The floss dance is most closely associated with American teenager Russell Horning, known online as “The Backpack Kid,” who popularized it in 2016–2017, especially after performing it on Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish” live on SNL. However, clips of very similar moves appeared online years earlier, so credit for inventing it is debated rather than definitively settled.

Core facts

  • A 14-year-old schoolboy, Russell Horning, posted a video of himself doing the move on Instagram in August 2016, where he originally called it “The Russell.”
  • His appearance as “the backpack kid” with Katy Perry on Saturday Night Live in May 2017 launched the floss into mainstream pop culture and kids’ dance trends worldwide.
  • Several sources and media outlets refer to Horning as the “creator” or “originator” of the floss, especially in connection with Fortnite’s use of the dance.

Earlier origins and debate

  • Documentation shows similar arm-swinging moves online as early as 2010 on a YouTube channel called Ryan Mayall (MayAllLove13), predating Horning’s 2016 video.
  • YouTube creators JStuStudios (Justin Stewart and Andrew Scites) were doing a comparable move they called “The Squeege” in 2014–2015 and even performed it on television, later arguing they helped start the move’s popularity.
  • Because of these earlier examples, some commentators say no one can definitively claim to have invented the floss, only to have popularized it.

How people usually answer “who invented it?”

  • In everyday conversation, most people and news outlets credit The Backpack Kid as the inventor or at least the iconic face of the floss dance, since his viral posts and TV performance made it a global meme.
  • More historically precise answers distinguish between:
    • First known videos (2010 and mid-2010s YouTube clips).
* **Pop culture breakout** (Russell Horning’s Instagram and SNL, then Fortnite and other shows).

Quick takeaway

If someone asks in a casual or “Quick Scoop” way who invented the floss dance, the common answer is: Russell Horning, a.k.a. The Backpack Kid, who made it famous around 2016–2017. Strictly speaking, though, the move itself existed online before him, so his role is best described as popularizing rather than unquestionably originating the dance.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.