Jörg Sprave
Quick Facts
Biography
Jörg Sprave (born April 7, 1965 in Dortmund) is a German YouTube-presenter, known for his English-language channel JoergSprave (or The Slingshot Channel).
YouTube
On his channel, Sprave produces and tests self-made, sometimes exotic slingshots. Although most of his designs include at least one rubber band, the ammunition used for the weapons varies according to the model. Some examples include saw blades, arrows, and Oreo cookies.
As of May 2016, the channel has over one million subscribers. The videos, which are nearly universally in English, are viewed mostly in the United States, the source of the majority of his subscribers.
Jörg's designs have been the subject of numerous English language reports, often highlighting creativity or power, such as in the Daily Mail, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, and UPI. In spite of previous positive press, the Daily Mail turned against Sprave in April 2017 after he released a video criticizing a stab vest, now claiming that his weapons demonstrations are "sickening" and "vile".
Private life
Sprave expressed an interest in slingshots from an early age, and sold some of his own creations to classmates in school. Sprave holds a degree in economics from the Universität Paderborn. Since 1989, Sprave has been on the board of directors of MacroSystem Digital Video AG, a manufacturer of video editing software, including the Casablanca video editor For some time, Sprave worked on his channel full-time, but out of fear of financial dependence on Google, he turned to a part-time video production schedule in September 2015. On 1 January 2017, he reinstated his position as a full-time YouTube creator and as a partner for the channel's online store.
Awards
Year | Award | Category | For | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | German Webvideo Prize (Deutscher Webvideopreis) | OMG | Bill Gates Calls – The Slingshot Channel Answers | Won |
Sprave's winning video for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Condom-Challenge consisted of the design of a slingshot for condoms. As of April 2017, the video remains one of his most popular clips with more than 6.1 million views.