Cody Ko

Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk (born 22 November 1990; , Polish: ), better known as Cody Ko, is a Canadian YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, and rapper. His style of content is often crudely comedic and profane. , his five YouTube channels have collectively earned over million subscribers and billion views.

After majoring in computer science at Duke University, Ko worked as a mobile developer and began making Vines, garnering almost 2 million followers on Vine before the social media platform closed in 2017. He shifted to uploading commentary and reaction videos to YouTube, where he and fellow YouTuber Noel Miller became popular with their reaction series That's Cringe and the Tiny Meat Gang Podcast. They also began a comedy hip hop group called Tiny Meat Gang.

In 2019, influencer Jake Paul was criticized for accusing Ko of cyberbullying in his commentary videos, inadvertently causing Ko to gain 140,000 subscribers. In 2021, Ko and Miller expanded their podcast into Tiny Meat Gang Studios, a comedy podcast network. Ko stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2024 after YouTuber Tana Mongeau accused him of statutory rape.

Early life Ko was born Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk in Calgary on 22 November 1990, the son of professional cyclist Greg Kolodziejzyk and his wife Helen. He enrolled at Duke University in North Carolina after being recruited on their swimming and diving team. Ko graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. The same year, he moved to Silicon Valley.

Career 2012–2016: I'd Cap That, computer engineering, and Vine Ko shortened his professional surname from Kolodziejzyk early in his career, as his Polish surname was too difficult to spell and pronounce. I'd Cap That was acquired several months later by a startup called Iddiction, and Ko worked there on the app for two years before quitting in 2014. He moved to San Francisco to work for the company.

Ko first began uploading to Vine, a six-second video platform, in 2013. He partnered with the now-defunct multi-channel network Fullscreen, with Mahzad Babayan becoming his full-time talent manager.Efn|As of December 2022, Babayan still works with Ko. She is currently employed as a talent agent by United Talent Agency, which represents Ko and Miller. In May 2014, Ko and his friend Devon Townsend left on an eight-month backpacking trip in southeast Asia. Throughout the trip, the pair created Vines and started several side projects for ad revenue and experience creating apps with other technologies such as Node.js. The videos were unexpectedly viral and Ko became a popular figure on Vine. He had amassed over 290,000 followers by July.

In January 2015, the two returned to the United States. Moving to Los Angeles, they looked for software jobs and continued to make Vines.

Ko worked for the company Victorious for eight months and had less time to create content. He also frequently had to leave midday for auditions. His manager gave him a job as a senior iOS developer at her employer Fullscreen, where they would be more relaxed about him leaving midday for content creation as a social media company. Ko contributed to the code for Fullscreen's subscription service. At Fullscreen, Ko also met Noel Miller, a web designer from marketing and fellow Viner, by chance after they had previously talked online. The pair became close and often created internet content on their lunch breaks. He quit his job at Fullscreen in July 2016, deciding that he could support himself on sponsorships alone. After Vine was discontinued, he shifted to YouTube content. He and Miller became popular on YouTube with their series That's Cringe, hosted on Ko's channel, where the two react to content they consider dumb. That's Cringe has over 153 million combined views and makes up most of his channel's most popular videos. An episode on controversial YouTuber Jake Paul in October 2017 amassed over seventeen million views. Another episode on the Christian lifestyle channel Girl Defined spurred viral TikTok memes mocking Girl Defined and their videos' themes of extended chastity.

Ko's other content focuses on internet culture, such as criticism of internet personalities, NFTs or ASMR videos involving dangerous acts. He and other commentary YouTubers have been described as "media critics" for an online millennial audience. Vulture said that his videos helped bring attention to YouTube commentary and help it grow from a subsection of reaction videos. However, the two began considering music earnestly after they were contacted by producer Diamond Pistols and released their first extended play Bangers & Ass the same year. After struggling with repeated demonetization, Ko and Miller began the Tiny Meat Gang Podcast in October 2017 to make up for losses. Each hour-long episode discusses various topics related to pop and internet culture.

In 2018, Ko and Miller went on tour and reached 1 million subscribers on his main channel in June. In an interview with Tubefilter, Ko attributed his success to "ripping on the Paul brothers." The same year, Post Malone was featured in an episode of their podcast Ko and Miller also appeared in a live comedy tour across the United States as Tiny Meat Gang. The Washington Post described it as an example of celebrities dismissing genuine criticism as hate; however, Ko gained around 140,000 subscribers directly after the incident and surpassed four million by late 2019.

Tiny Meat Gang collaborated with Blackbear for the single "Short Kings Anthem". Controversial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk also appeared in a 2021 episode of Tiny Meat Gang. Due to this, some fans began to worry about a potential conflict of interest and that the two "would [be incentivized] to pull their punches." In 2024, TMG brought several more podcasts under their umbrella, including Emergency Intercom. He stepped down from the company's day-to-day operations in 2024. In the 2020s, Ko started making popular reaction videos to dating web shows, especially those produced by Jubilee Media and The Cut. He voiced the eponymous button on one such show, The Button. Ko has steadily released singles, such as "Not Going Home" and The Buttoninspired "Nightmare" and is a resident DJ at Wynn Las Vegas. Ko did not immediately respond to the allegation, but he stepped down from day-to-day operations at TMG Studios on 26 July. Emergency Intercom creators also left the network, bringing the studio's number of podcasts to six. According to Social Blade, his YouTube channel lost around 250,000 subscribers in the following 30 days. He subsequently took a hiatus from YouTube for several months, gradually returning from December 2024.

Personal life Ko met American teacher Kelsey Kreppel at a friend's party in June 2017, and they began dating three months later. In 2018, they moved into an apartment in Marina del Rey, California, and Kreppel started appearing in his videos. In 2020, they purchased their first home in the Venice area of Los Angeles, which they sold when they purchased a new home in Malibu, California. They announced the birth of their first child, Otis, in January 2024.

Discography and additional works +Singles, features, & alternate versionsTitleTypeAdditional artistsRelease dateYear"Cuddle Bug"SingleMarch 202019 "Fuck Halloween"October 14"One for the Billionaires"March 12022"Fiat"Matt MiggzSeptember 16"Knock it Off - Space Rangers Remix"Space RangersOctober 14"Moderation"December 9"Til I Die - Cody Ko Remix"RemixSpace Rangers, Disco LinesJuly 142023"Bop It"SingleSpace RangersSeptember 22"Not Going Home"Sunday ScariesNovember 10"Nightmare"Young NutApril 52024"Should I Stay or Should I Go"MoonlghtMay 28

Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)Result201810th Shorty AwardsYouTuber of the YearCody Ko Podcast