What is “Champ step”? Why TikTok is obsessed with this weird trend

A new bizarre trend called the “Champ step” is quickly gaining popularity on TikTok right now, thanks to one creator documenting a curious turn of events that has fans deeply invested in what might happen next. 

What’s the trend?

In what can only be described as peak Gen Z humor, it all began with TikTokker Alex Moga who is documenting “the march.” In his first video captioned “THE BRITISH ARE COMING” posted on June 29, Alex is seen to be watching two men walking in sync with their arms out wide and leaning back, all to a clip from Song for Denise by Piano Fantasia.

In the following videos, Alex asks “WHERE ARE THEY GOING?” and writes “i’m OBSESSED!! And they are heading west with SPEED”, using the hashtag #champstep.

As the saga continues, the men are seen from a distance stepping across a bridge, Alex writes “I think something HYUGE is about to happen”, and soon more people join in.

But in the latest video, the music changes to the more ominous-sounding Such a Whore (Stellular remix) by JVLA, and Alex writes “Things start to get NEFARIOUS at night”.

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Despite only having 9 videos, Alex Moga has already gained more than 200,000 followers thanks to his “champ step” series.

Why are people doing it?

It turns out that Alex’s viewers are engrossed by the series. Part 5 has racked up 2.3 million likes, 19,000 comments, and more than 8 million views.

High profile TikTokkers have also shown their support, with Michelle Wozniak commenting “I’ve never been more invested in something,” and Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey also commenting “I’m so invested in this.”

Even if Alex’s series continues, fans of the Champ Step have been inspired and are keen to make their own versions. The #champstep page on TikTok has 18.7 million views at the time of writing.

Are there similar trends?

Traveling in sync to one particular song has long had comedic value on the internet. In 2016 the #joggingmanchallenge saw Vine star Marlon Web jog with a wide gait in sync with friends to A-Ha’s Take On Me.

The tune has also recently found popularity under the hashtag #putinwalk, where people film themselves imitating the Russian President’s swagger and edited to look stretched out wide and zoomed in.