The Lost Artifact of the Baauer Era
The terminal in Eli’s basement hummed with the sound of dying fans. It was 3:00 AM, and Eli was deep in the trenches of the Internet Archive, on a specific mission that most people would call a waste of time. He wasn't looking for lost literature or abandoned software. He was hunting a ghost.
Specifically, he was hunting "The Stain."
In the chaotic tapestry of early 2010s internet culture, few phenomena burned as bright or as fast as the Harlem Shake. For a few glorious weeks in 2013, the formula was simple: one masked dancer, a bass drop, and thirty seconds of joyful, convulsing anarchy. But Eli wasn't looking for the standard office parties or military battalion videos. He was looking for the video.
The legend of the "Harlem Shake Poop" video was a campfire story for digital archaeologists. It was rumored to be the most visceral, unhinged, and grotesquely perfect iteration of the meme ever created. The legend stated that it was originally uploaded by a man known only by his handle: Steezy Grossman.
Steezy was a phantom. A figure who allegedly pushed the boundaries of viral comedy into the absurdly biological. The story went that during the chaotic second half of the video, amidst the thrashing bodies, a tragic gastrointestinal accident occurred. It was the "Harlem Shake Poop" video—cataloged in whispers on obscure message boards as the "Stain Version."
"It has to be there," Eli muttered, typing harlem shake poop steezy grossman into the Wayback Machine’s search bar.
The screen flickered. Most links were dead. YouTube had long since scrubbed the video for violating community guidelines regarding—well, Eli didn't want to think too hard about what guidelines it violated. The original uploader had vanished, likely having moved on with his life, perhaps becoming a plumber or a sanitation worker, given his on-screen history.
But the Internet Archive was a library of the forgotten. It didn't judge; it only remembered.
Eli navigated to a "Steezy Grossman" profile page captured in 2013. The thumbnail image was pixelated, a blur of flesh and movement. He hovered the mouse over the "Play" button on the archived media player. This was it. The Holy Grail of viral filth.
He clicked.
The video buffered, the icon spinning in the center of the screen. Then, the audio crackled through his speakers.
“Con los terroristas…”
The video quality was awful—standard definition, captured on a webcam in a dimly lit bedroom. In the center, wearing a helmet, sat a man. Eli leaned in. Is that him? Is that Steezy?
The beat built up. The man sat motionless, masked, vibrating slightly. Then, the drop.
BAUER!
The screen exploded into chaos. The camera shook violently. Figures jumped into the frame. It was a whirlwind of limbs and furniture. The absurdity was palpable. And then, it happened.
The narrative that followed was less a story and more a visceral assault on the senses. Without breaking the beat, the video descended into a level of gross-out humor that would make a middle schooler blush and a historian weep. It was the "poop" element—the raw, unfiltered commitment to the bit that legends were made of. It was stupid. It was juvenile. But in the context of the Archive, it was sacred. harlem shake poop steezy grossman internet archive
Eli watched the whole thirty seconds. As the music faded and the chaotic freeze-frame held, a message popped up over the frozen image: “Steezy Grossman was here.”
He sat back, the blue light of the screen washing over his face. He had found it. He had confirmed the legend.
In the silence of his basement, Eli realized the irony. Millions of terabytes of human knowledge were stored in the Archive—speeches, wars, scientific breakthroughs. Yet, here he was, preserving the memory of a man named Steezy Grossman who, for one brief moment in 2013, decided that the best way to entertain the internet was to combine a dance craze with a bathroom emergency.
He hit "Download." The file saved to his hard drive: harlem_shake_steezy_archive.mp4.
History, Eli decided, was messy. Sometimes literally. And as the self-appointed guardian of the Harlem Shake Poop, he swore to keep the memory of Steezy Grossman safe, ensuring that the internet never forgot its capacity for absolute, unadulterated nonsense.
Here’s a social media-style post generated from those keywords, capturing the chaotic, absurd, and nostalgic vibe of early internet culture:
Title: Lost Media Unearthed: The Harlem Shake / Poop / Steezy Grossman Internet Archive Deep Dive
Post:
Okay, I fell down the strangest Internet rabbit hole tonight and I’m bringing you all with me. 🕳️🐇
You remember the Harlem Shake (2013, everyone in an office, one person dancing like a wacky inflatable tube man)?
Now mix that with poop humor (because it was the golden age of YouTube poop).
Add Steezy Grossman — the bizarre, deadpan, green-screen legend from the "Steezy Grossman Show" who reviewed fake movies and whispered into a soda can mic.
And somehow… all of this is archived on the Internet Archive.
Yes. Some beautiful, unhinged soul uploaded a collection called:
📀 “Harlem Shake Poop Steezy Grossman Megamix (2013–2015, Lost WebDL)”
It starts with Steezy staring into the void. Then the bass drops. Then 47 people in banana suits and morphsuits start twitching. Then a sound effect of a fart layered over a Wilhelm scream. Then Steezy whispers “that’s a spicy meatball” and the video cuts to a clip of a dog slipping on tile floor.
I have no idea who made this. I have no idea why it’s preserved for future historians.
But I’m genuinely grateful.
Link in bio (if it’s still up — you know how Archive.org is a hero and a gamble).
Comment below with your most cursed early internet memory. 👇💾
, the creator and original actor behind the massively popular children's brand The Lost Artifact of the Baauer Era The
. Long before his career in educational kids' media, John performed under the stage name Steezy Grossman , a persona dedicated to "gross-out" and shock comedy. Origin and Content The Persona
: As Steezy Grossman, John created several adult-themed videos, including sketches titled "Turdboy" and "Underwear Man". : Released at the height of the Harlem Shake meme
craze in 2013, the video shows John standing on a toilet and defecating on a naked friend. Viral Resurgence
: While the video was briefly viral in 2013, it gained significant notoriety in early 2019 when BuzzFeed News
and other outlets "unearthed" it, revealing the man behind the beloved children's character had a history of explicit content. Stevin John's Response
Upon the video's rediscovery, Stevin John issued a formal apology through BuzzFeed News , stating:
"Yes, I did make a gross-out comedy video when I was in my early twenties... at the time, I thought this sort of thing was funny, but really it was stupid and tasteless, and I regret having ever done it." Internet Archive and Takedowns
The video has become a notable piece of "lost media" due to aggressive copyright enforcement: Legal Measures : John's legal team has actively used DMCA takedown notices
to remove the video from major platforms like YouTube and Google search results. Internet Archive
: Despite these efforts, artifacts and metadata for the video persist on the Internet Archive
, where it is archived under its original title and creator name, though the actual footage is frequently flagged or "frozen" from public review. or the current status of its
Before he was the global children’s sensation known as Blippi, Stevin John operated under the gross-out comedy persona Steezy Grossman. During the peak of the "Harlem Shake" meme in 2013, he uploaded a video titled "Harlem Shake Poop," which remains one of the most infamous "lost" artifacts of early YouTube history. The "Steezy Grossman" Era
The Content: In 2013, Stevin John attempted to build a career as a "shock comedian". His most notorious contribution was a video where he stood on a toilet and, when the beat dropped, explosively defecated on a naked friend.
The Viral Peak: At the time, the video was hosted on a dedicated site, HarlemShakePoop.com, where John actively encouraged people to share the "visual art piece" with friends and family. The Transformation to Blippi
Rebranding: Following the failure of his shock comedy career, John pivoted to educational children's content, creating the Blippi character in 2014.
The 2019 Unearthing: The video resurfaced in 2019 after a report by BuzzFeed News. In response, John issued a statement expressing deep regret, calling the video "stupid and tasteless". The Digital Cleanup and Archive
I just found out youtube channel Blippi has an alleged dark side Title: Lost Media Unearthed: The Harlem Shake /
The internet is often described as a place where nothing ever truly disappears, a reality that Stevin John—better known today as the beloved children's entertainer Blippi—learned firsthand. Before donning his signature blue and orange bowtie, John operated under the moniker Steezy Grossman, a persona dedicated to "gross-out" comedy that stands in stark contrast to his current preschool-friendly image. The Infamous "Harlem Shake Poop" Video
In 2013, at the height of the "Harlem Shake" viral dance craze, John released a video titled "Harlem Shake Poop". Unlike the thousands of other versions of the meme that involved groups of people dancing wildly after a jump cut, John’s version took an extreme, "hard R-rated" turn.
The Content: The video depicts John, as Steezy Grossman, squatting on a toilet and explosively defecating onto a naked friend who is lying on the floor with his legs in the air.
The Intent: At the time, John viewed himself as a shock comedian, creating low-brow content with titles like "Turdboy" and "Underwear Man".
The Backlash: When the video was unearthed by BuzzFeed News in early 2019, it caused a massive stir among parents who were shocked to learn about the past of the man their children watched daily. Scrubbing the Digital Paper Trail
Following the discovery, Stevin John issued an apology, calling the video "stupid and tasteless" and expressing deep regret for his younger self's actions. He quickly moved to erase the video from the public eye, employing several strategies:
Copyright Takedowns: John utilized DMCA takedown notices to remove the video from YouTube and other social media platforms.
SEO Management: Reports suggest John used his background as an SEO specialist to bury search results related to his former persona, making the video significantly harder to find.
Legal Pressure: Outlets like BuzzFeed and VICE reported receiving cease-and-desist letters from John’s attorneys asserting copyright over the footage. The Role of the Internet Archive
If you want this chronicle adapted into a shorter article, a timeline, or formatted for publication (500–1,000 words), I can prepare that next.
The Internet Archive (archive.org) is often called the "Wayback Machine," but it is more than that. It is the digital Library of Alexandria. Since 1996, it has been saving web pages, software, games, and critically—viral videos that corporate platforms delete or bury.
The search query "Harlem Shake Poop Steezy Grossman" leads directly to a specific collection: The Anonymous Flash Animations and Deleted YouTube Memes, 2012-2014 (User-Uploaded). Inside:
.SWF file (Adobe Flash) named steezy_grossman_harlem_poop_v2.swfHARLEM_SHAKE_POOP_STEEZY_GROSSMAN_NO_DJ.mp4, which features a man in a thrift store leisure suit robotically dancing in a Kmart parking lot while a distorted "Harlem Shake" horn loop plays backwards.Without the Internet Archive, this cultural sediment would be lost to dead hard drives and terminated accounts.
The “Harlem Shake” phenomenon, including its gross-out offshoots, encapsulates a moment when meme formats, platform incentives, and cultural appetite for boundary-pushing combined. Clips tagged with provocative handles like “Grossman” and archived by institutions form a compact record of how humor, disgust, and replication shaped early viral media. As artifacts, they are reminders that digital culture is both creative and messy—worthy of preservation for critique, not celebration.
As ephemeral as viral clips are, preservation efforts emerged. The Internet Archive and similar repositories collected and preserved culturally significant digital artifacts, including meme genres and controversial outliers. Archivists faced choices: what to preserve, how to classify content that mixes historical value with offensive or explicit material, and how to provide context that prevents misinterpretation.
For scholars and future observers, archived iterations of “Harlem Shake — poop steezy Grossman” serve as primary evidence of early-2010s memetic practices: the pursuit of virality through shock, participatory remix culture, and the ways online norms tolerated or resisted gross-out humor. Archives captured not just the videos but metadata: upload dates, tags, creators’ handles, and comment threads that map reception.