Biography
Who is Ryan Higa?
Early life and education
Ryan Higa was born on June 6, 1990, in Hilo, Hawaii. He has an older brother named Kyle. During his younger years, he studied judo and earned a black belt. He also participated in wrestling while attending Waiakea High School. He graduated from this high school in 2008.
After high school, he moved to Nevada to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He studied nuclear medicine at the university level. However, he eventually decided to leave his studies to focus on creating online videos full-time.
Rise to YouTube fame
He began posting videos on YouTube in 2006. He worked alongside Sean Fujiyoshi to create content. Their early videos often featured them lip-syncing to various songs. They were part of a group known as The Yabo Crew, which also included Tim Enos and Tarynn Nago. The group officially created the nigahiga channel on July 20, 2006.
The channel grew quickly in popularity. By December 21, 2010, the channel reached 3 million subscribers. This milestone made it the first YouTube channel to achieve that specific number of subscribers. His content eventually evolved from lip-syncing to original comedy sketches. He also started composing his own music for his videos after experiencing issues with copyrighted material in previous uploads.
Film and production projects
Ryan Higa has worked on several feature films and web projects throughout his career. In 2008, he starred in Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure, a film directed by Richard Van Vleet. In 2010, he released an independent film titled Agents of Secret Stuff on his YouTube channel. This project featured various other internet creators and actors.
His film work continued with roles in the 2016 horror movie Tell Me How I Die and the 2021 Netflix film Finding 'Ohana. He also guest-starred in an episode of the show Supah Ninjas, where he played the character DJ Elephant Head. In 2012, he helped form the YOMYOMF Network and served as a judge on the talent competition series Internet Icon.
Music and business ventures
In 2016, he formed a parody K-pop group called BgA, which stands for Boys Generally Asian. The group released the song Dong Saya Dae, which reached number two on the iTunes K-pop charts. They followed this with a second song in 2017 titled Who's It Gonna Be, which reached the top spot on the K-pop charts.
He has also ventured into business outside of video production. In 2017, he published a memoir titled Ryan Higa's How to Write Good. He co-founded Ninja Melk, LLC in 2016 with partners Kathleen Hahn and Kyle Schroeder. This company launched an energy drink in 2019 that shares its name with his earlier short film, Ninja Melk.
Career transition and personal interests
In 2020, he took a hiatus from creating content for YouTube and started streaming on the platform Twitch. On his streams, he often reacts to his older videos and plays video games such as Valorant. His production company, known as the Ryan Higa Production Company, previously maintained a studio in Henderson, Nevada.
Regarding his personal life, he identifies as agnostic and has spoken about his diagnosis with ADHD. He has expressed support for Andrew Yang during the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination process. He is also a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the San Antonio Spurs sports teams.
Birthday and age
Ryan Higa was born on June 6, 1990, which makes Ryan 36 years old today. That birthday falls under the Gemini sign. Ryan shares the date with 28 other famous people.
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