‘Cave diver’ memes are going viral on TikTok, taking over people’s For You Pages. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
TikTok is no stranger to quirky trends, and one of the latest to go viral in 2025 is the hilarious ‘cave diver’ meme. This popular trend features skits and image macros that mock the perceived absurdity of cave divers.
In these videos, they’re often portrayed as daredevils willing to squeeze into impossibly tiny spaces, despite the dangerous nature of their hobby.
Origin of ‘cave diver’ TikTok trend
The origins of these memes trace back to discussions around the infamous Nutty Putty Cave Incident in 2009, where John Edwards Jones died after becoming trapped in a Utah cave. A viral tweet in 2023 featuring a photo related to the incident sparked initial interest and conversation.
Over time, creators began to repurpose the dark backstory, turning it into a humorous commentary on the extreme lengths some cave divers go to. By early 2025, the trend had fully blossomed on TikTok.
A standout example came on February 8, when TikToker bigmoneyjaytee posted a skit titled “Cave divers for no reason.” In the video, he measures a crack beneath his fridge, before revealing a pair of shoes protruding from the gap. This post amassed over 1.4 million likes.
On February 10, another TikTok user, sharvq, joined in with a video captioned “Cave divers after finding literally 1 inch of crawl space.”
His clip, set to an instrumental of the Xaviersobased song ‘Vibrator,’ garnered over 1.5 million likes and cemented the sound as the trend’s signature audio.
Similarly, content creator igotstinkyfeet posted a clip showing himself examining his sink before cutting to two shoes peeking out, implying he’s inside the drain. The video received over 2.5 million views.
This meme taps into the mindset of extreme cave divers by imagining what goes through their head when they see a crevice that could be fatal. It jokingly implies that no gap is too small for a cave diver to squeeze through.
The trend showcases TikTok’s knack for turning serious subjects into light-hearted, viral content that keeps viewers entertained and eager to share.
It’s just one of the many trends gaining traction on TikTok, alongside the hilarious ’emergency contact’ craze and the ‘brain rot words list’ challenge.