Arthur

The Hawk Tuah girl was the internet's favorite meme star.

Everyone was saying we finally made the right girl famous.

But then she scammed crypto investors out of $490,000,000.

Here's how Hailey Welch blew her viral moment...

(and how you can avoid her mistake)🧵 

June 11, 2024: Hailey Welch was in Nashville.

Two guys with a camera approached her outside a bar and asked, "What's one move in bed that makes a man go crazy?"

Her unfiltered response? That infamous "hawk tuah" phrase.

Two seconds that would completely rewrite her future... 

The clip exploded across the internet.

It got 50 million views in one week.

Celebrities, news outlets, and talk shows were mimicking her phrase.

Her Instagram went from 2,000 to 2.5 million followers in two weeks.

But her first reaction revealed something nobody expected...

She hid from the spotlight, overwhelmed by sudden attention.

But she noticed strangers were cashing in on HER viral moment.

If they were profiting from her fame, why shouldn't she?

That's when everything shifted dramatically. 

She quit her factory job on June 27 and partnered with Fathead Threads for official merch.

She sold 2,000+ hats, earning $65,000+ in just weeks.

By July, the Penthouse management team had signed her.

And the opportunities were just beginning to flood in... 

The NY Mets invited her to throw the first pitch.

Jake Paul's media company launched her podcast: "Talk Tuah."

It shot to #1 on iTunes its first week. She made $100,000+ monthly from sponsorships.

Her face appeared on everything from billboards to energy drinks.

Then came the decision that would destroy everything overnight.

December 4: She launched $HAWK coin on Solana.

The pitch seemed perfect—let fans share in her success.

It hit a staggering $490 million market cap.

She watched in disbelief as she became a (theoretical) millionaire.

But the crypto dream became her worst nightmare... 

The price crashed 93% in hours.

One wallet purchased 17.5% of all coins and sold them for a $1.3M profit.

Investors lost everything. Some dropped their life savings of $40K+.

She desperately denied involvement, but people were outraged.

What happened next broke her completely.

December 20: a class action lawsuit is filed against her crypto venture.

The SEC launched a formal investigation.

She vanished from social media for weeks as death threats poured in.

When she finally spoke on an X Space, angry investors shouted her down. 

The mental toll crushed her.

She went from unknown factory worker to celebrity to "crypto scammer" in six months flat.

She never imagined her defining moment would become a financial disaster.

But the story wasn't over yet...

March 2025: SEC closed the investigation without charges.

She was legally cleared but publicly condemned.

Her social media engagement plummeted. The phrase that made her famous now triggered vicious harassment.

Yet beneath the ruins, something unexpected is happening... 

She's planning a comeback.

She's now creating "DocTuah," a documentary about her experience.

Not to reclaim fame, but to warn others of its dangers.

She's also relaunching her podcast. But will she have an audience? 

Probably not. For creators, her story offers critical warnings:

• Viral fame is fleeting—build sustainable systems
• Vet EVERY business partner like your life depends on it
• Never rush into deals you don't fully understand
• Build a small, trusted team before expanding

The wrong foundations collapse under success.

I've watched Hailey's story play out while simultaneously helping creators build lasting careers.

Instead of riding viral waves, successful creators build attention systems.

Chasing viral fame is playing the lottery. Building a personal brand is investing.

Hailey learned this through catastrophe. I help creators learn it through strategy.

The most successful creators master these three key areas: 

1. They build genuine audience connections by prioritizing trust over trends.

2. They create professional monetization systems using high-converting bio links that transform followers into paying supporters.

3. They protect their reputation by vetting partners ruthlessly.

If Hailey is going to rebuild her reputation, then she needs to follow this system.

She can start by optimizing her link-in-bio on her IG.

She has a link to an article about her documentary as the main link and a secondary link to her fanfix.

What should she have instead? 

An optimized landing page that links to her:

• Podcast on YouTube
• Merch store
• Fanfix
• Sponsorship booking page

A platform like GetAllMyLinks would be perfect. 

We use deeplink technology, which opens your link outside of IG's native browser.

This fixes leaks in your funnel and increases conversions.

Are you building something that lasts in today's attention economy?

GetAllMyLinks is the tool Hailey needed but never had.

We've already helped 100,000+ creators build sustainable businesses.

Don't be the next cautionary tale. Be the next success story instead.

Sign up for free at the link in my bio.

Video credits (YouTube):
• Hawk Tuah Girl Original Video
Images:
• Why the ' Hawk Tuah ' Girl Became a Sensation | by Matthew Thomas | Medium
• Hailey Welch Memecoin 'Pump And Dump' Sends Investors Broke, Could Face Charges

My name is Arthur and I love to talk about:

• Personal branding
• The creator economy
• The mindset it takes to succeed in business and life

Repost this and give me a follow @ArthurEvo1