My New Haircut: 5 Things About the Viral Video

Everyday Hair Blog

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My New Haircut is a 2007 comedy skit about a stereotypical Guido character called "the Broski" grooming himself for a night out.

If you searched the phrase looking for styling advice, the keyword actually points to this meme, not a haircut guide.

Brett Tietjen uploaded the original video to YouTube on June 10, 2007, and it pulled more than 31 million views before it was removed in December 2011.

1. The Broski Skit

A photograph accompanies the story of the Broski’s boastful night out.

My New Haircut is a comedy skit about a stereotypical Guido called "the Broski" and his night out with friends.

Brett Tietjen created the video and uploaded it to YouTube on June 10, 2007. Set to Corey Hart’s 1984 song "Sunglasses at Night," the skit follows the Broski through boastful monologues while he grooms himself in preparation for barhopping.

He talks up his haircut, a heavily gelled blowout also known as a Temple Fade or Brooklyn Fade, and the video cuts between scenes of him primping in front of a mirror, lifting at the gym, and yelling "Jagerbombs" at a bar.

The original video gained more than 31 million views before it was removed in December 2011.

If you searched for "my new haircut" hoping for styling advice, this meme is what the keyword actually points to, not a haircut guide.

2. Where the Video Began

An information graphic traces the video’s YouTube origins.

Brett Tietjen created the original video and uploaded it through YouTube channel mca1018 on June 10, 2007.

Set to Corey Hart’s 1984 hit "Sunglasses at Night," the skit followed the character grooming himself and prepping for a night out, complete with monologues about his heavily gelled blowout and cut scenes of him primping, lifting weights, and yelling "Jagerbombs" at a bar.

Before its removal in December 2011, the video had gained more than 31 million views.

YouTuber MrBroskiTV reuploaded it on December 16, 2011.

That copy had accumulated more than a million views as of September 2012. The reupload kept the video circulating after the original disappeared, preserving what had already become a fixture in mid-2000s internet culture.

3. Reposts and Parodies

A photograph accompanies the story of the video’s reposts and parodies.

The video jumped platforms within hours. A MySpace reupload went live the day after the YouTube debut, and by the following month CollegeHumor and I Am Bored had both picked it up.

The first known parody arrived on October 3rd, 2007, when YouTuber RiCanSuaVe79 posted "My New Shape Up," trading the blowout for a close fade around the hairline. By September 2012, searching "My New Haircut parody" on YouTube returned more than 700 results.

Tietjen kept the character going. As of that same reporting period, he ran a Facebook page, a YouTube account, two Twitter profiles, a Tumblr and an Instagram, all under the Broski persona.

The domain MyNewHaircut.com launched in November 2011 to collect the videos and posts in one place. An older fan page, separate from Tietjen’s official account, had drawn more than 5,000 likes.

4. The Authorship Dispute

A photograph accompanies the account of the dispute over the skit’s authorship.

In January 2008, digital remix artist Joe Sabia posted a video called "The Truth Behind My New Haircut" and claimed the skit lifted material from an essay Mike Polk wrote three years earlier.

Polk’s piece, titled "Look At My Striped Shirt," ran on the website Phat Phree on March 18th, 2005.

His sketch comedy group Last Call Cleveland performed a live version that landed on YouTube on August 31st, 2006. The monologue shared phrases with "My New Haircut": references to Jagerbombs, calling people "Chief," and talking about skanks.

The New York Times Magazine blog covered the dispute on January 31st, 2008. There’s no evidence Polk himself pushed for credit, but the similarities were clear enough to draw attention from outside the YouTube comment section.

5. Movie Plans and the Sequel

A camera and blank clapperboard sit beside coins and a closed laptop.

Movie Plans and the Sequel

In March 2010, producer Scott Mednick bought the rights to turn "My New Haircut" into a feature film. Mednick had worked on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live action reboot, so this looked like it might actually happen.

It didn’t. Nothing came of it.

Tietjen tried again himself in January 2012, launching a Kickstarter to fund a webseries about the character’s trip to Hollywood and his attempt to make the video into a movie. The campaign raised $1,945 against a $20,000 goal and never got made.

The actual follow-up arrived earlier, on August 5th, 2011.

"The Return of the Broski" pulled just over 218,000 views by September 2012, a fraction of what the original managed. The sequel existed, but it never caught the same momentum.

The Haircut Behind the Skit

The heavily gelled blowout rises above shorter sides and a tight Temple Fade.

The Broski’s signature look is a heavily gelled blowout, also known as a Temple Fade or Brooklyn Fade.

The skit leans hard on the grooming: cut scenes of him primping in front of a mirror, working the hair into place, flexing at the gym.

The haircut monologue is one of the most quoted parts of the video, and it gave the style a name outside the barber shop for anyone who recognized it.

A parody called "My New Shape Up" followed the same format.

The Shape-Up is a different cut, a close trim around the hairline that sharpens the edges. Both skits use grooming as the setup for the joke, but the original blowout became the reference point.

Frequently Asked Questions

What year did My New Haircut come out?

Brett Tietjen uploaded the original My New Haircut video to YouTube on June 10, 2007.

The skit went viral quickly, spreading to MySpace the next day and reaching CollegeHumor and I Am Bored within a month. By the time it was removed in December 2011, the video had pulled in more than 31 million views.

What does My New Haircut mean?

My New Haircut is a 2007 comedy skit about a stereotypical Guido character called the Broski and his night out with friends.

The video follows him through boastful monologues while he grooms his heavily gelled blowout, lifts at the gym, and yells "Jagerbombs" at a bar.

If you searched for "my new haircut" hoping for styling advice, this meme is what the keyword actually points to, not a haircut guide.

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