βThe fastest way to become the person you want to be is to put yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to become that person.β
- AlexHormozi
The Bigger Question:
Would another scientist following the exact same strategy see similar results, or is Hubermanβs personality a key factor?
A single viral video with 300,000 likes fueled the rapid acceleration.
What triggered it?
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Consistency β He had 883 posts before his big break.
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Value-driven content β Practical neuroscience tips that people could actually use.
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Diverse formats β Tweets, short videos, and podcast clips kept engagement high.
From there, growth remained consistent, until it skyrocketed between January and May 2023.
During this period, he gained 12,000 followers per day, going from 2.3M to 4M followers in just a few months.
Then, in July 2020, he appeared on Joe Roganβs podcast, and everything changed.
His followers jumped from 45k to 85k in one month.
He started posting in 2017, mostly sharing neuroscience insights.
Growth was steady but not explosive.
[The post was published on January 15, 2019]
Why did Huberman go viral? π§΅
Bymaximise didnβt follow the usual path to virality. Most creators spend years refining a format, tweaking what works, and slowly building momentum. He didnβt. Instead, he created something entirely new, and the internet responded immediately.
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Obsession is turning your addiction into art.
Now, he has 1.4M followers and gets around 24.4k likes and 159 comments per post.
What happened?
πΈ He introduced short-form animations, a format that made his content stand out.
πΈ He kept posting consistently, so when something hit, he already had plenty of content ready.
πΈ The new format made his posts more shareable.
By that point, he had already published 1,567 posts.
But between Nov 2022 and May 2023, his followers grew rapidly from 200k to 1.5M.
Then, on Nov 26, 2022, things took off.
Viral video β¬οΈ
He started posting on Feb 26, 2019, mostly written motivational content.
Growth was steady, but nothing crazy.
First post β¬οΈ
How many posts before going viral? #ZachPogrob
Seize the moment.
The Numbers Behind Her Growth
πΉ 2015-2020: Mostly static images β Slow growth
πΉ 2021: Shift to process videos β First viral moment
πΉ November 2021: +15K followers from one viral post
πΉ November 2023: +45K followers from two viral posts
πΉ 2024: Fully booked until 2030
By 2023, she was posting the same type of content, but content stacks over time.
When two videos hit at the same time, they triggered a bigger wave of growth.
This improved engagement, leading to her first viral moment in November 2021.
3.
Improved video editing & structure
Instead of simple time-lapses, her videos started highlighting the most interesting parts of the process.
2.
Included herself in the videos
The content shifted from being just about the art to also showcasing the artist.
1.
Focused on process, not just the final product
Instead of showing just the finished portrait, she started documenting the creation step by step.
For five years, Patricia Otero was posting her artwork on Instagram.
Static images, finished portraits, nothing too different from what most artists do.
That changed in 2021, when she made three key adjustments: