón to Escape were published by Planeta Group.[30][31][32] His second book, El Festival de la Blasfemia (The Festival of Blasphemy) was released in 2016, "a short story of terror, narrated from the black humor characteristic of Dross",[33][34] a sequel to his first book, Luna de Plutón II: La guerra de Ysaak (Pluto's moon 2: The war of Ysaak), was released in March 2017.[35]
His fourth book, El Valle de la Calma (The Valley of Calm) was published in 2018,[36][37] a thriller based on H. P. Lovecraft works.[34] In 2019, he released El libro negro. Deep web y horror cósmico (The black book. Deep web and cosmic horror),[38] which explores the topics of the Deep Web and cosmic horror. It was the best-selling book in some countries of The Americas,[39] like Argentina from August 25 to September 1, 2019.[40] In September 2021, he wrote Escape,[41][42] a book with a disturbing story and black humor.[43]
Controversies edit
In June 2022, Dross criticized the film Lightyear for containing a scene depicting a lesbian couple kissing, calling the film "woke",[44][45][46] receiving backlash on social media as a result.[47] Shortly thereafter, he made a tweet about The Little Mermaid, in a tone in what many saw as racist and xenophobic.[48][49] In August 2023, a tweet Dross made, depicting the rainbow flag being desecrated, was denounced from Germany, on the basis that the tweet had violated the German law on social media regulations. However, Twitter concluded that the tweet did not violated neither the site's rules nor German law; Dross jokingly replied "Calm down, little Adolfs".[50]
Awards and nominations edit
Martín Fierro Awards
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Digital Artist | Won |
| 2019 | Digital Vision Award | Won |
| 2020 | Best YouTuber | Won |
Filmography edit
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Voces anónimas | Storyteller (2013–present) |
| 2015 | Dross Dark Tales of Terror | Storyteller |
Works edit
- (2015) Luna de Plutón. Planeta. ISBN 978-950-730-096-7.
- (2016) Festival de la blasfemia. Planeta. ISBN 978-950-730-113-1.
- (2017) Luna de Plutón II: La guerra de Ysaak. Planeta. ISBN 978-950-730-152-0.
- (2018) El Valle de la Calma. Planeta. ISBN 978-950-730-206-0.
- (2019) El libro negro. Deep web y horror cósmico. Planeta. ISBN 978-950-870-153-4.
- (2021) Escape. Planeta. ISBN 950-870-18-46.
References edit
- ^ . Radio Fórmula (in Mexican Spanish). 20 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ a b "About DrossRotzank". YouTube.
- ^ a b Miguel Ángel Teposteco (26 September 2015). "Dross, el youtuber de los 6 millones de seguidores". El Universal (in Spanish).
- ^ a b "Dross Rotzank. Éste fue su primer video en YouTube". Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). 9 October 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "¿Quién es Dross y por qué es toda una celebridad en YouTube?". RPP (in Spanish). 18 July 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Sierra García, Luisa Fernanda (21 May 2017). "Dross: había una vez un escritor convertido en youtuber". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d Omaña, Henysbel. . La Neta. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "En Directo: Dross se confesó en CNN Chile". CNN Chile (in Spanish). 11 September 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ Mtz, Alejandro Cruz. "Biografía de Dross | Edad, estatura, libros, Badabun". LaLetraDe (in European Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Press, Europa (11 December 2017). "Los 5 'youtubers' latinos mejor pagados del mundo". www.notimerica.com. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Gaceta, La (17 September 2019). "Los secretos de Dross Rotzank, el terror de YouTube". www.lagaceta.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ a b ""Dross" invitado de honor en La Mole". El Universal (in Spanish). 18 January 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ López, Carolina (10 July 2021). ""Esto no es un top..." son las dos fotografías de Dross que muestran su drástico cambio físico". Radio Fórmula. Retrieved 23 December 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ^ ""Escape", el libro en el que Dross creó a su propio antihéroe". El Universal. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Dross, el youtuber que mete miedo en las redes". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 24 April 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "¿Quién es Dross, el youtuber que fue atacado por usar la palabra 'feminazi'?". www.elgrafico.mx (in Spanish). 10 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Confirma youtuber Dross visita a México". El Universal (in Spanish). 23 January 2017.
- ^ Rodarte, Jorge (4 June 2018). "El influencer DrossRotzank viene a México". EL DEBATE (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Youtuber Dross ganó premio Martín Fierro al artista digital más influyente". El Universal (in Spanish). 11 December 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Todos los ganadores del Martín Fierro Digital 2019". Todo Noticias (in Spanish). 22 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Martín Fierro Digital 2019: la lista de ganadores". MdzOnline (in Spanish). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "El juego de terror y enigmas de TikTok que ha enganchado a cientos de miles de personas". Verne (in Spanish). 27 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ . Radio Shinka (in Spanish). 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Martin Fierro Digital 2021: el youtuber Dross ganó el oro en Neuquén - TyC Sports". TyC Sports. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Martín Fierro de Oro para La Chepi y Dross en la cuarta entrega de la versión digital en Neuquén". El Destape (in Spanish). 19 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Martín Fierro Digital: Dani La Chepi y Dross recibieron las dos estatuillas de oro". Los Andes (in Spanish). 20 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ Ornelas, Uriel (26 September 2015). ""Dross", el "youtuber" de los 6 millones de seguidores". Nortedigital (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Los 10 libros más vendidos en la primera semana del 2016". DineroenImagen (in Spanish). 10 January 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Dross, una estrella de YouTube, presenta su primera novela" [Dross, a YouTube star, releases his first novel]. Clarín (in Spanish). 1 October 2015.
- ^ "El venezolano Dross, botón de diamante". El Universal (in Spanish). 9 January 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ ""El Libro Negro", la exitosa y escalofriante novela de terror de Dross". La Verdad Noticias (in Spanish). 15 February 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ ""Escape", el libro en el que Dross creó a su propio antihéroe". El Universal (in Spanish). 6 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "'Dross' en Lima: ¿De qué trata 'Festival de la blasfemia'?" ['Dross' in Lima: What's 'Festival de la blasfemia' about?]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 6 July 2016.
- ^ a b Depablos, Omarela (31 October 2019). "El terror que parió a Dross". El Estímulo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Dross habla de la trama de su nuevo libro" [Dross talks about the plot of his new book]. El Universal (in Spanish). Notimex. 1 April 2017.
- ^ Florencia Suárez (8 July 2018). "Séptimo Día: Dross: La puerta al infierno" [Dross: The door to Hell]. El Día (in Spanish).
- ^ "Instagram viral: Dross demuestra con este video que es un maestro del clickbait" [Viral Instagram: Dross demonstrates with this video that he's a master of clickbait]. Trome (in Spanish). 8 June 2018.
- ^ "El youtuber Dross y "Sinceramente" lideran el ranking de los libros más vendidos". Rosario3 (in Spanish). 5 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Los libros de un youtuber venezolano y el de Cristina, al tope del ranking de los más vendidos". Diario El Dia de La Plata (in Spanish). 3 September 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "El popular youtuber Dross lanza su nuevo libro: "Escape"". Futuro (in Spanish). 22 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Envió afectuoso saludo a Chile: Dross reveló detalles de su nuevo libro y sus próximos proyectos". 24 horas (in Spanish). 29 September 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Dross presenta "Escape", una historia perturbadora de humor negro". www.cronica.com.mx/ (in Spanish). 9 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Youtuber Dross se indigna por el beso de "Lightyear" y se hace viral | VIDEO". Soy Referee (in Spanish). 23 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Dross en picada contra escena de beso LGBTQIA+ en Lightyear: cree que la inclusión fue a la fuerza". Yahoo Finance (in Spanish). 22 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Cinco refutaciones a Dross en su sesgo contra "Lightyear" - Observador Latino" (in Spanish). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Dross en el centro de la polémica con su crítica a Lightyear y Disney". En Agenda (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "La Sirenita: Dross es destrozado en redes sociales por publicar un meme sobre Halle Bailey". Tomatazos (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Dross causa polémica al publicar meme burlándose de actriz de La Sirenita y le responden molestos que es un "viejo racista"". Tarreo (in Spanish). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Dross se burla de alemanes tras denuncia por imagen contra comunidad LGBT: "Calma, adolfitos"". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.