Maria GentleWhispering Bio

While going through a rough patch in her life during 2009, Maria discovered ASMR videos on YouTube. Suffering from depression, she used to watch the videos for hours to overcome boredom and to fall asleep. ASMR helped her relax and prioritize various aspects of her life. As the ASMR community was very small back then, she was inspired to contribute and started to create her own videos after joining YouTube on February 24, 2011. However, it would take her some time till she would be comfortable with the quality of her videos. She posted her first ASMR video titled "Whispering in English and Russian and flipping through a magazine" on June 3, 2011. According to her, during this time she found the right triggers to make ASMR videos, and her channel grew steadily ever since.

It is definitely her whispering voice that makes Maria special, and she intends to use her special power to benefit as many people as she can. She has affected the lives of a huge audience ranging from tired people who seek relaxation to single parents trying to put their children to sleep. There is no limit to how many ways she can trigger ASMR among her vast audience, and she doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. She is determined to make a difference in other people's lives in a positive way, helping them overcome personal issues. Instead of doing it for money or fame, she is eager to pay back to the community that once brought her back from severe depression. She even considers other ASMRtists her friends, rather than competitors.

Maria's life in Russia was dotted with unpleasant incidents, which continued after she moved to America in 2006. There was a time when she felt miserable and wasted. She worked as a maid in a Russian hotel for some time, but lost the job after she hurt her back. She was taken in by a group of Russian students, but had to literally sleep on the floor as they had no furniture. During this time, she became involved with a guy who lent her financial support, and the two later got married. However, they had completely different tastes and lifestyles, which drifted them apart emotionally even though they lived together. She started watching YouTube videos as a form of relaxation, and eventually found ASMR, which changed her life totally. She later divorced her then husband and focused more on building her own life and career, while still supporting herself with the help of her ASMR community.

Born on July 22, 1986, Maria grew up in the small industrial town of Lipetsk. Her mother is an architect and a designer. Her father is the general manager of a repair shop. She has an elder sister who is 5 years older than her, and a niece named Masha. She was a very active girl, climbing trees with boys, playing soccer, and riding bicycle. She was not very fond of school and was not sure what to pursue for higher studies. She eventually discovered her love for the English language and entered a linguistic university with the dream of becoming a translator or interpreter. She is very much proud of her Russian heritage and often talks about that culture and makes Russian versions of her videos.

One major positive change ASMR brought into her life, even though indirectly, is by introducing her to her future boyfriend Darryl. After meeting online, they started having conversations on Facebook and found out how much they had in common. At that time, both of them were going through difficult divorces, and became close friends sharing their pains. They started dating in 2012, and soon became romantically involved. Darryl and Maria got married in September 2017. In 2019, they welcomed a daughter named Mila.