KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The local social media scene has recently been abuzz with videos of siput sedut races, or sea snail races, capturing widespread attention and engagement — particularly on TikTok.

In Malaysia, sea snails are usually made into a dish known as masak lemak cili api that involves cooking the snails with aromatic spices, herbs, and coconut milk, creating a flavourful, spicy and savoury experience.

But for Langkawi tour guide Muhammad Aswat Azdha Idris, 29, he has struck gold on TikTok with his sea snail races dubbed "Olymput”, a merge of the words "Olympic” and "siput”.

The race surged in popularity, amassing millions of likes and turning his live sessions into a daily spectacle of fun and community engagement.

But how did it start?

According to The Star’s LifestyleTech, while sitting with his mother at a shop, Muhammad Aswat was offered sea snails by a vendor selling green mussels.

"He had a bag of green mussels weighing 3kg and wanted to sell it to us for RM20. My mum said to just take it. Then he threw in another bag of sea snails (siput sedut) for free,” he was quoted as saying.

After that, Muhammad Aswat received a comment while hosting a TikTok live session with only 10 viewers, warning him to keep an eye on the sea snails that might escape from their bag.

"I picked up the runaway sea snail and put it on the table. Then I placed another one and just left them there with the camera running. Then I noticed my views went up to about 50 viewers,” he said.

Muhammad Aswat later set up a race for the snails while his mother, Che Bunga Abdul Latif, 63, provided a pot lid as a makeshift racetrack.

To his astonishment, the live stream rapidly gained popularity, drawing over 2,000 viewers, and he continued the race for two hours.

On August 25, Muhammad Aswat reported that over 12,000 people watched the latest sea snail race, and the session garnered over 1.3 million likes.

But why is it so popular?

The sea snail race evokes a sense of familiarity with viewers who watched Turbo, an animated film released in 2013 by DreamWorks Animation.

The movie follows a garden snail named Turbo who gains incredible speed after an accident involving a nitrous oxide leak.

With his newfound ability, he dreams of winning the Indianapolis 500 and strives to prove that anyone can achieve greatness with determination and a bit of luck.

The race also commenced right after the recently ended Paris Olympics 2024 and this year’s Malaysian Games (Sukma).

In his live sessions, Muhammad Aswat delighted viewers with a collection of tiny Malaysian state flags, each complemented by a sea snail embodying the spirit of the state.

This helps boost a sense of state pride among viewers.

Muhammad Aswat adds to the excitement by commenting on the race with updates like, "Sabah is currently leading, followed by Sarawak,” and "Where’s Johor? Johor is falling behind.”

He then encourages viewers to cheer on their states by typing motivating comments like "Go Sabah” or "Go Kelantan” to rally support for the racing sea snails.

Not only that, Muhammad Aswat said his viewers also played a crucial role in making the live session a success.

"Throughout the session, they added humorous comments like calling the race ‘Olymput’ and ‘Sukma Siput’. They cheered for their favourite racer and accused other racers of ‘cheating’, calling for an official investigation.

"I also think they like how I said the sea snail participants represented some states in Malaysia, so they have their favourites to win,” he said.

Many viewers who tuned in his live session would make funny TikTok videos of the race’s results, which made Muhammad Aswat’s sea snail race gain more attention.

Recently, local food business Pak Mat Western Cafe, who’s known for jumping on the latest trends, called in Muhammad Aswat to one of its restaurants to organise a sea snail race in front of its customers.