He uploaded amazing content (he still does!); made Asian Americans feel visible somewhere in the world; and represented the Asian American community beyond just the typical stereotypes of back then.
So I have a special announcement to make! This post will be Talk with Donut’s 50th blog post!!! Wow, we’ve come a long way. And to celebrate it, I am going to talk about someone special. Now, I’ve already talked about two Korean American men, Kevin Taejin Krieder and Daniel Dae Kim.
Today, though, I will cover a Japanese American man. This Asian American man really needs no introduction though. Everyone should know who he is (unless you were born in the late 2000s or 2010s decade) because he was the OG of YouTube back when that video sharing platform was still a baby. And during this time, this talented comedian was a rising star and a sensation in the community, especially in the Asian American community. He uploaded amazing content (he still does!); made Asian Americans feel visible somewhere in the world; and represented the Asian American community beyond just the typical stereotypes of back then.
He has done so much for the Asian American community as one of the original three Asian godfathers of YouTube. Everyone, let me announce that it is my honor to write about none other than the phenomenal, the funny, the creative: Ryan Higa!
What a dazzling smile 😍
Disclaimer: All images and visuals on this post do not belong to me. I am only using them for entertainment and discussion purposes.
NOTE: The cover image for this post is from Pinterest.
Background
Just who is Ryan Higa (also known as nigahiga through his YouTube channel)? Ryan Higa is a YouTube star who got his first taste of fame back in 2006 when he used to upload videos with his friend Sean Fujiyoshi. During their start on the then-still-young website, they would upload videos of themselves acting silly, making covers to popular songs at the time; creating funny and relatable skits; and releasing other fun and interesting content. Eventually, they started raking in views, growing popular, and finally became one of the most recognized–if not, the most recognized face–on YouTube (with the amount of subscribers they managed to accumulate back in the day). Over time, Ryan became more inspired and creative, releasing parodies, song covers, even funnier skits, crazy challenges, and other incredible content.
Image from Pinterest
Beginnings
Some of Ryan’s first and most popular videos were the ones titled How To Be Gangster and How To Be Emo, which originally had issues staying on YouTube due to copyright. However, they are still currently available on the site if you’re curious about his origins.
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Personally, the first few videos I ever saw of Ryan were How To Be Gangster, The ipod Human, and Movies in Minutes: Twilight. There was another video I watched of him spinning in a chair and lipsync-ing to “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado; however, I can’t find it. In 2009, Ryan released Ninja Melk, a 26-minute short film about ninjas and in 2010, he collaborated with the YouTube group Wong Fu Productions (the other Asian American godfathers of YouTube) to create the independent 35-minute film called Agents of Secret Stuff which continued to help him rise in popularity and fame.
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Rise
Over the years, Ryan and his friends would help him continue making skits and carry out insane challenges. For instance, he would do the water bottle flipping challenge and fan-submitted Dear Ryan requests; parodies about celebrities, songs, and events; and even animated videos. In 2016, he and other well-known YouTubers/YouTube friends (David Choi, Philip Wang, Jun Sung Ahn and Justin Chon) created a parody to K-pop groups, naming themselves Boys Generally Asian, also known as BgA. Their first song, called “Dong Saya Dae,” has (as of this writing) over 17.9 million views on YouTube. And although considered a general parody of all K-pop songs (packed with Big Bang nods and complete with hilarious lyrics), it actually peaked at Number 2 on the official iTunes K-pop charts. In 2017, the guys released their second song “Who’s It Gonna Be“, which was a more serious song, but again surprisingly, actually reached Number 1 on the K-pop charts! Insane, right?
Challenges:
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Celebrities:
Video from YouTube
Songs:
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Video from YouTube
Events:
Video from YouTube
Support
If you would like to support him (if you haven’t already), you can follow him via his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook handles. Or subscribe to his second channel HigaTV, where he posts vlogs and behind-the-scene videos to his work on his primary channel.
Ryan has also published a book, specifically a memoir, titled Ryan Higa’s How to Write Good that was released in 2017. You can purchase that and read it to understand another side of him. In addition, he co-founded Ninja Melk, LLC in 2016 (named after his short film) with Kathleen Hahn and Kyle Schroeder. Ninja Melk, LLC, which launched in May of 2019, produces energy drinks with that same name. If you’re curious about it, you can watch the stop-motion short film that he uploaded onto his channel on October 19, 2019 to promote the drink.
I don’t know about you, but this is some legit advertising!
Video from YouTube
Lastly, Ryan Higa had been hosting podcasts, featuring big name guests such as Michelle Phan, Andrew Yang, and Cassey Ho. However, he has not posted anything on his main channel since his last sketch about attacks on Asians during the COVID-19 crisis.
Trivia
Apparently, Ryan has not posted any content on his main channel since the start of the pandemic and is rumored to be going through a midlife crisis where he is not sure he has done anything quite impactful in his life. I feel so heartbroken having learned that because he was literally the inspiration for so many Asian American YouTubers. He is so influential that during my college days, I remember studying and writing papers about his reach and work.
Of course, he is entitled to his feelings and beliefs, and this is in no way me making light of his experience; however, I would like to call on you all who know and support him to reach out to him and let you know how much we love and support him. To this day, I still believe he is one of the OGs, and most amazing and real creative minds on YouTube. And it is sad that trends have ruined his experience and presence on this platform. Ryan Higa is a once-in-a-generation unique creator and entertainer and it’s too soon for him to leave YouTube.
As of right now, he has been uploading on his second channel HigaTV, so make sure you guys head over there and give him some love and support! Hopefully, one day, we can see him release content again on his groundbreaking and inspirational main channel.