Egill Einarsson
Egill Einarsson ( ) | |
---|---|
Also known as | Gillz, Gillzenegger, Störe, Stóri G Höfðinginn, Big G, Þykki, Þykkeh, G-Man, Þykkhöfðinginn, Þykki G Höfðinginn |
Born | 13 May 1980 |
Origin | Iceland |
Genres | Electronic |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Associated acts | Merzedes Club |
Egill "Gillz" Einarsson (born 13 May 1980) is an Icelandic television personality, radio show host, TV and movie star, writer, motivational speaker, bodybuilder / fitness coach, model, DJ and singer. As a musician, he was part of the dance act Merzedes Club in 2008 where he was known as Gillz and Gillzenegger. After the break-up he has continued as a disc jockey known as DJ MuscleBoy. Other stage names that he has used includes Störe, Stóri G, Big G, Þykki, Þykkeh and G-Man.
Media personality
Egill first became known as a blogger on the now defunct website kallarnir.is in the mid-2000s. Later he wrote columns for the newspaper DV and the magazine Bleikt og blátt, and hosted a radio show on the Icelandic KissFM radio station. His popularity increased as the host of his own TV show Kallarnir, and the author of the lifestyle book Biblía fallega fólksins.[1]
Fitness and lifestyle
Egill operates the distant fitness training program Fjarþjálfun, and has been an advocate of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. He has written the self-help lifestyle books Mannasiðir Gillz, Lífsleikni Gillz,Heilræði Gillz, and hosted the TV show Mannasiðir Gillz on Stöð 2 in 2011, which was the most popular show among the channel's subscribers.[2]
In November 2011 he criticized the book Bang Iceland by American writer Roosh Vörek, calling it "as wrong as possible."[3]
Musical career
In Merzedes Club
He was a member of the techno band Merzedes Club, where he was nicknamed Gillz or Gillzenegger and the band's frontman. The band also included Rebekka, Ceres 4, Gaz-man and Party-Hanz. The band gained extreme notoriety for their unusual stage performances.
Merzedes Club was put by composer and producer Barði Jóhannson in a bid to represent Iceland in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The band Merzedes Club took part with the song "Ho, Ho, Ho, We say Hey, Hey, Hey" coming runner-up to eventual winner "This Is My Life" by Eurobandið. A series of singles followed in 2008 notably with "Meira frelsi" which was adopted as a signature tune for publicity campaign for Síminn, (previously named Landssíminn), an Icelandic telecommunications company. The song created controversy with some alleging great similarities in the music video to that of "Now You're Gone" from Basshunter. Other Merzedes Club hits included "I Wanna Touch You", "See Me Now" and "Basscop". The band released their album I Wanna Touch You after which it broke up.
DJ MuscleBoy
After the break-up of the band, Egill Einarsson has continued as a solo disc jockey. His 2014 single "Louder" featuring [4] had gained great popularity in Iceland and in European night venues.
Controversies
Egill has been criticized for his alleged misogyny. Egill posted blog articles in 2007 that called feminists "disgusting and mentally ill", saying that they needed to have sex with masculine men so that they'd start behaving "like normal women". He went on to list several politicians and high profile Icelandic women, detailing who they needed to have intercourse with and what sex acts they needed to perform. Drífa Snædal, one of the women mentioned in Egill's blog post, for wanting hospitals to provide unisex clothing for newborns, criticized Egill publicly. Among the things said about Drífa were: "she has never had a hard cock, so we have decided to send Ásgeir, Jamal, Buka and Yao to have sex with her", "it is time to shut her up for good", and "they will stuff her like a holiday turkey" to "make her shut up and behave".[5]
He was the subject of a 2011 University of Iceland article that pointed out his "toxic masculinity" and narcissistic behavior. The article criticized the media for allowing this material to air. Some of the examples used are that he refers to the group of women he casually sleeps with, that he sees as promiscuous, eager to please, or otherwise below him, as "drasl" or "trash". In his writing he is accused of painting women as naive, stupid, and emotion driven creatures. He is cited using current stereotypes as justification for the use and subordination of women. The article discusses the negative effects of Egill's material on developing children, and criticizes the media for excusing or promoting his behavior. It urges the media, parents, and teachers to reconsider Egill's effect on children.[6] Egill has also been criticized for regularly referring to women as "ílát" or "containers", a reference to them being containers for semen.[7]
Egill has been accused of racism, both in his videos and writing. He has released videos such as "How to Behave Around a Black Man". A quote from his book Mannasiðir was criticized for saying: "In the black man's culture it is normal to call women bitches and ho's ... because in the black man's culture it is very important to treat your woman like trash ... they don't give a shit about education and they're too lazy to work but they're really busy with the women. On the other hand, Asian men are studious and good workers, but bad at having intercourse".[8][9]
Bibliography
- Biblía fallega fólksins (The Beautiful People's Bible)
- Mannasiðir Gillz (2010) (Gillz's Manners)
- Lífsleikni Gillz (2011) (Gillz's Life Skills)
- Heilræði Gillz (2012) (Gillz's Quality Advices)
Filmography
Films
- Svartur á leik (English title Black Game) as Sævar K (2012)
Television shows
- Kallarnir
- Wipeout Ísland (Wipeout Iceland)
- Auddi og Sveppi (Auddi and Sveppi)
- Ameríski Draumurinn (The American Dream)
- Mannasiðir Gillz (Gillz's Manners)
Discography
Albums
- As part of Merzedes Club
- 2008: I Wanna Touch You
Singles
- As part of Merzedes Club
- 2008: "Ho, Ho, Ho, We say Hey, Hey, Hey"
- 2008: "Meira Frelsi"
- 2008: "I Wanna Touch You"
- 2008: "See Me Now"
- 2008: "Basscop"
- as DJ MuscleBoy
- 2014: "Louder" (as DJ MuscleBoy featuring StopWaitGo)
- 2014: "Pump"
- 2014: "Musclebells"
- 2016: "#Muscledance"
References
- ↑ "Ný mannasiðabók eftir Gillz". Fréttablaðið. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2011. (Icelandic)
- ↑ "Lokaþátturinn af Mannasiðum Gillz". Vísir.is. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011. (Icelandic)
- ↑ Ritstjórn, "Gillz um flagarabók Vöreks: „Eins rangt og hægt er“", "DV.is", 2011-11-04
- ↑ News of Iceland: New Epic Techno Hit from Icelandic DJ MuscleBoy
- ↑ DV: Vill að Já biðjist afsökunar á Gillzenegger
- ↑ Skaðleg karlmennska? Greining á bókinni Mannasiðir Gillz
- ↑ DV: „Reynið að húkka ykkur eitthvert hágæða ílát“
- ↑ Einarsson, Egill (2009). Mannasiðir Gillz (in Icelandic). Reykjavík: Bókafélagið. pp. 45–51. ISBN 9789979994459.
- ↑ Skaðleg karlmennska? Greining á bókinni Mannasiðir Gillz