The road to stardom
‘September 22, 2013. That was the day I picked up my Mum’s iPad and made my very first video. ‘‘No way did I think I would be here five years on. It just all fell into place. I made one video that went viral overnight. I only had 200 friends on Facebook and then I put the first video I ever did on normal Facebook and had 1000 likes overnight – I’d only got 20 likes before.
‘‘My mates were buzzing too and they were like, ‘make more, man’. I never knew I had that talent, I guess. I was just smashing out every idea I had. They all did well. Then somebody told me to make my own page – one week later I had 20,000 likes and it was just going crazy.
‘‘I think it really hit home when I hit 100,000 likes. Me and my mates sat down and they were like, ‘wow, you reckon you’ll be able to do this for a living sometime?’ And I was like, ‘I hope so’ and that’s when I started taking it seriously and going home after working 10-hour shifts at Pacific Timber’s machining yard on the Hibiscus Coast and spending a couple of hours filming a little video.
‘‘I had to film before it got dark because I did everything on my phone – I had no lights. Lunch breaks and any other time I had I would be writing ideas on my phone. I’d have dinner around 9 or 10pm and not shower until 11pm. It was a grind, but I just really wanted to make a living from it. I was still working at my normal job until I got to about 300,000 followers – that’s when I left to do my first video-making course.
‘‘I first met Shae [Stirling, Alien Addiction’s writer-director] in 2015 and he not only taught me and made me become a better actor, he actually taught me how to use a camera. All I was doing before was pushing record and making sure it was in focus. He was like, ‘if you actually get your camera and spend four hours just playing with it, you’ll learn how to master it’. He taught me all these little features – what the best settings are. Now, I’m a pretty good cameraman myself.
‘‘The little comments where people say, ‘wow, this is really well-edited and well-shot and well-done’, those actually mean a lot to me because I work a lot harder on that side now – ever since I learned those skills.
‘‘You’ll also notice that my content is a lot more PG and lesssweary than when I first started.
Lunch breaks and any other time I had I would be writing ideas on my phone. I’d have dinner around 9 or 10pm and not shower until 11pm. It was a grind.
It really hit me about two-tothree years ago when I became a public figure that I needed to be a role model to kids, so I started toning things down.
‘‘I’ve also started my own water company – Mananui Water – so I go around schools during lunchtimes and give water to kids and teach them about H20 and stuff like that.
‘‘What I really want though is for people to like the movie and look at me as a proper actor.
‘‘My main goal is to do TV shows and movies. I really love being in front of the camera, especially while working with other actors.’’
– As told to James Croot
Also starring Thomas Sainsbury and the late JoJo Waaka, Alien Addiction (R13) is now screening in select Kiwi cinemas.