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Where Does The 'Okay Let's Go' Meme Come From? The Exploitable Video Origin And Its Memes On TikTok Explained
Being passionate about something Is an inner fire that propels you forward and allows you to find a community of people who feel the same way. Some people have uncommon passions that are very specific, like influencer Francis Bourgeois' and his devotion to train knowledge.
Like Bourgeois' love for trains, a young teen from the Netherlands was interviewed in 2014 about his love for the "Turbo Polyp," an amusement park ride. Years later, the teen interview would become a classic meme on the internet, known as "Okay Let's Go!". Let's uncover the origin and history behind the meme.
Where Does The 'Okay Let's Go' Video Come From?
In 2009, a Dutch TV show interviewed Maikel Van Hoof, a man who loves amusement parks and the Turbo Polyp ride. The video (shown below, left), uploaded to YouTube by user @FlyLo123, garnered over 962,000 views and 4,500 likes in 14 years. Five years later, the show decided to revisit Maikel, this time introducing a teen equally passionate about the Turbo Polyp ride.
In one particular moment of the program, the teen holds a mic and says "Okay Let's Go!" which is a catchphrase commonly said by Maikel Van Hoof and the Turbo Polyp's operators. The interview (shown below, right) was uploaded on YouTube on January 29th, 2014, by user @kermistube, amassing more than 4.9 million views and 80,000 likes in nine years.
How Did The 'Okay Let's Go' Video Became A Meme?
The video resurfaced in July 2020, as YouTube meme page @memesammler reposted the clip and, subsequently, inspired remixes and parody music videos on the video platform. For example, on August 13th, 2020, YouTube user @djlightstar6589 posted a remixed version of the meme (shown below, left), garnering 528,000 views and 11,000 likes in three years. On November 24th, 2020, YouTube user Douzzah uploaded a similar remix video (shown below, right), which amassed more than 29,000 views and 378 likes in three years.
How Did The 'Okay Let's Go' Video Was Turned Into An Exploitable Meme On TikTok?
On July 2023, the meme migrated to TikTok, in which users started to add the kid saying "Okay Let's Go!" paired with ironic overlay texts. Like user @clips..zz, who posted a viral video receiving more than 15 million plays and 1 million likes in a month. On August 25th, TikTok user @igreenscreenthings posted a green-screened version of the meme (shown below, right), garnering 6 million plays in a week.
For the full history of "Okay Let's Go," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.