Upon visiting Alan Chikin Chow’s YouTube channel, you are greeted by a large rectangular banner displaying the channel’s name floating amid bubblegum pink clouds. Navigating to the Shorts page and clicking on the most recent video, you’ll see a skit depicting one female vampire attacking another after discovering she has attacked her crush. It may be hard to believe, but this channel holds the record for the most-viewed YouTube Shorts of all time.
So, who is the creator behind these ultra-successful skits? What is Alan Chikin Chow’s background? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow is of Cantonese descent and grew up in Texas","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/c9ca9b3c-71af-43ee-a835-8b2f2913e213_c7089b34.jpg"} Alan Chow is of Cantonese descent and grew up in Texas Chow gets into his background on his channel. Born on November 15, 1996, to Ivan and Allie Chow, he’s of Cantonese descent, with his middle name “Chikin” meaning strong-willed in the language.
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, with his brother Alvan, Chow’s early passion for creating videos to make his mother laugh laid the foundation for his future success, per Forbes. This led him to study screenwriting and business administration at the University of Southern California, per Variety. As a student, he voice-acted in the English dubbed versions of various Japanese anime series, including the popular One Piece , where he voiced Orenami.
He had a short acting career {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow looking dapper at the Streamys","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/ad69f874-2ba4-4763-83c4-f6e219f089d2_870c396c.jpg"} Alan Chow looking dapper at the Streamys Chow eventually landed minor acting roles in the teen drama series 13 Reasons Why and medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy . Ellen Pompeo, the actress who played protagonist Dr Meredith Grey, even gave Chow a shout-out on The Ellen Show , describing a conversation she had with him after filming the episode.
“My whole life, I have watched the show with my parents, and I used the show as a way to tell my parents that I was gay, and to show my parents that it’s OK, that I am not different, there is nothing wrong with me,” she recalled Chow sharing. “ Grey’s Anatomy really helped my parents understand what having a gay son meant and that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. For my parents to now see me as an actor, getting a part on this show has been everything.
” How did Alan Chikin Chow get into content creation? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow created his own drama series Alan’s Universe on YouTube","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/4e4092f3-a427-4515-b68f-def87a610baf_31989d0c.jpg"} Alan Chow created his own drama series Alan’s Universe on YouTube During Chow’s university years, his parents relocated from Texas to a small town in West Virginia. To lift their spirits during the move, Chow began creating and sharing short videos with the world, posting his first TikTok in 2019, according to Forbes.
While his videos started averaging hundreds of thousands of likes, Covid-19 struck. This prompted Chow, who was in Los Angeles at the time, to quit his day job and pursue content creation full-time. How Alan Chikin Chow shifted to YouTube from TikTok {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow started creating content full-time during the pandemic","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/d84c22d3-988b-4dcf-ac6e-c9eb029dacfd_919cf3b0.
jpg"} Alan Chow started creating content full-time during the pandemic Chow continued posting on TikTok at the time, but in 2020, when the US government considered banning the popular social media platform at then president Donald Trump’s request due to perceived national security concerns, Chow began expanding to other platforms like YouTube and Instagram. At the time of writing, the genius content creator has amassed 1.5 million followers on Instagram, 14.
8 million followers on TikTok, and 54.8 million subscribers on YouTube. Alan Chikin Chow’s expanding influence {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Before his influencer status, Alan Chow voice acted for various Japanese anime series","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/44e28886-a05d-4489-80a1-3ae4bff6077f_847e832f.
jpg"} Before his influencer status, Alan Chow voice acted for various Japanese anime series Through the power of social media, Chow has extended his reach far beyond TV screens: his YouTube drama series Alan’s Universe has a global reach of 39 billion views. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow has been receiving all kinds of branding opportunities","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/2ad2a732-d94d-43fc-81a2-be6e2fabc39a_8843192f.jpg"} Alan Chow has been receiving all kinds of branding opportunities Per Deadline, Alan’s Universe has garnered 250 million viewers worldwide, propelling him to partner with industry giants such as Netflix, Max and Coachella.
His success also allowed him to attend the Oscars, dressed by Dior, as seen on his Instagram. These experiences recently led him to sign with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an American talent agency, alongside creators such as Trisha Paytas, Mai Pham and Loren Gray. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Alan Chow was featured on Forbes’ 30 under 30 Celebrities for North America in 2024","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/09/34c02642-1f38-4fd8-9f07-39783232d422_5952fe0d.
jpg"} Alan Chow was featured on Forbes’ 30 under 30 Celebrities for North America in 2024 In 2024, Chow joined singer Gracie Abrams, rapper Latto, model Kendall Jenner and influencer Alix Earle as part of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Celebrities for North America. The multihyphenate creator, actor, writer and producer, who’s billed as the world’s most-watched YouTube Shorts creator, grew up in Texas and started creating videos to make his parents laugh Chow initially landed minor acting roles, including in Grey’s Anatomy – today, he has 250 million viewers worldwide and brands like Netflix, Max and Coachella are keen to work with him.
