Kids stealing the fancy zippers off Nike Elite backpacks is the latest weird internet trend—which comes from, you guessed it, TikTok.
Why? According to Know Your Meme, it started with a post from a New York high schooler who captioned photos of his stolen zipper collection, “I’m from NYC. Do not leave your Nike Elite lacking around me.”
There’s never really a good explanation for these things, though. And now there are more than 26 million hashtags containing #NikeElite and #zipper. Sometimes, all it takes for something this stupid to become a thing is a little momentum, and that’s exactly what is happening with this scenario.
Nike Elite backpacks typically sell for around $80 or $90, but one TikTok posted a video from a store where most of its backpacks’ zippers were already removed. The New York Post claims that thieves are reselling the zippers—though it’s unclear whether the buyers are people who want to larp about stealing or sad victims trying to keep their parents from finding out.
Unless you’re willing to walk around with a backpack in front of you or remove all of the zippers yourself before leaving it alone, there’s no way of preventing yourself from being a part of this unwanted TikTok game. That being said, one TikTok account did share some creative ways to make things slightly more difficult for potential perpetrators.
On X, someone shared a supposed email from the New York Public Schools addressing the trend, as it continues to become a problem in its facilities. The letter called the fad “a distraction among students” and suggested that parents have their kids remove the tags themselves so that they are not targets.
All I gotta say is, what are we doing here?
The post Teens Are Stealing Nike Elite Backpack Zippers for TikTok Clout appeared first on VICE.
The post Teens Are Stealing Nike Elite Backpack Zippers for TikTok Clout appeared first on VICE.
