Training for My First Badminton Tournament

Submission 23,470

Part of a series on Physical Fitness. [View Related Entries]

About

Training for My First Badminton Tournament refers to a series of viral videos posted by TikToker @mikeymaybeme in late 2023 in which he documented every day of training in preparation for a supposed badminton tournament. In every video, the TikToker progressively added more weights, obstacles and objects to his squats and deadlifts, becoming increasingly absurd with each "day" referenced in the caption. In turn, others on TikTok started making memes about him, likening him to a superhero or a god.

Origin

On December 4th, 2023, TikToker^[1] @mikeymaybeme posted a video with text overlay reading, "Training for my first badminton tournament," in which he did a kickflip on a skateboard while holding a barbell. Over 15 days, the video received roughly 6 million plays and 831,300 likes (shown below).

Before December 2023, in 2022, TikToker^[2] @mikeymaybeme had gone viral for similar videos of absurd deadlifts using many objects and weights.

@mikeymaybeme I am a Trained Professional 👍 #badminton #sports #strengthtraining #gym #bodybuilding #powerlifting #skateboarding ♬ original sound – mikeymaybeme

Spread

After the first video's virality, TikToker^[3] @mikeymaybeme posted "Day 2" of his badminton training on December 6th, 2023, showing himself on a Ripstick with a skateboard in his mouth, deadlifting a barbell. Over 13 days, the video gained roughly 10 million plays and 1.1 million likes (shown below, left).

The TikToker continued the series going into December 2023, reaching his "Day 14" TikTok^[4] on December 18th, 2023, earning over 3.6 million plays and 647,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).

@mikeymaybeme I am a Trained Professional 👍 #badminton #training #sports #strengthtraining #gym #lifting #skateboard ♬ original sound – mikeymaybeme

@mikeymaybeme I am a Trained Professional 👍 #badminton #sports #training #strengthtraining #gym #lift #travelingmerchant ♬ original sound – mikeymaybeme

During the timeframe of his badminton training videos, others on the app started to post memetic content that referenced him. For instance, an early viral example was posted by TikToker^[5] @coopermitcchell on December 14th, 2023, in which he did a skit about training for a basketball tournament versus the difficult training for a badminton tournament. Over five days, the video received roughly 719,500 plays and 122,200 likes (shown below).