The “Dragon Lord” wants to retire – and “live a normal life”

Rainer Winkler has announced his retirement from the Internet. Does this mean the end of the bizarre internet phenomenon “Dragon Lord”?

Rainer Winkler recently explained to his community in a live stream that he finally wants to live a “normal” life. The YouTuber wants to remove all his websites this Friday. “I want to go shopping again, I want to go for a walk, I want to go to the disco,” he says with glassy eyes, clearly struggling for words. And maybe one day have a wife and kids – “who knows what the future will bring”.

In fact, the 33-year-old has always led anything but a normal life. One in which he rose to fame as a video blogger, taking him to court and leaving him homeless for about a year. Since the demolition of his house in Altschauerberg in Middle Franconia, he has been touring Germany and sleeping here and there in a hotel.

Often included: a live stream in which he shared his experiences in trains and the like with the community. And asked for financial donations.

But that should be over now. Winkler also announced in his blog on Thursday under the title “Last Blog”: “I would like to withdraw from public life completely.” He wants to stop streaming and videos, delete or shut down his social network accounts. He has reached his limit, he shows himself purified and writes: “I have failed.” How he now wants to live his life, he leaves open.

During the Nuremberg court trial, Winkler vehemently refused to withdraw from the internet – even though the court advised him to do so. That was his job, he explained at the time. It is unclear where the sudden change of heart came from.

The community is skeptical whether the video blogger can really maintain internet abstinence. It’s also debatable whether the “dragon game” – chasing Winkler at every turn – is really a thing of the past. (t online)