Ya, Wilhelm, You're Killing It!

About

Ya Wilhelm, You're Killing It! is a TikTok sound in which a man says in a Swedish accent that his "cousin Wilhelm" is about to perform a "neat trick." The scene then usually cuts to a person attempting a snowboarding or skiing trick and failing while the man says, "Ya Wilhelm, you're killing it!"

Origin

On December 22nd, 2020, TikToker soggywaterboy^[1] posted a TikTok while skiing on a mountain, saying he is "on the mountain with his cousin Wilhelm" who was going to perform a "big trick." As Wilhelm fails his trick and crashes, soggywaterboy cries, "Ya Wilhelm, you're killing it!" The TikTok gained over 2.3 million likes in roughly 16 months (shown below).

Spread

The sound became popularized on TikTok shortly after, particularly in the downhill sports community, as it was adopted in many skiing and snowboarding crash videos. On December 30th, 2021, TikToker 6_sup_girl_9^[2] posted such a video, gaining over 1.6 million views in four months (shown below, left). On February 5th, 2022, the NBC Olympics^[3] account posted a clip of a successful ski jump, gaining over 2.6 million likes in two months (shown below, right).

Some users utilized the sound for other types of videos. On February 21st, 2022, TikToker shirtsandskirts^[4] posted a trick with a ruler, gaining over 1.6 million likes in under two months (shown below, left). On February 16th, the denverzoo TikTok account^[5] posted a video showing a goat behaving humorously, gaining over 1.5 million likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References