Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or aren’t chronically online) you’ll probably have heard of AJ and Big Justice by now. No Costco food court is safe from their unique food reviews and needless to say, 2024 has been their year.
They’ve done tons of brand deals, partaken in a celebrity basketball match, and most recently, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Needless to say, their career is definitely more BOOM than DOOM right now.
If all of this is gibberish to you, don’t worry — we’re here to explain all you need to know about this dynamic duo and their BFF, The Rizzler.
Who are AJ and Big Justice?
Andrew, “AJ” Befumo has BOOM’d his way into notoriety — and it’s been a long time coming. Nine years ago, AJ started a family vlogging channel on YouTube called “All Befumo’d Up.” The channel, which featured his wife, daughter Ashley, and son Eric, was a modest success. It had over 1,500 subscribers, but back then, AJ was known more for other ventures.
Prior to YouTube, he was an amateur wrestler nicknamed: “the American Powerchild Eric Justice.” Which, coincidentally, is the same name as his son. Though maybe it wasn’t a coincidence at all.
Eric is the second half of this viral TikTok duo, adopting the moniker “Big Justice.” As far as father and son bonding goes, this is pretty unique, to say the least (and probably a bit more interesting than fishing).
When Did AJ and Big Justice get their start?
AJ originally started to post on TikTok in 2022 to promote his mortgage business — but everything changed when Big Justice asked to be in the videos. “I asked him, ‘Can I be in a video?’” the youngster recounted to Tubefilter. “I think we were at the table. He tried a burger, and I was introducing him, and he got millions of views. He was used to getting 10 views,”
After finding their niche, AJ and Big Justice plugged away year on year. They had a taste of virility back in January, when they filmed themselves getting meatballs from Costco, but their big break was in March 2024.
‘We’re Costco Guys’
On March 1, AJ and Big Justice shared their own iteration of the “We’re X, of Course We Y” TikTok trend. Infamously, they based this trend on the idea that they are quintessential Costco Guys. Of course they eat chicken bake and try out the furniture while shopping.
Like the best viral videos, the simplicity and sheer randomness of this 1-minute clip really resonated with viewer, leading to the video amassing 59 million views and counting. From then on, Costco became the beating heart of their TikTok page.
Yet, rather than trying to recreate this viral moment, the pair started conducting regular reviews of Costco food products: rating the food a “BOOM!” if they don’t approve and a “DOOM” if they aren’t a fan. This simple and now iconic reviewing style led to brands clamoring to work with the pair in order to seal the deal with a “BOOM!”
Who is the Rizzler?
Some might know him as Black Panther. Others might know him as Christian Joseph. However, on the internet, this third-grader is known as the Rizzler. Joseph first went viral back in 2023, when his father filmed him wearing a Black Panther costume. The amusing clip, which has amassed 20.4 million views, showed a then-seven-year-old Joseph being less than pleased about potentially going up a ladder.
His big “break” came in February when, in a TikTok, he declared that he is the “face of a Rizzler” while pulling what he defines as a “rizz face”: raising an eyebrow, pouting, and stroking his chin. Since then, Joseph has amassed 1.3 million TikTok followers, as he continues to make videos dedicated to rizz.
Is the Rizzler related to the Costco Guys?
Despite occupying the same part of the internet, the Rizzler isn’t related to the Costco Guys. However, he has become something of an honorary member of their family. He first appeared in a video on their page in June 2024, where the trio visited a toy store and rated which toys were “BOOM” and “DOOM.”
This collaboration was a roaring success. It led to Joseph appearing in numerous other TikToks, including more reviews and prank videos. He also ended up joining the Costco Guys on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where, among other things, he taught Fallon how to pull the “rizz” face.
How Did AJ End Up In AEW?
As previously mentioned, AJ used to be an amateur wrestler. Under “the American Powerchild Eric Justice” moniker, he wrestled through the 1990’s on New Jersey’s independent circuit up until 2005.
His return to the ring for the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Full Gear pre-show, marks the first time he’s done competitive wrestling in nineteen years. In the match, AJ was pitted against QT Marshall. Things started to get messy when Aaron Solo attempted to interfere with the fight in order to aid Marshall.
In order to get some, well, justice for this, Big Justice proceeded to use a spear to take out Marshall. AJ was then able to finish him off with a move known as the “Power Boom.” You can watch the full match in the clip above.
We’ve seen influencers pivot to sports before, with the Paul brothers trying their hand at boxing, but this is different. This wrestling match was a full-circle moment for AJ: the realization of a lifelong dream.
Being a creator opened doors and opportunities that might not have been otherwise available to him. It’s a testament to just how powerful the creator economy can be: as it gives you the space to showcase your own personal passion and talents. And as AJ confirms that he’ll be working with AEW in the future, it looks like this is just the beginning.
