TIKTOK’S FUNNY MAN

ROB TIKTOK’S FUNNY MAN: ANDERSON

BY ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ

(@HEARTTHROBERT)

IN TODAY’S HEIGHTENED POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNREST, WE COULD ALL USE A LITTLE (OR A LOT) OF HUMOR WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL MEDIA. Challenging norms and combating stereotypes through comedy is content creator Rob Anderson’s forte. From marketing positions at Grindr, Uber, and the infatuation to his status as a popular influencer with 2+ million social media followers and growing, he is exploring LGBTQ+ plus issues with sass, sarcasm, style … and skin. He is building bridges with mainstream media and his fan base far exceeds the LGBTQ community - his comedy has been covered by Good Morning America, NPR, and more. His series Gay Science has gone tirelessly viral, covering such hard-hitting topics as gay men’s obsession with iced coffee, why gay men are terrible drivers, and how gay men have problems sitting in chairs properly. His success has partnered him with the Oscars, Kim Petras, and numerous other brands, and his children’s book take on the Fergie NBA National Anthem debacle has made him a best-selling author. But who is the man beyond the lens?

Despite the myriad of interviews with him and extensive coverage focused on his content, his personal life and growing up hasn’t really taken the spotlight. Let’s just say the button pusher you see today was not created overnight. As a kid, he was both the class clown and a drama club groupie, and a definite troublemaker.

I wasn’t a rule follower. I was suspended from school a lot and had many detentions. I really was getting in trouble all the time because I was just always pushing the boundaries. They come up with so many dumb rules when you’re a kid and you say to yourself, why do I have to do that? Why? My mom had nine heart attacks when I was a kid.

There wasn’t one big aha moment for Rob that would propel him into the entertainment field. He did not follow a guidebook; he was making up it as he went along. Life after high school would lay the foundation for a very convoluted journey to influencer fame.

I know performers and entertainers can understand and relate to being pulled into so many different directions in your head. I love being behind the camera. I love writing. I love singing. I love performing. I love board games. I just love so many different things. So, I went to Chicago after I graduated to get into improv and find my people to help create something funny. That is where I started to get into entertainment. But I’m not connected to entertainment at all, my family is just a standard family from the suburbs. Trying to find my way in was the biggest challenge because if you don’t have the connections, you just have to figure it out.

It was during this early time away from home when Rob would also gain the confidence to come out, not to pomp and circumstance, but to a simple phone call.

I was 21, living out of the house, and slowly coming out to friends and my family. My mom is an Italian woman who is just filled with drama, and she is very theatrical and I didn’t want it to be this big thing because, for me, it really wasn’t. I am low key. So, I did not want to tell her in person because I knew that she would want to sit down and like make it a day of drama … I couldn’t do that. I called her on the phone, and I told her I liked boys. She still is not happy about that to this day because she wanted to have that moment, but it wasn’t for her. It was not her moment. It was my moment, and I did not want one. So that is my coming out story. It is really low key.

Right after college, Rob got his first industry job. It was, in his words, “a crappy job as a construction journalist.” This would be one of many jobs that Rob would work through, not knowing that social media fame was waiting in the wings.

It was 2008 after the subprime mortgage crisis. Jobs were scarce and they were paying $19,000 a year, so that’s what I took after college, which was my first professional job. I actually don’t like to think about it too often - oh, that was a rough spot. I moved to Grindr after that, and I was doing marketing for them and I thought, “oh, this is cool, this feels like a real job.”

Through his various marketing jobs, he would add a bit of comedic flair to his projects. While at Uber, he placed fake Skymall magazines in cars on April Fool’s Day. With life often coming full circle, Rob recently served as the narrator for Postmates’ (owned by Uber) “bottom-friendly menu” ad campaign for this year’s Pride. He would also learn how to market

and create content on social media platforms, most notably on TikTok. He was building his arsenal to make a brand for himself, by his own rules. When the pandemic hit, he started posting relatable, personal content, and he quickly became a viral sensation.

I did improv in Chicago for like seven or eight years and I had improvisers reach out to me that I worked with then saying, “Hey, my friends are sending me this. This is so cool that this is all happening!” That was the moment when it wasn’t just gay people sending me things, when I had beyond that, like comedians, a further reach.

He hasn’t slowed down and this Pride season, he added music to the mix. Titled “Nothing for You,” it is the first song that Rob has ever written, co-writing it with consummate musicians Sam Creighton and Will Jay with producer Zach Djurich. His approach to music is the same as with comedy - push the envelope. What has become a viral bop for Pride has turned the idea of a Pride anthem upside down. The tonguein-cheek lyrics of the video simply state that if a guy was hot enough, they can take away all basic rights and ideals that our community holds dear. It’s a sarcastic take on the limitations and restrictions taking place around the nation … but hey, gay guys love hot guys, isn’t that what really matters? 100% of the proceeds are donated to For the Gworls, an organization that helps Black transgender people pay for rent and gender-affirming surgeries. Many influencers cannot quite make that jump to music effectively, was Rob scared of releasing it?

I was so excited to do it because it is something that I’m good at. But I haven’t been dancing or singing in a lot of my videos because they must feel right to me. But this was how I wanted it to be - a well-produced single that sounded like a pop song that you would hear on the radio. But if you listen to the lyrics, they are so stupid. You think, wait, what is he saying? Like what, wait what? But then you want to keep listening to it and you find yourself singing the words in disbelief. The music video is great, and I was very excited for people to see it.

The video is great indeed. Rob’s personality jumps off the screen and there is plenty of skin to keep your eyes happy. As much as there is a focus on Rob’s comedy in his content, there is an equal fandom for Rob’s chiseled jaw and muscled body. He’s funny AND a hottie? With the attention on his body, has Rob suffered from body image issues, knowing that the gay community can be extremely hard on others based on looks?

I went through enough body issues in my twenties, with some unhealthy habits, trying to be something that people would find to be the most attractive. When I had moved into my thirties I stepped away from comedy. I also stepped away from a lot of things I was doing and just found something new in New York. This allowed me to come into my own. I had this sense of confidence that things were going to work out for me, and I was going to get my body together. Once I had that mental shift, I stopped caring about what people thought of me and my body. What is interesting is everyone is insecure about their own bodies.

Whether he wanted to or not, Rob has become a spokesperson for the LGBTQ community. Not only are the issues he has covered in Gay Science being talked about beyond our circle on national television, but he has become a bona fide influencer with followers and clicks growing by the day. Does he feel the pressure to become an activist and change the tone of his material?

That is a really good question. I am, in my own way, an activist. And I think any attention my videos get, that I get, is related to the type of content I make, which is funny. It does serve a purpose, sometimes. It doesn’t always have to. Sometimes I can just make something totally stupid if I want to. But if there is some message in it, like in a lot of Gay Science episodes, that’s who I am. So, when I have interviews or I meet people, that is why it’s happening. I wouldn’t necessarily change and switch and be this hard activist with a serious tone. Those people exist and they do what they do really well. I’m going to do what I do well.

And now, Rob’s content is enjoying life beyond the lens. Rob has been touring the States with a live version of his work - over an hour of original music, sketches, and a collection of explicit personal stories that are not appropriate for the internet. For Rob, the tour is about going back to his roots.

Well, I am a theater person. I am a live performer. It is what I have been doing most of my life. I had not stepped on a stage for five years until I started doing

EVERYONE IS INSECURE ABOUT THEIR OWN BODIES.”

my show and I realized how fun it is to be in front of a room of people and have that connection. It is such a great, wonderful thing. And now it’s especially awesome because the people in these rooms are not just people the comedy club has pulled in and been like, “there’s a random show, come see it.” These are the people who know and like me and the things I make. They are coming to see me and now I’m doing what I do well for them. It’s just this wonderful combination. I wanted to go to every city, but it is my first tour, so we are trying to pick main spots. But I really want to go to literally every city to just to see my people!

With this rise in stardom, what is happening in Rob’s love and dating life? Is it hard to date when people are expecting to spend time with the TikTok star?

I have been single for three or four years. When content creating and TikTok began for me, I’ve since been so obsessed. It’s what I’ve wanted to do for so long, so I am really focused on it. I really haven’t given myself an opportunity to go on dates or actively try to date because I know I wouldn’t necessarily want a partner at this moment. But hook-ups have been fun. [Laughs]

Definitely, people come up to me at bars and clubs and they’ll recognize me and say hi. It’s actually been a very awesome experience. Because of the things I post, I get comments like, “Oh my God, when you had that one joke in this one video, that was so funny.” It is nice when people mention specific things I do in my content and we get to converse, and not always, “Hey, I want to hook up with you.”

Rob’s Pride message to his fans is incredibly Rob - Rob the TikToker, Rob the comedian, Rob the best-selling author, Rob the heartthrob: Stop shopping at Zara. Y’all shop at

Zara too much. It’s too much, too much. You gotta back off from Zara, everybody.

I guess there goes Rob’s TikTok endorsement from Zara! ■

You can follow Rob on IG: @HeartThrobAnderson

OLD SCHOOL MEETS NEW SCHOOL FOR

AUTUMN IN BOSTON

BY MARK A. THOMPSON

FOR EVERYONE WHO WENT TO SCHOOL IN BOSTON AND TREATED THE CITY LIKE A CAMPUS, A RETURN TO THE HUB CAN FEEL LIKE AN ALUMNI REUNION: EVERYTHING IS THE SAME AND YET EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED. A walk around the old neighborhood, turn a different corner, you keep running into your youth, partially because Boston remains forever young. With more than 40 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area, there’s an endless stream of students and an ongoing hustle in the Hub.

(above) Boston Public Garden. Photo by MRNY

(below) Boston Athenaeum, Second Floor. Photo courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum.

(above) Boston Public Garden. Photo by Kyle Klein.

(below) Boston Public Library with Rainbow Flags. Photo by GBCVB

My godfather was a Bostonian who grew up on the back side of Beacon Hill, and to his mind, Boston was always enjoying a renaissance, a word he pronounced to highlight its French derivation, with an emphasis on rebirth. And speaking of a renaissance, remember when the Ritz-Carlton Boston was where you went to meet your grandmother or your socialite aunt when they came to town and invited you for tea?

Housed in that imposing 18-story building alongside the Public Garden, the Ritz-Carlton Boston was the most redoubtable hotel in America, notable for its impeccable service and waitstaff in white tie. A profusion of fresh flowers in the lobby, culinary arts by Escoffier in the dining room - and everywhere, pinkies up. Everyone partied there, ever since its 1927 opening during the Roaring Twenties. The hotel’s guest register read like an extension of Who’s Who. Tennessee Williams revised A Streetcar Named Desire while in residence. Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote music in their suite. Count Basie and Duke Ellington played on the rooftop.

Well, as the French say, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose - and in keeping with Boston’s youthful spirit, that beloved hotel, one of the city’s most iconic architectural landmarks has been reborn as The Newbury Boston. To the delight of locals and Boston Brahmins, the bones and the pedigree have been retained amidst a multi-year restoration that has transformed this grande dame into a vibrant, white-hot hotel.

With interiors by Champalimaud Design and Jeffrey Beers International, as well as a new entrance onto Newbury Street, the 286-room luxury property welcomes guests into a jewel-toned lobby with black marble floors. Fireplaces have been reclaimed and a private Library Lounge for hotel guests has been outfitted in emerald green and cobalt blue velvet. A shimmering porcelain chandelier mirrors the leaves of a gingko tree, a symbol of the hotel’s longevity. Accents of red pay homage to Winston Churchill, a guest for whom the hotel reupholstered his suite in his favorite color. Most pleasing for tipplers, the hotel’s Street Bar has become a sleek and elegant speakeasy serving classic cocktails, including the signature martini.

Back in the day, the Roof at the Ritz was home to big bands like Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, the Count, and Duke. The kind of place where Auntie Mame would grab hold of your shoulders and remind you that life is a banquet. If you’re fortunate enough to arrive at The Newbury Boston during the ‘blue hour,’ then take the elevator straight to the rooftop where Contessa reigns.

You should know that Contessa is made for entrances, and fortunately, there are two: one for hotel residents, another for guests. No matter your point of entry, you’re guaranteed a sense of arrival at this rooftop restaurant that feels like an amalgam of a Gucci fashion shoot and a film by Fellini. With breathtaking views over the city and a cast of characters that reminds you how cosmopolitan Boston truly is, Contessa recreates “la dolce vita” that defined Rome’s Via Veneto during the heyday of the jet set and the paparazzi.

Opened by Major Food Group, the masterminds behind numerous Manhattan, Vegas, and Hong Kong hotspots, Contessa reclaims this Boston rooftop that was so popular during the Big Band era. With a glass roof and retractable panels for al fresco dining, the grand trattoria evokes a conservatory in the sky that is as alluring in the sunshine as it is during the night. Regardless of when you sink into Contessa’s embrace, an order of squash carpaccio is all but mandatory, as is the signature Crema de Boston, a revamped Boston cream pie that layers custard and chocolate ganache with whipped Italian mascarpone, all blanketed in chocolate shavings.

For a post-prandial constitution, nothing beats the Public Garden, which is right outside The Newbury’s front door. The nation’s first public botanical garden was established in 1837, right alongside Boston Common which was created in 1634 as America’s first public park. Surrounded by a Victorian castiron fence, the garden includes a six-acre pond where the swan boats have operated for over a century. No visit to the Garden is complete without paying respect to the bronze ducklings inspired by Robert McCloskey’s famous children’s book Make Way for Ducklings. For those in search of additional greenspaces, Boston’s Emerald Necklace is a series of nine parks comprising 1,100 acres, all connected by parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

At the top of the Common, directly across from the Massachusetts State House stands a bronze that author Henry James termed “real perfection.” Dedicated to the abolitionist Robert Gould Shaw, the memorial was completed in 1897 by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens who worked for 14 years to render the faces of every soldier, all of whom are Black.

Just beyond the State House beckon the signature red doors of 10½ Beacon Street, home of the Boston Athenaeum. Founded in 1807, the Athenaeum quickly became the center of intellectual life in Boston and one of the largest libraries in the States. As a student in Boston, I often frequented the Fifth Floor Reading Room where, in fits and starts, I wrote a graduate thesis while gazing down onto the Old Granary Burial Ground where lie the bones of Paul Revere, Crispus Attucks, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other Revolutionary-era heroes.

With more than half a million volumes, the Athenaeum’s collection includes the personal library of George Washington, as well as paintings and sculptures by Houdon, John Singer Sargent, Polly Thayer, Bradley Phillips, and numerous other notable artists. Day passes and visitor tours are offered for guests, and memberships are available for bibliophiles who seek one of Boston’s most pleasing sanctuaries.

Due in large part to its many colleges and universities, Boston has been a cultural hub for artists and intellectuals throughout its history. During the latter part of the 19th century, the heiress Isabella Stewart Gardner built a Venetian palazzo along the Fenway in which to exhibit her art collection. Now known as the Gardner, the museum offers exhibitions and

(above) Contessa. Photo by Douglas Friedman

(below) The Newbury, The Library. Photo by Nikolas Koenig

musical events that recall Gardner’s literary salons which attracted Boston’s cognoscenti and became hugely influential in shaping the city’s museum collections.

In a nod to Gardner’s aesthetic vision for the city, the Newbury has amassed its own diverse collection of artworks which are exhibited throughout the hotel. Works by the great portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh hang in the hotel’s Library Lounge. Curated by the owners of the Schoolhouse Gallery in Provincetown, the Newbury’s collection features many local and New England artists whose work highlights the hotel’s cultural and architectural connection to the city.

The vision of The Newbury as a 21st century salon for the arts continues in the guest rooms, 90 of which are luxury suites, and all of which feature original art. Wood-burning fireplaces are featured in more than 40 suites, as well as a wet bar or a cocktail trolley, thereby making it perfectly sensible to remain swaddled in the Frette bathrobes and slippers, martini in hand. Further temptations await in the marble bathroom with walk-in rainforest shower and Byredo toiletries.

Designed to replicate a residential ambiance, The Newbury’s guest rooms and suites feature window nooks and cloak closets, as well as Nespesso Vertuo espresso machines. Twice daily housekeeping is highlighted by an evening turndown service that includes eyeglass cleaning cloths and bespoke book markers for nightstand novels. And yes, naturally, there’s a 24-hour Fitness Center, should you feel the need - although for that matter, the Public Garden never closes and there’s always the possibility of a ghost ride with Paul Revere.

Call it a rebirth or a renaissance, Boston continues to burn with the incandescent glow of youth. ■