Dreams

Good morning, Samir here 👋🏽. We are growing our team over here at The Publish Press. So if you are a writer passionate about the creator economy, or if you know someone who would be a perfect fit for the role, you can apply here. Alright, Take it away Alice.

In Today’s Issue 💬

→ Unpacking Nathan Apodaca’s viral TikTok one year later

→ How creators are taking over high fashion

→ Exploring Twitter’s evolving tipping features

The Viral Skateboarding TikTok That Changed Nathan Apodaca’s Life

Skateboard, cranberry juice, TikTok. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? If you’re not picturing Nathan Apodaca (aka @420doggface208) whimsically skating to the soundtrack of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, then you might have missed the most feel-good moment of 2020. 

When Nathan posted his now infamous TikTok this time last year, he was living in a trailer without running water and working at a potato factory. He shot the TikTok after his car broke down, forcing him to jump on his skateboard instead. 

Nathan’s TikTok inspired a global trend, with more than 600,000 copycat videos, and became the second most-liked video on the platform in 2020. Sales of Ocean Spray, which made a cameo in the original, soared as creators raced to participate. The company gifted Nathan a truck, with the CEO even crafting his own attempt at the trend. Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, which Nathan lip syncs to in the video, entered Billboard’s Top 10, 33 years after it first charted. Now that’s influence to shake a stick at.

Since then, Nathan has signed with an entertainment agency, appeared in a commercial with Snoop Dogg, and – best yet – bought a home for his family. Celebrating his one year anniversary, Nathan dueted his original video and captioned it with “on this day I brought the world a smile”.

Our Take

Nathan’s video came at a time during the pandemic when all of us were in need of some light relief, although no one could have predicted what happened next. While Nathan’s story feels like a one in a million tale, it shines light on what opportunities could lay ahead if you’re brave enough to press publish. So, what are you waiting for?

Creators Are Courting High Fashion in Record Numbers 

Back in March 2019, 17-year-old Emma Chamberlain sent shockwaves through the YouTube community and beyond when she uploaded “I WENT TO PARIS FASHION WEEK”, courtesy of Louis Vuitton. This was the first major high fashion endorsement for a YouTuber that blurred the lines between IRL and digital celebrity. 

Now, with global fashion weeks ditching Zoom and returning with a bang, brands and fashion houses are courting creators at record pace – a move that indicates the turning tides of what we consider “mainstream celebrity” to look like. In the past week, Khabane Lame (the 2nd most-followed person on TikTok) walked for Hugo Boss, Addison Rae (TikTok’s #3) was cosying up to Donatella Versace and Bella Poarch (TikTok’s #4) made her debut walking for Rihanna’s Fenty. 

Alongside these creators taking over the runway, TikTok has also been hosting #TikTokFashionMonth (6.8 billion views), with in-app events running until October 8th. In addition to new creative effects, the platform has curated a series of live streams in partnership with brands and creators, like Abby Roberts and FashionBoy x Henry Holland for London Fashion Week. 

Our Take

It’s clear that there’s a new creator class in town, carving out room in legacy media and entertainment spaces. While the focus is on fashion this month, award shows, late night TV, and the music industry are all in for a long-overdue shakeup by our favorite creators.

Twitter’s New Bitcoin Tipping Feature

Twitter’s peer-to-peer tipping service, now renamed Tips, has rolled out payments in Bitcoin. The payments are available to users over 18 in the US and El Salvador, and will be facilitated via cryptocurrency payment platform Strike. What’s more, Strike says they will not take a transaction cut, meaning creators will see 100% of the dosh. 

In addition to this latest feature, GoFundMe and the Brazil-based PicPay have also been added to the list of ways that creators can get paid through tipping. And that’s not all – Twitter has also set its sights on throwing NFTs into the mix, planning to add authentication to the platform by letting people connect their crypto wallets. We wait with bated breath...

Our Take

Creators getting paid for the value they bring through content and community is the aim of the game, and platforms are swiftly catching up. Twitter is shipping products for the crypto community faster than any other mainstream platform, and fostering a strong sense of community among NFT enthusiasts. This leaves the bird app positioned to capture the conversation, while the rest of the world continues to catch up.

🔥 In Other News

• TikTok’s Black Creator Trailblazer program has opened applications 

• MrBeast crossed 70M subscribers on YouTube

• Valkyrae launched clothing line and sold 20,000 units in the first day

• TikTok has reached 1 billion monthly active users

• Tyron Woodley actually got the tattoo