Circle In the Sand by Andrew James Pritchard

Hasbulla’s popularity radiates out from a kind of extended Gen Z bro universe in which U.F.C., the mixed martial arts organization, is a dominant force. (Many people who don’t know his name may know his face as a meme signifying something like “mirth,” or “high jinks.”) Fans also follow along as he eats salad, messes around with face filters and speaks Dagestani Russian. On his Instagram account (8.6 million followers) Hasbulla indulges his passions for shooting guns, driving fast cars, practicing fighting moves and playing pranks. Hasbulla is an influencer, so what he does, exactly, is a little hard to explain. “We were crying at the airport when he left.”īut his fame, for some, is a reminder of the ugly ways little people have been used as entertainment for centuries. “We love him,” said John Shahidi, the president of Full Send/Nelk, a lads-will-be-lads media company that has collaborated with Hasbulla and arranged his recent American trip. And his inner circle is a well-meaning but ragtag group that includes a family friend from Dagestan, a Dagestani-American software developer and a fan from the Hasbulla Discord server. (He is Muslim, like most Dagestanis.) During a time of acute geopolitical tension between the West and Russia, he has amassed an enormous Western fan base.

He doesn’t speak English and turns down most endorsements because of his religious beliefs. Hasbulla is from Dagestan, a tiny, poor republic of Russia in the North Caucasus, and is a celebrity in the world of mixed martial arts, though he has never officially thrown a competitive elbow.

Circle In the Sand by Andrew James Pritchard