Zach King is the king of illusions, and the king of TikTok too.
If you haven’t seen his mind-blowing, imaginative videos on TikTok or YouTube, you’re missing out. With 72 million followers on TikTok and 15 million subscribers on YouTube, he’s got a massive fan base and for good reason.
And his efforts have now earned him a Guinness World Record for the most viewed video on TikTok.
It was awarded for a clip of Zach riding through the air on a broomstick, which he posted three years ago to the platform and has reached more than 2 billion views.
The video is right out of Harry Potter, with Zach wearing a Hogwart’s costume as he rides the broom. He writes in the caption, “They rejected my application to Hogwarts, but I still found a way to be a wizard.”
@zachking They rejected my application to Hogwarts but I still found a way to be a wizard. #illusion #magic #harrypotter ♬ Zach Kings Magic Broomstick – Zach King
Zach’s videos are filled with creative illusions using what he describes as “digital sleight of hand”. Basically, editing. Yes it’s trickery, but it’s amazing trickery. You can’t not love what he creates because you want it to be real.
Of course, the video where Zach accepts his award from Guinness World Records involves some clever illusion work too:
@guinnessworldrecords Most viewed video on @tiktok – 2.2 billion by @zachking
♬ original sound – Guinness World Records#harrypotter #zachking #illusion #gwr2023
Zach even reveals how he does some of the illusions, often publishing behind-the-scenes clips.
@zachking Sometimes the #behindthescenes is better than the final video. #filmmaking ♬ original sound – Zach King
You can check out his best magic videos of 2022 on his YouTube channel where he writes that he hopes his videos bring a “little spark of joy, wonder, and imagination”.
