TikTok Awards: Thep00lguy, Nicholas Flannery and Kyra-Mae among the winners

A man who makes wacky pool cleaning videos, a traveling duo in search of Mr Whippy for 99p and a woman who makes pickles at home are among the winners of the first UK and Ireland TikTok Awards. are

On Tuesday evening, 72 shortlisted content creators – with a combined following of more than 101 million – attended the awards ceremony celebrating creators in 12 categories including fashion, travel, food and education.

The event in West London was everything you’d imagine a perpetually online awards ceremony to be. There were endless photo opportunities, more color light than people – and some creators were spotted refreshing their follower accounts during the event.

Awards winners told the BBC how they rose to stardom on the video platform, and shared their thoughts on whether short social media videos are contributing to “brain damage” – more Presumption of a person’s mental state due to use. Low-quality or unchallenging online content.

Maddie Swift told the BBC: “My life was changed just by a pickle.

“I was unemployed and I started a series of things I do when I’m unemployed and I just started this random video of picking cucumbers.

“Overnight it got 10 million views, it was crazy.”

Worst food crime according to food content creator? “Nutella and cheese is very gross.”

Maddie said she was “always nervous about posting videos” of herself. While many of these creators are confident, many others share Maddie’s sentiments.

Katie Kennedy – history gossip on TikTok – said that when she first started posting videos, she “blocked my friends, family and everyone I knew because I was so embarrassed”. .

She now feels more proud of her work to educate people about history and says her work is “rewarding”.

Among the winners was Miles Laughlin, better known as The Pool Guy, who took home the award for Content Creator of the Year.

The 34-year-old has 15 million followers on TikTok who watch him remove gunk and debris from swimming pools and then use a jet washer to restore them to their original beauty.

But are the videos high quality? As satisfying as they are to watch, some may question whether they are contributing to brain damage – which was recently named Oxford University’s word of the year.

Miles said he doesn’t think his content is causing brain damage because “people learn something from it”.

“I actually have people message me saying they learn a lot from it, but even people who don’t have a pool just love to see how satisfying it is to clean something. ”

He added: “I just have to thank the people who have pools.”

Creator of the Year nominee Ayam – whose videos occasionally show the star reacting to things that just crush her – told the BBC it was “a compliment, not an insult”.

“I love the Brain Root culture, I love connecting with people,” she said. “If I’m a brain rot girl, let’s rot together.”

The Creator of the Year award went to 22-year-old Kyra-Mae Turner, whose lifestyle content focuses primarily on holiday videos and Get Ready With Me videos.

After accepting her award, she told the BBC: “I hope people take something positive from my content, because I do.”

“It’s amazing when people tell me how I’ve helped them travel solo or feel more confident in their bodies.”

He also said that creating content for social media is not as easy as it looks. “It can really take ages.”

Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, who won Travel Creator of the Year, agree with Kyra-Mae: “It’s easy to underestimate how hard it is to create content because it’s our job to make it look smooth. Give, but a lot of planning that goes into it.”

Oche Natori, who won the Fashion and Beauty Creator of the Year award, added: “I don’t understand why people turn a blind eye to people who are celebrated for being good at what they do and doing something that is real. I am very difficult.

“There’s a lot of work and dedication that people don’t see.”

But, it’s not all makeup, travel and fashion – some of these esteemed people are using their platform to inspire and educate.

Iain Ward, who received the award for Voices for Change, is a 31-year-old who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer last year.

He has been raising money for charity by running challenges, such as running seven marathons in seven days, using his TikTok platform.

“I think what I do is good because it’s unique,” he said in the winners’ room.

“I thought my material would really take off because it has meaning and it’s really a hero’s story.”

Manny Wallace is famous for his home chemistry experiments.

He picked up the Education Creator of the Year award and said it was “really great” to be seen as a role model.

“My teacher inspired me and that’s what I hope to give back,” he said, adding that his favorite video was the one where he “melted a knife into something else to spread love.” .

It wasn’t just the youth who were at the event. Married couple Teresa and Michael, both 80, were among the nominees.

“I don’t understand any of it,” Teresa Barnett said of how she feels about walking the red carpet. “We’re just normal people and now we’re recognized in the supermarket.”

The couple was nominated to star in their son James’ Tik Tok series Make Me Offer.

Equally astounded, James recounted how he started randomly capturing moments with his parents for TikTok, with views on the videos increasing exponentially each time.

“It’s buzzing right now,” James said. “I think it’s authenticity; it’s the fact that my parents are kind of the opposite influence.”

The awards, which were also streamed live on TikTok, were hosted by TV personality Michelle Visage.

He said that TikTok is “everyone’s guilty pleasure”.

Asked why TikTok creators should be recognized with awards, Visage said: “Actors and singers are recognized, why not content creators? They deserve it.”

The winners were chosen by a vote among TikTok users.

Over 2.9 million votes were cast across all categories.

Creator of the year – Kyra-Mae Turner

Entertainer of the Year — Nicholas Flannery

Cook of the Year – Maddie Neye-Swift

Game Creator of the Year — John Nellis

Fashion and Beauty Creator of the Year –.high natori n

Journey creator of the year – Ryan Losasso and Jade Beatty

Creator of the academic year – Manny Wallace

A voice for change – Iain Ward

High Quality Content Creator of the Year – Mel Laughlin

Rising Star Creator of the Year – George Harper

Video of the Year Award — J. Foreman

Artist of the year – Myles Smith

Additional reporting by Emmanuela Alausa.