For new fans landing on his videos for the first time and longtime followers double-checking a fact, this is the quick-reference page. Everything you'd want to know about Zachery Dereniowski, the man behind MDMotivator, in one place.

The Basics

Full name: Zachery Dereniowski

Known as: MDMotivator

Date of birth: June 27, 1993

Age: 32 (as of 2026)

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Hometown: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Nationality: Canadian

Background

Zachery grew up in Windsor, the southernmost city in Canada, sitting directly across the river from Detroit, Michigan. He has one brother, and his family still lives in the Windsor area. His father is a familiar face in the local community.

He attended the University of Windsor for his undergraduate studies, where he famously failed his exams at age 18 — a moment he's pointed to as the turning point that eventually pushed him toward medical school.

After several years of pre-med study and a student exchange program in Australia, he enrolled at the University of Sydney in January 2020 to pursue his medical degree. He left medical school during the pandemic to focus on content creation full time, eventually shifting his academic focus to psychology.

Career At A Glance

First viral moment: August 2020, with a TikTok video about lesser-known signs of depression that crossed half a million views overnight.

Primary platforms: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook

Combined audience: 55.6 million total fans across platforms, per his published media kit (updated July 2026) — TikTok 27.9M followers, Facebook 10M, Instagram 9.6M, YouTube 8.1M subscribers

Scale of reach: 38.4 billion estimated impressions across all platforms; 9 billion all-time TikTok views; a 14.9% TikTok engagement rate that dramatically outperforms typical creator benchmarks

Style: Unscripted social experiments and random acts of kindness, often filmed with cardboard signs, blindfolds, or simple requests for help from strangers.

Signature collaborator: Patrick Glaz, his longtime videographer and friend, who films almost every video.

The Brands and Causes He's Built

Kindness Is Cool: A nonprofit and lifestyle brand built around his core philosophy. Proceeds support the people featured in his videos.

The Kind Closet: His official merchandise store, selling Kindness Is Cool branded apparel.

Slingshot: The crowdfunding platform he uses to turn viral moments into life-changing donations for his subjects.

KindnessWithZachery Foundation: His nonprofit foundation supporting individuals and families facing financial, emotional, or mental-health-related challenges.

Mental Health Movement: The clothing company, podcast, and scholarship program he co-founded earlier in his journey, with the tagline "You Matter Most."

Key Catchphrases

These phrases appear repeatedly across his videos, captions, merchandise, and interviews. They aren't just slogans — they're a worldview.

Major Career Milestones

Personal Life

Zachery keeps his personal life relatively private. He has not publicly discussed a current romantic relationship, and his family largely stays off-camera. He's spoken openly in interviews about a serious long-term breakup he experienced while in Sydney during the early pandemic, which he's said played a role in the depression that shaped his work.

He divides his time between Windsor and various filming locations across North America, with frequent stops in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Texas.

Major Sponsors and Brand Partners

Zachery has worked with a number of major brands that align with his mental health and kindness mission, including:

He has also partnered with the Reform Alliance and worked alongside Kim Kardashian on at least one major giving campaign.

How to Follow Him

These are MDMotivator's official channels. We're a fan site — the links below are where to find Zachery directly.

Coming Up Next

Behind every MDMotivator video is a videographer, often standing several feet away to keep things looking unstaged. In our next article, we'll introduce you to Patrick Glaz — Zachery's longtime friend and the cameraman who helped shape MDMotivator's signature visual style during its rise.

Sources

This article is part of an independent fan site dedicated to documenting the work, life, and impact of Zachery Dereniowski (MDMotivator). We are not affiliated with Zachery, his team, Kindness Is Cool, the Mental Health Movement, the KindnessWithZachery Foundation, or any of his sponsors. All content is researched and written by fans, sourced from public material, and intended as celebratory and informational. To follow Zachery directly, visit @mdmotivator on TikTok or Instagram.