| Date of birth | September 13, 1989 (33 years old) |
| Born in | Seattle, United States |
| nationality | Germany, United States |
| Marital status | in a relationship with Kerstin Jurek |
| profession | YouTuber, Entrepreneur |
| size | 1.83 m |
| Weight | 90kg |
| company | EssCom GmbH |
How much money does Karl Ess really have?
Karl Ess is probably one of the best-known fitness YouTubers in the German-speaking area. He has become known for his vegan lifestyle and his direct manner, with which he not only made friends. In addition to publishing videos, Karl Ess is active in numerous other business areas. He sold his own fitness program, was involved in a clothing company, launched a book and much more. As a result, he has already accumulated a fortune of 5 million euros . The richest YouTubers show that you can really make money with videos. Even if Karl Ess is not the richest among them, he can be more than proud of his wealth. Who knows, maybe someday he’ll get his hands on the income from Pewdiepie & Co.
Half German, half American
Karl Ess was born on September 13, 1989 in Seattle, Washington. His mother is American and his father is German. The two met on a trip to New Zealand. Karl Ess also has a sister. He came to Germany as a child, first to Bavaria. In the second grade of elementary school he then moved to Baden-Württemberg and later went to the Rupert-Neß-Gymnasium in Wangen. In the 10th grade, he switched to an American high school before attending the Wirtschaftsgymnasium in Wangen, Germany. There he also met his future business partner Ralf Sättele. After school, Karl Ess spent six months abroad in South America. Back in Germany, he got by with various jobs, such as a furniture mover. He then started at the University of Stuttgart to study industrial engineering . In the technical part he specialized in civil engineering, in the economic part in real estate.
Sporting career of Karl Ess
Karl began his athletic career at the age of 13 at the Wangen Men’s Gymnastics Community, where he did apparatus gymnastics for three years. Inspired by his father, Karl then started to ride a racing bike. During this time he was also an avid soccer player, playing for a total of 9 years. He gave that up when he got to know American football in high school in the USA. In the winter months, Karl was particularly enthusiastic about skiing. He came to bodybuilding at the age of 15, but could not achieve the desired results in the first few years.
However, when he set himself clear goals and trained according to a plan, he noticed the first changes. He then delved more deeply into the matter. At the age of 19 he reached his first peak form, then stopped training for 2 years because he was influenced by his circle of friends. At the time, these friends told him that he was already too fit, so he then focused on cardio training. Only with the start of his YouTube channel on April 13, 2012 did he begin to focus more on bodybuilding again. Gradually he also eliminated animal food and has been vegan for several years. He always turns this lifestyle outwards in his videos and tries to bring his viewers in this direction.
1. Revenue from YouTube and social media
Karl Ess gained notoriety through his YouTube videos. His main account now has over 378,000 subscribers, his second account “Karl Ess Lifebuilding” over 75,000. Overall, he has already collected over 135 million views with his two channels and has uploaded over 2,500 videos (many of which have already been deleted due to image problems). Karl earns around 7,000 euros a month from advertisementsjust by his calls. Because he has been able to stay in the YouTube business for 5 years, of course, this means a large sum. Of course, he was able to acquire most of his wealth from other lines of business. Karl Ess is also very successful in other social networks. He has over 640,000 likes on Facebook and 170,000 followers on Instagram.
2. Income from his fitness program (sold)
One of Karl Ess’ most important sources of income for a long time was his fitness program “Bodywork360” . There are numerous different models, ranging from 30 euros to 500 euros, depending on the scope and duration of a program. Around 30,000 people visit the site every month. Although only a fraction of the visitors buy one of the packages, this is enough to make a lot of money. From 2014 to 2017, the program is said to have generated sales of 3 million euros. In 2018 the project was resold to investors.
3. Fortune with Profuel Supplements (sold)
Together with Mischa Janiec, Patrick Reiser, Ralf Sättele and Mic Weigl, Karl Ess built up “Profuel”, probably the best-known company for vegan food supplements in Germany. The first product on the market was a training booster called “Tunnel Vision”, which is supposed to give you more strength and focus in your training. In the meantime, however, the product range contains everything from amino acids to protein bars and various vitamins. Due to disputes between the founders, Ralf Sättele has been the sole owner of Profuel since 2018 and bought the shares of the other founders. Karl Ess probably made a hefty profit with it, but withdrew completely from the business.
4. Money with “Gym Aesthetics” clothes (sold)
Karl Ess ran the fitness fashion label “Gym Aesthetics” together with Ralf Sättele, Philipp Deslandes and Aleksandar Duric. (25% each) The company was founded in the summer of 2013 and has enjoyed enormous popularity ever since. This was particularly evident at FIBO, the trade fair for fitness, wellness and health in Cologne, where the stand was stormed by several thousand fans. In the beginning there was only a men’s collection, but now there are also women’s clothes and compression underwear called “Snakeskin”. “Gym Aesthetics” is known for its bright colors and large logos or graphics. Hoodies, thongs, tops, shorts, leggings and bracelets were sold. In 2017, the company was sold to an entrepreneur in Bangladesh for 4.6 million euros. Karl earned 1.25 million euros from the sale.
A second brand called “SHRRD” was also founded , which should focus more on streetwear and leisure looks. The fitness supermodel Larissa Reis from the USA was shown on the first shirts, the new shirts are kept a bit simpler. A jewelery collection was also launched under the label. “Gym Aesthetics” works closely with athletes and fitness YouTubers, which is why a very large reach was achieved relatively quickly. The brand has now completely disappeared from the market.
5. YUÍCERY Supplements (Shares Sold)
From 2016 – 2021 Karl held shares in Yuícery with his company EssCom GmbH, which was divided into three branches:
- Yuícery Distribution (shares: 45.5%) – distribution of dietary supplements (sold)
- Yuícery Healty Food & Beverage (shares: 65%) – shipment of juice cures and shares in the branches (sold)
6. earnings from books
In September 2020 the new book ” The Best Year of Your Life ” will be published – 12 simple steps for more personal success, where Karl wants to help people with his new image as a self-proclaimed “life coach” to expand their positive energy and leave negative events behind. We already think in advance that the new book should attract even more people to the “Life Building” program.
As early as October 2016, Karl Ess brought the book “Karl Ess: Our Future Eats Vegan” onto the market. In the book, Karl explains why he is vegan, clears up myths and prejudices, shows recipes and how to find a vegan lifestyle in three weeks. The book was discussed by numerous media and received a very positive reception. According to Karl, however, the money he earns does not go to his account, but instead goes towards filming documentaries. The book is now no longer available.
7. Money with new “Life Building” program
In recent years, the YouTuber has made a blatant transformation, which his fans have also been able to observe. The latest idea: A “Life Building” program. An exclusive coaching of established and also prospective entrepreneurs, who should quickly generate even more income with the help of the serial founder. With various free videos and initial discussions, it quickly becomes clear that you have to deposit money first. The entrepreneur himself holds 90% of the company “Life Building Education GmbH”
8. Money source gym
At the end of 2014, Karl Ess announced that he would open his first fitness studio. This is the Studio Fit One , which was opened in Stuttgart. It has 6 floors and an area of more than 6,000 square meters. The Fit One offers various areas, such as a free weights area, a cardio area, a CrossFit area, saunas, solariums and much more. The prices are very moderate for a studio of this size and range from 18 to 38 euros per month. Fit One is now a chain with around 30 studios in many German cities. As it turned out later, there was no participation, but Ess only acted as an advertising ambassador.
According to the imprint of the website, the studios are operated by the Harlequin Spiel- und Entertainmentsautomaten Betriebsgesellschaft mbH . Nevertheless, this company also flushed enough money into the account and continues to increase its assets.
9. Additional income with affiliate links
Karl Ess has already advertised various things under his videos, ranging from normal Amazon affiliate links to penis pumps or online lotteries. In particular, the promotion of penis pumps brought him scorn in the scene, but should have been more than worth it financially. He was also repeatedly criticized for online lotteries. Karl Ess explains he used that money for good things like building his line of vegan supplements. According to his own statements, he sometimes earned between 20,000 and 30,000 euros an hour with such advertising . There was also advertising for an online drugstore, in which Karl Ess is said to be involved. However, there are hardly any affiliate links among his new videos.
10. Earnings from Vemma (discontinued)
Karl Ess burned his fingers properly on the subject of Vemma. Vemma stands for vitamins, essential minerals, mangosteen and aloe and is said to be a particularly healthy energy drink . Vemma’s products are sold exclusively through its own website, but are promoted through independent distributors who receive bonuses for sales. Newly recruited customers can also join as sales partners, and the person who recruited them also earns money from their sales. Vemma quickly came under suspicion of setting up an illegal Ponzi scheme, which the company itself describes as multi-level marketing.
Karl Ess was convinced of the product and used its reach to sell it, which brought him a lot of criticism. Stern TV also took on the topic, and Karl Ess’ image was badly damaged. In retrospect, Karl Ess says he was dissatisfied with the way the affiliates handled it because they mis marketed the product. He himself made a loss in all areas.