A Nanaimo TikTok creator has attracted millions of views posting tips and tricks about the human body, and is always in search of the next viral video.
Mike DeVries, a 20-year-old Vancouver Island University student, is the man behind the @yomikez TikTok account. He claims credit for starting the hashtag #bodyhacks, which has helped him build an account with close to 390,000 followers, 14 million likes, and nearly 100 million views.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 curiosity. When you hear sa国际传媒榖ody hack,sa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 like, what?sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 different ways that you can exploit your body into doing things that you want.sa国际传媒�
His most-watched TikTok shows viewers how to make onesa国际传媒檚 breath appear to look like smoke. Hesa国际传媒檚 also created videos about foods to eat before bed to make dreams more vivid, how to fall asleep faster, and how to boost onesa国际传媒檚 memory.
DeVries went to high school in Duncan, but before that he lived in Europe and Africa.
sa国际传媒淪o I have a whole bunch of random life hacks and body hacks from different countries that I just kind of accumulated and now Isa国际传媒檓 sharing it with the world,sa国际传媒� he said.
He started a YouTube account several years ago that didnsa国际传媒檛 gain many subscribers, but he became interested in TikTok at the start of the pandemic when he was finishing Grade 12, grad events were being cancelled, and he was bored.
sa国际传媒淚 saw a lot of people were making videos that I wanted to make, so I instantly wanted to join,sa国际传媒� he said.
He built up a base of followers rapidly, but then he met his girlfriend and put the account aside for a couple of years before recently revitalizing it. His audience came right back, to the point that TikTok sponsorships now cover his rent.
Hesa国际传媒檚 seen his videos go from 10,000 views to 100,000 views in a matter of minutes and said itsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渓ike a highsa国际传媒� when a video goes viral. The filming and the editing of 15-second videos isnsa国际传媒檛 particularly time-consuming, but he said itsa国际传媒檚 a lot of work to manage the account. Keeping on top of trending topics is crucial for a TikTok creator.
sa国际传媒淎nything thatsa国际传媒檚 new and popular and is getting a lot of views, you really want to jump on that,sa国际传媒� DeVries said. sa国际传媒淚 made a video on what to do in case of a nuclear attack from Russia. It got 10 million views within a day. So you really want to make sure you know what people are watching.sa国际传媒�
DeVries is in his first year studying electrical trades at VIU, but would love to see where he can go with content creation, too, and is hoping to diversify his brand to YouTube and Instagram. Hesa国际传媒檚 seen TikTokkers successfully expand to other platforms, but said itsa国际传媒檚 very hard to do because the content is so different.
sa国际传媒淓xpanding your business like that, yousa国际传媒檇 really have to step up your production quality and try and tailor your videos to a specific audience and thatsa国际传媒檚 really hard to do,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淓specially when yousa国际传媒檝e already built one audience and know what they like, and now have to switch to another audience that you donsa国际传媒檛 know what they want at all. So itsa国际传媒檚 a pretty daunting task.sa国际传媒�
No matter how his brand grows, DeVries is proud of being a body hacks pioneer, and his content reminds him of when he was a kid looking up YouTube videos on how to be a ninja.
sa国际传媒淓xactly what I used to watch as a kid is what Isa国际传媒檓 doing,sa国际传媒� he said.
Look for DeVries on TikTok at , on Instagram at and on YouTube by searching for sa国际传媒榮a国际传媒�.
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