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Night Light | Hasbulla Conquers America

Night Light | Hasbulla Conquers America

Reed Duchscher
March 24, 2023

Reed of the Week

Hasbulla Full Sends on the USA

This week was the end of Hasbulla's legendary US tour run. An Internet meme sensation hailing from the Republic of Dagestan in Russia, Hasbulla has taken over the Internet. He's garnered billions of views, signed a deal with the UFC, and was dubbed "the most famous person I've ever interviewed" by Caleb Presley, who has hosted Drake and Mayweather on his show. Hasbulla's success online is due to his consistent output of viral hit videos, with the latest batch coming from a couple of weeks spent living life with the Nelk Boys. The boys made stops in Vegas, went on six-figure hypebeast shopping sprees, and sat courtside with LeBron and the Lakers, all while creating massively successful videos for YouTube and TikTok. Nelk deserves a lot of credit for spotting Hasbulla's notoriety and making his US visit a viral spectacle.

Internet sensations usually fade as fast as they became relevant, but I think Hasbulla's trajectory makes a good case study for how people can go from fad to mainstay in the creator economy. And he has the benefit, like Khaby Lame, of being global by default. Hasbulla's team was smart to notice his potential in the US and work on building his brand directly in America.