David Freiheit

David Freiheit (born May 23, 1979), is a Canadian lawyer, former political candidate for the People's Party of Canada[1] and YouTuber under the pseudonym Viva Frei.[2]

David Freiheit
Personal information
Born
David Freiheit

(1979-05-23) May 23, 1979
Occupation(s)YouTuber, commercial litigator
Websitevivafrei.com
YouTube information
Also known asViva Frei
Channels
Years active2012–present
Genres
Subscribers570,000
Total views151 million
100,000 subscribers2019
Last updated: September 21, 2023
Rumble information
Channelsvivafrei
Years active2015–present
Subscribers375,000

Biography

Freiheit grew up in Montreal, Quebec, as the youngest of five siblings born in a Jewish family.[3][4] He enjoyed creating videos.[5] He studied Creative Arts at Dawson College and received his Bachelor of Arts at McGill University. He then received his civil law degree from Université Laval where he was the editor-in-chief of the university's law journal.[3]

In 2007, Freiheit began practising law, following in the footsteps of his father and older siblings.[6] He worked professionally for the prominent commercial litigation firm Borden Ladner Gervais for six years,[7] but left to be a freelance litigator after his first child to have a more favourable work-life balance,[2] starting a firm called Freiheit Legal.[8]

For the first few years of his YouTube career, Freiheit was a practising commercial litigator, and he struggled to find time to create his videos.[9] In January 2018, he discontinued his litigation practice and turned full-time to YouTube.[10]

On July 22, 2021, Freiheit announced the launch of his campaign to run for Parliament as a member of the People's Party of Canada.[11]

On June 16, 2022 Rumble announced its proposal for an 'open-source content moderation policy and process', attributing Freiheit as being a key legal contributor.[12]

YouTube career

Early content and awards (2014–2019)

Freiheit started his YouTube career in early 2014 by posting videos of him lip syncing to various pop songs while running obstacle courses dressed in a full suit.[13] These videos were not receiving many views, so Freiheit decided to try another style; in late 2014, Freiheit started posting nature-related stunts.[14][15] He gained popularity when he posted a video of a squirrel picking up his GoPro action camera and carrying it up a tree.[16][17] Freiheit then started posting videos of stunts involving the use of a drone.[18][19]

In 2016, Freiheit won a GoPro Award for his use of their cameras in his videos.[20] He won a Shorty Social Good Award for Best Overall YouTube Presence in 2017.[21]

In January 2019, Freiheit was invited by GoPro to be a featured panellist at the Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.[22]

Style change (2019–present)

From 2014 to 2019, Freiheit had accumulated around 60,000 subscribers. In April 2019, he decided that since law-related content was by far his channel's most popular genre, he would change the style of his channel and only post vlogs analysing different current issues from a legal standpoint.[23][24] He started a second channel, "Viva Family", as a place to maintain his former content style.[25]

Before running for the PPC, Freiheit had classified the political stance he takes on his channel as non-partisan,[26] claiming that the internet, through the use of the terms right-wing or left-wing, only succeeds in "pigeonholing, categorizing, dichotomizing, just reducing a complex individual to either right or left in all of their... beliefs".[27] In an interview, he described his channel's content as including a "pretty decent balance of left and right".[6]

In 2019 attorney Robert Barnes began making live weekly Sunday evening appearances on Freiheit's channel. The series continued on a weekly basis, often featuring a notable guest, where the two discuss recent legal and political event.[28]

In September 2022, Freiheit signed an exclusive video deal with the video platform Rumble.[29][30][31]

Political career

Freiheit ran in the 2021 Canadian federal election to become a Member of Parliament for the People's Party of Canada in the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount.[32][33][34] In July 2021, Freiheit created a third channel, "Viva PPC", as a place to feature his political content.[35] He lost his electoral bid, coming in sixth place in the riding with 3.3% of votes.[36]

Electoral record
2021 Canadian federal election: Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMarc Garneau24,51053.8-2.5
New DemocraticEmma Elbourne-Weinstock8,75319.2+3.8
ConservativeMathew Kaminski6,41214.1+2.6
Bloc QuébécoisJordan Craig Larouche2,4075.3+0.6
GreenSam Fairbrother1,8354.0-6.7
People'sDavid Freiheit1,4983.3+2.2
Marxist–LeninistRachel Hoffman1170.3+0.1
Christian HeritageGeofryde Wandji590.1
Total valid votes 45,591
Total rejected ballots 446
Turnout 46,03762.2-4.1
Eligible voters
Liberal hold Swing -3.1
Source: Elections Canada[37]

References
  1. Henriquez, Gloria (September 15, 2021). "Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount federal riding candidates face off in debate – Montreal". Global News. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  2. Moore, Karl (April 25, 2020). "From Lawyer To YouTuber: How David Freiheit Found His Niche". Forbes. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  3. "David Freiheit". Freiheit Legal. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. "Why this Jewish YouTube star ran for the People's Party in Montreal". June 13, 2023.
  5. Tang, Pency (March 14, 2019). "Alumni spotlight: David Freiheit". McGill University. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. "Know Your Vlawg: An Interview with Viva Frei". September 25, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  7. Tison, Florence (April 29, 2020). "D'avocat à YouTubeur" (in French). Droit. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  8. "David Freiheit is the founder of Freiheit Legal Inc., a Montreal boutique law firm specializing in commercial litigation and general corporate law". Montreal Gazette. August 31, 2012. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. Murphy, Eliza (August 29, 2016). "Dad Spoofs Jason Bourne With Hilarious (Baby) 'Bjorn Identity' Video". ABC News. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  10. Deshaies, Sarah (January 12, 2018). "Quebec's YouTube stars upload their lives". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  11. Freiheit, David (July 22, 2021). "I'm Running for Parliament!". Viva Frei. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  12. "Rumble Proposes an Open-Source Content Moderation Policy & Process to Improve Transparency & Put Creators First". PR Newswire (Press release). Rumble. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  13. "Montreal dad enlists squirrel to help remove daughter's tooth". Hamilton Spectator. June 24, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  14. Watters, Hayden (June 25, 2016). "How nutty! Montreal dad gets squirrel to yank out daughter's tooth". CBC. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  15. "Hot Water + Freezing Temperature + Camera = Amazing Videos!". Indian Express. January 2, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  16. Sirucek, Stefan (November 22, 2014). "Watch: This Is What Happens When You Give a Squirrel a GoPro". National Geographic. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  17. Griggs, Mary Beth (August 9, 2016). "This Is What The World Looks Like From a Squirrel's Point Of View". Popular Science. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  18. Prestwich, Emma (December 7, 2016). "David Freiheit, Quebec Man, Uses Drone To Wax His Leg". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  19. "Quebec father-daughter duo get park squirrels to yank out baby tooth from girl's mouth". National Post. June 24, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  20. "GoPro Awards: Squirrel Runs Off With GoPro". GoPro. August 12, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  21. "Breakout YouTuber – Winner in YouTube Presence". Shorty Awards. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  22. "David Freiheit invited to the CES in Las Vegas". CTV News Breakfast Television. January 21, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  23. Mendes, David (October 10, 2019). "David Freiheit – Merging Law, Popularization, and Content Creation". Papa Phd. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  24. "David Freiheit, l'avocat YouTubeur" (in French). Les Affaires. April 21, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  25. Macdavid, Thomas (April 22, 2020). "A Montrealer Turned His Street Into A Massive Sock Dartboard To Play From The Roof (Video)". MTL. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  26. "Viva Frei". YouTube. April 27, 2020. p. 11:10 (timestamp). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  27. "Viva Frei". YouTube. April 27, 2020. p. 2:10 (timestamp). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  28. Freiheit, David (November 1, 2019). "EP. 1 – Viva & Barnes: Robert Barnes – From Covington Catholic to Alex Jones". YouTube.com. Viva Frei. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  29. Bloom, Jim (September 26, 2022). "Rumble Inc Stock (NASDAQ: RUM) A Smart Bet". Insider Financial. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  30. "Livestreamer VivaFrei Signs Exclusive Deal with Rumble, Drops YouTube as Primary Platform". Rumble. September 6, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  31. "Livestreamer VivaFrei Signs Exclusive Deal with Rumble, Drops YouTube as Primary Platform". Yahoo News. PR Newswire. September 6, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  32. "Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount David Freiheit". PPC. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  33. Ceausu, Joel (September 4, 2021). "Election 2021: NDG–Westmount". The Suburban. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  34. "Why this Jewish YouTube star ran for the People's Party in Montreal". The Canadian Jewish News. October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  35. "Viva PPC". YouTube. David Freiheit. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  36. "Election Results – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  37. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
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