Teenagers are stealing strangers’ Nike zippers. Blame TikTok

Teenagers have found a new way to amuse themselves: Stealing people’s backpack zippers. Not just any zippers, specifically Nike Elite backpack zippers. Why? You’ll have to ask a teenage boy that one. 

TikTokers are going viral on the platform for either showing their collection of removable zippers or mourning their now-zipperless backpacks. While it’s not clear exactly where the trend originated, TikToker @kyrieirvingishimm posted one of the earliest viral videos of the trend, showing off several Nike bag zippers that he allegedly stole, captioning the post, “I’m from NYC. Do not leave your Nike Elite lackin around me.”

The trend has since spread like wildfire (as bizarre trends usually do) with the help of social media, now racking up more than 26 million related posts on TikTok. Thousands of videos are up under such tags as #NikeElite and #zipper, with teens showing off their collections. What do participants do with these zippers? Attach them to their own backpacks or shoes to wear as a trophy and hope they don’t become a victim of their own game. 

One video with 835,000 views, captioned “day four of snatching people’s Nike elite zippers,” shows a backpack with at least 15 zippers of all different colors hooked on. Last week, user @sammvovk put up a post showing a store display of the Nike Elite bags with every pocket opened to search for the coveted zippers. “Nah, y’all taking this trend way too seriously,” he wrote. 

With no Nike Elite backpack owner safe, people have taken to posting tutorials on TikTok to help others protect their zippers. One TikToker showed how looping the zipper tie around a few times makes it trickier to remove, giving the backpack owner time to realize and confront the thief red-handed.

@gio.porrett

Replying to @aiden 🃏 my tutorial on how to braid nike elite bag zippers so they dong get stolen #CapCut #basketball #basketballtiktok #nikeelitebackpack #nike #zipper

♬ original sound – gio.porrett

On a Reddit thread someone also suggested, “Put the tags on the front of your bag and if you leave your bag take them off and bring them with you that’s what I do to keep mine safe.” 

However, for some, the advice came too late. “Someone at my school took 2 of my water bottles and will only give them back if I give him 15 zippers,” wrote one zipperless Reddit user. Stay safe out there, friends.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91196748/teenagers-are-stealing-strangers-nike-zippers-blame-tiktok?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Creato 10mo | 24 set 2024, 21:40:03


Accedi per aggiungere un commento

Altri post in questo gruppo

How this Florida county is using new 911 technology to save lives

When an emergency happens in Collier County, Florida, the

15 lug 2025, 16:30:05 | Fast company - tech
How a ‘Shark Tank’-winning neuroscientist invented the bionic hand that stole the show at Comic-Con

A gleaming Belle from Beauty and the Beast glided along the exhibition floor at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con adorned in a yellow corseted gown with cascading satin folds. She could bare

15 lug 2025, 14:20:03 | Fast company - tech
Why 1995 was the year the internet grew up

The internet wasn’t born whole—it came together from parts. Most know of ARPANET, the internet’s most famous precursor, but it was always limited strictly to government use. It was NSFNET that bro

15 lug 2025, 11:50:03 | Fast company - tech
What is quantum computing? Here’s everything you need to know right now

Computing revolutions are surprisingly rare. Despite the extraordinary technological progress that separates the first general-purpose digital computer—1945’s

15 lug 2025, 09:30:04 | Fast company - tech
This IBM ThinkPad was astounding in 1995—and still is

Closed, it looks pretty much like any other laptop manufactured in 1995.

To be sure, it’s more compact than most—making it, in the parlance of the day, a subnotebook. But it’s still comi

15 lug 2025, 07:20:02 | Fast company - tech
This IBM ThinkPad was astounding in 1995—and still is

Closed, it looks pretty much like any other laptop manufactured in 1995.

To be sure, it’s more compact than most—making it, in the parlance of the day, a subnotebook. But it’s still comi

15 lug 2025, 04:50:04 | Fast company - tech