A staple of the ‘80s and ‘90’s has circled its way back into popularity thanks to social media influencers.

TikTok saw over a 600% increase in searches for “hacky sack” between April 29 and May 5, according to Good Housekeeping, and the searches have only continued to go up. In the last week, TikTok’s Creator Search Insights reports that there were over 2 million searches for “What is hacky sack.”

“I discovered it this year when I saw it on Instagram and decided to try it out,” freshman Caleb Lessmann said. “I saw the clips and thought it looked cool, and I saw all my friends doing it.”

 As videos of advanced tricks and group circles spread online, the game started to seep into classrooms, practices and hallways.

“I noticed it [students playing hacky sack] probably about two weeks ago in my eighth-hour PE class, after the students changed out, they were waiting for the bell to ring,” physical education teacher Hope Skrobecki said. “They asked me if they could play Hacky Sack, and I said yes. And ever since that day, more and more students have brought hacky sacks to school.”

 Hacky sack is a game involving a small round beanbag (hacky sack) filled with a dense material such as sand, plastic pellets, or metal beads. Players stand in a circle and attempt to keep the bag in the air by using their feet and bodies.

“I enjoy hacky sack because of how fun it is, and there’s a multitude of tricks you can do,” freshman Wes Turner said. “Some things that make it fun are the togetherness; it really helps you get to know people.”

Due to its popularity, there have been supply and demand issues, with many retailers struggling to keep them in stock. As of today, both Scheels and Target are completely sold out, and Amazon delivery dates for original hacky sacks, even for Prime members, are backed up, showing delivery dates between May 27 and Aug. 3. 

“We have had in-stock issues, because we are selling so many more than we have before, Omaha Scheels leisure activity department employee Randy said. “Typically, [when we get them in stock, we sell out] that day or the next day.”

Lincoln stores are also having issues keeping them in stock.

“It’s exponentially bigger, it’s probably three times more than what we sell a month,” a Lincoln Scheels employee said. “They are very difficult to keep in stock.”

To get around the lack of inventory, many have turned to social media for DIYs on how to make their own. Over 2.5 million people have searched “hackysack homemade” on TikTok between May 10 and 16.

“I have went to many stores to get a sack, and they are always sold out,” Elkhorn South freshman Ethan Hintz said. 

Griffin sports teams have also been in on the trend, as players have made it a pregame ritual. 

“I found a love for the game again as the baseball team decided to bust it out pre-game,” freshman Wes Turner said. “It really brought the team together and kept us loose.”

It’s not just Gretna East teams who have picked up the game. A group of baseball players from Marshwood High School in South Berwick, Maine, posted a reel of an intense run they had to their Instagram account, @mwoodsackzz, on May 2. Since then, it’s gone viral, having garnered over 347 thousand views and over 61.8 thousand shares. But their video has been seen by many more eyes than that. 

House of Highlights, a popular sports YouTube channel, reposted the reel to their channel, titling it “WHAT A RUN” on May 14, and in the six days since, it has had 665,045 views. 

“I think there is a rise in popularity because of the fact that it has had an incredible social media push, and people just love it when you get a rally going,” Turner said. 

Skrobecki, who played volleyball for Midland University from 2019 to 2023, says part of the fun of the game comes from its challenge.

“Hacky Sack is hard,” Skrobecki said. “It was kind of a fun thing that my volleyball team would actually do before we played games. I personally am not very good at it, so it was always funny when people kind of mess up or do something really good out of it.