Images courtesy of Sabrina Bahsoon from Instagram and Yelena Odintsova from Pexels

By Charlie Sawyer

Published Sep 16, 2023 at 09:00 AM

Reading time: 6 minutes

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There’s a girlie with beautiful long hair and zero social anxiety who is single-handedly making the tube a bad bitch zone, and her name is Sabrina Bahsoon—or, as so many of us have come to know her, Tube Girl.

Considering the fact that the London underground is far from being the most hygienic or serene place in the world, it’s beyond impressive that Bahsoon has managed to make it her own personal runway. With over 290,000 followers and 12.3 million likes on TikTok, it’s no understatement to say that Tube Girl has taken over the video-sharing app.

With Nicki Minaj blasting through her AirPods, Bahsoon’s videos feel a lot like the fantasy so many of us girls have had but have never had the courage to go through with. Yes, I too would love to use the wind rushing in through a carriage’s open window as a glamour fan, but not all of us have Bahsoon’s confidence—that’s something that, of course, she’s on a mission to change.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m just bloody dying to get to know the girl who’s somehow managed to romanticise the tube, one video at a time. Luckily, I got the chance to sit down with Bahsoon and talk all things Tube Girl. From her favourite lip combo to the GOAT of all tube lines, stick around, because it was a vibe.

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A post shared by Sabrina Bahsoon (@sabrinabahsoon)

If you’re unfamiliar with Bahsoon (which I can only guess is because you’re boujee enough to take Ubers everywhere and so haven’t come across her yet), let me brief you on who Tube Girl really is.

Bahsoon first started posting comedic skits and sketch videos on TikTok back in 2020. She had been working as a waitress to put herself through university, and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she turned to social media to explore different creative outlets.

Moving forward, she documented mini moments from her time at Durham University and, from the looks of it, the creator always knew she wasn’t particularly thrilled at the idea of corporate life.

“I was always told that I have to do certain things my whole life. So, I studied law. I was a very academic person for a really long time but I was never happy with that and I never saw myself in a corporate role. I just knew with my personality I would not survive there,” Bahsoon explained.

Fast forward to August 2023 and while on the way to meet a friend, Bahsoon decided to make a TikTok on the tube. According to the creator, she initially asked her friend to film her in the carriage, but after he said no, Bahsoon thought ‘I’ll just film myself.’ And she did just that.

People began obsessing over the video practically overnight. Bahsoon’s first tube video was viewed 6.2 million times plus it had over 660,000 likes—talk about a literal viral sensation.

Personally, I don’t think I could ever pluck up the courage to film myself in one of London’s most judgemental places, but not Bahsoon, she didn’t even think twice: “I think it’s realising that people actually don’t care that much. There have been so many times when a person has been fully sleeping and hasn’t shown any signs of movement, they don’t even flinch. And I have some videos where the people in the back are staring but fair enough, I am doing something crazy on the tube.”

The creator continued: “If you’re going to enjoy yourself more doing that, then I shouldn’t stop restricting myself from just having fun or living my true self. And I think that I’ve always wanted to branch out into a more creative industry, I love music and I love fashion. So, in that sense, I thought ‘Okay, if I want to do this for real I have to stop getting in my own way and I have to just put myself out there because you’ve got to be comfortable with being seen if you want to be seen in these places’.”

Just for funsies, I wanted to find out what Tube Girl’s starter pack would be. And don’t worry, we covered all of the essentials.

“Definitely ‘The Way I Are’ by Timbaland, that is the one. I have a compilation of songs that hype me up and it’s being released in a playlist on Friday [15 September] at 6 pm. But that one song, that’s what made me go like ‘yes, I can strut’.”

“I’m a lip liner and lipgloss kinda girl. It’s a tough one because I use my sister’s old lip pencils, so I don’t really have the names of any of them because they’re to the stub. But my favourite is the Mac one that I use which is either in ‘Cork’ or ‘Brick’. I love the Laneige lip balm, I use that as a gloss a lot but the Dior Lip Addict Maximiser, I had a sample of that and I used it once and that was beautiful.”

“Oh, Fenty’s lipglosses are always fire. Even just the way the colour compliments you, especially my skin tone, that’s the hardest thing with gloss. With brown people, it’s hard to match colours in that way, and so I found that Fenty did a really nice brown one.”

“For clothing, I love a good pair of bootcut flared jeans. It makes my bum nice, it makes my legs look long. I also love just normal tank tops. I move around a lot, so just things that I’m comfortable in really.”

“I love Jaded London so much. It’s just like the city girl aesthetic, and also, all of their campaigns are so beautiful, especially with the aesthetic of the hair and the drama and also just the expressiveness of the models. When it comes to makeup brands, I love Mac cosmetics. They’re really good, I use a lot of their base products. Fenty is also a very good makeup brand. I think those two are my go-to brands.”

“I’d be a pornstar martini for real. The passion fruit is just like my vibe or maybe an espresso martini. I’m a very hyper person so espresso martinis are the best thing for me. I’m the friend that is the first to die on a night out so, after a little espresso martini I’m like ‘Okay, I can keep going’. But the pornstar is a bit more fresh and fruity and tropical. I’m from Malaysia, so that’s more my vibe.”

“For filming, the Central line is the GOAT. I love the Central line, the lighting is nice and soft and the wind is elite, it pulls through. For normal commuting, I think the Hammersmith & City line, just because it’s so comfortable.”

“I am tempted to say my celebrity crush. I would love to do it with Ross Lynch because I feel like he will kind of get it, like he will get the moves and I feel he would be a good tube buddy. I think he knows how to groove.”

“I always have my makeup pouch because I’m modelling in London currently. So, I do have my little makeup bag with my lip liner, bronzer, that kind of thing. Water, I always try to stay hydrated. Also perfume, I always carry a little bottle with me—I think smelling nice is super important. And my headphones. I never leave my house without my headphones.”

“I think the biggest advice is that you need to be your biggest cheerleader in life and in everything. If you want to achieve great success, you have to fully believe in yourself. Things started to really change for me when I just was like, ‘Okay, I am this person and I can be this person.’ I started telling myself, I started telling others—knowing your own value is so important. Especially when there are girls who are having fun and living their life and enjoying themselves, so many people are quick to humble them and say ‘This is too vain’ but you need to ignore those voices and be like ‘Yeah, I am that girl. I am a person who is confident and I have a great personality.’ Just knowing the value you have and what you bring into a room when you walk in is so important.”

“I think also, not being a judgmental person is the biggest thing that will stop you from feeling judged by others. If you’re not judging a person who is walking on the street doing their own thing and living their own life, you’re not gonna care about the next person’s opinion. Why would you care about somebody who doesn’t even care about you? I don’t even know you, and I don’t take a second in my life to judge you.”

“You need to constantly repeat to yourself ‘Okay, I am that person, I believe in myself’ because even your loved ones, when you have these big dreams, will doubt you just because they’re your big dreams. I was a very shy person for a lot of my life, up until the last year of my university when I finally found my own voice. I would not have even considered doing this a year ago. But I’m here and people are watching me dance on the tube for fun.”

“When I was younger and people asked me what I wanted to do, I always replied that I wanted to be a rockstar. I love music and being from Malaysia, I was living in a small suburban area. There isn’t a lot of media at all, so I thought ‘I’d love to be a rock star.’ I love anything in film, music and fashion. So, I’m just hoping that I could build up myself to the point where I have the skills to enter those spaces. It’s exciting because I feel like Tube Girl is giving me a lot of opportunities to learn more and figure out what I want to do as well. Obviously, nothing is set in stone, so many things can change and I’m young so I’m still figuring it out, but kind of getting the experience and seeing what I like is what I’m most excited about.”