Karachi: The dude with Sign is not one individual anymore. It’s a concept that goes borderless. It started with an individual named Seth Phillips taking to the streets of New York City’s SoHo neighbourhood to hold a cardboard sign transcribed with a simple protest: “Stop replying-all to company-wide emails.” It was relatable, quirky, out of the ordinary, and all in good fun. The image was shared on social media and after seeing traction online, the need to create a separate Instagram account for these signboard protests became clear. Within four months, the account grew to reach more than 4 million followers, its rise to fame attributed to documenting relatable and funny everyday life happenstances that the masses can relate to.
Fast forward to today, Pakistan has its very own Dude with Sign aka Hamzah Tariq, who has taken inspiration from the OG, but embellished the concept with brown struggles, incorporating all the socially and culturally relevant protests for the Pakistani common joe. These relatable placards are often quirky and mock the banalities of our day to day struggles or sometimes even highlight some important conversations that have sparked up in our society. BOLD couldn’t resist talking to the man behind the sign and what his mission is that manifests through simple lines markered across a board display: “Everybody has a voice inside and that comes up to speak for what they think is right and stand for what they believe is wrong. This was my way of doing it.”
The origin story for the Pakistani Dude with Sign is quite similar to the original, which started as casual humour based content for social media: “Initially it started off as a joke and something I wanted to do for fun. I think my first protest sign said something along the lines of ‘stop plagiarising content’ which again is pretty ironic. Then my posts started picking up traction and I realised that people were actually seconding my thoughts.”
Speaking on his motivations to start the page that has now garnered around 34 thousand followers, Hamzah mentions how it serves as an outlet to voice out topics and ideas that matter to him: “It’s very rare to hear actors say what they truly want to say. They are usually reading off a script or delivering someone else’s dialogue. If they do it very well then they can get the emotion across, but still stands to say that the words are coming from their mind. I found that there was a voice inside of me that needed to get out there. Ironically enough, Dude with Sign doesn’t even speak at all. He just holds signs up.”
In regard to differentiating himself with the already established New York sign aficionado, Hamzah highlights how his content is so culturally specific that it just stands out on its own and makes it even more relatable for brown audiences: “The original Dude with Sign does all things western, but our own culture is so rich with references and memes, for example, the stuff you read behind trucks and rickshaws, so I was like why not? I’ll stop once I have run out of content. And to this day, that still hasn’t happened and I don’t think it is going to happen anytime soon!”
Since the account has gotten so huge and has attracted several collaborations and brand deals, Hamzah has set up a helpful bunch of people to help him navigate the sign world: “Now, I have a team of friends well-versed in the intended aesthetic for Dude with Sign and we just keep coming up with content. Brands began approaching me and I started making quite a lot that covered my bills and expenses. It was also time I give back hence I started partnering with startups, charities and NGOs and promoting them through my large platform.”
Looking towards inculcating activism and change, Hamzah aims to use the concept of Dude with Sign and his platform as a positive push bustling with purpose: “I try to give back to the community with any chance that I get and be the voice of people that feel like they haven’t been heard. From the smallest things like people telling me to promote their profiles to some bigger ones like some folks asking me to help raise funds. My platform allows me to cater to everybody and I find that empowering and humbling at the same time, where a person like me who’s real and flawed is being looked up to and used as a resource for help. That feeling is immensely gratifying and I don’t intend to stop my efforts anytime soon. My team and I are constantly working on improving this idea Dude with Sign and to taking this activist persona to the next level.”
