Muhammad Aswat is a viral sensation on TikTok for hosting live sessions featuring sea snails racing on a track. — MUHAMMAD ASWAT AZDHA IDRIS
PETALING JAYA: Island tour guide Muhammad Aswat Azdha Idris has become a viral sensation on TikTok with his live sessions featuring the unique spectacle of sea snail racing.
The excitement began last week when he was sitting with his mother at a shop, and a man approached them, offering snails for sale. Little did they know, these snails would soon become the stars of a widespread online trend.
“He had a bag of green mussels weighing 3kg and wanted to sell it to us for RM20. My mum said to just take it. Then he threw in another bag of sea snails (siput sedut) for free,” Muhammad Aswat, 29, said when contacted by LifestyleTech.
On August 20, shortly after buying the sea snails, Muhammad Aswat, who works as a tour guide at Pulau Tuba in Langkawi, was hosting a live video session on TikTok with just 10 viewers. One viewer told him to watch out for the sea snails trying to escape the bag during the session.
“I picked up the runaway sea snail and put it on the table. Then I placed another one and just left them there with the camera running. Then I noticed my views went up to about 50 viewers,” he said.
Eventually, Muhammad Aswat got the snails to start a race, and his mother, Che Bunga Abdul Latif, 63, offered him a pot lid to use as a racetrack.
To his surprise, his live show quickly gained traction, and more than 2,000 viewers joined in to watch. He kept the race going for two hours.
The next day, Muhammad Aswat held another race: “My mom helped to choose which sea snails were fit for the race. Then we did another live session and got more than 5,000 viewers.”
While Muhammad Aswat has his own flair as an engaging race commentator, his viewers also played a big part in helping to make the live session a hit.
“Throughout the session, they added humorous comments like calling the race ‘Olymput’ and ‘Sukma Siput’. They cheered for their favourite racer and accused other racers of 'cheating', calling for an official investigation.
"I also think they like how I said the sea snail participants represented some states in Malaysia, so they have their favourites to win,” he said.
On Saturday, Aug 25, Muhammad Aswat said more than 12,000 viewers tuned in for another round of the sea snail race and he received more than 1.3 million likes for the session.
“I’m very thankful for the support from viewers, as some were generous with virtual gifts during the live session. Financially speaking, I’ve made much more than I usually do as a tour guide,” he said, adding that he treated the children in his kampung to ice cream and other goodies.
Muhammad Aswat plans to add more Olymput events, such as wall climbing. Every day, he’ll announce on his TikTok channel (@tansri_ash) the timing for a new race.
“I think viewers enjoyed the session because they were just looking for something fun and wholesome to watch. I believe it helps them forget about some issues in life, like the rising cost of living. I also have my mum to thank for her support,” he said.
