Popular Female Biker In Japan Revealed To Be 50-Year-Old Uncle Using FaceApp
"I want to share pictures of myself riding a motorcycle, but no one wants to see an uncle," he said.
By May Vin Ang — 18 Mar 2021, 04:54 PM
The Internet is stunned after a young Japanese female biker with a large following on Twitter turned out to be a 50-year-old man behind the screen
Twitter user @azusagayuki is to many of her 18,000 followers a young Japanese motorcycle enthusiast who enjoys posting cute selfies and taking her Yamaha motorcycle out for a ride.
While followers never questioned the biker's Twitter account, some eagle-eyed netizens sensed something amiss in a recent photo she posted
In a photo she took of her motorcycle on 11 February, some fans realised there was a reflection of a middle-aged man in the rearview mirror.
Intrigued by the discovery, a Japanese variety show tracked the Hokkaido biker down to uncover the truth
Airing on the Monday Late Show on 15 March, the crew and hosts were all amazed to see that when the biker took off her helmet, it was revealed that 'she' is actually a 50-year-old man with the same blonde shoulder-length hair as the girl in the photos.
Introducing himself as Souya, he shared that all he does to look like a woman in her twenties is use a face-changing app on his phone
When the talk show hosts asked why he does it, Souya said he just enjoys looking "kawaii" (cute).
"I want to share pictures of myself riding a motorcycle, but no one wants to see an uncle," he said.
Souya explained when he initially opened the account in January 2019 to post about his motorcycle adventures, he did not attract many followers.
But after posting a a picture of himself as a woman he made on FaceApp for fun, he quickly gained 1,000 followers and decided since to continue posting with his online female persona.
While some were upset knowing they were 'catfished' by Souya, most of his fans were accepting of the news
"This sounds like a new kind of VTuber (virtual avatar) and it's interesting! I want you to continue even though you got caught. I support you!" said a Twitter user.
"Miraculous Souya-san," tweeted another in support.
Meanwhile, another netizen said, "I watched this on the Monday Late Show and when I learnt he was a man, I was most surprised that his hair was real!"
