Updated Oct 10, 2026
What's new on this page
- — Page published
The short answer
The gas station AI trend is the wave of TikTok, Reels and Shorts remakes of a 2024 road-trip clip: three friends at a roadside gas station, one dancing on the forecourt, one grinning into a selfie, one climbing out of the car. Since late September 2026 people have been making their own versions from photos instead of filming at a real pump. Here you add one, two or three photos, keep Gas Station Dance selected and get the 15-second, three-shot clip with the original song in a few minutes. It costs 10 credits at 720p, and a render that fails is never charged.
What is the gas station trend?
It starts with a real video. In the summer of 2024, Mikhail Litvin and two friends pulled over at a gas station on a road trip and filmed themselves fooling around: an unplanned dance by the pumps, a quick selfie, a dramatic exit from the car. For two years it was a fan favourite. Then AI video templates made it possible to drop any face into those same three shots, and the clip turned into a format.
That is what people mean by the gas station AI trend. Nobody is copying a dance routine; they are recasting a scene everyone already knows. The forecourt, the low sun, the timing and the song stay the same, and the punchline is who is in it: your roommates, your parents, your team at work. The original clip and a second-by-second breakdown of its three shots are on our gas station dance page.
Other names for the same trend
- Gas station trend or gas station meme, the short names on TikTok and Reels.
- Gas station dance AI trend, when people mean the AI remakes rather than the 2024 original.
- Litvin dance, after the influencer in the first clip.
- The «Делай» trend (“do it”), the name it travels under in Russian.
Why it spread so fast
Most trends ask you to learn something: a routine, a transition, a lip-sync. This one asks for nothing. Viewers recognise it within a second, from the empty forecourt and the first flailing arm, so the remake lands before anyone reads the caption. It also has exactly three roles, which suits a group chat better than a solo dance does, and a song people already hum along to. And since the AI versions are made from photos, you can include a friend who lives in another country, or a parent who would never agree to dance by a petrol pump.
How to do the gas station AI trend from a photo
- Decide who is in it. Three friends, two, or just you. The studio takes one, two or three photos.
- Add a clear photo for each person. Face to the camera, good light, ideally showing the whole body or at least the waist up.
- Keep Gas Station Dance selected. It is already chosen on this page.
- Tap Make the effect. In a few minutes the 15-second clip is ready to download as an MP4 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
Who plays which shot
The clip has three parts: the dance, the selfie and the car exit. How many photos you add decides how they are shared out:
| Photos | The dance | The selfie | The car exit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 photos | Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 |
| 2 photos | Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 2 |
| 1 photo | You | You | You |
Casting is half the fun. Give the dance to the friend who would least expect it, the selfie to whoever is always holding the phone, and the car exit to the one who takes themselves a little too seriously.
Posting it
- The song is already on it. Every clip comes with the 15 seconds of Akcent’s “On And On” that the trend uses, so you do not need to pick a sound in the app.
- Vertical and ready. It is a 9:16 MP4, the shape TikTok, Reels and Shorts expect.
- Tag the cast. Half the reach of this trend comes from friends resharing their own cameo.
- Ask before you post. It is their face too; check with everyone in the clip first.
Why 15 seconds and 10 credits
The trend only works at the original’s pace: a dance that takes about six seconds to build, a quick cut to the selfie, then the car door and a close-up. That needs the full 15 seconds. A 15-second Standard clip is 10 credits at 720p, the same as one rap song, or 7 credits at 480p. The smallest pack, the $9.99 Single, holds 12 credits, so it covers one clip. Packs never expire, and a render that fails costs nothing.
Tips for a better gas station clip
- Full-body photos help. The dance and the car exit show the whole body; anything the photo leaves out has to be guessed.
- Your outfit comes from your photo. Pick the picture with the clothes you want to be seen dancing in.
- One face per photo. Group shots and side angles make faces drift between shots.
- No sunglasses or caps pulled low. Hidden features get filled in, and the guess rarely looks like you.
More trends from your photos
Done the forecourt? The same friends can take on Gangnam Style AI, the APT AI video, Alors on danse AI or the Rumpelstiltskin AI meme, each with its original song. For something slower, try the Raindance AI trend or the AI zombie trend, or browse all AI video effects. Want the two of you rapping instead? The studio’s Rap video tab makes a Hotel Lobby AI video.