Fighting game star behind viral ‘Hold Up’ meme is embracing the chaos
It’s been two years since a YouTuber’s reaction video thumbnail went viral, showing him raising his hands alongside the caption, “Hold up! His writing is this fire?”
The thumbnail took over social media and continues to be a popular reaction image to this day, usually used to give a positive response to something.
The video in question was uploaded on June 03, 2025 byRobTV, a fighting game commentator, esports host and content creator.
While he’s best known for his work within the fighting game scene, Rob has begun branching out into the world ofmusicreactions, sharing his thoughts on various bands, songs and soundtracks on hisYouTubechannel.
This YouTube thumbnail was uploaded 2 years ago todaypic.twitter.com/Nvz8axbGBi
‘Hold up! His writing is this fire?’ Meme explained
The video that spawned his viral thumbnail showed Rob reacting to Billy Joel’s famous song ‘Piano Man’ for the first time — and it’s safe to say that he loved it.
While he was initially skeptical that Billy Joel’s music would be for him, he walked away from his first listen fully invested in the legendary artist.
“Oh my God!” Rob exclaimed. “His lyricism is some of the best I have heard. …I directly expected to not like this, genuinely, and wow, man. He has some of the best, most beautiful, most vivid penmanship.”
The thumbnail for Rob’s video quickly became a meme within the fighting game community and swiftly spread across social media in general, now known as an iconic reaction image.
Rob, for his part, is taking the memes well, and his video reacting to Piano Man has racked up over 900K views in the years since being uploaded.
“This thumbnail is where the ‘HOLD UP!!! HIS WRITING IS THIS FIRE???’ meme was born, for whatever reason lmao,” he said in the video’s caption.
German Twitch streamer goes viral for playing Elden Ring & Street Fighter at a rave
Mizkif & Tokyo Sims under fire for “disrespecting” Japanese culture
CoryxKenshin fans confused as YouTuber goes AWOL after comeback announcement
On the day of the thumbnail’s anniversary, Rob has continued to retweet posts celebrating the birth of the famous meme, saying, “This sh*t crazy.”
This shit crazy 🔥🔥🔥💯https://t.co/ZOUF70Xwdj
This isn’t the first time a fighting game fan has gone viral outside the gaming community; earlier this month, aTekkenplayer named Joe Budden took over social media after winning a set dressed up as Dr Doom andthrowing toilet paperat commentators behind the stage at a tournament.
