A few weeks ago, I was mindlessly swiping through tiktok when I saw a video by a young creator detailing how difficult life is in Tarpon Springs, FL. But the video was seeped in irony as he was by the beautiful sponge docks in the small historic fishing town. The video was absolutely hilarious and had hundreds and thousands of views.
Being that I have an upcoming book festival appearance in Tarpon Springs (Saturday 4/25, 10am to 4pm), I wanted to know what was up. What was this video referencing? It took me a few additional minutes to find that famous video gamer Jynxzi had recently gone on a rant about growing up in Tarpon Springs. When Jynxzi tried to bring up pictures of his tough side of town, all he found was images of the tourist areas. Whether or not he set himself up is unknown, but he rolled with it well. It is definitely a huge self-own.
After a few tiktokers posted the clip, others ran with the audio and the theme to hilarious results. The videos got so big that Tarpon Springs now has its own mention on KnowYourMeme. That’s how you know you’ve made it.
Being the entrepreneuring and resourceful creator that I am, and never one to pass an easy opportunity, I used Jynxzi’s new trend to promote my upcoming appearance at the Tarpon Springs Book Festival. I drove up to Tarpon Springs and made my own tough video where I sat on a curb and talked about slanging products on the streets - the products of course being my books.
This tiktok and another I made about the trend are my most popular tiktoks, far eclipsing any of my previous videos. I’m by far the oldest person making videos about Tarpon being tough, but no one seems to care. I was a little worried about jumping on a trend done mostly by ironic kids, but the likes and positive comments say otherwise. One commentor actually said “that is how you advertise!”. I won’t do anymore, but showing that I get it, running with it, and adding something new to the discourse allowed me to fit in.
You gotta be a real sponge, because ain’t nothing sweet in Tarpon Springs.
