French YouTuber ‘Inoxtag’ disappeared from the internet for six months to train for a trek up Mount Everest, and finally accomplished his mission wearing Luffy’s straw hat in September.
Inoxtag is a prominent French creator who boasts over 8 million subscribers on YouTube. He’s known for posting IRL-style content like travel vlogs and over-top-challenges, such as spending ’24 days in the mountains’ or receiving ‘one surprise a day’ for a month.
In April 2024, Inoxtag decided to up the ante by a huge margin to take on the “biggest challenge” of his life — climbing up Mount Everest.
He announced the news in a YouTube video titled ‘Au Revoir YouTube,’ where he revealed he wouldn’t be making content for some time in order to focus on training for the climb.
On September 14, 2024, Inoxtag finally dropped the long-awaited video chronicling his journey up the tallest peak in the world, a two and a half-hour upload that’s garnered over 24 million views in just four days.
Titled ‘KAIZEN,’ a Japanese word that means long-term or ‘continuous improvement,’ Inox brought his viewers along with him for the arduous trek up the mountain, culminating in an emotional moment at the top of Everest’s crown.
“If it weren’t for the sherpas, we wouldn’t be here,” Inox tearfully said as he embraced his companions. “We never would have made it. Thanks to everyone who believed in me. We really did it.”
“We shouldn’t try to be the best,” he continued. “We should just try to be better than yesterday. We should all do projects. We should stop being behind screens and scrolling and living life vicariously. Get outside. If you have a project, do it.”
As part of the celebration, one of his pals slapped Luffy’s straw hat on his head, and the YouTuber posed for some victorious photos wearing the anime character’s iconic accessory.
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Ultimately, Inoxtag wants his journey to be a message to viewers about “becoming better than yesterday every day and going on adventures.”
Inoxtag’s monumental achievement has gone viral across social media, leaving both his viewers and anime fans impressed by his dedication.
“Salute to the man!” one user wrote on Twitter/X. “Taking Luffy’s legendary straw hat to the top of the world (Everest), such an epic tribute to adventure and dreams, incredible.”
“Oda should add him to straw hat crew,” another suggested, referencing the series’ author, Eiichiro Oda.
Even YouTube themselves congratulated the influencer, calling the feat something “no one will forget.”
Thus far, Oda hasn’t spoken out publicly regarding Inoxtag’s viral video — but either way, it’s clear he made a lasting impact on anime fans across the world, showing viewers that with enough determination, anything is possible.
He’s not the only creator undergoing massive physical feats of endurance lately. On September 4, German Twitch streamer Arda Saatçi finished a grueling 3,000 kilometer ultra-marathon from Berlin to New York City after breaking his shinbone, and streamer Doug ‘Censor’ Martin broke the world record for most pull ups completed in 24 hours on September 8.
