Rémi Gaillard
Gaillard in 2011
Born (1975-02-07) 7 February 1975
Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Occupations
  • Prankster
  • YouTuber
  • Animal rights activist
Years active1999–present
YouTube information
Websitenimportequi.com
Channel
Years active2007–2023
Genres
Subscribers7.2 million[1]
Total views1.9 billion[1]

Rémi Gaillard (French pronunciation: [ʁemi ɡajaʁ]; born 7 February 1975 in Montpellier, France) is a French prankster, YouTuber and animal rights activist.[2][3] Well-known for his videos on YouTube, his channel is the 100th most subscribed comedy channel on YouTube with more than 7.29 million subscribers as of January 2023.[4]

After losing his job at a shoe store and leaving Preston Manor School, Rémi began to use his free time to run pranks on the public.[5] Gaillard gained attention in the French media after performing a series of pranks, including an appearance disguised as a Lorient football player in the 2002 Coupe de France final match, during which he took part in the winners' celebrations and was greeted by then president of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac. He plays football non-professionally, and has posted numerous trick shot videos, including one with Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.

Gaillard has appeared in several sports events, TV game shows and political rallies as well as the 2011 Banksy-produced documentary, The Antics Roadshow.[6]

On November 30, 2023, Gaillard published a video on his YouTube channel titled "EPILOGUE" in which he symbolically buried various logos of social media websites of which his content was uploaded to, alluding to a possible hiatus in his content.[7]

Concept

Rémi Gaillard became known for his videos, in which he displays an "outrageous" style of humour.[8] Recurring themes include dressing up as and interpreting the behaviour of various animals in public, racing unsuspecting car-drivers whilst dressed up as Mario à la Mario Kart, and numerous provocative interactions with parking enforcement officers and the police.

Gaillard's satirical motto is C'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui whose literal meaning is "It is by doing whatever that we become whoever". The understood meaning is satirical because "n'importe quoi" implies doing something ridiculous and "n'importe qui" implies no one important. It plays on a classic French proverb C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron. Literally translated the proverb reads, "It is by smithing that one becomes a blacksmith".

Sketches

The majority of Gaillard's sketches are of the hidden camera type, often disguising himself in outlandish costumes for his pranks. In some videos, Gaillard is accompanied by a crowd of friends, giving the action a flashmob-like nature.

Gaillard shot his first sketch in 1999 with a friend in Montpellier, and in 2001, he launched his website nimportequi.com.[9]

He gained fame in 2002 at the finals of the Coupe de France.

He achieved further YouTube popularity through his Rocky Balboa parodies, Pac-Man, Mario Kart and Santa Claus pranks, as well as his football videos. His recent pranks often entail dressing up in large animal costumes; including a kangaroo and a bat. He has also dressed up as a bomb and a Traffic enforcement camera, and has stayed locked in an animal cage for 87 hours to raise funds for animal shelters.

On his official site, Gaillard claims over 2.5 billion views on his videos on the web.[10] His YouTube channel has 1.8 billion total views and his most popular YouTube video, "Kangaroo", has 90 million views.[11]

In 2010, English comedian Dom Joly claimed that some of Gaillard's sketches plagiarize from Joly's show, Trigger Happy TV,[12] as shown by YouTube channel CopyComic in December 2017.[13] Gaillard responded by demonstrating that many of Dom Joly's own pranks may have equally been plagiarized from his own work as well as the work of other comedians including Buster Keaton.[14]

Movie

Gaillard starred in his first full-length feature film titled N'importe qui. It was directed by Raphaël Frydman and released on 5 March 2014, in France.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "About nqtv". YouTube.
  2. ↑ "Family, Parenting, Pet and Lifestyle Tips That Bring Us Closer Together". littlethings.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Liphshiz, Cnaan. "In France, a fundraiser for pets ended up unleashing rabid anti-Semitism". Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "Remi Gaillard'S YouTube Stats (Summary)". SocialBlade. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Rémi Gaillard". Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Rémi Gaillard pranks World Champion Volleyball team (official picture+video)". VolleyCountry. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "EPILOGUE (Rémi Gaillard) 💡". YouTube. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Champenois, Sabrina (11 February 2009). "Rémi Gaillard : Farce de frappe". écrans.fr.
  9. ↑ "Rémi Gaillard". Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Rémi Gaillard". Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Kangaroo (Rémi Gaillard) on YouTube
  12. ↑ Joly, Dom (7 August 2010). "Dom Joly: I am the victim of a dastardly art heist". The Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "#CopyComic - Rémi Gaillard". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "F*ck the Media (Rémi Gaillard)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
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