TikTokers Who Made It BIG

For a lot of individuals, TikTok is just an app for bizarre memes and ridiculous dances. And yeah, that stuff is unquestionably there. Despite how absurd TikTok may appear, some people profit significantly from their success on the app. It's true that some fortunate individuals have become overnight billionaires thanks to TikTok's most popular videos.

We're going to look at some of these unusual people who boogied and skated their way to fame and money in the wildest TikTok success stories to yet, so grab a bottle of ocean spray and turn on some Fleetwood Mac.

Successful Berry Berry.

Cranberry juice is really quite nice. Its most amazing benefit is that it can make you hundreds of thousands of dollars. It can also help avoid urinary tract infections and enhance your heart health.

Now, if YouTube's copyright policies were more lenient, the Fleetwood Mac song "Dreams" would have been playing over that incredibly peaceful clip, as it is in the original upload. In either case, it's quite awesome, but what's the story?

In September of 2020, Idaho Falls resident Nathan Apodaca was traveling to the neighboring potato factory for another typical day of work. Nathan's ancient SUV began to malfunction while he was traveling down the highway and eventually came to a stop on the side of the road. Nathan was compelled to open the trunk, take out his longboard, and use that to skate the remaining two kilometers to his place of employment.

Nathan made the decision to grab his phone as he skated down the interstate and record a TikTok, singing along to the aforementioned Fleetwood Mac song "Dreams" while downing a bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice.

The video was brief and modest, but Nathan's carefree attitude obviously struck a chord with some viewers because when he posted it to TikTok, it quickly racked up millions of views.

By Christmas of that year, it had become the second-most-watched TikTok of 2020, and 43 years after its debut, the video had sent "Dreams" to the top of the iTunes music charts. Nathan was thrust into the spotlight as a result of all the publicity, and soon after that, major companies approached him about sponsorship opportunities.

Naturally, Ocean Spray was the first company to do so, and in October 2020 they gave Nathan a brand-new truck and as much cranberry juice as he could drink. A variety of media options were also presented to him, including the chance to appear in advertisements alongside Snoop Dogg. As a result of these collaborations, Nathan's fame increased even more, and he now has almost three million Instagram followers in addition to his over seven million TikTok followers. He was able to leave his RV and purchase a five-bedroom house in Idaho Falls because to the lucrative brand agreement he was able to negotiate thanks to his notoriety. It's fair to say that TikTok and Fleetwood Mac fulfilled Nathan's dreams, and it's remarkable to think that the amazing narrative may have only happened because his car broke down on a morning in September. Thank God he took the car rather than walking.

Khaby the King

Music and TikTok have always been closely related. The music used for the app's dances and challenges is directly related to them, and as we've seen, a popular TikTok can catapult a song to the top of the charts. TikTok isn't just about audio, despite the connotation, and astonishingly, the biggest TikToker in the world took over the app without making a sound.

For those of you who don't know, this man is 22-year-old Italian TikToker Khaby Lame from Ciavasso. He's finished with your bull, in case you couldn't tell. Lame is the user with the most followers on TikTok at 152 million. But things weren't always like this.

The online sensation was a builder in 2020, spending his days building homes rather than making content. At the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, Khaby's life was quite routine, but everything changed when he was fired from his job and was compelled to return home with his parents.

Khaby made the decision to download TikTok and upload a few quick comedic videos as he lounged around the house. He immediately began responding to other people's videos, concentrating on lifehack-related material.

Khaby satirizes these lifehack videos, which frequently feature patently ludicrous hacks in an effort to go viral, and which are propelled through TikTok's algorithm as users comment their outrage at the incompetence.The internet came together in opposition to these stupid lifehacks thanks to Khaby's responses, and soon he had millions of followers and was TikTok's most popular creator. According to Khaby, his success is due to the fact that, regardless of a person's nationality or language, they can all identify with his facial expressions. Since then, this silent voice for the people's lifestyle has become a little more glamorous.

His social media success has allowed him to work with Hugo Boss for their campaign, trading in his hard helmets for fancy clothing. Khaby may be the first person to shrug, frown, and roll his eyes to true superstar status. He has met celebrities, appeared on billboards, and has even crossed paths with them.

Stronger to the singer. Although Khaby's transformation from unemployed construction worker to full-fledged superstar is rather astounding, he is not the only famous person to have drastically changed their career to become a TikToker.

If you've spent any time on TikTok, there's a strong chance you've seen this video, even if you don't know who Bella Poarch is.

♪ Fun ♪

♪ We just havin' ♪

♪ We just havin' fun, fun, fun ♪

Strange as it may sound, this little, slightly spooky TikTok became viral in 2020. With 730 million views, Bella's peculiarly captivating emotions and camera-tracked head movements quickly made her the fifth-most-watched TikTok of all time. Bella Poarch became known as one of the most well-known TikTokers in the world as a result of this video and others in a similar vein.

She was an aviation ordnanceman in the U.S. Navy in 2019, but that was a very different life from the one she was leading in 2019. An aircraft ordnanceman works with mines, machine guns, and missiles every day while examining, servicing, and storing the armaments on a ship or navy base. Bella was in the military for three years before resigning at the end of 2019 and returning to her hometown while developing a colorful TikTok account.

Her almost immediate popularity led her to focus solely on TikTok after publishing the aforementioned viral video in August 2020, changing her job from hauling mines to miming pop tunes. She continues to gain fans, and as a result, the TikToker is now the third-most followed user on the network with over 92 million followers. Due to the extent of Bella's fan base, she is reportedly able to make $30,000 every sponsored TikTok post, with businesses paying her to promote their goods. Bella has also developed a career as a pop star using her celebrity, as if that weren't spectacular enough. She obtained a record deal with Warner Bros. and released a number of tracks in 2021 and her first EP in 2022 after revealing her authentic singing voice on TikTok. Bella, a former soldier who has transitioned into a singer, is one of TikTok's most improbable overnight success stories, somehow achieving fame and money. What an odd, odd moment it is to be alive.

King.Dancers'

The content on TikTok ranges widely, from magic tricks to whatever the hell this is. But since the app's launch in 2016, the platform has been dominated by a single video genre: dance. The top TikTokers in the world have danced their way to fame. However, Jamie Big Sorrel Horse has a special claim to fame after publishing a video that quickly shot to the top of the TikTok dance chart.

♪ I do, do wanna come up, I know ♪

♪ Don't wanna let you go ♪

♪ Oh, oh baby ♪

♪ There's something over ♪

This brief dance may not seem like much, but astonishingly, with over 431 million views, it ranks as the 7th most popular TikTok. It's obvious that Jamie's bathroom routine struck a chord with a lot of people because soon after, other well-known TikTokers began to mimic the video, getting down in their own bathrooms at home. As Jamie's TikTok video gained popularity, his new followers began to check out his other uploads. As a result, Jamie now has over 98 million likes on the app and has over 7.6 million followers who follow him and his work.

Not bad for a little dance in the restroom!

Diva Dancers. Jamie might be crowned the dancing king thanks to his popular TikTok videos. However, after boogying gained prominent in 2019, Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae have held the title of queens. Charli looked to be destined for a life of fame from the beginning.

Since she was five years old, the TikToker has danced competitively, and in 2019, when she joined TikTok, she became one of the first users to become famous for their dancing on the platform. Many of Charli's admirers tried to learn the dances she was doing when her TikTok videos began to be seen by the algorithm, viewing her TikToks repeatedly to learn each individual movement. As a result, Charli's views increased dramatically, and soon she was known as the face of TikTok, gaining over 149 million followers and rising to the position of second-largest creative on the network. In addition to competing on and winning the 31st season of Dancing with the Stars and starring in her own reality TV series on Hulu with her sister Dixie, Charli has been able to capitalize on her viral celebrity and achieve great success. Charli's accomplishment at the age of just 18 is really astounding, and according to online sources, she has already amassed earnings of more than $20 million. She is not the first TikToker who has successfully danced their way to real star status, though.

At the age of 22, Addison Rae has appeared in films, posed for advertisements, and racked up over 88 million TikTok followers. Her life hasn't always been glamorous, though. When Addison was a teenager, she lived in an RV with her entire immediate family and endured bullying at her high school for dressing in second-hand clothing and knockoff shoes.

Addison's childhood was fairly turbulent, but when she started college, everything in her life changed. At LSU, Addison began studying broadcast journalism, and in her free time, the aspiring cheerleader began posting dancing videos to TikTok. Her TikTok account reached one million followers just three months later, which gave her the opportunity to work with fashion labels and retailers on lucrative sponsorship arrangements.

By August 2020, Addison had reportedly made an amazing $5 million from the creation of content, which allowed her to drop out of college and relocate her family to Los Angeles, according to Forbes. She continued to have success on TikTok as a result of this shift, breaking into the mainstream by appearing in movies. Not bad for a failed college student.

Pirate Prince.

Despite the fact that dancing is TikTok's most popular genre, another influential group, vocalists, is a close competitor. Singing has always been a major component of social media, but in 2021, when a particularly particular musical style called sea shanties took throughout the world, singing on TikTok really came into its own.

One man, a 26-year-old mailman named Nathan Evans, is entirely responsible for these swashbuckling tunes' gradual takeover of TikTok, chat programs, and the music charts, resulting in a full-blown cultural phenomenon. In the year 2020, Nathan split his time between carrying mail in his Scottish hometown of Airdrie and singing while posting pop song covers to TikTok. Before December 2020, Nathan's fan base was quite modest. Then, he published Soon May the Wellermen Come, a very catchy cover of a 19th-century sea shanty. Unfortunately, I am unable to play it for you because it is similar to much of the music used in the most popular TikToks. Music copyright regulations, be damned!

In any case, as Nathan's video gained popularity on TikTok, other musicians began to add their own harmonies to it, which Nathan then used to create a virtual chorus and ultimately a full band. Nathan's original TikTok gained over 20 million views as these videos went viral, garnering attention from international news outlets like CNN.Nathan made the decision to profit from this success and entered the recording studio to create an official version of the song that had peaked at number one on the UK music charts. Since then, Nathan has put out a number of singles, a debut album, and performed at concerts around the globe, launching a career on the strength of a song about a ship full of hungry sailors trying to catch a whale.Although the lyrics by The Wellermen aren't exactly glamorous, Nathan's life has been radically transformed by this white whale of a song.Ahoy, TikToks!

The Wedding Singer.

There are other British singers who have used TikTok to launch successful careers in the music industry in addition to our final swashbuckler. Sam Ryder from Essex, England, operated a vegan cafe up until 2020 while also performing at weddings to supplement his income. Sam was out of a job when COVID-19 hit, unable to sell his oat milk lattes, and unable to find a wedding to play at. He then made the decision to use his phone to pass the time by performing some song covers before posting them to TikTok.

Sam's beard, hair, and vocal prowess made for a well-liked triumvirate, and his renditions soon racked up millions of views. Sam soon acquired some well-known followers as well; Alicia Keys responded in a video, Sia reposted it, and Justin Bieber sent him a direct message of support. With all of this help, Sam was able to amass millions of followers on TikTok quickly, and in May 2022, he said that he had been chosen as Great Britain's entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The focus of this yearly singing competition among nearly all of Europe's nations is on synthesizers, glitter, and creative music. Sam came in second place after Ukraine when he performed his song, Spaceman, while dressed in a bejeweled boiler suit. Despite the fact that Sam did not take home the Eurovision trophy, his performance catapulted him into the spotlight and enabled him to record his debut album and launch a successful international tour.

Sam can now be seen singing to his 14 million followers on TikTok, playing arenas, or hugging Taylor Swift. Sammy boy, that slightly beats singing at weddings, huh? Still, may I have an oat milk latte, please?

Millionaire to a meme. Let's move on from the musically talented to someone who became famous online in a somewhat less conventional manner—by sipping a can of kombucha. - It genuinely has a bathroom odor. It has a restroom-like odor! I tell you what.

No.

Well?

What an emotional ride. The life of this TikToker has been on a crazy trip ever since that funny film went viral. Let's go back a bit. In 2019, Dallas resident Brittany Tomlinson created a TikTok account under the alias Brittany Broski and posted videos of herself eating supper and driving go-karts to amuse her pals. Over the course of a month, Brittany posted about 10 videos, one of which was this one showing her trying kombucha for the first time. If you weren't aware, kombucha is a fermented tea that has a fizzy, acidic, and barely sweet flavor. Brittany's reaction as she tried to decide whether or not she liked it was complicated by that description, which is to be expected. Brittany made the movie with her friends in mind, but unbelievably, it swiftly amassed millions of views after becoming viral. Additionally, reaction memes featuring Brittany's visage began to circulate online, giving social media users with nonstop entertainment.

For Brittany, all of this attention was quite exciting, but it wasn't all good news. The bank Brittany worked for fired her when her image became popular, arguing that her status as a meme made the business appear less professional. Despite her distress, Brittany was able to devote her complete attention to content development as a result of the circumstances. She became one of TikTok's biggest stars as she started releasing comedy sketches on a regular basis, gaining over 6.8 million followers and 300 million likes as of early 2023. Although she lost her job, her online celebrity has given her the flexibility to host a number of lucrative podcasts, appear on some of the most popular YouTube channels, and even hug Harry Styles.

Although online celebrity wealth estimates like these are frequently quite inaccurate, Brittany has established herself as one of TikTok's most unlikely success stories, demonstrating that even if she didn't love that can of kombucha, purchasing it was undoubtedly a wise life choice. Brittany's net worth is currently estimated by online sources to be between $1 and $4 million.

From railroads to runways.

Now let's cross the pond and check out a TikToker from the UK who enjoys tea and crumpets and made his name and wealth by spotting trains with a 360-degree camera strapped to his head. Don't worry, it's surely more beautiful than it sounds.

- Here we go.

Wait, wait a minute.

Oh!

Oh, there's two.

Crossover! Crossover.

Please don't move on.

Please, please, oh.

Yes!

Train spotting isn't the most glamorous of pastimes, but in 2020, Francis Bourgeois, a.k.a. Luke Magnus Nicholson, decided to share his love of trains with the world by mounting a camera to his forehead and posting videos of his enthusiastic train-spotting excursions to TikTok.As conceptually absurd as that may sound, Francis became a viral success because to his zeal and inventive cinematography. Francis began to earn millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, and his decision to share his videos proved to be a genuinely life-changing one when Gucci and North Face signed a modeling deal with him and used him as the face of a joint venture between the two brands in 2022.

Francis was able to land a book deal and star in his own train-spotting TV show thanks to the deal, which catapulted him into the spotlight and allowed him to host guest appearances from other well-known figures. Francis claims that the most thrilling and significant aspect of his newfound celebrity is all the free train journeys he gets to take. While having his own TV show would be a dream come true for most people, for Francis, these luxuries are merely a bonus.

Despite this, some online have criticized Francis' rather geeky behavior as nothing more than a phony image. Depending on who you ask, skeptics use these recently unearthed vintage photographs of Francis as proof of the purported lie.

Francis disputes this assertion, stating that the depiction of himself in those photographs was artificial in and of itself. A previous attempt to blend in almost succeeded in hiding the actual train-loving nerd who had always been there.Only now, as a result of TikTok's growing popularity, does the real Francis feel comfortable shining in public. Whatever the case may be, his wonderfully strange, good material is irresistible to me.

Urban Rescue Ranch.

Moving on from one success story to the next, let's talk about a TikToker who shares a home in Texas with over 80 different wild creatures. You might be thinking that this person doesn't sound all that successful given that chop shops are, by definition, locations where stolen automobiles are destroyed so that the parts can be sold or utilized to fix other stolen vehicles.

Ben Christie, a TikToker, actually owns the Urban Rescue Ranch, a non-profit that provides care for a variety of unwanted and abandoned animals, including emus, capybaras, prairie dogs, ostriches, and a kangaroo named DaBaby. On his TikTok account, OstrichPlug, Ben posts videos of his work with the many animals on the ranch, demonstrating how he takes care of them and has fun with them.

Ben's love of caring for animals first manifested itself during his time in college, when he purchased a flock of chicks and ducklings, maintained them in an abandoned shed on campus, and sold his fellow students their eggs. Ben secured a sales position at the software business Oracle after graduating.

Ben continued to take care of animals despite working a 9 to 5 job. He bottle-fed baby deer while making sales calls and kept wild pigs in his little backyard. Ben didn't despise his profession, but he soon understood that his genuine passion was caring for animals. So, in an effort to turn his passion for animals into a full-time career as the owner of an official animal rescue and rehabilitation ranch, he began posting videos to TikTok in the latter part of 2019. His TikTok soon began receiving millions of views as viewers flocked to see his odd collection of animals and amusing method of content creation. He capitalized on the popularity of his TikTok to launch a well-liked YouTube channel, which ultimately helped him to make enough money to give up his job and purchase an old, shuttered chop shop on a sizable plot of property in Waco, Texas.

Amazingly, he managed to turn the area's old, decaying structures and trash-filled green space into a completely operating ranch with the financial assistance of the internet. Ben now has 4.2 million TikTok followers and more than two million YouTube subscribers, which enables him to expand the ranch and care for more than 80 different animals while also sharing some of TikTok's most interesting, weird, and informative material. joking on TikTok.Ben Christie is not the first TikToker whose career path underwent a radical turn as a result of TikTok.

2019 saw Kris Collins, a Canadian hairstylist and college dropout, working in Vancouver.

Kris loved her profession, but sadly the pandemic of 2020 resulted in her being fired, leaving her alone at home with nothing to do. She was persuaded to download TikTok by her 17-year-old brother, who suggested she use it to view some videos for entertainment.

In April 2020, Kris downloaded the app and began scrolling. After a few days, she was hooked and soon began submitting her own comedic sketches. Kris had transformed from a spectator to a content creator.

- Any questions.

- Buddy, I have a question.

- Go ahead Riley, there is no such thing as stupid question.

- Are you in love?

- Stupid question.

Kris gained one million followers three months after downloading TikTok, and she quickly became popular. She reached two million followers a few weeks later, and by December 2020, she had amassed an incredible 15 million. As a result of this growing trend, Kris now has a staggering 8.8 million subscribers to her YouTube channel in addition to over 49 million followers on the platform.

Kris is less concerned about popular dances or challenges than other TikTokers. Instead, she creates written sketches in which she portrays over 30 recurrent characters in protracted plots. All of Kris' hard work has paid off as she has transformed her lockdown passion into a full-time job by forging connections with companies like Amazon Prime and Lifetime TV. Although each of these films needs much planning and brainstorming, it is clear that Kris' efforts have been worthwhile.

According to Forbes, she reportedly made $4.75 million from sponsorships and YouTube ad revenue in 2021 alone, a modest sum that is only expected to climb as Kris' follower account grows. Kris' sudden wealth effectively exemplifies TikTok's potential by enabling a lady to escape unemployment and become a millionaire in the space of a single year.

Let's hope Kris and the other TikTokers we've seen today continue to be as prosperous and successful in the future. We can only speculate as to what TikTok's long-term prospects will be for the quickly accelerating careers of its biggest performers given how young the platform is. It's time to stop browsing our For You website and wrap up our journey through some incredible TikTok success stories.

Let me know which incredible story you found the most surprising in the comments down below. And as always, thanks!