Winston Sterzel


Winston Frederick Sterzel, also known by his YouTube pseudonym SerpentZA, is a South African vlogger, and video producer. He has lived in Shenzhen in the Guangdong province of China and later moved to Los Angeles. His videos cover a variety of topics relating to life in China from a Westerner's perspective.

Life and career

Sterzel is of German-British heritage. He was born and grew up in South Africa. He moved to China in his mid-twenties to work as an English teacher after first visiting on business in 2005. In 2015, he was one of twelve South Africans in China profiled by China Radio International. He started uploading videos in China in 2007, and became a full-time vlogger in 2016. His videos primarily focus on living in China. Sometimes, he interviews people on topics considered controversial by Chinese standards.
Sterzel has also made videos about motorcycle trips through China. With Matthew Tye and other friends, he has taken extended journeys and produced documentary series titled Conquering Southern China and Conquering Northern China. He and Tye operate the YouTube channel ADVChina, a motorcycle travel vlog. Sterzel was also co-founder of a small, China-based custom motorcycle business, Churchill Custom Motorcycles, no longer in business. In late 2018, he indicated that a desire to create "positive content" about China and an encounter with Chinese government officials spurred him to move out of China. Sterzel moved to Los Angeles because he was afraid of losing his life or being incarcerated in China.