Hopper Rides 'Brain Rot' To 3x Audience Increase

So-called “Italian Brain Rot” and other brain rot-related videos have found incredible popularity in recent months as the content finds a willing audience for its cast of strange AI characters and pseudo-Italian utterances. 

One YouTuber that’s been taking full advantage of the trend is Hopper, who puts their own spin on it by utilizing the characters with house-like background music. Hopper has found particular success with 25-to-34 year-olds, according to data from Tubular. Labs.

• Among Hopper’s 60.8 million unique U.S. viewers (up 186% month-over-month) in May 2025, surprisingly 42% of them were in that age range.
• For Hopper videos, the formula was simple: Multiple characters, upbeat music and a quick conclusion. Nearly all of Hopper’s 574 uploads in May lasted for fewer than 10 seconds, and the top video – Unboxing Cappuccino Ballerina (145 million views) – was only four seconds long.

There’s certainly caution for brands and publishers looking to get in on trends like “Italian Brain Rot,” especially given how heavily it plays with AI (itself a thorny topic when it comes to content creation). But upbeat music and quick images can still be smart ways to engage with audiences via Shorts as a way to meet them where they’re increasingly comfortable watching content.

Seeing such a large audience for Hopper’s videos among 25-to-34 year-olds also shows that Shorts like these aren’t exclusively fodder for the youngest viewers on YouTube, either.