Robert Marc Lehmann is a marine biologist, scientific diver, and adventurer, as he describes himself on his website. He is also an award-winning photographer and cameraman—on land and underwater. In 2015, he won Photographer of the Year from National Geographic. With his organization „Mission Erde,“ he initiated a significant and influential project—now the organization has a total of six members working on different projects.
Through him, I started to inform myself about animal welfare, the environment, the problems we face, and how we might bring about change. In these years, I could see how he managed to influence many young people to rethink their life decisions and make an effort for a better world. He had professional documentaries on TV, but two years ago, he started a new YouTube channel (he already had a channel before, but it was not too successful) and began streaming after participating in a big livestream with another YouTuber at that time, Fritz Meinecke. In this livestream, they discussed fishing and other topics, generating significant interest and prompting him to explore the opportunity further.
Since then, he streams regularly, reacting to different videos about animals, environmental problems, the survival show „7vs Wild,“ and more. He has also published several documentaries in cooperation with, for example, Wilderness International and Soko Tierschutz, which I already wrote about—and more. Mostly, the films focus on a specific region or animal, addressing the threats and suggesting ways to help. Depending on the topic, you may encounter very cruel images of animal abuse, but with Wilderness International, you also see the beautiful side of our world—he tries to show both, as he said himself, to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the constant exposure to the darker aspects.
© Robert Marc Lehmann
To be honest, you could write a whole thesis just about him and his work, but I try to focus on him here as a medium, a speaker for animal rights and environmental protection. Through his personality (he is very direct and honest), he has convinced many people to delve into these topics more. To remember the Petition about Fur (over 1.6 million signatures) and the Stop Finning Petition (1.2 million signatures)—through his films, the signatures for these petitions rose immediately after publishing, leading to discussions in the EU Parliament. With his call, many famous German influencers shared the initiative on their channels, contributing to its success.
I watched all these films by myself, and I must say that I had tears in my eyes with all of them. I was ashamed and felt so bad to see how dark humans can be—but he always ends the films in a way that gives hope and shows that there is a chance to do something about it.
So, why is he relevant for my research? He makes documentaries, videos about the topic, and encourages other people to create content about it as well. He is kind of an expert for many people as he receives numerous videos and is asked about different situations—whether they are right and what his opinion is about them. He also gets very emotional and direct about animal rights and has a whole community behind him, following him on every step if he wants—he has a big responsibility because he can influence many people. Many times he consciously uses this power to move them in a specific direction, but he also always emphasizes the importance of staying kind and having respect.
© Robert Marc Lehmann
Robert Marc Lehmann’s campaigns have had a lot of success, and he has used different methods—he showed the ugly, the beauty, the hope, the cruelty, the best, and the worst. It’s an example where you see that not one way is right, but you have to choose the right method for the right message. And it depends on what you want to achieve. In the next post, I will analyze some of his campaigns more and even get into comments on his videos to show the impact.
Sources:
- First Youtube Video on New Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsS0b7vidR8&t=18s
- His Website: https://www.robertmarclehmann.com/en/
- Mission Erde: https://missionerde.de
- Geo Article: https://www.geo.de/natur/robert-marc-lehmann–der-einkaufszettel-ist-ein-stimmzettel–30492052.html
- Year Report 2022: https://missionerde.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Jahresbilanz_2022.pdf
- This is vegan Article: https://this-is-vegan.com/en/interview-marine-biologist-robert-marc-lehmann-on-saving-the-worlds-oceans/
