‘I didn’t become a CEO…’: The viral story of LA’s viral ‘Chai Guy’ from Bihar

The journey of Prabhakar Prasad — now known online as the viral “Chai Guy” — is a story of hardship, migration and reinvention that spans from a small town in Bihar to the streets of Los Angeles.

In a recent conversation with Humans of Bombay, Prasad reflected on the difficult path that led him to leave a corporate career in the United States and start a modest chai business that has since captured widespread attention on social media.

Prasad was born in Barh, a small town near the Ganga in Bihar, where his childhood was marked by financial hardship. He recalled winters when the family did not have blankets, forcing them to sleep under sacks of rice and lentils to stay warm. Despite the challenges, education was central to family life.

He attended a Hindi-medium school and said he performed well academically while also participating actively in cricket, singing and other school activities.

A sudden incident, however, forced the family to uproot their lives.

Prasad said someone once tried to kidnap his brother after mistaking him for someone else, prompting the family to leave Bihar overnight and relocate to Bhopal. The move brought its own struggles. Transitioning from a Bihar board school to an English-medium CBSE school proved particularly difficult.

He said he struggled with the language and was often mocked for his accent. Determined to catch up, he worked hard to improve and eventually cleared the screening exam for the Indian Institutes of Technology.

After completing his degree, Prasad landed his first job in 2008. But he said the corporate tech world never truly excited him. Instead, he found himself increasingly drawn to fitness and bodybuilding.

That interest eventually took him to Mumbai, where he tried to build a career in modelling. The reality, he said, was far from glamorous. He lived in cramped apartments, spent long hours standing in audition lines and often dealt with irregular work.

After a few years of uncertainty, Prasad decided to move to the United States, where his girlfriend was living at the time. His visa was rejected twice before he finally managed to reach Texas around 2014 to pursue an MBA.

Life in the US, however, was far from stable.

Prasad said he worked several corporate jobs but was fired more than once. He also went through a painful breakup and battled serious health issues, leaving him questioning his direction in life.

The turning point, he said, came when he asked himself what had remained constant through every phase of his life.

The answer was chai.

Whether in India or abroad, during good times or difficult ones, he said he always made his own tea. The simple ritual reminded him of home.

With limited savings, he eventually decided to turn that habit into a livelihood.

Earlier this year, Prasad’s story went viral after he was spotted selling cups of tea for $8 in Los Angeles following layoffs in the tech sector in February 2025. What began as a small attempt to rebuild his life soon attracted attention online, with many drawn to the contrast between his corporate background and his new venture.

Starting the business was far from easy. Prasad said he often woke up at 3 am to prepare, handled paperwork himself and learned the basics of running a food business from scratch.

For him, however, the shift marked more than just a career change.

Reflecting on his journey, he said the move finally brought him a sense of stability.

“From sleeping under rice sacks to selling chai in the US — I didn’t become a CEO, I became the Chai Guy and I finally feel settled,” he said.