Zach Hsieh is the bane of white walls. If he has his way, they won’t stay that way for long.
Hsieh spends his time with his friends on his YouTube channel, ZHC, drawing and painting. In one video, he sands down the backs of phones and adds on his own artwork. In many others, he and his crew spend a week or so painting impressive art all over the walls of a school, or a hospital, or YouTube HQ itself.
But it’s not enough to Hsieh to simply paint—he’ll make sure his crew of artists also engage in fun challenges as they create, earning money or items every time they win.
Hsieh gives away plenty of cash and products to strangers. And while you can argue that it’s generosity meant as an investment for more channel views, it’s still generosity that positively impacts plenty of lives. For instance, he helps pay for medical bills or gives money to teachers in a struggling school district. And, in one video, Hsieh intentionally customizes a handful of phones to match the preferences and interests of the people to whom he gives them.
Hsieh and his friends are obviously talented, and they use their gifts to spread joy through painting art for others to enjoy. And, speaking of his friends, it’s clear that they all enjoy making art and playing games together.
Though Hsieh’s typical videos focus more on challenges and large-scale art projects, his older videos teach aspiring artists how to get better at drawing. Viewers can find multiple how-to videos on the channel.
In one video, Hsieh’s girlfriend bends an art mannequin in a suggestive way. Hsieh is occasionally seen in a swimsuit, and his girlfriend sometimes appears in a bikini. When a woman stuffs a wad of money into her shirt, Hsieh jokes that she has “racks on racks.” Posters in the background of a video in a school advocate support for LGBT issues.
Though Hsieh gives away plenty of gifts and money, his generosity can also feel a bit vain. And because Hsieh occasionally offers free customized products to viewers for watching his channel, parents should note the allure that opportunity might present for a young viewer. We would also encourage those who wish to imitate his generosity to do such good deeds in private rather than for worldly affirmation (see Matthew 6:3-4).
We noticed the f-word and s-word both used once, but both were censored. God’s name is occasionally used in vain. We hear the occasional flatulence sound effect.
One way to describe Hsieh’s YouTube channel might be like this: “If MrBeast started an art channel, it’d feel a lot like ZHC.”
In his videos, Hsieh frequently gives money and luxuries away, and he and his friends compete in a variety of art-centric challenges. Newer uploads seem more bombastic than older ones, and thumbnails look very similar to MrBeast’s thumbnail style, too. And, like a MrBeast video, uploads are often fast paced, seemingly to attract younger audiences.
Because of that, ZHC doesn’t feel particularly authentic—at least compared to many other art channels on the platform. Whereas it may be easy to see the passion that a smaller art creator has for her craft, that same passion was hard to spot in Hsieh’s channel behind the larger-than-life challenges, games that clearly cater to YouTube’s algorithm.
In terms of content, viewers should note that there are a couple of light innuendos, and the artists sometimes misuse God’s name.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
