On Monday night, worlds collided when TikTok stars, A.J., Big Justice, and The Rizzler appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In the televised appearance, the group ate snacks, judging them with their “Boom” signature catchphrases and teaching Fallon to do the “Rizzler face.”
Throughout the entire segment, Fallon seems perturbed (or hungover) whenever they bring the Boom and flex their muscles to count said Booms.
As this segment was manufactured, it immediately gained viral traction after airing. Tweets discussing Fallon’s “seething contempt” and that he “does not appreciate the joy or whimsy of the Costco Guy” have pulled in tens of thousands of likes, with tweets glazing the Rizzler (who is in the third grade) pulling in even more.
At the show’s end, a Fallon, who clearly has had enough, is forced to try the Costco Guy’s signature dish, the double chunk chocolate cookie, and give it five flexing booms. “This is why we play the game boys,” one user wrote on X about the clip.
If you are as confused as Fallon’s live audience about who these people are, let me help you. A.J. is a wrestler who has been posting and sharing about his family since at least 2015. But these early videos never really caught up, with their first channel, All Befumo’d Up!, only having one thousand subscribers.
But in March 2024, A.J. and his son, now called Big Justice, posted a video of them as Costco Guys talking about the joys of their chicken bake and deals. The video has over 56 million views and catapulted them into the viral stratosphere, appearing at colleges and sports arenas to massive crowds. They have a podcast and do brand partnerships with their whole family, constantly capitalizing on their viral moment.
The Rizzler is a recent addition to the group, going viral for doing the Rizz face (which I’ve always thought looks like a thoughtful constipation). It’s allowed them to keep the gimmick fresh and build on their momentum, but that can only last for so long.
When memes reach the height of their popularity, they tend to collide directly with mainstream influence in some weird way. Viral moments, like the pink sauce lady ending up with her sauce at Walmart or the two kids who said “Damn, Daniel” getting a lifetime supply of sneakers from Ellen Degeneres, fizzled out after their time on center stage.
These memes are organic, and whenever corporations and executives think they can join in on the fun, it kind of ruins the appeal.
This bloat can significantly impact the 15 minutes of fame that come with being an internet celebrity. Though it may be sacrilege for some of the Costco Guy’s most devoted fans, I believe once you end up on the couch of a disdainful talk show host, your time in the spotlight is coming to an end.
It will be very hard for the traditional American who isn’t internet-pilled to embrace this eclectic trio. Influencers in general struggle to break into the mainstream, even when they aren’t a wrestler and his collective of booming kids.
