The Day I Accidentally Became a TikTok Influencer…

Let me set the scene for you: it’s April 2020 -we are at the height of social distancing, toilet paper shortages, essential workers and Facebook comment wars about wearing a mask. My wife is trying to get used to virtual office meetings and Zoom happy hours. I, on the other hand, was feeling the full blow of the entertainment industry shut down. I even had my own original show at a streaming network get axed just days before it was supposed to be green-lit.?***may it rest in peace.

BUT?because someone decided to chow down a fruit bat, I was now wasting days away changing diapers and wiping off baby vomit in an endless indoor Ground Hog Day. I was in desperate need of a creative outlet… so I came across this new app, TikTok: the Gen-Z skewed "spyware social space." I instantly thought to myself, “Well, I’m a TV producer… if I can’t make content that slays here, then I should probably hang my hat and find a new job. Yeet."

The ultimate challenge was, easily noticeable off the bat: I’m not “cool,” “sexy” or would dare parade my “plenty-o-places-to-grip” Dad bod in a swim suit —but I got wit and a bottomless pit of visual creativity.?

So, in-between baby naps, I’d start to crank out a video skit or two. Usually they would make fun of Covid, current events, or I even took some digs at the app itself. I tried to be crafty, Michel Gondry style. Slowly but surely, my followers began to grow… one middle-aged mid-westerner at a time. I was not cranking out millions of views, but I was still outperforming the a$$-shakers (a$$-shaker,?n. -a young 20-something who shakes their ass on social media for money; not to be confused with OnlyFans).?

I’ll admit, TikTok became a bit too much of an obsession in the early days… arguing with trolls, refreshing your page, spending hours trying to come up with an idea for the next skit. It started to take its toll on day-to-day activities. It was there -a constant presence in my life and I felt like I had to keep feeding the beast.?

One day, it dawned on me… TikTok is not worth all my attention. It's just an app where I entertain a faceless audience. I almost forgot I had a career too. After I few months, I felt it would serve my best interest not to trade in my 20-year-career for water balloon pranks and sell cheap herbal remedies. It probably helped that I had a family around me to remind me of what was more important thought my birth as an influencer.

I kept watching other creators lean into their TikTok personas. Their daily videos were an obsession to them and the fame was an addiction. They were almost becoming indebted to the TikTok now that it was becoming a primary source of income. They had taken the leap, charring out content by the house —but with not direction of where they’re going or when the revenue stream might run out, TikTok was the job for them --it was their golden goose. But there's a lot of plucking time that comes with having a golden goose. Pluck that.

I didn’t want that… if you think about it, its just another job where you’re on the phone all day. Social media was desgined to be social… but it ironically seemed like people we’re locking themselves up in virtual cages dedicated to themselves.?

Meanwhile, I always saw the app for what it was, a place to make silly videos and connect with people. It was my wife Jenn, a brilliant PR executive, who suggested I forget about doing silly sketches and actually start using it as a Master Class for what I do for an actual living. “I’m sure there's people would would love to know more about behind-the-scenes of reality TV.” And thus @producerpatrick was born.?

As of today, it has about 162,300 subscribers, but its not like I get stopped for autographs at the grocery store. I don’t think I’ve ever been noticed in public. I keep my influencer side pretty low key for the most part. A 30 second Q&A here and there on the app keeps my mob happy, however, I wonder if someday it might just be worth it to step back and fade into oblivion. To once again enjoy the peaceful life of being completely anonymous.?

As Andy Warhol said,?"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” ... Well my friends, the future is now.