Andy Jiang
Click to check out Andy’s TikToks!
18-year-old Andy Jiang is one of the internet’s most popular storytellers. The TikTok content creator is a leader in his niche, sharing history’s most interesting and newsworthy moments with an audience of over 3.2 million. His career began following a dare from a friend, who bet that Jiang couldn’t reach 1,000 followers in a week. Well, he did that and much more. A verified badge is a testament to the quality of Jiang’s content; substantive, thought-provoking, and wonderfully delivered. Since his start on the app, the TikTok star has earned a whopping 141 million likes and a devoted fanbase. We recently spoke to Andy about internet fame, his first viral video, and more!
Andy! Thanks so much for speaking with us. Tell us a little bit about yourself! How did you get started on the app?
Thanks for having me! My name is Andy Jiang and I’m 18. I like to think of myself as a storyteller, someone who researches intriguing events from history or our modern-day and delivers them in a captivating and entertaining way.
My content hasn’t always been like this though. Funny story, when I first started creating videos on TikTok it was actually because of a dare from a friend. TikTok had just become super mainstream back then, and he bet me $50 that I couldn’t hit 1,000 followers in a week. I took him up on his offer and posted my first video soon after, a comedy skit of sorts. That was the start of it all.
And yea, I actually did win the $50 haha.
Congrats on all of the recent success – What’s it like having over 3.2 million TikTok followers?
I still don’t think I’ve fully grasped the meaning/reality of having that many followers, that many people who somehow enjoy watching me flap my gums. It’s a number I can’t even begin to comprehend, and something I truly never would’ve imagined in a million years. It’s 100% an incredibly rewarding experience. Even though I actually interact with only a very small portion of that 3.2 million, the amount of love and support I’ve received from those people has been unbelievable. The comments and messages I receive regularly make my day, and I can only hope that I can continue to deliver to my supporters the high-quality content they deserve. They truly are some cuties indeed.
Do you remember your first viral video? Which was it and how has your content changed since?
Haha, how could I forget? Somehow, it’s actually one of my best-performing videos to date. I posted it right when quarantine had just started last year, and it was about a guy’s miraculous recovery from terminal cancer. I didn’t actually talk in that video, I just used text and images to convey the story. But since I realized it’s more engaging to actually tell the story myself, I started doing that, and that’s where my content is today.
Photo Credit: Louis Tinsley for Bethesda Magazine
It takes a great storyteller to do well in your community – Was this something that was explored at all before your internet fame?
No, actually. I did some light debate and mock trial stuff in high school so I had some experience with how to evoke emotion with words, but I had never done any real storytelling before starting on TikTok.
What typically inspires you to make content?
Usually, it’s just me finding a really cool story online or on my news feed and thinking “wow this is interesting af, I should share this.” But it’s equally as inspiring/rewarding to see all the comments and love I receive from my followers on every post, which just makes me want to post more.
How big of a role does your audience play in the content that you put out?
Since my audience is so diverse and from so many different areas of the world, I try to make my stories as universal as possible so more people can understand them. Most of the topics I hit only reference basic stuff that basically anyone can comprehend.
Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, how do you get out of that creative funk?
Oh yup, a lot actually. I think I’ve reached a point where I’ve done so, so many different stories that the number of really cool/interesting ones that I haven’t heard of yet is very low. So it can sometimes take me 2-4 hours to find a new story that I can actually make a post out of. It can get super frustrating for sure, and recently I’ve started doing more news stories to avoid this “writer’s block.” That way, new news stories pop up on my feed as they’re happening each day, and I can make videos out of them without having to excessively search.
Which one of your series is your favorite to make and why?
I don’t really do video series anymore, but my favorite one in the past has to be “Tricks That Give You Power Over Your Own Body,” simply because of how much I learned while making those videos. Some of those little tidbits that I found are actually super useful, and I still regularly incorporate them into my life today.
And what do your friends and family think of your TikTok fame?
They initially reacted the same way I did, pretty much the way you would expect them to haha. Like “holy cow this is crazy wtf.” My mom was especially thrilled, and to this day she still tells me that she’s my #1 fan :)
Has there been a moment since you began that still feels surreal to you?
It’s all been surreal lol. I don’t think I can pinpoint one exact moment or event, but the entire journey has been the very definition of surreal, and I’m sure it will still feel surreal in months and years to come.
Who is one celebrity that you’d collaborate with?
I’d absolutely love to collab with Jeremy Lin. He has been a role model of mine ever since I was a kid, and he just seems like a really chill, down-to-earth guy. Would definitely love to meet him one day for sure.
What are some things you enjoy doing outside of the TikTok space?
I play a ton of pickup basketball at the local park, and I’m also really addicted to reading dystopian books like The Mortal Instrument series. I definitely enjoy my fair share of gaming as well, and I’m currently playing Genshin Impact.
Who do you owe your biggest thanks to?
Honestly? Probably Reddit. It was Reddit that first got me interested in cool stories all the way back in elementary school, which eventually influenced me to start creating content around them.
What can fans expect for the rest of 2021?
High-quality, intriguing stories! At least a few every week. I’ll definitely be busier when fall comes around since I’ll be heading off to college, but I fully intend to keep posting on TikTok. My followers definitely deserve it.
When Andy Jiang makes it to LA, he sure as hell better not be a douchebag.