Is running headlong into a fence, smashing through it, and yelling “OH YEAH!” funny? Well, yes, unless you’re the owner of said fence. The NYPD is currently on the hunt for mischievous teens doing just that in the Kool-Aid Man Challenge but this isn’t a new phenomenon, but one that’s been around for quite a while.
As per the New York Post, “twisted Staten Island teens” have brought this old trend back, and indications are it could be coming to an innocent fence near you! So, what’s the history and why are innocent fence-owning citizens now on edge?
New York police are looking for a group of teens responsible for conducting the 'Kool-Aid Man Challenge' on a fence.
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) April 29, 2025
The 'Kool-Aid Man Challenge' is where groups of teens charge through homeowners' fences before running away.
pic.twitter.com/mscMWODViJ
The viral challenge first emerged in the mid-2010s, and is, as you’d expect, inspired by the anthropomorphic pitcher of red fruit punch known as the “Kool-Aid Man”. In a series of memorable beverage commercials from the 1980s he would randomly burst through walls and yell his catchphrase, “Oh yeah!”. Since then, this has been repeatedly referenced in pop culture, including The Simpsons, Family Guy and Robot Chicken.
That we’re still remembering this 40 years on indicates it’s an effective campaign, and in the mid-2010s morphed into a “challenge” on platforms like Vine, YouTube, and later TikTok, in which participants film themselves attempting to emulate the Kool-Aid Man’s wall-crashing antics, often with comedic or chaotic results.
The videos are funny, but the craze is spreading, and homeowners aren’t happy. NBC New York reports Staten Island’s Ben Helwa explaining he needed to shell out for a costly fence repair after his garden was the target of an incident: “I didn’t find it so funny waking up finding out I have big cost ahead to repair my fence.”
There was also an outbreak in Caldwell, Idaho in 2021, with fence-owner Richard Phillips puzzled and annoyed after being hit twice and leaving him with thousands of dollars in damage: “What in the world goes through these kids’ minds to drive around so late at night and have the thought process of ‘Oh, I’m going to destroy someone’s fence?”
Multiple other incidents have been reported across the Staten Island area, leading cops to suspect either a single group of unusually hard-headed teens is responsible or, in a disquieting twist, that the craze is spreading and copycat incidents are ramping up.
Parents, is your child coming home late at night with mysterious bruises and covered in small pieces of wood? Have you heard a muffled “OH YEAH! coming from their bedrooms as they rehearse their next attack? If so beware, as your innocent child man may have somehow morphed into an adolescent Kool-Aid man copycat. Over in New York, the hunt continues, but until the culprits have been identified, every fence in your area is at risk!
Published: Apr 30, 2025 02:36 am