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Ryan Higa

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Ryan Higa is a prominent American internet personality and former YouTuber. He is widely recognized for his comedy videos and digital content creation. Higa became a central figure during the early years of the YouTube platform. His influence helped shape the way people consume comedy online. He is also a published author, an actor, and a live streamer.

Ryan Higa Meet-and-Greet in Hong Kong
Ryan Higa Meet-and-Greet in Hong Kong

Higa's career began in mid-2006 while he was a student at Waiakea High School. He and his friend Sean Fujiyoshi started by posting lip-sync videos. These videos featured them performing to popular songs. Eventually, they expanded their content into various comedic sketches. In 2012, Higa organized his efforts into the Ryan Higa Production Company, or RHPC. This company included Sean Fujiyoshi and worked to produce professional content. By 2015, the production company operated out of a studio in Henderson, Nevada.

His journey included navigating complex digital rules regarding intellectual property. In late 2008, his most popular videos, "How To Be Gangster" and "How To Be Emo," were removed due to copyright violations. His account faced a temporary suspension in early 2009. This required him to remove many videos that used copyrighted music. To solve this problem, Higa began composing his own music for his videos. This shift allowed him to maintain creative control without legal issues. He eventually restored some of his classic "How To Be" series in 2010.

Higa achieved several historic milestones on the YouTube platform. His main channel, nigahiga, was the most subscribed channel on YouTube during two distinct periods. He held the top spot for a brief nine days in late 2008. He then held the position for 675 consecutive days between 2009 and 2011. He was the first creator to reach 2 million and 3 million subscribers. Only PewDiePie and T-Series have since surpassed his long-standing subscriber records. He also created a second channel, HigaTV, in 2011 for vlogs and behind-the-scenes footage.

Beyond solo videos, Higa engaged in large-scale collaborative projects. In 2016, he helped form a parody K-pop group called Boys Generally Asian, or BgA. The group was inspired by the all-female band Girls' Generation. Their first song, "Dong Saya Dae," earned over 16 million views on YouTube. This track unexpectedly reached number two on the official iTunes K-pop charts. Their second song, "Who's It Gonna Be," reached number one on the K-pop charts in 2017. Higa also produced short films, such as the 26-minute "Ninja Melk" in 2009. He collaborated with Wong Fu Productions on the 35-minute film "Agents of Secret Stuff" in 2010.

Higa has successfully transitioned into various other business and media sectors. He co-founded Ninja Melk, LLC in 2016 to produce an energy drink. The product took three years to develop and launched in May 2019. He also published a memoir titled "Ryan Higa's How to Write Good" in 2017. In 2018, he launched a podcast called "Off the Pill." This podcast featured guests like Andrew Yang and Jeremy Lin. In 2020, he shifted his focus to Twitch, where he streams video games like Valorant.

His professional achievements have earned him significant industry recognition. Higa won a Shorty Award for his work in digital media. He was also named to the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 list. His career has included numerous nominations for other major awards. These include six Streamy Awards and five Teen Choice Awards. He has also appeared in feature films such as "Tell Me How I Die" and "Finding 'Ohana." These accomplishments demonstrate his ability to move between internet fame and traditional media.

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