Long Island TikTawk

Long Island TikTawk: Angelina Cammareri

What started as a way to connect with their community while living upstate in Syracuse has turned into a career for Ana Richardson and Michael Calobrisi. Although you may not realize from their separate accounts, the two are a couple who met while studying together in college.With a background in acting, film and news sharing, they grew their accounts based on their individual niches. Richardson enjoys finding new businesses and budget-friendly things to do in her own personal life, while Calobrisi has a love of what he calls “strange history.”The couple is preserving Long Island’s hidden history while also sharing what you can do around your local area.“We just really love storytelling and I think that these platforms just kind of allowed us to have a way to tell these stories,” Richardson said.

Meet Eden Boakye, the 22-year-old content creator from Westbury who has gained over 800K followers across platforms talking about food, fashion, lifestyle and claims these spots are supposedly the BEST on Long Island. #newyork #longisland #podcasts

Rebecca Koltun wanted to go to medical school, but a life changing ski accident in 2021 resulted in her being paralyzed from the neck down.Koltun began posting TikToks in the hospital to show how she paints by using her mouth as well as other tasks that she does on a regular basis.Now, the 24-year-old has expanded her content creation to include trends and dark humor, which has garnered her millions of views and several thousands of followers.

While being stuck in the house together during the pandemic, Marco D'Alessandro saw it as an opportunity rather than a road block to prank his family and share those moments on TikTok.Since then, all six family members have developed their own platforms and brand as SaucyTV.

Leonora Sangalang's grandson, Jeffrey Juarez, was furloughed from his job as a financial analyst during the Pandemic.Already having a strong grasp on numbers, he began to grow his own following on TikTok...until he realized that videos of his grandmother always went viral.Now, the dynamic duo created 'Our Filipino Grandma' with over a million followers across platforms.

Lead singer Adam Ezegelian got his start in music by auditioning on American Idol, but him and the band have been able to grow even more, thanks to TikTok.Videos with Dee Snider and Jack Black are just some of the collaborations the band has done to increase their following.

From college roommates with Maddie Schrader, also known as "Moobie," to now working together at Barstool Sports. Kelly Trotta, "Smelly Kelly," explains her start on TikTok and how she was days away from continuing her education to be a teacher until Dave Portnoy called.

Dix Hills native Evan Hirsch grew his audience on TikTok by showing what he’s most known for in the fashion world — transforming dresses into other dresses. Hirsch, 26, is now preparing for his first solo show at New York Fashion Week.

Joe Mele, @mmmjoemele, dropped out of college to make comedy videos with his dad, including dressing him up as the food critic from ‘Ratatouille’. Now Mele, 24, has over 27 million followers on TikTok and made content creation his full-time job.

“That perspective, ultimately, gives kids just that. Perspective,” says Rohan Murphy, a double amputee who was a wrestler in high school. Now, he travels across the country sharing his story at schools to inspire students to overcome adversity. TikTok has helped share his message and encourage Long Island students to have him guest speak at their schools. What’s his goal? To visit all 124 school districts on the Island.

When Danielle Sepsy was 13 years old, she was baking treats for her family and peers in hopes of opening a business one day. Now the “scone queen,” shares her recipes, comedy and Italian-American culture on TikTok, growing not only her following, but also growing her business called “The Hungry Gnome.”

Becca Bastos was working full time as a nanny when she started posting videos on TikTok impersonating her Long Island mom. Now Bastos, 27, has over 2 million followers and has made enough money through her posts to quit her job and move to Los Angeles.