It's Cool to be Confident: TikTok's Tube Girl
ALL ABOARD!!!
One ticket to Confidence Station! Follow along and meet on the London Underground. Together, we will ride the TUBE!
The tube is the British term for a train that runs under the ground, like a subway, known more to Americans. When you hear tube girl, you must think - a girl got stuck in a tube? No, instead, a girl changed her life by making TikToks in the tube.
Meet Sabrina Bahsoon, TikTok's 'Tube Girl.'
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| via Keaton Rich/ Instagram |
The 22-year-old has been deemed 'tube girl' as she makes TikTok's on the tube. What started out being a way for Sabrina to hype herself up for a night out on her long commute on the train, has now to collaborating with couture brands, and even becoming a model! But, let's backtrack.
On August 13th, Sabrina Bahsoon posted a TikTok video, in which she was dancing around in a tube car lip-synching to a song. The caption read, "Being the friend who lives on the other side of the city so you gotta hype yourself up during the commute." It's not uncommon to post a video like this on TikTok, but the location and behavior made this video blow up, with over 700,000 likes and over 11 million views!
The comments were filled with people mentioning how they could never do that because they were too socially anxious and how awkward it would be because of people being around. For Sabrina, it was very nonchalant, she was just enjoying herself!
For Sabrina, it was very nonchalant, she was just enjoying herself!
There were also many comments that were hyping Sabrina up for the production quality of her TikTok.
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| comments via TikTok |
And get on her level, they did! For the next month, Sabrina continued to post these tube videos, and became virally known as 'tube girl.' It became a trend and soon, TikTok was filled with many different renditions and recreations of people becoming their own version of 'tube girl.'
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| search results on TikTok for 'tube girl' |
To become 'tube girl' was to decide to shed social anxiety and to masquerade as the most confident version of yourself. To take up space in public, just because. This carefree attitude landed Bahsoon a spot on the runway with Mac Cosmetics for London Fashion Week!
Mac Cosmetics has been in the beauty industry since the 80s, and they have remained an industry powerhouse. They invited Sabrina to walk in their runway show, as well as make content together for both of their social media channels. Mac's partnership with Sabrina speaks to their digital and social intelligence. Collaborating with the newest viral star boosts them as a brand that gets 'it'; they know what is trending and are able to capitalize and market her. Mac saw her impact and thought she would be a perfect representative for being confident and cool, something she has been doing on TikTok.
Consumers respond very positively when a brand understands trends, and rewards the creators as well. When Sabrina announced her partnership in her traditional tube girl style, she was met with thousands of comments saying "get that bag!'. This a social media term that congratulations on monetizing your success, I hope you continue getting paid for this!
These videos have manifested success for Sabrina, as she was also invited to the Hugo Boss at London Fashion Week, and also made content for their TikTok. She is now under management with Hive Models and currently working as model and a content creator. She is an example of what it means to energize the groundswell. Being confident has allowed her a legitimate spot in an industry she has been welcomed into, and it's very exciting to see. It's also exciting to see brands take note of the people who are creating trends and get credit as well as succeed by being themselves. You never know who is watching. Safe to say that if you're lucky enough, sometimes silly fun on social media can get you far!
As a New Yorker and someone who has lived in London, weird things happen on the Tube all the time. One of my favorite Tube memories was when a group of brothers went to the ABBA tribute event in spandex and heels with their mom as Donna from Mamma Mia (meaning her sons were her love interest in the movie). Do they deserve to be tiktok famous? Doubtful. I personally sing showtunes through the streets of NYC (and Worcester) while on my scooter. Should I be scooter girl? Probably not. Sabrina's marketing skills, and use of the groundswell are admirable, I just hate how she's capitalizing on quirkiness. Every "weirdo" in these big cities do what they do because it's part of who she is, and it feels like she's taking that originality away. I do like you blog post, as it inspired me enough to have a little Blogger rant about it...or dare I say take. Faith
ReplyDeleteI could totally see you as Worcester's scooter girl
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