KSI Floating

About

KSI Floating, also known as KSI Flying and KSI Levitating, is a viral video and meme format depicting British YouTuber and influencer KSI floating up in the air from a 2018 YouTube video. Starting in 2021, the video has been used as source material for video and GIF caption memes on TikTok and YouTube.

Origin

On September 16th, 2018, YouTubers^[1] collective Sidemen uploaded the video "KSI VS THE SIDEMEN," a six-minute choreographed fight between YouTuber KSI and the rest of the collective. In the final part of the video, KSI floats up into the air in the stairwell, flying up to the second floor of the building (starts at the 5:35 mark). The video accumulated over 20 million views in five years (shown below).

The video then began seeing use in memes at least as early as January 2021. On January 31st, 2021, TikToker^[2] kal.peak posted the earliest found video caption meme utilizing the clip, which gained 8,400 likes in two years (shown below).

Spread

The format saw an initial spread in the following months. On March 22nd, 2021, TikToker^[3] @susking001 posted a version that received over 356,000 views and 55,900 likes in two years (shown below, left). On April 1st, TikToker^[4] yvnghame0 posted a meme that received over 84,000 views and 12,200 likes in two years (shown below, right).

On April 14th, 2021, YouTuber^[5] Rekk paired the clip with the opening theme from the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series. The video (shown below) gained over 114,000 views in two years.

On October 10th, 2021, TikToker^[6] kp_nop_ posted an edited version of the clip, pairing it with "Miss the Rage" by Trippie Redd. The video gained over 468,000 views and 49,400 likes, further promoting the video's popularity on TikTok.

The video caption format then regained virality on TikTok in 2023 after TikToker^[7] michal7391 posted a meme on February 3rd, 2023, that gained over 1.3 million views and 148,000 likes in two months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References