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Viva Frei is the online pseudonym of David Freiheit, a Canadian lawyer turned YouTuber and social media personality. Born on May 23, 1979, in Montreal, Quebec, he grew up in a Jewish family as the youngest of five siblings. Freiheit initially pursued a career in law, earning a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University after studying Creative Arts at Dawson College, followed by a civil law degree from Université Laval, where he served as editor-in-chief of the university’s law journal. He began practicing law in 2007, following in the footsteps of his father and siblings, and worked for several years at Borden Ladner Gervais, a prominent commercial litigation firm in Canada. After the birth of his first child, he transitioned to freelance litigation and founded Freiheit Legal to achieve a better work-life balance.
Freiheit’s journey into content creation began in 2014 when he started posting videos on YouTube under the name Viva Frei. His early content included quirky stunts—like lip-syncing pop songs in a suit during obstacle courses and a viral video of a squirrel carrying his GoPro up a tree—earning him a GoPro Award in 2016 and a Shorty Social Good Award for Best Overall YouTube Presence in 2017. By 2019, he shifted his focus to legal and political commentary, analyzing current events from a legal perspective, which significantly grew his audience. He left his law practice in January 2018 to pursue YouTube full-time. Today, he’s based in Florida and known for his presence on platforms like Rumble, where he signed an exclusivity deal in 2022, emphasizing free speech.
Freiheit is married to Marion Van Horn, a neurophysiology Ph.D. and senior postdoctoral fellow at Montreal Neuro, whom he wed on September 2, 2007. They have three children. Politically, he ran as a candidate for the People’s Party of Canada in the 2021 federal election in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount riding, reflecting his vocal stance on issues like individual freedom, government overreach, and opposition to COVID-19 mandates. He’s amassed a large following—nearly two million across platforms—with his commentary often appealing to those skeptical of mainstream narratives. His journey from litigator to online truth-seeker has made him a notable figure in alternative media.