THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!
From the 10th Annual Shorty Awards

Backpack Kid

Winner in Dance

About Backpack Kid

How does a regular 15-year-old named Russell Horning turn into Backpack Kid, the dance sensation with 1M+ Instagram followers? It helps if you have a signature style (stiff, swinging arms), a signature look (t-shirt and backpack), and a signature stare (cold). It also helps if Katy Perry has you join her on the season finale of SNL after seeing your Instagram videos. That appearance brought him a lot of new attention, but Backpack Kid was already trending upward on his @thebackpackkid Instagram account, getting a shout-out from Rihanna, who reposted a video of his to celebrate her Grammy nominations. Look for Backpack Kid to continue to pop up in hip-hop videos, like Ayo & Teo’s “Rolex,” while still entertaining his fans with antics like dancing with random groceries in the supermarket.

Backpack Kid's best work on social

https://www.instagram.com/thebackpackkid/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BTkc6eQgrVy/?taken-by=thebackpackkid https://www.instagram.com/p/BaIdn9AjaYd/?taken-by=thebackpackkid