Air Bud Put Me in the Hospital
Here’s What That Taught Me About Virality
Hey, it’s Zack, co-founder and Creative Director of Create.Repeat.
For those new here, let me share a story from my past life—back when I sold my soul (and identity) to BuzzFeed. I’m still waiting for an AI deepfake of me to pop up any day now. I was a video producer in the wild days of the clickbait era. And yes, I was there the day the infamous dress went viral—it’s black and blue, by the way.
My job? Crank out six videos a month, appear in my partner’s six videos, and be ready to drop everything to jump into someone else’s shoot at a moment’s notice. Some days you were surprised by 2000s teen icon Jojo (Get out! Leave!) holding puppies, and other days you were doing a blind moonshine taste test at ten in the morning. It’s where I really honed my craft as an artist.
My dream project was a dramatic, “Friday Night Lights”-inspired sketch about the poor kid who inevitably got benched for Air Bud. It was a bit of a meme at the time, but I knew I was the visionary director who could bring it to life. This was my magnum opus.
But let’s be real: as fun as the idea was, it was niche—a silly, very mid-2010s internet concept that didn’t exactly scream “viral sensation.” The goal of the job was to get views, and lots of them.
Still, I pitched it.
My manager liked it and gave me the green light, but with a catch: In addition to the Air Bud video, I still had to hit my six-video quota for the month to keep my views up in case the video didn’t take off.
Determined to make this sketch the best it could be, I threw my entire budget into it. My partner and I then decided to shoot six short, minimal-effort videos to meet the quota. We aimed for fast, short, and relatable—working smarter, not harder.
Honestly, we thought these videos were dumb. One was about seeing your friend in shorts for the first time, another about a friend’s Memoji (your mom probably still uses those) that looked nothing like them, and one was about two guys experiencing brunch for the first time.
After a long day of shooting these shorts (we would call them TikToks today), we turned our attention back to the main event: that sly basketball-playing golden retriever.
We poured everything we had into the Air Bud sketch. So much so that I ended up in the hospital with a stress-induced migraine that knocked me out of work for a few days. I even had to get a spinal tap! It was awful, but the video was done, edited, and ready for the world.
In those two days I was out, the Air Bud video was released to… a pretty mediocre response. 200,000 views. A total failure by BuzzFeed standards. Anything less than a million was a flop.
But one of those little low-effort videos we shot, the brunch one, went bonkers.
15 MILLION VIEWS IN A WEEK!
I couldn’t believe it. That stupid video we spent 40 minutes on became the one we were going to be synonymous with for the rest of our internet careers. Don’t get me wrong, I liked that video, but seriously?
Here’s the thing: Passion projects are essential for any creative to thrive, especially in a professional environment. I’m still grateful I got to make that Air Bud sketch. Whenever someone mentions it, it warms my heart.
As creatives, we often pour our hearts into passion projects, and that’s important—it’s how we stay connected to our craft. But never underestimate the power of spontaneity. Sometimes, it’s those quick, unfiltered ideas that resonate the most. So, keep creating, but don’t be afraid to throw a little nonsense out there too. You never know what might stick.
And one more thing—don’t stress yourself out so much that you end up in the hospital. Trust me, it isn’t worth it.
Here’s the full Air Bud sketch for your enjoyment.
Ugh, fine, here’s the brunch video, too.
Here are a few things we were inspired by on the internet this week:
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Thanks for sticking around.
Keep creating and repeating,
Zack
P.S. We’re still working this out, and we’d love your feedback. Was this fun to read? Helpful? Terrible? Let us know! But please be kind.
This article has been sitting in my tabs for months… and today I finally read it. It hit deep. Something about the timing felt just right. Thank you for sharing something so honest and creative. I’m glad I didn’t close that tab. 🙏