Ingolstadt pensioner turns motivational videos into viral hit

Walter Sedlmeier, a 77-year-old retired technician from Ingolstadt, has become an internet phenomenon with daily motivational videos on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, BR reported.

Sedlmeier began posting the videos six months ago, during a period marked by wars, crises and climate change. His videos show him standing in front of a cloud-filled sky, speaking about topics such as closeness, kind words and courage, accompanied by popular music.

Some viewers initially wondered whether Sedlmeier was a real person or an artificial intelligence creation. His videos have inspired memes portraying him as Jesus, Buddha or a firefighting helicopter spraying “love, trust and cheerfulness” over a fire labelled “worries, hate and sadness”.

Sedlmeier’s reason for making the videos is serious. His wife died of cancer shortly before their golden wedding anniversary, and he struggled to cope with her death. He wrote down his experiences, but no publisher was interested in his manuscript.

“Then I thought I had to become better known through posts like these, perhaps a publisher would see them,” Sedlmeier said. His videos draw on experiences of longing, helplessness and carrying on. Artificial intelligence writes the texts, while Sedlmeier records the videos in his attic using his mobile phone and a green screen made from a hanging cloth.

The music comes from the son of one of his cousins, and the background images are generated by artificial intelligence. Sedlmeier’s phone rests on a stack of thick books, with a Bible lying on top.

Sedlmeier posts a new video every day at 5 p.m. His accounts on Instagram and TikTok have more than 80,000 followers. One follower, Oliver from Cologne, said the simplicity of the videos made them feel genuine. “That is really something real, and that is partly being lost in the ordinary world,” he said.

Psychologist Astrid Carolus of the University of Würzburg said Sedlmeier’s success showed that positive content could also go viral. When people share, watch, forward and like positive material, she said, they can help shape the algorithm themselves.

For 25-year-old Celine, watching Sedlmeier’s videos has become a daily ritual. She once found one when she was feeling particularly unwell. Its message was: “You are doing enough, you are enough, and for today that is enough.” She said it was exactly what she needed to hear that day.

Sedlmeier said creating and posting the videos had also helped him. “Filming is my hobby, I keep busy and I have no time to brood,” he said.