Hikakin

, professionally known as Hikakin (Japanese: ヒカキン), is a Japanese YouTuber and businessman who is the co-founder of UUUM, a Japanese multi-channel network. A video of his Super Mario Bros. beatbox went viral in 2010, reaching over 3.8 million views by mid-September of that year. He, alongside fellow Japanese YouTuber Megwin, quit their day jobs in 2012 to focus entirely on their channels. He also collaborated with Gille, appearing in her promotions for her single "Try Again", where it is stated that he is one of the most popular Japanese YouTubers. Career 1989-2007: From his upbringing to the launch of his YouTube channel He was born on April 21, 1989 in Myoko Kogen-machi, Nakakubi-gun, Niigata Prefecture (now Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture) as the second son. His older brother (eldest son) is also a YouTuber, Seikin, and as a child he was an unusual boy in the corner of the classroom. Growing up in the snowy Joetsu region, his dream as an elementary school student was "to compete in the Olympics in ski jumping," and he continued ski jumping until high school. When he was in elementary school, he participated in the "Hamonepu League," a corner of the variety show "Riki no Dinchi Gogo Gogo! a variety show that aired on Fuji Television network at the time, he developed an interest in human beat box. After graduating from Myoko Kogen Minami Elementary School (now Myoko Municipal), Myoko Kogen Junior High School (now Myoko Municipal Myoko Kogen Junior High School), and then Niigata Prefectural Arai High School, he began live performances and other activities in Joetsu. Then, in December 2006, he established his own official channel "HIKAKIN" on YouTube. He says that he initially started it for the purpose of viewing videos of foreign beat boxers, but he started posting videos because he thought that if he posted his own videos, people would watch them. He started posting videos soon after he opened the site, but few of the videos from that time remain, as he later deleted them himself. The oldest video in existence is a beatbox that he shot in his bathroom in 2007 (he was a senior in high school at the time). In 2015, a remake of this beatbox video was posted as "2015 ver.", which was filmed in the same environment and clothing as at the time.