Eight years. Thousands of hours of footage. And a few moments that the whole world stopped to watch.

As Head of Video at Royal Burgers’ Zoo I was responsible for the complete video and content strategy of one of the Netherlands’ most visited attractions. From concept and script to filming, editing and distribution — I ran the full process. Under my watch the YouTube channel grew to 54,000+ subscribers and over 3 million views per year.

Some content was carefully planned. Some happened in an instant.

A keeper filmed a gorilla doing somersaults while being teased by a troop of mangabeys. I edited it, wrote the title, crafted the thumbnail and description and put it out. 1.8 million views.

Independently filmed, edited and published a young rhino meeting a giraffe for the first time. 856,000 views.

Beyond the viral moments I independently developed and produced a 7-part series following a newborn giraffe from its first days — building a loyal audience across 487,700 views. I also produced event promos as creative director in collaboration with animation studios, and built a content calendar that kept millions of viewers coming back year after year.

One viral hit proves luck. A channel that grows year after year proves strategy.