Natural sound of a video on Instagram
VO: With just one word, sophomore Nikolas Gulyayev reached over 500,000 views and 68,200 likes on a reel posted on his Instagram account @realyungkefir. Nikolas uses his social media platform to be an example to push others and to showcase his friend — and along the way, grow their friendship.
Nikolas: “So we literally just recorded it super quick. I had a Chinese exchange student that recorded the video in like 30 seconds, and we just posted it like it was like the least effort video, and for just some reason it just went viral”
VO: He originally began his account to stop consuming what he sees online. Instead, he started creating something of his own to step out of his comfort zone.
Nikolas: “They’re just too scared of what people will think, but really people don’t really care like no one is really going to care about what you do, what you post. I would say just don’t get stuck in the trap of consuming things always just being scared”
VO: Sophomore Gabriel Shalev, a close friend of Nikolas, was playing the background piano in this viral video and has his own Instagram account, @gabe.musicc.
Natural sound of a video on Instagram
VO: This clip stands as one of Gabriel’s most viral hits to date. Through Nikolas’s encouragement, Gabriel started this account to share his passion for piano.
Gabriel: “I didn’t want to post because I didn’t think people would like it, but he motivated me to post because he said like ‘You know you’re super talented. People are going to like it’ and so I ended up doing it, and I’m really glad I did it.”
VO: Through his account, Gabriel has grown as a musician as he consistently practices multiple hours a week to get a better video. His videos constantly get thousands of views with some reaching over 200,000.
Gabriel: “It shows that people enjoy what I’m doing and like I enjoy doing it, so it shows other people care about my passion.”
VO: In a turn of events, Gabriel is now motivating Nikolas to produce more content by bringing Nikolas into the studio.
Nikolas: “Now he’s dragging me into the piano studio to play piano and record it.”
VO: Through posting their passions and racking up views, Gabriel feels that they have strengthened their friendship.
Gabriel: “We also work on a lot of videos together, which helps us stay motivated.”
VO: Their videos are filled with funny, lighthearted moments.
Natural sound of a video on Instagram
VO: At the end of Yung Kefir’s videos, Nikolas leaves the viewers with a signature piece of advice that has taken on a new meaning for him in the context of his growing views.
Nikolas: “Stay humble, stay wealthy, and stay rich.”
VO: I’m Salma El Bissati reporting for the U-High Midway.
