When Khadim Thiam, 23, posted a video to TikTok of his friends visiting a Dunkin’ in New York City to try matcha green tea, he had no idea it would go viral.
The 19-second video, which has been watched by more than 15 million people since early April, shows Thiam and seven friends smiling and laughing as they hold up their cups.
But the initial comments did not match the group’s positive energy.
“They were saying things like, ‘Oh, why are men this happy to try matcha?’ ‘Oh, men should be in war,’” Thiam said.
Instead of listening to the negative comments, the group was inspired to gleefully keep trying more adventures and posting their experiences on social media.
“I don’t know why the internet reacted like that,” Thiam said. “So now I was like, O.K., so y’all don’t want to see us try matcha? We’re going to start trying many other things.”
Now the group OSB, which stands for One Strong Brotherhood, has since posted more than 20 videos conquering a range of activities from puppy yoga to dance classes and pilates.
Their goal is simple: break the mold of how people perceive young Black men.
“It’s like ‘Black Boy Joy,’” said Thaim, evoking the phrase and hashtag popularized in 2016 by Danielle Young, a writer for The Root at the time. The point was to counter negative stereotypes of Black men and boys through celebrating their happiness and freedom through positive images.Nearly a decade later, Young said she’s seen the videos made by Thiam and his friends.
“It’s so hard to see the OSB guys and not be immediately happy, joyful and smiling,” Young said.
But she also notes there’s a deeper historical context that goes beyond any phone screen.
“Thinking of Emmett Till and his story, not even being able to be a young, free Black boy without society claiming him as a threat and needing to be murdered for that,” Young said.
She also said the societal limitations placed on young Black men are exactly the reason their videos have gone viral.
“It’s beautiful to see that Black boy joy is timeless, but it’s also hurtful to see that it is considered a thing because of what they’re not supposed to be doing,” Young said.
Now, Thiam considers himself and his friends — all 10 of whom are students at Hunter College in Manhattan — part of a movement with a greater purpose.
“There’s a lot of negative stereotypes and connotations” when it comes to young Black men, said Thiam, a computer science major and the son of immigrants from Senegal. “We deserve our credit and our place in society to be considered normal, joyful people.”
In the two months since the matcha video was posted, nearly every video the group posts has gone viral, each gaining at least hundreds of thousands of views between TikTok and Instagram.
As OSB has posted more videos, Thiam said he’s also noticed a shift in the comments.
“People were beginning to see the genuineness and joy in us trying different things,” Thiam said. “I felt like it inspired a lot of people to continue watching the series, and basically they wanted to see what’s next.”
One of the latest adventures was a West African cooking class led by Maye Jolie, another New York City-based content creator, who frequently posts popular African recipes on TikTok.
On the menu was a dish called nem, a meat and spice-filled fritter from Mali that’s similar to a spring roll.
During the nearly three-hour class, the members of OSB mixed, rolled and fried their nem, all joking and laughing. Each member took turns recording one another while trying to pay attention. A battle even emerged among OSB members and other class participants to see who could make the best shaped spring roll.
“Whoever’s guiding us, they always feed off our energy,” Thiam said. “We’re always getting hit with, ‘Oh, this is the most fun class,’ best class that they ever had.”
It’s an experience that OSB wants to keep up. Thiam says the group is already securing five-figure brand deals and has collaborated with brands such as DoorDash and MAC Cosmetics.
The ultimate goal is to eventually take their adventures beyond New York City.
“Hopefully we go global,” said Thiam, dreaming out loud about “going to Japan trying to become like a samurai or something, or we’re making tea in China.”
But for now Thiam says he finds joy in inspiring others.
“I just want to encourage people to try new things,” he said. “Meet new people, make great connections. Have genuine fun, joyness and bring energy.”