Tango-Tiger

Being kicked out สมัครสล็อต of a reality TV show might not be something to celebrate, but for one Russian man it was a dream come true - and the latest twist in his unlikely journey to becoming an icon for Chinese slackers.

Vladislav Ivanov - better known by his stage name Lelush - is one of the hottest stars of the Chinese internet at the moment.

Hashtags and memes featuring his sulky, bored face dominate social media, as thousands of youths have embraced the 27-year-old model as the new symbol of "sang wenhua", a youth sub-culture centered on pessimism and apathy.

It all began when he made the worst - but also possibly the best - decision of his life.

Trapped in a TV show
Earlier this year, Lelush was asked to give Chinese lessons to two Japanese contestants in Chuang 2021, a reality TV competition aimed at creating China's next boy band sensation.

The Russian model, who is fluent in the language after living in China for several years, agreed.

But Lelush's good looks did not escape the notice of the show's producers. Days before the show began in early February, they asked him: would he like to join as well?

Figuring he had nothing to lose - in later interviews he said he "felt like trying out a new life" - Lelush said yes.

As one of the show's 90 contestants, he was promptly enrolled in boy band boot camp - hours upon hours of singing and dance classes, with his every move broadcast to the rest of China.

According to reports, contestants could not leave their accommodation on the island of Hainan, and were cut off from the online world. They had no access to computers and even had to hand over their mobile phones.

This was clearly not what Lelush had expected - and he was brutally honest about it.

"I don't want to dance. I'm also not suitable for a boy band too. So I'm really very tired. I want to go home this month," he bluntly stated in one interview.

But there was not much of a way out - the contract contestants had signed reportedly carried a hefty fine if they decided to leave. The only way they could escape was if they got voted out.