Filmmaker, dancer, choreographer, TikToker, creative director, videographer – Norwegian creator David Vu is difficult to define. The multi-talent has built a dedicated following across TikTok and Instagram through dance videos, streetwear inspiration and creative camerawork.
If you have a TikTok account, chances are you have seen one of Vu’s viral choreographies. For instance, his dance to Dave and Central Cee’s song Sprinter has been viewed millions of times – one TikTok alone has 5.2 million views and Central Cee even copied part of the choreography. His dance to DJ Enzo’s edit of Sade’s Smooth Operator has 3.1 million views and also went viral on the app.
His biggest hit? The choreography he created for Doja Cat’s Get Into It (Yuh). Vu tells CORQ: “Everybody at that time knew the music of Doja Cat was blowing up on TikTok. However, this one had not blown up yet.” He credits the success of the video to “nice timing, good teamwork, beautiful location, catchy song and rememberable choreography”. His original choreography video has 15.5 million views and 2.4 million likes, not to mention the thousands of others who recreated his dance. His choreography also led to TikTok featuring him as an Originator on its first global discovery list in 2022.
“I have always been interested in creating content,” Vu says. He discovered YouTube in 2008 and found inspiration from channels such as Ryan Higa, Wong Fu Productions and JustKiddingFilms. He started playing around with his phone camera and created content first for VSCO, then Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. “It is such a liberating feeling to use your creativity as you like with no rules,” he says. His creativity has clearly caught the attention of brands as well – in September 2023 alone, he worked with Lacoste, UGG and Maison Margiela Fragrances.
Hit after hit for David Vu
Vu and his fiancée Yasmin Hassan practically won the Wes Anderson trend when they announced their engagement during a Japan trip – the video has been viewed 2.2 million times. Vu and Hassan have become a TikTok celebrity couple of sorts – “literally the best couple on TikTok” says one comment, “such an iconic couple” reads another. Their combined TikTok following is around one million, more than the population of their hometown, Oslo.
The couple also started a YouTube channel in June 2023, which consists of vlogs, Q&As, mukbangs and travel content. “We had a lot of request about this, so we thought — why not? It challenges us as creators as well, to do long format content and talk to the camera, as well as the cinematic aspect,” Vu says. It is a way for them to build a deeper connection with fans through more in-depth content.
Vu is part of Quick Style, a dance collective that won Norske Talenter (Norway’s Got Talent) in 2009. He joined in 2013 and the group has since found success on socials – they have three million TikTok followers, 3.14 million YouTube subscribers and 5.4 million Instagram followers. The collective’s founders featured on the digital cover of Vogue Scandinavia in March 2023, they have danced with Usher, and one of their choreographies was even made into a dance on Fortnite.
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“It truly started to blow up after the wedding video. That was maybe more random, because none of us knew that it was filmed. It was just a pure gesture to our friend, and it just took off,” he says. Vu is referencing Quick Style’s 12-minute video from their performance at co-founder Suleman Malik’s wedding, which has been viewed an incredible 122 million times and prompted YouTube’s own official channel to declared it was “obsessed!!!”. Since then, the collective consistently gets millions of views across platforms, was nominated for a Webby Award and has performed in several countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
On top of his other work, Vu is also one of the founders of the creative company Vimo. The team started with street photography in 2016 and have since moved into making short films, developing brand campaigns and working on various creative projects. “The director side of it has really impacted the creator side of it, as I know the process more thoroughly,” he says, and also notes his work with Vimo has helped boost his creative confidence.
As for the future? There’s no sign of slowing down – he has plans to create his first feature film in the next five years.
By Dina Zubi, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: David Vu via Instagram
