TikTok and YouTube prankster Anatoly uses his modest stature and incredible strength to humble his victims.

Feigning ignorance or weakness, Anatoly seems incapable of lifting the same weights as others in his videos.

Anatoly's victims often laugh at his pranks out of embarrassment, and we fans may laugh in sympathy.

Anyone who spends untold hours surfing the Web for humorous content will eventually find the work of one Vladimir Shmondenko, a prankster who goes by the name Anatoly. He’s developed a faithful following, and, as far as I can tell, makes a comfortable living entirely from his TikTok and YouTube videos. For those of us fascinated by laughter and the humor used to solicit it, a careful look at his work can be quite instructive.

The 4 types of laughter

As most of my readers already know, the mutual vulnerability theory—the explanation for laughter that I rely on in this blog series—recognizes four “types” of laughter. These reflect the four different motivations we might have for reminding others that they and we both possess vulnerabilities.

When someone else’s shortcoming is highlighted in a way that lowers their status, sympathetically affirming that we share similar vulnerabilities can lift their spirits. This “lifting laughter" is common among friends and family, and even with strangers. Similarly, when we ourselves fall short of expectations, “self-lifting laughter” reminds others of their limitations and helps restore our status. This is common after we embarrass ourselves, especially when among those we believe will be understanding. When our status is inflated to the point of discomfort, for example, when we are overly praised or attain some advantage due to luck, we can use “self-lowering laughter” to communicate that we are no better than anyone else. It conveys modesty and humility that can serve to preempt others from thinking of us as arrogant.

'Lowering laughter' in Anatoly's pranks

What first attracted me to Anatoly’s content was the presence of what I have come to refer to as “lowering laughter.” This is the sort that helps keep in check others who, for whatever reason, think their status is higher than we believe it to be—the conceited, self-important, egotistical people who need to be reminded that they, too, have vulnerabilities just like we do.

When they exhibit a loss in status, we use lowering laughter to do the job. It’s sometimes referred to as derisively “laughing at” someone, rather than compassionately “laughing with” them. This lowering form is relatively rare in online content when compared to lifting- and self-lifting laughter.

What is nice about Anatoly’s work is that the lowering laughter he typically inspires from his victims is not like the more intense forms commonly associated with bullies. It is not mean-spirited and degrading, but rather something gentler, aimed at those who are behaving a bit overconfident or pretentious. See my earlier post for a more thorough explanation.

How Anatoly's pranks work

Anatoly’s pranks are typically initiated in one of several ways and follow a general pattern. He always wears clothing that hides his muscular build. He pretends to be a trainer offering unsolicited advice, an over-confident novice, a know-it-all passerby, or (most often) a cleaner at the gym. Then, often by getting his unsuspecting victims to insist he lift the heavy weights they are using, he cleverly turns the tables. How? By lifting roughly three times the amount of weight anyone would expect, simply by looking at him. Let’s analyze a sample of his work.

In the first example, Anatoly approaches two gym patrons and asks them if he can do a “warm-up” with them. They understandably assume he’s kidding. They laugh (what I would characterize as a relatively mild lowering laugh), thinking, “There’s no way he can lift the weight they are using; he must be confused.” Next, Anatoly says he wants to lift even more than what they have on the bar. This brings about a more potent lowering laugh meant to counter his inflated ego. Anatoly then hands his mop to the one laughing hardest, a custom prop that weighs 70 lbs (32kg). Suddenly, the look of self-satisfaction and superiority disappears from his victim’s face. A few moments later, we see Anatoly effortlessly lift the massive weight as his targets look on in disbelief. They assumed theirs was a higher status (vis-à-vis weightlifting) based solely on Anatoly’s outward appearance, and now it is their loss of status that we, the audience, respond to with our laughter. What form? Maybe a little lowering, because they judged him, but mostly (I would wager) lifting. After all, they were not bullying him. They were duped. Their embarrassment was brought about by design, and context matters. In many instances, his targets are simply trying to protect Anatoly from hurting himself. That’s a motive with which viewers can sympathize.

Of course, this outcome is not repeated in all of Anatoly’s videos. Some victims are irritated, others confused, and many respond only with smiles, which can signal low-level amusement. But it happens enough to require an explanation.

Below are a few more links to check out. In the first three, Anatoly cleverly gets them to express lowering laughter before later generating self-lifting laughter after their misgivings are revealed. Their faulty assumptions about his abilities expose the same pridefulness they initially attributed to Anatoly, and they acknowledge this by affirming their own vulnerability. This is exactly the kind of self-awareness and humility we as viewers find appealing, and we convey our lifting laughter in support. Then, too, for those of us with a special appreciation for just how brilliantly Anatoly executes his pranks, a little self-lifting laughter of our own may be added to the mix. Enjoy.

Mild lowering laughter, then self-lifting laughs and smiles:

No lowering laughter; mostly surprised self-lifting laughter and a smile:

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