Every town seems to have them. Those gilded neighborhoods with impossibly massive homes, a lineup of fancy cars, giant yards, etc. But how? How do so many people have so much money?
That’s the question Aaron Vankampen, a freelance location scout in Toronto, has been asking homeowners for months. The answers he’s been getting have provided plenty of fodder for his TikTok account, which has blown up in a big way since he posted Part 1 back in early November:
“Prior to this I was working as a location scout as well as bartending,” Vankampen explained to MarketWatch. “The pandemic hit and I found myself with a lot of free time. I was looking for something to do with that time.”
So he let his curiosity be his guide, and he started wandering the local upscale neighborhoods and asking questions. His most viewed TikTok, which includes lawyers, Teslas
TSLA,
+1.57%
and a “dream worker,” has been clicked on an incredible 35 million times:
Vankampen’s rise to TikTok fame has been meteoric, with more than 1 million followers in less than two months. As their reactions suggest, the interviewees were generally friendly and easygoing when approached by the door-to-door TikToker.
He did say, however, that the odd issue has arisen. He was, for instance, chased off a property by a guard dog. “I’ve learned and will never approach a home with a ‘beware of dog’ sign now, he said.
In the next phase of his social-media plans, Vankampen is looking to push his reach beyond Toronto once travel restrictions ease and visit homes all around the world. Would he get the same warm reception in, say, New York City as he has in Canada? We might find out one day.
In the meantime, he’s also launching his YouTube channel, with an eye toward expanding on the interviews without the TikTok time limitations, and, ideally, make some cash in the process.
“My plan is to continue to stay inspirational, if I can find a way to monetize while still inspiring my followers, then that’s what I’ll do,” he said.
