I’ll be straight up when I say that I envy people who can confidently take photos and film themselves in public. While I have 23 years of humanhood under my belt, I still shudder at the thought of vlogging in public or taking a fire IG photo in a crowded place. However, a new creator is inspiring me, and many others, to walk the planet with confidence — and she’s known as the “Tube Girl” on TikTok.
Now, chances are that you’ve seen Tube Girl, or Sabrina Bahsoon, on your FYP at this point. But if you haven’t, I’ll get you up to speed. On Aug. 13, Bahsoon posted a video of herself on the Tube (or the subway, if you’re a Yank) dancing to “Where Them Girls At” by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida. Bahsoon captioned the video writing, “Being the friend who lives on the other side of the city so you gotta hype yourself up during the commute.” Dancing like she’s in a music video, with other people in the car, it’s safe to say that social anxiety is no match for this girl — and TikTok is living for it.
Bahsoon’s first “Tube Girl” video went mega-viral, with over 4 million views and over 500,000 views and counting. Since then, Bahsoon has posted more videos of her dancing on the Tube — with her most famous TikTok racking up over 7 million views and 1.4 million likes.
While many of us are obsessing over Bahsoon’s confidence, we do have some outstanding questions: Does Tube Girl retake her videos? What does it look like to the passengers?
Following her videos’ virality, Bahsoon made a few videos detailing the “behind the scenes” of her TikToks. From having a friend film her from a passenger’s POV, to showing that, yes, she does do several takes for her videos, Bahsoon is completely unapologetic when it comes to making her TikToks. And I love that for her.
Since Bahsoon’s videos blew up, creators around the globe have been inspired to own their confidence and make a Tube Girl video themselves on public transit. Tube Girl is a movement — it’s a lifestyle, y’all. And everyone hopping on the trend is absolutely killing it.
While I still break out in hives (not really, but also, really) thinking about doing this trend myself, I gotta give it to Bahsoon for inspiring folks to not care so much about how the world perceives them, and to live the unapologetic, hot-person lifestyle. So, if you see me dancing on my public transit like I’m in a Nelly Furtado music video, just know that I’m paying homage to TikTok’s newest icon, OK?