Chillest Dude In America

Submission 6,152

Part of a series on I Didn't Know You Were Chill Like That. [View Related Entries]

About

Chillest Dude In America is an exploitable viral video and a TikTok sound of a newswoman talking about "this fella" being the "chillest dude in America," pointing to the left of her where creators insert themselves. It was first uploaded by Inside Edition to YouTube in mid-2022 regarding a man whose ceiling fell on him. It was then remixed with a Yeat song and became a growing trend alongside I Didn't Know You Were Chill Like That.

Origin

On August 1st, 2022, the news outlet Inside Edition uploaded a segment to YouTube^[1] titled "Chill Man Watches TV After Ceiling Collapses on Him" where they interviewed a man named Robert Gongora whose ceiling fell on him while watching TV in a viral video taken on May 8th, 2022. Gongora did not get up right away after the debris fell, prompting the newswoman to claim he was, "The Chillest Dude in America." Over the course of one week, the video received roughly 1.5 million views and 38,000 likes (shown below).

The original viral video was uploaded by TikToker^[2] icantdealwithmeeither on July 21st, 2022. It was given to her by her friend Kimberly whose husband was Rob. Over the course of two weeks, the TikTok received roughly 88.2 million plays and 6 million likes (shown below, left).

After Inside Edition's segment gained traction on YouTube, TikToker^[3] kayden2023 posted a video on August 3rd, 2022 that added the newswoman's catchphrase into a sped-up remix of Yeat's song "Doublë."^[4] He also overlayed his own selfie onto the YouTube video and ended the TikTok with a slideshow of his own "highlight" moments. In five days, the video received roughly 310,900 plays and 54,000 likes (shown below, right).

Spread

On August 3rd, 2022, TikToker^[5] parkeryount_ added to the trend, posting a copycat video of kayden2023's that received roughly 39,100 plays and 4,100 likes (shown below, left). More TikToker added to the trend, continuing into August. For instance, on August 4th, 2022, TikToker^[6] lily_wh0 inserted herself into the template, earning roughly 44,000 plays and 6,900 likes in four days (shown below, right).

A few days later, verified TikTokers and accounts started exploiting the template. For instance, on August 6th, 2022, TikToker^[7] Bradeazy added to the trend and additionally referenced the I Didn't Know You Were Chill Like That, earning roughly 3.4 million plays and 538,900 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also on August 6th, the TikTok^[8] account for dexterthebalancingdog added a video, earning roughly 1.1 million plays and 199,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).