A colleague of mine has a theory: If you know Rizler, you might not be surprised that Kamala Harris lost this month’s presidential election. If the name Big Justice doesn’t sound familiar, the election results may come as a complete shock.
In March, a Florida-based father-son duo named AJ and Big Justice posted a TikTok expressing their enthusiasm for Costco Wholesale and its food court items. The pair — as well as their extended universe of relatives and non-relatives, like the Rizlers — have since become viral sensations, cementing their internet celebrity status with one appearance. D The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“The Costco Guys, the Rizzler, and this whole straight-brow-coded mediaverse is a stand-in for how siled the left’s media consumption has become,” said senior politics reporter Christian Paz. As a result, Paz suggests, some progressives may have “missed some of the political evolution the country was going through.”
It begs the question: Does the rise of the Costco Guys — who are by no means overtly political — help explain a cultural landscape that has been directly shaped by the Brothers that heralded Trump’s victory? Or is their presence on the Internet something more innocuous, a throwback to the early days of YouTube when regular people went viral and got airtime? came? The answers are a bit complicated.
The history of the Costco Guys cinematic universe
Although they officially became a viral sensation in March, the Costco Guys’ celebrity has been years in the making. Originally from New Jersey, the patriarch of the family, Andrew Befumo (aka AJ), was a professional wrestler who went by “American Powerchild Eric Justice” before retiring and running into mortgage debt. About a decade ago, he started a family YouTube channel featuring his wife Erica, his daughter Ashley, and his son Eric (aka Big Justice). All Befumo’d Up. The channel features some mundane content, while you can watch heartwarming content like cooking food, attending events on lifestyle reality shows. Avenger screening, and singing Christmas carols.
As of 2022, Befumo is mostly making videos on TikTok (@azbefumo) with Eric — whom he nicknamed Big Justice after his wrestling persona — with occasional appearances by Ashley and Erica, “The Mother of Big Justice.” Early videos show father and son attending baseball games and reviewing local restaurants using their food review scale known as the “Boom Meter”. Delicious food is a “boom!” Insufficient or flat-out gross food is a “doom!” – which is rare.
They recorded themselves performing routine tasks, such as visiting retail chains, with unusual amounts of enthusiasm. However, it’s the level of excitement at portraying the suburban, middle-class experience that’s part of their draw. While many famous vloggers are filming tropical vacations and helicopter rides, the Costco Guys Party City Trip like a special occasion.
These videos have garnered hundreds of thousands of views and have garnered a few sponsorship deals However, it wasn’t until this past spring that their affinity for Costco gave them their ticket to Internet stardom. On March 1, they posted their own version that went viral “We’re X, of course we’re Y” trend About their love for wholesale chains. At the start of the video, Big Justice says, “We’re Costco guys. “Of course we go shopping while eating baked chicken.”
By July, they released a Beastie Boys-esque theme songFeaturing Erica and Ashley, called “We Bring the Boom” which now has 14.4 million views. Since then, they’ve incorporated Costco and their very limited food court menu into much of their content, with guests rating the store’s “double chunk chocolate cookie” and accompanying them on shopping trips. They released several remixes of “We Bring the Boom”, including one Christmas edition Most recently Ashley and Erica also came out of the background of AJ and Big Justice’s videos, creating their own page in October, @ashleyandmamajusticeWhere they rank and review most desserts.
Despite how normal these guys seem, viewers still think they’re seeing something unpleasant and uncanny. They have a wide-eyed, bleary gaze – almost as if they’ve been held hostage and forced to read off a teleprompter – while staring into the camera. While you could argue that their enthusiasm is sincere, their demeanor is unnatural and stilted. Rap songs definitely rock.
In the months following their initial virality, the “Costco Boys” label expanded beyond the Befumo family to include some of their frequent collaborators. Most notable among them Rizler (aka Christian Joseph), a child influencer whose father started posting his videos on TikTok in 2020. His father called him Rizler based on the word “ridge” which is short for charisma. He has since popularized the “ridge face”, a half-serious-half-laughing look known as an alt-right meme/pose. “Chad’s Face” Or more broadly “Zen Z Lip Sync Face.” AJ said in an interview A TikTok of Rizler making fun of him in an unflattering Black Panther costume led him to contact Rizler’s father to collaborate. Other frequent guest stars include Cousin AngeloWho may or may not actually be related to the Befumo family, and is a TikTok dancer Jersey Joe People who post videos of dancing to Jersey Club music.
Do the Costco guys really belong in the “Bro Internet”?
Since their rise to fame, the Costco Guys have earned a dubious reputation on social media accused Trump supporter If not the avatar for the increasingly MAGA-based internet. The evidence is mostly superficial. They live in Florida. They spend most of their time in big-box stores closely identified with the suburban American experience. Their logo and merchandise feature the American flag.
“There’s a lot about their content that seems Republican-coded,” said EJ Dickson, senior culture writer for The Cut. “The main one is that they’re part of a white male population in a state that overwhelmingly voted for Trump. The other aspect is the American flag imagery — very early in their careers. In fact, when AJ was working in the mortgage industry, he was creating content in front of the American flag.”
Other examples are more eyebrow-raising. Their fanbase – at least based on commenters on their accounts – leans overwhelmingly white and male; Comment A Costco guys’ livestream Featured rows over rows of N-words in all-caps. Logan Paul knows about them.
Unlike Paul, however, the Befumo family largely – and deliberately – avoided politics in their journey to fame. in a Interview with Internet reporter Taylor LorenzAJ said they have been approached by presidential candidates to collaborate but political content “wasn’t in their wheelhouse.”
Aside from possible political affiliations, Dixon, who was profiled for AJ and Big Justice The Rolling Stones In July, that doesn’t seem to account for all of their popularity.
“I think people really enjoy watching this guy and his kid goof off and create this incredibly silly content together,” says Dixon. “A lot of people think their content is charming in its own way.”
He also argues that their videos online may be more devastating than progressives give them credit for: a father and son spending a lot of time together, showing each other affection and bonding over food. He compares them to truant right-wing figure Andrew Tate, who “built his brand on the thrill of dominating and withholding fatherhood.”
AJ’s spending time with his family has not gone without criticism. A Behind the scenes video AJ strictly orders Big Justice in a video in August and strengthened the hypothesis According to some he is a stage father. Still, the image of fatherhood he promotes is endearing and hands-on.
“Although [A.J.] By performing masculinity with her looks and workouts, clowning around on camera and spending a lot of time with her kid, she kind of does the opposite,” says Dixon.
Regardless, the Costco Guys ultimately exist in a lineage of influencers and celebrities who draw straight, white, right-leaning male fans. Several moments have shown up this year, from a conservative perspective Sydney Sweeney As for the overnight success of Haq Tuah Girl, it’s not entirely up to the public to decide who they appeal to.
