“I’m pushing to be the top influencer on TikTok,” he says, sprawled shirtless on a bed in the LA mansion that he and four others are currently renting. “I was going down a path I hadn’t planned on.” (Two members of Sway were arrested in Texas on drug charges in May after violating the Covid-19 lockdown in California.) “It was chaotic there” at Sway House, says Richards, who has recently moved out of the group’s LA home. After getting on TikTok last year while living near Toronto, Canada, Richards achieved quick fame for his dance, singing and lip-synching videos-and for a persona he describes as “edgy teen.” He has played up feuds with other influencers on social media and cofounded Sway House, the TikTok collective that has developed a reputation for parties and hijinks. Positioning himself as a thoughtful media executive is a pretty sweeping change from what his image has been: TikTok’s resident heartthrob and bad boy. But he’s also cofounded his own talent management company, TalentX, and his own drink business, Ani Energy-and joined the C-suite of Triller, a smaller TikTok rival, as its chief strategy officer, a deal that compensated him with an equity stake in the startup. To be sure, he’s done plenty of traditional TikTok moneymaking: sponsorship deals with Reebok and HouseParty, a merch line, YouTube ad revenue, a new song-making deal with Warner Records. “Influencers need to learn how to properly monetize.” To best capitalize on fame, “it’s about creating companies or getting equity in companies,” Josh Richards says. “It has castor oil in it, so it’s a treat for your eyelashes.” (“We want to break the barrier and get into conversations that most kids would feel uncomfortable asking their parents about.”) Her makeup line, Item Beauty, a joint venture with beauty startup Madeby, drops its first products online next week including a bronzer, eyeshadow, brightening powder-and the pièce de résistance, the $14 Lash Snack. That same month she started hosting a weekly Spotify podcast with her mom, Sheri Nicole, called Mama Knows Best. In July, she became the main global spokesperson for American Eagle, a role that will splash her image across both digital and traditional TV and print ads for the teen clothing company. Altogether, these two revenue streams accounted for two thirds of her estimated earnings. At first, she got the typical deals to do her own branded merchandise and sponsored content from brands like Reebok and watch company Daniel Wellington. That fall she posted her first sponsored content posts, for Fashion Nova, an online women’s clothing store, and in December, she left school for Los Angeles to pursue celebrityhood full-time. There, she became friends with a group of TikTok stars and helped form Hype House, a content creator collective, which elevated her profile further. Younger teens at LSU football games would ask to get their picture taken with her. She hit a million fans by the fall-she remembers the day exactly: October 27-and was getting recognized around campus: “My name would be called out when I was walking to class, which was pretty mind-blowing,” Easterling recalls. A year ago, Easterling was just settling into life at LSU and making choreographed TikToks that drew on a childhood as a competitive dancer.
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