Who Is FlightReacts, And Why Is His Meme "Flight Takes A Smoke Break Mid Video" Going Viral On TikTok?

A clip from one of Flight's Twitch streams hasquickly became a meme online after the streamer took a smoke break mid-video, with many people replacing the word "smoke" with other words and phrases. The original clip involved Flight's expression changing from worried to serene via a sharp jumpcut, which became a template for an exploitable video meme on TikTok.

But what is the history of FlightReacts, who is he, and how does he always end up being a meme on the internet? Here's everything you need to know.

Who Is Flight?

Flight, AKA FlightReacts, is an American YouTuber and Twitch streamer best known for his reaction videos online. He started posting videos online as early as July 6th, 2013, and since then has become incredibly popular, with his YouTube channel garnering over 4 million subscribers as of April 2024.

He has also been a very notable presence in memes, with his reaction videos often being repurposed online or even being turned into meme templates. One example includes reactions such as his quote "No, don't pull," which was used in a reaction meme way back in 2019 (shown below).

How Did This Video Spread?

The most recent flight meme refers to a clip of the streamer reacting to a TikTok video while dressed in a black hoodie. The original video was posted on YouTube by JB dubz on 2022, gathering 95,000 views in two years (shown below).

The clip was then reposted to TikTok on January 23rd, 2023, and then once again on April 6th, 2024, where it gathered over 6 million plays in just five days (shown below).

@greasygroves3 He was not being slick😭 #flightreacts #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – Destiny

How Did The Video Become A Meme?

The video quickly became an exploitable meme template, as people started to replace the word "smoke" with various other words and phrases. On April 8th, @beanoilsalesman posted a version that reads, "Flight takes a poetry break," garnering over 100,000 views (shown below, left). Another example was posted on April 9th, reading, "Flight takes a spice break mid-video," which was an obvious reference to the movie Dune. This post gathered over 200,000 plays in two days.

@beanoilsalesman Replying to @toast8337 upgraded video #fyp #flightreacts #flight #meme #literature #edgarallanpoe #irony #satire #fungliosis #riodejanerio #newyork #Lagos ♬ original sound – fungliosis 2

@drainyouout Bro thought we wouldn’t notice 😭 #dune #spice #flight ♬ original sound – drain you out

For the full history of Flight takes a smoke break, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.