THE MASTER’S STUDENT THE TIKTOK SENSATION

They soon discovered that he is more than just the creator of animated food reviews, shopping hauls, skits, cooking tutorials and laugh-outloud comedy videos. The 26-yearold with more than half a million followers is a linguistics master’s student at UWC.

“Even my followers were surprised when I casually mentioned my academic journey in a video. When I posted a video to say I started tutoring, my followers commented that they were confused. But there are many layers to content creators and you get to see what I show you. Like all content creators, there is another side of me that many do not see,” he says.

Lewies is a determined individual who returned to UWC twice to continue his studies. He enrolled in 2016 but decided to take a gap year and returned in 2017. “I obtained my bachelor of arts degree, then my honours, and I started my master’s. In 2020, my following grew exponentially because during lockdown when everyone was at home, I posted more content. I took a break from my master’s, made more videos and my following continued to grow, but then I decided I am coming back while juggling content.”

He says he is an “unintentional” influencer. “I never intended to become a content creator. Initially, I simply shared my passion for fashion and art on Instagram, as I never had the opportunity to study fashion. But it was through these posts that the first brand reached out to me.”

It was food that won over followers when his green pepper and cream cheese taste test video went viral. “It was a time when everyone was doing challenges but people just seemed to love my content. Today, my following love my cooking videos. I am not professionally trained but I do know how to cook and I share family recipes. They love it because it’s real.”

His followers say Lewies’s appeal is that he is authentic, his positivity puts a smile on their faces and he “keeps it real”. It’s the same upbeat attitude he exudes at UWC, where he enrolled in 2016 because it was “literally around the corner” from his home in Belhar. However, the convenience of walking to campus was not the only perk that enticed him back.

“I love the sense of community at the university and how everything is within reach. There are a lot of resources and a lot of help from lecturers and tutors. In my first year, I was selected to be part of accelerated excellence programmes so I worked with the deputy vice-chancellor: academic and they gave us so much support and access – they encouraged us to always strive and I received the dean’s merit award.”

“Academics, tutoring and content creation are a lot to juggle. It’s crazy! But I think the support helped me decide to come back to complete my master’s.” Lewies’s thesis will delve into content creation with a focus on coloured identity.

His followers often ask what his job is. “They don’t realise that content creation is my job.” Although his fans recognise him in public and his neighbours are always joking about him being famous, Lewies said he tries to remain grounded. “I realise that these were opportunities that were given to me and I must always be thankful for them and be true to myself.”