Earlier this month, Instagram unveiled Rings, its own version of YouTube’s creator plaques.
Well, sort of.
In YouTube’s version, every creator who reaches certain subscriber milestones (one million, 10 million, 100 million, etc) is given a plaque. But Instagram’s approach is different. Instead of going pure quantitative, it’s qualitative–and limited. Only 25 creators at a time are awarded Rings. As for who does the awarding, it’s a panel of career creatives and executives from various industries. Each judge shortlists their own selection of creators, and then the panel as a whole votes on who should be given Rings.
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The first Rings judges’ panel included jewelry designer Grace Wales Bonner, who made the IRL golden ring each winner will receive, along with folks like iconic filmmaker Spike Lee, fashion mogul Marc Jacobs, artist KAWS, tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, journalist Eva Chen, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Those judges have already finalized the inaugural wave of Rings winners–and they’re not exactly what we were expecting. We’re used to YouTube’s plaques being awarded to rising star and/or career digital video makers–people whose primary designation is YouTuber.
However, Instagram’s first Rings winners are, in large part, people who’ve made their names in careers outside of digital content creation. There are athletes, actors, singers, comedians, and traditional artists like photographers and illustrators, some of whom built their careers before Instagram was even a thing. Now, don’t get us wrong: these people all maintain sizable Instagram accounts, and clearly have found success documenting what they do on social media. But we wouldn’t describe most of them as Instagrammers.
In any case, each of these people will receive, as we mentioned, an IRL ring, along with a digital golden ring around their Instagram profile image that will show up on their bios and in their Stories.
It’s not clear how often Instagram will give out these awards, but for now, we have a 25-account-strong cohort of people who are officially considered ‘golden.’
Here they are:
- MIKA NINAGAWA
- 1M followers
- Photographer and film director who was a prominent player in Japan’s 1990s “Girly Photo” art style
- FUTURA
- 397K followers
- Graffiti artist, illustrator, designer, clothing designer with his own brand Futura Laboratories
- GABRIEL MOSES
- 250K followers
- South London photographer known for Baroque photography with human figures + geometric settings, went to work for Nike at age 18
- AKI AND KOICHI
- 1.2M followers
- retired Japanese couple living in SoCal and showing off their extensive collection of high fashion
- MOHAMMED AND HUMAID HADBAN
- 1M followers
- Fashion-loving twins from the UAE, spotlighted in Forbes Middle East‘s 30 Under 30
- MIMI CHOI
- 2.1M followers
- Vancouver-based makeup artist focused on surreal optical illusions
- GOLLORIA
- 1M followers
- Beauty influencer focused on increasingly inclusivity in the cosmetics world
- THALITA AND GABRIELA ZUKERAM
- 109K followers
- Brazilian sisters who blended their love of graphic design and filmmaking into highly stylized digital content; now produce ads for big brands
- DOLLY SINGH
- 1.6M followers
- Indian actress, writer, and digital creator who got her start on Vine and now runs her studio @dollywoodfilums
- ELYSE MYERS
- 3.9M followers
- Lifestyle creator/comedian/musician who went viral with a bad-date story on TikTok in 2021 and now shares funny and emotionally open snippets across social media
- ZARNA GARG
- 1.6M followers
- Indian American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and NYT bestselling author (though recently criticized for participating in Saudi Arabia’s controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival)
- KATIE KREJCI
- 615K followers
- Minnesota-based homesteader and dietician who encourages followers to “opt out of the ‘modern’ way of life”
- TYSHAWN JONES
- 738K followers
- New York City-based pro skateboarder and two-time Skateboarder of the Year winner
- NIGEL SYLVESTER
- 626K followers
- American pro BMX biker and maker of related digital content like GO, a first-person POV series with footage of his tricks
- CHRIS BRICKLEY
- 3.9M followers
- NBA skills coach who’s worked with clients like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Joel Embiid, also a fashion + sneaker designer
- ASHLEY GORDON
- 745K followers
- England-based street performer DJ named Time Out‘s Londoner of the Year 2024
- LAUFEY
- 7.5M followers
- Grammy Award-winning Icelandic singer/songwriter
- ARI MILLER
- 2.7M followers
- aka singer/songwriter/musician/livestreamer ARIatHOME, who broadcasts himself writing and performing songs on the fly, often on the street
- SEBASTIAN JERN
- 1.1M followers
- Swedish creative director and visual artist who’s worked with major companies like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard
- COLE BENNETT
- 3.6M followers
- American music video director, record exec, and founder of multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade
- BRIAN LINDO
- 518K followers
- aka BrianCantStopEating, the foodie enthusiast whose content focuses on the “joy of working with restaurants to highlight their cuisines and share their stories”
- LINDA LOMELINO
- 749K followers
- Swedish food styler, photographer, blogger, and cookbook author
- LIFEONFILM
- 1.5M followers
- Photography/storytelling project run by three creators–Grant Weintrob, Christian Baiocco, and Griffin Katz–that documents strangers’ lives from around the world
- OLIVIA DEAN
- 1.8M followers
- English singer/songwriter named breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music in 2021 and BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year in 2023
- ADRIAN PER
- 788K followers
- San Francisco-based self-described “director, photographer, DJ, all around multi-disciplinary creative and production company co-owner” who says he makes “Content to help you make better content”
