A popular motorcyclist in Japan turned out to be a 50-year-old man using FaceApp

A beautiful woman went viral on social media for her passion for motorcycles. Soya no Sohi would upload photos walking through different places in Japan, which she would visit with her extensive collection of Yamaha motorcycles. However, in mid-March, the motorcycle ‘influencer’ made a revelation where the FaceApp application is the protagonist.

At the end of 2019, FaceApp became popular on the internet, an application that changed the appearance of its users. Among the options to choose were: woman, man, elderly and child.

However, like everything in social networks, the craze of the application fell and people forgot about its existence. Perhaps this largely influenced no one to realize that Soya no Sohi was actually a 50-year-old man.

HOW WAS SOYA BORN?

Yasuo Nakajima revealed his true identity on his Twitter account. Unsurprisingly, his reveal sparked debate in Japan, which is why he was invited to a variety show where he revealed all about his other self.

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In the first place, Yasuo stated that he created Soya with FaceApp in order to gain relevance with his publications. According to the ‘influencer’, nobody wants to read what a middle-aged man publishes.

From this idea, he created a character who brings in a secret to the table: social networks are not a reflection of who we are, but rather a performance of what we want to be.

And it is that the ‘universe’ that Yasuo Nakajima created with FaceApp is far from its reality. The only thing in common between him and his alter ego is their taste for exercise and motorcycling.

Soya no Sohi is a woman no older than 30 years old, always cheerful and a fan of social media. In contrast, Yasuo Nakajima is a reserved man in his 50s with a passion for motorcycles since he was 19. A divorced father of three who lives alone in Ibaraki.

“When you’re young, you tend to be scolded or criticized by older people who say you should do this or you should do that. But at this age, there’s no one around to really scold me,” said the‘ influencer ’in an interview with The Washington Post. “I’m having the best time of my life.”

Despite being labeled by various media outlets as a ‘scammer’, Soya no Sohi’s community of followers on social media grew. Former fans unconditionally supported Yasuo and stated that they did not care about his gender.

“They said, ‘It’s okay. It doesn’t really matter what gender you are,’ ” Nakajima said. “ ‘We just support you because we like your tweets, because you’re interesting.’ ”

A STORY THAT GOES BEYOND FACEAPP AND IDENTITY ON THE INTERNET

After revealing his identity, Yasuo Nakajima continued to use Soya’s face on social media. Its contents have not actually changed.

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Still, the subject’s life did change. For example, his relationship with his children improved as a result of his dual identity on social media. One of his biggest fears when revealing that Soya was a FaceApp creation was the fear that society would attack his children.

His son said that he feels «pride» in the cultural phenomenon that his father has unleashed; For her part, one of his daughters said that what was important to her was that her father «was having fun.»

It may be a reprehensible act for many to use FaceApp to succeed on social networks. Undoubtedly, the phenomenon that Yasuo Nakajima created brings to the table a debate about internet spoofing and how shallow these platforms can become.

On this, Yasuo Nakajima says that what he did is no different than the filters that people use to change their face. The motorcyclist considers that for several years, users of social media have been doing what he did. «It’s what we all do,» he says.

“Their feeling is: ‘The ideas are mine. The voice is mine. The content is mine. I’m just looking for you to receive it without all the assumptions and baggage that comes with it.’ That’s the essence of a person’s identity. That’s who they really are.”, ”said his daughter.