We were lucky to catch up with Stephen Austin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stephen, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I never thought of myself as a performer. I started doing YouTube videos about 12 years ago. I just talked and told stories. Then apps came along with the ability to do short videos and it changed the way I would do my videos. I did Vine which was a lot like TikTok but before TikTok. It died and TikTok came along. I started doing that and before long I had a following which grew to 1.7 million people Mind you this was at a very late time in my life. I’m 83 years old and had never had this many followers on social media. I’ve done TV interviews, been interviewed by leading magazines, newspapers all over the world. It had been a very unreal experience for me. I wish it had been when I was younger but it is what it is (I hate that expression ) but it’s true
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m 83 years old and live in Richland Hills, Texas but I’m from Dallas, Texas. I’m on social media as Old Man Steve and my main claim to fame is me being on TikTok. I have 1.7 million followers and 31.9 million likes on my videos. My fans are mostly young people and they call me grandpa or want me to be their grandpa. I’ve been on the Rachael Ray Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, interviewed on local TV shows, Australian TV show, CNN, NBC The Today Show, Newsweek magazine, AARP magazine, my story about me being on TikTok at my age was run in newspapers all over the world
It has been amazing that this would happen to me at my age. I live alone with one cat in a senior apartment complex and my sister lives a few miles close by.
I do my videos every day and have fun doing them and have some very devoted fans, I get fan mail, and sometimes they send me gifts
I still drive but just to the store and a few places close to home. My hobbies are doing my videos and I love jigsaw puzzles, I have one going now
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I think it’s like a job. You have to post every day and post comments on other people’s posts. I don’t talk about religion or politics . You will get yourself in trouble if you do that, in my opinion Be kind, be helpful if need be, and be watchful of scams
It may take time but the more you put into it the more you will get out of it
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The love I get from my fans. I’ve had people tell me they were having a bad day and after watching my videos it made the day better for them. I’ve had fans say they would protect me from any harm that came my way. I had a mother tell me her young child never talked until he saw one of my videos. This warms my heart and makes my day and keeps me going even when I’m having a bad day
Contact Info:
- Website: www.oldmansteve.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/oldmansteve75
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/oldmansteve75
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oldmansteve/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OldManSteve80
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/steveedwardstuff
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@omsteve