How Adrian Per grew to 1.3M followers & won the Superbowl Ring of Instagram

Back in October, Instagram inducted their 25 innaugural winners of Instagram Rings. 

The idea was to recognize creators taking creative risks (Mosseri’s words) and creating god-tier content (my words). 

One of those creators is Adrian Per. If you’re at all into cinematic content, you’ve definitely seen his stuff. 

I ran Adrian’s last 100 posts through Sandcastles to look closer at the lego bricks powering his account.

No promises you win the Instagram Superbowl if you follow this, but well worth studying if you want to create S-tier content…

How Adrian Uses My 6×5 Method

My favorite method for creating batched content is the “6×5” method. Quick overview of how it works:

6 Topics – You write your niche in the center of the page, then you want to come up with 6 subtopics where you have some unique perspective to share.

5 Formats – There are 22 different video formats that work best on social media. In the Sandcastles Collections tab, we’ve built out the top examples across all 22 categories. You're going to pick 5 of these that you want to try over the next month. 

Last step, you're going to make a 6×5 grid like this and schedule out the topic + format combination you need to make for each day.

Here’s how Adrian uses this to perfection…

Adrian’s 6 Winning Topics 

93 of 100 posts are photography and videography content. 

But the reason Adrian’s content doesn’t feel stale or repetitive is because he’s strategically rotating through 6 video sub-topics:

• Filming — composition, framing, shot types, sequences, vertical video, angles, b-roll

• Editing — cutting to motion, pop-up text, Premiere Pro workflows, storytelling through editing

• Gear & Camera Settings — iPhone, Sony, DJI, color profiles, macro hacks, camera settings

• Color Grading — LUTs, presets, S-LOG3, color grading workflows

• Photography — how to photograph your girlfriend, candid shots, directing your subject

• AI & New Tools — AI video generation, smart glasses, AI editing

That’s a perfect use of finding 6 subtopics you can (a) talk about for days and (b) have a contrarian perspective on. A+ execution.

And the beauty of this rotation is that he never has to scramble to figure out what topic to make a video about.

Adrian’s 5 Winning Formats

Then, Adrian consistently leans on 5 of the 22 video formats that work best on social media. Here’s the formats he’s coming back to…

Format #1 – Tutorial

The tutorial is the most straightforward format on the list. You pick a specific skill, name the person who needs it, and teach it directly to camera. The value promise is in the hook and the video delivers on it.

Adrian's tutorials work because he teaches to one specific person with one specific problem.

• "Today I'm gonna teach y'all how to take better photos of your girlfriend that she won't hate." — 4.4M views, 20.2× outlier

• "Today, we're going to talk about how I frame my vertical videos." — 1.77M views, 12.5× outlier

The formula: Today I'm going to teach you how to [specific skill] so that [specific person] can [specific outcome]. 

The more specific the audience and the outcome, the better it converts. Adrian’s nailing this.

Format #2 –Secret Reveal

This is his most explosive format by outlier score, but it works via a completely different mechanism than the tutorial. 

Tutorial tells you what you'll learn upfront, secret reveal withholds just enough that the viewer has no choice but to keep watching.

• "So this guy has no idea he is my like button and he'll just never know." — 4.9M views, 23.8× outlier.

• "So, I'm going to show you how I was able to make my Instagram profile yellow." — 2.9M views, 11.8× outlier.

The formula: [reaction to something that seems impossible] + visual proof that it's real. 

The hook should feel incomplete without the video, if someone can fully understand the secret without watching, you didn’t film a secret reveal…you’ve just got a tutorial with a dramatic opener.

Format #3 – Breakdown Explainer

The breakdown explainer starts with a common belief, challenges it, and then walks through the right way to think about it. 

It's part contrarian hook, part education and feeds on the tension between what most people think and what's actually true is what keeps the viewer watching.

• "Most people think good editing is just cutting to a beat. Rhythmic, synced up." — 1.56M views, 7.8× outlier. 

• "So, I'm tired of people thinking that you can't film cinematic content with your phone." — 782K views, 5.5× outlier. 

The formula: Most people think [X]. Here's why that's wrong. Here's what actually works. 

The key is that the wrong belief has to be something your audience genuinely holds. If they don't actually believe it, there's no tension to resolve.

Format #4 – Personal Learning Epiphany

This format is similar to a vlog, but not identical. The key difference between this format and a vlog is the personal moment has to be jaw-dropping, unexpected, or emotionally loaded before the lesson even starts. If the personal detail isn't interesting on its own, the format collapses into a diary entry.

• "So I just made my girlfriend a Birkin bag." — 1.95M views, 13.2× outlier. 

• "So, I have a confession to make. I'm here on location by myself." — 611K views, 3.0× outlier. 

The formula: So I [fill in the blank of what you did] + the lesson that moment taught. 

The personal detail should make someone stop scrolling before they know what the video is about. If it wouldn't work as a standalone sentence, it won't work as a hook.

Format #5 – Challenge / Series

Adrain is testing this one, so there’s not a ton of data here - but the data he’s got so far is promising. With a challenge / series, the viewer becomes a participant, that participation drives comments, which drives reach, which drives the next post in the series.

Adrian stumbled into this format with his Instagram profile color series and it became his most efficient content engine by views-per-post.

• "So what color should I color my Instagram profile next?" — 1.48M views, 5.0× outlier. 

• "Well, I guess I'm going to have to make my Instagram pink now because of y'all." — 1.38M views, 4.5× outlier.

The formula: [do something interesting] + ask the audience what comes next + deliver on whatever they decide. The first post in the series is the hardest. Once the audience is invested, the next two or three posts write themselves.

The 4 Hook Formulas Adrian Runs On Repeat

When you look at Adrian’s top performing posts, he's running the same 4 proven hook structures across topics. I had Sandcastles group his hooks by sentence structure. Here’s that list…

Hook #1 — The Direct Tutorial Opener

This is his most-used hook structure and his highest-ceiling format. It works because it gives the viewer immediate context so they know what the video is about and if it can help them.

His top outliers using this structure:

• "Today, I'm gonna teach y'all how to take better photos of your girlfriend that she won't hate." — 4.4M views, 20.2× outlier

• "Today, we're going to talk about how I frame my vertical videos." — 1.77M views, 12.5× outlier

• "Today, I'm going to teach you how to take better candid photos of your girlfriend." — 1.73M views, 7.3× outlier

The formula: Today I'm going to teach you how to [specific skill] so that [specific person] can [specific outcome]. 

Run it on your best topics. The more specific the audience and the outcome, the harder it works.

Hook #2 — The Personal Reveal

This structure drops the punchline first and earns the explanation after. The viewer doesn't know the bigger “why” but the first sentence is interesting enough that they stay to find out. 

His top outliers using this structure:

• "So I just made my girlfriend a Birkin bag." — 1.95M views, 13.2× outlier

• "So, I'm going to show you how I was able to make my Instagram profile yellow." — 2.9M views, 11.8× outlier

• "So I shot this, on this! Yep. All on my phone." — 425K views, 1.3× outlier

The formula: So I just [impressive/unexpected thing] and here's how I did it. 

The reveal is the hook. Everything else is the payoff.

Hook #3 — The Contrarian Correction

This structure names a belief the audience holds, then challenges it. The tension between the wrong thing they believe and the right thing he's about to show them is what keeps them watching. Flipping the narrative earns the watch.

His top outliers using this structure:

• "Most people think good editing is just cutting to a beat. Rhythmic, synced up." — 1.56M views, 7.8× outlier

• "Everybody loves to blame the algorithm, but honestly it's not the reason why your videos aren't getting any views." — 205K views, 0.9× outlier

• "Most creators think that storytelling is complicated. But actually, it's not." — 185K views, 0.8× outlier

The formula: Most [audience] think [subject] is [wrong belief]. Here's why that's wrong — and here's what actually works.

Hook #4 — The Empathy-to-Solution

This is his most-used hook structure across the entire catalog, but it’s his most consistently mid-tier one…probably because everyone knows it.

The formula names a pain point, validates it, and immediately promises a fix. It works because the viewer who has that problem self-selects in immediately.

His top outliers using this structure:

• "Do you want to make better content this year? Well, I can fix that for you." — 619K views, 3.8× outlier

• "Do you actually want to make better content this year? I got you." — 264K views, 1.1× outlier

• "Do you have a hard time talking to your camera? Yeah? Well, today I'm going to fix that for you." — 198K views, 1.0× outlier

The formula: Do you [struggle with specific pain]? [Short validation]. Well, I can fix that for you. 

Keep the pain point hyper-specific. The more broadly it's framed, the lower the ceiling.

How To Run The 6×5 Method On Your Own Account

Adrian is running the 6×5 method without realizing it. 1.3M followers and an Instagram Ring later, I’d say it’s working out alright for him.

You can reverse-engineer the same system for your own account in about 10 minutes using Sandcastles.

Here's how to run it.

Step 1 — Select your creators. Go to Sandcastles and build a watchlist of 10–20 creators in your niche. Here’s a tutorial for how to build your watchlist

Step 2 — Filter above 2% engagement and set your preferred dat range. Before you analyze anything, set your engagement filter to 2% and above to filter out brand deals. Then, set your post date lookback. I like to either do the entire channel’s last 12 months or just the last 3 months. Note, each one of the videos you deep analyze will cost 1 credit.

Step 3 — Bulk analyze. Bulk analyze the filtered videos. Sandcastles pulls the transcript, the hook, the format type, the outlier score…everything you need to understand why the top posts are winning. The more videos you analyze, the sharper the signal.

Step 4 — Export the CSV. Export your results. This gives you a clean dataset of topics, formats, hooks, outlier scores for every creator you selected.

Step 5 — Use the MCP to analyze sub-topics and formats. Drop the CSV into Claude with the Sandcastles MCP connected. Have it bucket the content by sub-topic and format type — exactly what we did for Adrian. You'll see immediately which topics are producing the highest outlier scores and which formats are doing the most work. If you don’t want to export the CSV, you can just ask Claude to run the analysis using the MCP pipe, but this will be slower

Step 6 — Build your rotation and start posting. Now make the 6×5 grid. Topics on one axis, formats on the other. Rotate through them so you're never doubling up and never staring at a blank page.

That’s the 6×5 method for your account. Run it, then report back and let me know how it goes.

Keep crushing!

Btw, we’ve been running the Creator Breakdown series for a while now. Seems like you guys are loving it and that’s great!

So we decided to open up submissions for the next creator/channel we should cover.

If there's a creator you want us to run through the Creator Breakdown series next, drop a name and we'll pick a few to break down in upcoming editions.

PS: If you're ready to start growing faster on social media, you can sign up for Sandcastles here: sandcastles.ai