In 2026, virality isn’t just about clout or fleeting social currency. It serves as a launchpad to build a life around what you love. In this series, we examine creators whose 15 seconds of fame pushed them towards a different path.
When everything is content, virality is anything but assured. For the many hopefuls on the internet, it’s a numbers game; you post consistently, and you’re bound to get noticed. But the algorithm is not kind; you might as well be throwing darts in the dark. Sometimes, you film the right thing, post at the right time, exist at the right moment and bullseye—the notifications just keep coming.
People work towards that promise almost blindly, but virality isn’t the goal; it’s just a means to an end. 22-year-old Urmila Pabale (@ursk8kid) from Navi Mumbai didn’t set out to become a content creator. She found skateboarding at 17 and, as she puts it, it “matched her freak.” She was instantly hooked to the routine of falling, getting back up and being out on the streets all day. Often the only girl at the skatepark, she kept going anyway. She started posting videos of herself skating, and those began to do well. She had people’s attention, perhaps the most valuable commodity online. Naturally, brand deals followed.
One of those brands asked her to wear a sari and skate. It’s not difficult to see why it caught on. The sari is feminine, graceful, elegant, traditional. And then you throw a skateboard into the mix. Skateboarding is chill, modern, street; it’s the epitome of cool in every coming-of-age film. It’s pretty much the last thing you’d associate with a sari, if not just for the impracticality of it. But that’s exactly why it worked. The video got picked up by Instagram’s official account (which, somewhat incomprehensibly, has over 700 million followers), and from there, it spiralled.
Pabale’s reach grew quickly. More visibility meant more brand deals, which meant more money to actually support her sport. “Coming from a lower-middle-class family background, my mom couldn’t really afford my sports or my dreams,” she says. “So I had to do it on my own.” It also opened up the world. She spent six months training in Spain, skating across cities, meeting other people along the way. “Anywhere I meet skaters, it’s so easy to get along,” she says. The community is instant and without boundaries. “I love the fact that I am inspiring a lot of young girls,” she adds. “They text me asking how I do this, saying they want to do it too. And I know exactly how that feels.”
