Entry updated · Sources & corrections policy
Featured era: 2004
Afro Ninja
“I believe opportunities come in many different forms.”
- Featured era
- 2004
- Peak era
- 2004-2006
- Company
- Mark Hicks
- Category
- Viral Videos
0 people remember this
Log in to leave a flower
On Video
The Afro Ninja audition clip
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- airmoney
- Added:
- January 17, 2006
- Length:
- 0:18
More Videos4 videos
What Was It?
Afro Ninja is a short clip of professional stuntman Mark Hicks at an audition, attempting a backflip that goes wrong and sends him to the floor face first. Hicks, who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, has appeared in films including "Transformers" and "Rush Hour 2".
The audition footage surfaced online in 2004 and spread as a viral video, later turning up on YouTube. In October 2004 the blogger Andy Baio identified the man in the clip as Hicks.
Hicks took it in his stride. He went on to produce and star in a low-budget film, "Afro Ninja: Destiny", about a character who uses a similar mishap as motivation to better himself. "I've always been an optimist," he told the Star Tribune in 2008.
Things You Probably Forgot
- Carrying on with the routine after the fall
- A clip that spread before YouTube existed
- Wondering who the man in the clip was
- His own film, "Afro Ninja: Destiny"
The Story
- 2004 The audition clip surfaced online and spread as a viral video.
- 2004 In October, blogger Andy Baio identified the stuntman as Mark Hicks.
- 2008 The Star Tribune reported on Hicks' own film, "Afro Ninja: Destiny".
Its Legacy
Copies of the clip are still on YouTube. Hicks turned one unlucky take into a character of his own, and the clip remains a classic of the pre-YouTube viral web.
Memories
Log in to add a comment and share your memory.
Loading comments…