A hypebeast is generally described as someone who wears expensive clothing or participates in high fashion with the express purpose of impressing others or showing off their wealth. They have often become associated with popular clothing brands such as Supreme and Gucci.

While the term "Hypebeast" has been used offline prior to the launch, the earliest known usage of the phrase online was on January 1st, 2005, when the website Hypebeast launched.^[4] The website initially started as a blog about sneakers and clothes but has since grown into an e-commerce retailer.

Hypebeast^[5] founder Kevin Ma described the terms as having "a negative connotation when we first used it because it meant that you were just following the hype. And I thought it was funny to use this name; I didn't think about it too much."

Several months later, on March 21st, 2005, Urban Dictionary ^[3] user brandoneezy defined the term as "Sneakerheads who only rock hyped up shit to get props b/c they got no self worth or sense of style." The post (shown below) received more than 6,100 upvotes in 13 years.

On July 12th, 2015, YouTuber GoldGangTv released the music video for Trinidad James's song "HYPE BEAST$." The video (shown below) receivbed more than 50,000 views in three years.

Two days later, Bustle^[6] published an article entitled "What Is A Hypebeast? 5 Important Aspects of the Hypebeast Lifestyle."