Haters call him 'cringeworthy' but Naruto mirror run star Jaze Phua is undeterred

Viral Video Stars is a biweekly series where we hunt down viral icons. What's it like to be famous? What have they been up to? We catch up with them to find out all about life after viral fame.

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If anyone knows the secret formula to going viral, it would probably be Jaze Phua.

The 29-year-old local actor and filmmaker has been in the YouTube scene since 2008. Early on, his videos averaged a couple of thousands of views each.

But in 2019, his breakthrough moment came.

In an interview with AsiaOne, Jaze mentioned that he saw videos of the mirror run challenge on Facebook and “thought it was quite cool”. 

He figured that he would give it a try, with a bit of a comedic twist, and the rest is history.

That mirror run challenge

The video, which features two half-naked men fighting over a tube of toothpaste in a public bathroom, exploded online as many found it hilarious and even got picked up by 9GAG.

At the time of writing, the Facebook post sits nicely on two million views. That achievement alone would satisfy most — but not Jaze.

It got his creative juices flowing and he wondered if he could somehow one-up this video he’d just created.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/jazephua/videos/293511587990296[/embed]

Within the same month, he posted the famed Naruto-inspired mirror run challenge. 

In comparison to the previous video, viewership quadrupled, with a whopping 8.7 million views on Facebook at the time of writing.

When asked how long it took for him to realise the video had gone viral, Jaze replied with a grin, “Just like what I hoped, it exploded overnight! 

"A lot of people started reposting it and mentioned how it's some next-level s***.”

This encouraged Jaze to continue the anime theme, with Dragon Ball and One Piece videos following suit.

“Each video took five to six hours in total to shoot. Imagine two guys spending five to six hours in a public toilet," Jaze recalled. "Every time someone came in, we had to pause as they gave us judging looks."

To add to the awkwardness, Jaze added that he even "added lights and sometimes smoke in the toilet" when filming.

Virality and nasty netizens

Much of the immediate reaction among netizens was positive. 

Jaze mentioned how he would look through the comments section and try his best to reply or 'like' a chunk of positive comments as a sign of appreciation.

Soon though, he found that this was unsustainable as there were simply too many comments.

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Unfortunately, he would soon learn that when it comes to attaining online fame at such a rapid rate, he'd have to take the good with the bad.

Despite all the love and positivity fans and strangers alike, there were also comments that weren't as endearing. 

“Of course, there were also hate comments which I felt were pretty normal,” Jaze said with a shrug.

He mentioned how some viewers found his videos "cringeworthy" or "lame" and decided to make that known to him via the comments section. 

As much as it’s something he expected, people should be responsible for what they type on the Internet, Jaze said. 

When asked why he feels so, he explained: “What you type may affect people and it can be taken personally. You never know that your words may hurt a person.” 

It's fine to dislike content that you watch online but to spew hate isn't what he stands for, Jaze added. 

Behind the scenes, content creators spend endless hours on their work before it goes into the online world. 

To receive hate or be made fun of online – where most of your haters hide behind a veil of anonymity – is likely to be a gruesomely lonely experience.

For Jaze, it's something that doesn't bother him too much but he is aware other content creators may take the hate to heart.

"Since you're planning on typing a comment anyways, why not consider adding more constructive criticism which the content creator can take on board?" he suggested.

Hollywood attention

If you thought Jaze had already hit the heights of his viral status with the mirror run challenge videos, you'd be wrong.

Barely two months later, in April 2019, he uploaded an Avengers: Endgame trailer parody. 

The two-minute-long video was themed around creating a budget-friendly version of the original trailer.

Amazingly, Jaze and his team pulled it off spending a mere $12.70, which included fried chicken he'd bought for the cast.

Predictably, it was a hit online, but this time, it wasn’t simply about how many people watched it, but who. 

The video managed to make its way to the film’s actual directors, Anthony and Joseph Russo, who declared that the parody video was “pure genius”.

Mark Ruffalo, the actor who plays the Hulk, also posted it on his personal Instagram, commending Jaze on a job well done.

He enthused, "I was just so happy and super proud, it felt like I struck the lottery twice in two months!"

Secret formula?

Since then, the content creator has started his own video production and creative media company, Pandastic Media, creating everything from Yun Nam Hair Care commercials to gritty short films.

As for those who are hoping to follow in his path, Jaze had this to say: "It's about creating content that's related to a current topic but also remembering to add your own twist to it."

With so many out there riding the wave of what's currently trending, being distinct and standing out is key, he advised. 

"If you do whatever that is already out there, then what's the point?"

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amierul@asiaone.com