If you’ve got kids—or even if you’re just tapped into the wild world of internet culture—you’ve probably heard of Blippi. That goofy guy in the orange bow tie and blue-and-orange cap who’s got toddlers across the five boroughs obsessed with tractors, fire trucks, and counting to ten. But before he was a YouTube sensation teaching your little ones about colors and shapes, Blippi—aka Stevin John—had a very different claim to fame. Let’s dive into the bizarre, messy, and totally unforgettable story of the “Blippi Harlem Shake,” a moment that ties together viral internet trends, a shocking past, and a redemption arc that’s still got people talking.
From Steezy Grossman to Blippi: A Tale of Two Personas
Before Stevin John became the Blippi we know today, he was a young guy in his early twenties messing around with edgy comedy under the alias “Steezy Grossman.” Back in 2013, he was just another LA filmmaker trying to make a name for himself online. This was a time when YouTube was a wild west of weird content, and viral challenges ruled the internet. Enter the Harlem Shake—a dance meme that took over the world that year, including right here in NYC, where you could’ve caught groups busting moves in Times Square or Central Park. The premise was simple: one person dances to Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” track, then, when the bass drops, the scene cuts to a chaotic group dance, often with costumes or props.
Steezy Grossman, though, wasn’t about to do a basic version. He took the meme to a whole new level with a video that’s now infamous: “Harlem Shake Poop.” Yeah, you read that right. In this NSFW twist, Stevin starts off sitting on a toilet in a bathroom, rocking a tank top, sunglasses, and a bike helmet, grooving to the beat. When the bass drops, the camera cuts to him standing on the toilet—fully nude except for the helmet and shades—unleashing an explosive stream of, well, you know, onto a naked friend lying on the floor below. It’s gross, it’s shocking, and it went viral for all the wrong reasons.
BuzzFeed News dug into this back in 2019, and Stevin didn’t deny it. “Yes, I did make a gross-out comedy video when I was in my early twenties, long before I started Blippi,” he told them. “At the time, I thought this sort of thing was funny, but really it was stupid and tasteless, and I regret having ever done it.” You can’t watch the original anymore—Stevin’s worked hard to scrub it from the internet—but the legend lives on. For a taste of how people reacted, check out this reaction video from 2013.
The Harlem Shake Craze: NYC’s Role in a Global Phenomenon
Let’s rewind a bit to put this in context for us New Yorkers. The Harlem Shake meme didn’t actually start with Baauer’s song—it’s got roots right here in Harlem, where the original dance emerged in the 1980s as a street and hip-hop move. Fast forward to 2013, and Baauer, a Brooklyn-born DJ, dropped his trap track “Harlem Shake,” which sparked the viral video trend. It kicked off with a clip from YouTube comedian Filthy Frank, but soon everyone was jumping in—WWE wrestlers, the Today show hosts, even FCC Chair Ajit Pai years later. Here in NYC, we saw our share of it: college kids at NYU, office workers downtown, you name it.
By mid-February 2013, over 40,000 versions were uploaded to YouTube, racking up 700 million views, according to Billboard. Steezy Grossman’s “Harlem Shake Poop” was just one drop in that bucket, but it stood out for its sheer audacity. While most folks were waving pool noodles or wearing goofy costumes, Stevin went for shock value—and it worked. The video hit a nerve, for better or worse, and became a twisted footnote in the meme’s history.
Want to see what a “normal” Harlem Shake looked like? Here’s the original that started it all from DizastaMusic:.
From Poop to Preschool: Blippi’s Big Pivot
So how does a guy go from defecating on camera to singing about excavators for toddlers? After his Steezy Grossman days, Stevin John grew up. He served two years in the U.S. Air Force, worked in video production, and then, in 2014, had an epiphany watching his nephew obsess over low-budget YouTube kids’ videos. He thought, “I can do better,” and Blippi was born. Launching his channel that year, he traded shock humor for educational fun, decked out in that now-iconic orange-and-blue getup.
Blippi blew up fast. By 2019, his main channel had 3.6 million subscribers, and today, it’s over 20 million, with billions of views. He’s a staple in NYC homes, where parents from Brooklyn to the Bronx rely on him to keep their kids entertained and learning. But when the “Blippi Harlem Shake” story resurfaced—thanks to BuzzFeed’s deep dive—some parents were shook. “Do I want my kid to hug him? Probably not,” one mom told BuzzFeed. Others shrugged it off: “Young people do dumb stuff. It’s not a dealbreaker.”
Stevin’s response? He owned it but distanced himself. “I’ve grown up a lot since then,” he said, and he’s used copyright takedown notices to keep the video off the web. You won’t find it on YouTube, but it’s archived in places like the Internet Archive if you’re curious (though good luck accessing it without hitting a wall). For more on his journey, Newsweek covered it well back in 2019: Who Is Blippi?.
The Internet Never Forgets—But Does It Forgive?
Here’s the thing about the internet, NYC: it’s got a memory like an elephant. Even as Stevin built a kids’ empire—complete with toys, K-Swiss collabs, and live shows—the “Harlem Shake Blippi” lingers like a ghost. Reaction videos still pop up, and Reddit threads buzz about it (check out r/OneyPlays for some chatter). Some see it as a hilarious relic of a wilder internet era; others think it’s a stain he’ll never fully wash off.
Parents here in the city seem split. Some argue it’s irrelevant—Blippi’s not that guy anymore, and his videos genuinely help kids learn. Others feel uneasy knowing the guy singing “The Excavator Song” once starred in something so crude. Either way, it hasn’t stopped Blippi’s rise. His channels pull in hundreds of millions of views monthly, and he’s reportedly banking millions in ad revenue, per CNN.
For a taste of modern Blippi, here’s one of his biggest hits, “Videos for Toddlers with Blippi”.
What’s Next for the Blippi Legacy?
So where does this leave us, New York? The “Blippi Harlem Shake” saga isn’t the end of Stevin John’s story—it’s just a wild chapter. He’s still out there, filming new adventures, dropping catchy tunes, and probably hoping we all forget about 2013. Will he ever live it down? Maybe not fully, but he’s proof you can reinvent yourself, even after a viral misstep. Next time you’re stuck in traffic on the FDR with a toddler screaming for Blippi, just remember: that goofy guy on the screen has a past as colorful as his outfit—and NYC’s internet culture helped make it unforgettable.
For more on the Harlem Shake meme itself, hit up Wikipedia’s Harlem Shake page—it’s got the full rundown on how it took over the world, one bass drop at a time.
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