It was the summer of 2017 when things got weird. Most people remember that year for "Despacito" or the solar eclipse, but if you were scrolling through Twitter—back before it was X—you probably ran into a video that made zero sense. I’m talking about the in the clerb we all fam original video, a five-second clip that feels like a fever dream. It’s grainy. It’s loud. It’s barely English. Yet, for some reason, it became the defining "mood" for an entire generation of internet users.
The video features a young woman, later identified as a YouTuber and personality named Rickey Thompson, leaning into the camera with a look of chaotic intensity. He utters the legendary phrase: "In the clerb, we all fam." Then he starts dancing—if you can call it that—to a distorted, bass-boosted track that sounds like it’s being played inside a trash compactor. It’s beautiful.
What actually happens in the clerb we all fam original video?
Let's break down the actual footage because it’s surprisingly short. Rickey Thompson, known for his high-energy rants and impeccable comedic timing, posted this as part of a larger series of Vine-style clips. The "clerb" is, obviously, the club. But it’s the delivery that matters. He isn't just saying we are family; he’s declaring a universal law of the nightlife.
When you watch the in the clerb we all fam original video, you’re seeing the peak of "Vine energy" transitioning into the Instagram and Twitter era. The lighting is harsh. The audio clipping is intentional. It was meant to be jarring. Rickey’s eyes are wide, his movements are jerky, and the whole thing lasts just long enough to loop perfectly. That’s the secret sauce of a 2017 meme: it has to be short enough to watch fifty times in a row without getting bored.
Most people don't realize that Rickey Thompson wasn't just some random guy. By the time this video blew up, he was already a seasoned content creator. He understood the "ugly-funny" aesthetic. He knew that looking slightly unhinged was more relatable than looking polished. People were tired of the "Instagram Baddie" look where everything was perfect. They wanted the clerb. They wanted the fam.
Why did "In the clerb we all fam" become a lifestyle?
The phrase tapped into a specific feeling of 3:00 AM solidarity. You know that moment in a crowded, sweaty room where you make eye contact with a stranger and suddenly you're best friends? That’s what he captured. It’s about the democratization of the dance floor.
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It’s kinda fascinating how linguistics work on the internet. "Clerb" isn’t just a misspelling; it’s a phonetic representation of a specific type of drunk shouting. If you try to say "club" while your jaw is locked or you’re yelling over a sub-woofer, it comes out as clerb. Rickey knew this. He was speaking the language of the people who actually go out.
The in the clerb we all fam original video also spawned a million remixes. People put the audio over footage of The Lord of the Rings battles. They put it over scenes from The Shining. There’s something inherently hilarious about a high-stakes dramatic moment being interrupted by the declaration that everyone is "fam."
The Rickey Thompson effect
Rickey's career skyrocketed after this. While he was already doing well, this specific clip gave him a level of "meme immortality" that most influencers dream of. It’s hard to stay relevant for more than a week in the digital age, but people are still quoting this in 2026.
He didn't just stop at one video. Rickey leveraged that chaotic energy into a massive career in fashion and hosting. He became a staple at Coachella and fashion weeks globally. But for a certain subset of the internet, he will always be the guy in the clerb. He represented a shift where being "too much" became the goal rather than something to be ashamed of.
The technical side of the viral loop
Why did the algorithm love this? It’s all about the retention rate. Because the in the clerb we all fam original video is so short, the completion rate was nearly 100%. Algorithms on platforms like Instagram and Twitter see that everyone who starts the video finishes it, so they push it to more people.
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It’s a masterclass in unintentional (or perhaps very intentional) SEO and social engineering. The "bass boosted" audio trend was also at its peak. This was a technique where creators would crank the low-end frequencies until the speakers literally rattled. It signaled to the viewer: "This is a meme. Don't take this seriously."
- The Hook: Startling audio and a close-up face.
- The Catchphrase: Highly quotable and easy to spell (ironically).
- The Vibe: High energy, low production value.
Honestly, if you tried to recreate this today, it probably wouldn't work. The internet has moved on to different types of irony. We're in the "core-core" and "slop" era now. But in 2017, this was the gold standard of comedy.
Misconceptions about the "Clerb" video
One of the biggest myths is that this was a leaked video or a "fail." It wasn't. Rickey Thompson is a performer. Every scream, every weird dance move, and every facial expression was a calculated choice to entertain his followers. He was playing a character—the hyper-energetic best friend who has had one too many espresso martinis.
Another misconception is that the music in the background is a real song. In the in the clerb we all fam original video, the audio is so distorted it’s hard to pinpoint, but it’s actually a remix of a generic club beat designed specifically to sound "blown out." This "Deep Fried" aesthetic was huge on Reddit and Tumblr at the time. It’s a visual and auditory style that celebrates digital decay.
Some people also get the year wrong. They think it’s from 2014 or 2015, the height of Vine. But Rickey actually posted this later. It was part of the "post-Vine" diaspora, where creators moved their short-form content to other platforms. It proved that the 6-second format wasn't dead; it just needed a new home.
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How the "Fam" culture changed the internet
We use the word "fam" differently now. Back then, it was the peak of "slanguage." Using it in the context of a "clerb" solidified its place in the digital lexicon. It moved from AAVE (African American Vernacular English) into the mainstream internet culture, often through the lens of creators like Rickey.
The in the clerb we all fam original video is a cultural artifact. It sits in the same museum as "LeBron James" (the kid saying the name) and "What are those?" It marks a time when the internet felt smaller and more cohesive. Before the "For You Page" became so hyper-personalized that no two people saw the same thing, we all saw Rickey. We were all in the clerb.
Finding the video today
If you’re looking for the in the clerb we all fam original video now, you can find it on YouTube archives and Twitter threads dedicated to "vintage" memes. It’s usually found in compilations titled things like "Videos that radiate 2017 energy" or "Rickey Thompson iconic moments."
Interestingly, the original post on Instagram or Twitter is often buried under years of newer content. But the re-uploads have millions of views. It’s one of those pieces of media that the internet has collectively decided to preserve. It’s "digital folklore."
Why it still resonates in 2026
We’re living in an era of high-definition, AI-generated content. Everything looks too smooth. Everything is too perfect. Looking back at the in the clerb we all fam original video feels like looking at an old Polaroid. It’s raw. It’s human.
There’s a nostalgia for the "Chaos Era" of social media. We miss when influencers were just people in their bedrooms with a smartphone and a dream of making someone laugh for five seconds. Rickey didn't need a ring light. He didn't need a script. He just needed to remind us that, in the clerb, we are, indeed, all fam.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to understand the lineage of modern internet humor, you need to look at these short-form pillars. Here is how to dive deeper into that specific era of digital comedy:
- Research the Vine Diaspora: Look into how creators like Rickey Thompson, Bretman Rock, and Casey Frey transitioned from Vine to mainstream stardom. It’s a blueprint for modern influencer marketing.
- Study "Deep Fried" Aesthetics: Search for "deep fried memes" or "bass boosted memes" on Know Your Meme. It explains the visual language used in the video and why the "distorted" look was so popular.
- Analyze Sound Design: Pay attention to how audio is used in modern TikToks. You’ll notice that many of the "ear-rape" audio tropes started with clips like the in the clerb we all fam original video.
- Follow the Evolution of AAVE in Memes: Notice how terms like "fam" and "clerb" (club) moved from specific communities into the global internet slang. It’s a lesson in cultural exchange and, sometimes, appropriation that is vital for any content creator to understand.