Tirrrb’s journey from life as a hard-working teen in university to an innovative voice in digital activism and social commentary
Yasmine Modaresi (she/her) /// News Editor
Jasmin Linton (she/her) // Illustrator
The internet is a complex ecosystem—especially when it comes to social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube—which provides a home to endless battles between steroid-enthusiasts trying to out-heterosexual one another with hardcore man-on-man action, ideological war zones and some chill teens who just want to film their skating adventures in peace. The diversity of content creation platforms can be daunting as a viewer, but navigating the terrain as a creator requires a combination of innovative spirit and resilience.
An entertaining voice of intellectual reason amidst the chaos is Tirrrb, a YouTuber with nearly 100,000 subscribers who specializes in socio-political and cultural commentary, particularly surrounding popular culture and identity. They merge visual artistry, dynamic editorial skills and narrative storytelling to craft video essays that are both informative and entertaining.
Starting out as a university student from a lower socioeconomic background, Tirrrb was a money-motivated teen working three jobs to contribute to his household’s finances. When the COVID-19 pandemic rolled around, resulting in two layoffs and chronic boredom, Tirrrb found themself scrolling through TikTok and YouTube. Upon seeing other Black creators, Tirrrb realized he could do it, too.
Early on in their content creation career, Tirrrb’s editing skills and captivating charisma drew the attention of MrBeast’s marketing team. Then, before they knew it, teenage Tirrrb found themselves working in social media marketing and content creation under MrBeast’s team. When he decided to part ways to focus on his own YouTube channel, resources from the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund enabled Tirrrb to pursue their career.
Tirrrb’s first YouTube video was about the podcast channel ‘Fresh and Fit.’ After exposure to the “Red Pill” community, they “just thought some things were stupid, and I wanted to say something. And then it turns out everyone was thinking the same thing.” Tirrrb reflected back on his experience growing up being perceived as what he describes as a socially constructed idea of “dude” by his parents and others around him, going on to explain his feelings about the podcast by saying, “I was like, ‘Hey, that’s kinda weird. I don’t feel this way about women.’ So, I just did the bare minimum; I wrote a video essay around social analysis […] [on] hegemonic masculinities, and it did really well.”
Tirrrb describes their work as providing a “service for audiences, and [their] service is educational content.” In the digital age of information, the predominant medium through which we consume, interact with and share knowledge is the internet, which is always in need of accessible and engaging educational content for viewers of all backgrounds. Tirrrb didn’t want the intellectual dissection of pop culture to be the end of their work.
Given their background, Tirrrb’s existence has been at the intersection of extensive political issues in our society; from racism, classism and class division, to human rights challenges and the repercussions of lacking resources to pursue creative careers. Tirrrb has made community-based activism a central component of everything they do in their career, stating that “community building is key.” He adds, “That’s what I hope I can spread with my content.” Eventually, as their following grew, they refined their artistic voice and began to network with other creators. Tirrrb mentions that he and other Black creators like F.D Signifier, whom he refers to as his uncle, joined a group chat called “Cornbread.” Tirrrb remarks, “I’ve never eaten corn bread. I’m South Sudanese, I eat madida and shit; I’m not really eating corn bread.”
As a marginalized person in the commentary field, there are ongoing challenges that Tirrrb has had to consistently overcome. While their content might be considered radical in some social spheres, Tirrrb views radicalization as a continuous process through simply existing in a society organized with systemic marginalization as the default setting for populations outside of the sphere of White and Western hegemonic ‘normality.’ “These conversations of radicalization are always happening. Radicalization is always happening,” Tirrrb says, “To say the inherent train of thought of, ‘I don’t want to be oppressed’ is radical—fuck, my whole life is radical. I just know that these conversations have always been ongoing, and now, people who don’t look like me are also starting to join these conversations.”
A lot of initial mobilization for activism and community engagement occurred online. Creators for Palestine, an initiative that Tirrrb is a part of, was started by one creator posting a close-friends Instagram story inviting help in raising money for Palestinian crisis support. Creators began to collaborate in a group chat, and soon, what started as a humble project to raise a couple thousand dollars for Palestine evolved into a cross-media initiative that raised over $1.5million for various organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Palestine’s Children Relief Fund and HEAL Palestine. The creators involved in the project have platforms of diverse sizes and niches, but as Tirrrb reflected, “at the end of the day, we’re all doing this for Palestine.”
Tirrrb has lived all across Canada: P.E.I., Edmonton, Vancouver and their current home in Saskatchewan. To feel at home wherever they choose to frolic, Tirrrb says their “break from activism online is activism in person,” which allows them to learn about the cultural customs in whichever area they reside, contribute to local initiatives in a meaningful, hands-on way and build connections with diverse communities.
In their experience in Vancouver, one organization Tirrrb had the opportunity to work with was Decolonial Clothing. “They do a lot of good work,” Tirrrb reflects, “specifically for incarcerated Indigenous people, specifically Indigenous women, specifically on the horrid Trail of Tears, which a lot of Indigenous people still go missing on to this day. It’s nice to know my neighbours. I feel like that’s the joy of on-the-ground activism.”
Moving forward, Tirrrb has big plans for actualizing their ambitious pursuits in storytelling, research and activism. Tirrrb’s creative interests can be found on their self-titled YouTube channel, @Tirrrb, where they publish video-essays ranging anywhere from 45 minutes long to two hours.