Zachary Michael King (born February 4, 1990) is an American internet personality and filmmaker known for creating short videos featuring visual effects. He began posting content on YouTube in 2008 and gained widespread recognition on Vine in 2013 for his six-second "magic vines." King later expanded his presence to TikTok, where he has amassed tens of millions of followers for his digitally edited videos, which he describes as "digital sleight of hand."
Early life and education King was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He is of half-Chinese descent from his paternal side, one-quarter Austrian and one-quarter Nicaraguan descent from his maternal side. King's mother homeschooled him and his three sisters, including one adopted sister, while his father worked in their home office. King made his first film at age seven using a home video camera. When he was fourteen, he purchased video equipment including a Mac computer, cameras, and a tripod and started making and editing videos.
He was a film and music major with a minor in worship at Biola University and graduated in December 2012.
Career
Early work and YouTube King started his website, FinalCutKing.com, in 2008 to offer training and tips about using the editing software Final Cut Pro, as he was unable to find tutorials for the software on the internet. At the same time, he started using his YouTube channel to give tutorials for visual effects using the software. After gaining an audience for his website, he began selling training seminars and used the money to help pay his college tuition. He participated as a contestant on an episode of Viral Video Showdown that aired on Syfy in 2012. In 2011, he posted a video titled Jedi Kittens on YouTube that he produced with a college friend under the name FinalCutKing. The video showed two kittens fighting with lightsabers. The video gained over a million views in three days and went on to have over 25 million views as of March 2025. A sequel of the video titled Jedi Kittens Strike Back gained over 10 million views as of 2014. A third video in the series, Jedi Kittens – The Force Awakens, was posted in 2013 and has gained over 28 million views.
He was named by YouTube as one of the 25 most promising young film-makers in America in May 2013. As part of its Next Up Creators contest, YouTube awarded King $35,000 as well as a trip to New York City for a four-day YouTube Creator Camp. His submission to the contest was titled Contest Entry Gone Wrong. As of May 2025, he has 42 million subscribers and 775 videos with 21.4 billion views.
King posted a short video as part of YouTube Shorts which gained over 1.2 billion views.
Vine King made his Vine account on September 9, 2013, and decided to create one Vine daily for thirty days straight. His videos on the platform quickly became popular. By 2014, he was making videos on Vine full-time and working out of his garage.
King has been featured in multiple media outlets for his Vines. He appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 29, 2014, and made several Vines with the crew of the show. Chez Pazienza wrote about King that "this guy's stuff is pure magic (or at least the work of some very clever editing.)" Laura Vitto praised King's work in Mashable, stating, "Vine star and filmmaker Zach King may not perform magic in the traditional sense, but his expertly-edited six-second videos could put David Blaine to shame." Writing for Complex magazine, J. Duaine Hahn wrote, "While people have hit Vine stardom for skits, or splicing together commentary with popular YouTube videos, King has gone the extra mile to use his six seconds to create magic, or the closest thing you can get to it with on a smartphone."
TikTok King posted his first video to short-form video platform TikTok (formerly musical.ly) on February 28, 2016. As of November 2024, he has amassed a following of over 82.3 million followers, making him the third most followed user on the site. He has a 25-person staff to help him write and produce videos. His videos can take up to 2 weeks to make, with a goal to produce two per week.
On December 9, 2019, King uploaded a video called "Zach Kings Magic Broomstick", which received an estimated 2 billion views and was the most viewed videos on the platform that day. On December 1, 2022, Guinness World Records officially recognized it as the most viewed video on TikTok at 2.2 billion views.
Writing career Zach King has been a published author since 2016. King has three books based on the game Minecraft and a fantasy trilogy starring a self-named protagonist.
King's first book, My Minecraft Escapades, was published on January 21, 2016. A follow-up, Minecraft Mathematicians, was published on March 19, 2016. His third Minecraft book was published on April 10, 2016, and is called A Minecraft Wish Granted.
King then shifted his focus to writing about his own life. King released his "Magic Life" trilogy, a fantasy series based upon his own life and the events that shaped the way he saw magic. Each of the three books have a downloadable app for interacting with each book.
King's first children's book in the Magic Life Series was published on September 16, 2017, and was titled "Zach King: My Magical Life". The second book published was "Zach King: The Magical Mix-Up" on May 1, 2018. King wraps up the trilogy with "Zach King: Mirror Magic".
Personal life When King was seven, his family converted to Christianity, which he states is one of the "greatest things" that has happened in his life. He considers himself a devout Christian, attempting to read parts of the Bible when he wakes every morning. He is vocal about his faith, even incorporating it into his videos. King attended Biola University, a non-denominational Christian university, and led youth groups at various Christian camps.
King proposed to his girlfriend, Rachel Holm, while pretending to create a video advertisement for one of her brands. They got married in 2014. In 2016, they competed together on The Amazing Race 28 and placed 6th. As of 2017, they lived in Rossmoor, an unincorporated community in Orange County, California. Both King and his wife have adopted siblings, which inspired Rachel to work as a case manager for adoption and foster-care. The couple have an adopted son, Mason, and a biological son, Liam, as well as having fostered children . In 2022, it was announced that the couple was expecting another baby, a girl named Emerson, who was born in February 2023 and later announced on YouTube. In December 2024, it was announced that the couple was expecting another baby, a boy named Carson, who was born in June 2025.
Controversies and legal issues A former producer for King named Elisabeth Logan filed a lawsuit against King and his studio King Studio LLC in 2021 on counts of "wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, wage discrimination, failure to prevent harassment discrimination or retaliation, and various state Labor Code violations." During the trial, the prosecution stated "Zach King belittled, verbally attacked and yelled at Ms. Logan for the slightest perceived misstep, while turning a blind eye to male co-workers' grave errors."
King has yet to release a public statement about the lawsuit.
Filmography + Film roles Year TitleDirector Role Notes 2016 Zootopia Muzzled Wolf Voice only, promotional clip2018Would You Fire Me For This?Zach KingShort filmMagic Duel: Jack Black vs Zach KingZach KingShort film featuring Jack BlackA Magician Home AloneZach KingShort film featuring Jamie Costa2019Viking AcademyZach KingShort film featuring Jay Baruchel and America FerreraStranded on Treasure IslandZach KingShort filmZach King's the Magical Night Before ChristmasZach KingShort film2020Zach King's Day OffZach KingShort film featuring Brian Patrick Butler and Nicholas Downs2021The Time Traveling SheriffZach KingShort filmPete the CatKawow the MagicianVoice only2022First to the GateZach KingShort filmStranded Part 2Zach KingShort film2023How I Got Cast in Shazam! Fury of the GodsZach KingShort film featuring Zachary LeviStranded 3Zach KingShort film featuring Terry Crews2024Zach King vs Porch PiratesZach KingShort film featuring Mark Rober and Wayne Brady2026Jurassic BarkAlan GrantShort film based on Jurassic Park featuring Randall Park, Nick DiGiovanni, Adam Rose, etc.Cardboard WarsLuke SkywalkerShort film based on Star Wars featuring Airrack, Jamie Costa, Jordan Matter, Sofie Dossi, Jesser, Nick DiGiovanni, Colin and Samir, etc. + Television roles Year Title Role Notes 2021 Nickelodeon's Unfiltered Himself Episode: "This DJ is Bananas!" Dave Himself Episode: "Somebody Date me"
Awards and honors 2009 – First place in student film festival for HP advertisement 2009 – Critic's Choice Award at Bridgestone Tires's Safety Scholars Teen Driver Video Contest 2010 – First place London Film Festival: Heartbrand Ad 2010 – Bridgestone Safety Scholar Winner 2012 – Vidcon Golden Poop Award 2013 – YouTube's NextUp Creators Contest 2016 – Shorty Award for Best Vine Artist 2023 – Streamy Award for Visual and Special Effects
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