It was so much fun getting to talk with Hootie Hurley, the new king of Tik-Tok. With over 330K followers on Tik-Tok, the twenty-year-old influencer is on the way to dominate the social media world and we talked just about that.
Speaking on his previous sold out tour, how he found himself joining the social media world, his family, and much more, we covered it all so his fans could get the inside scoop of the guy they love so much!
Be sure to follow Hootie on Tik-Tok, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with him and don’t forget to subscribe to him on YouTube too! Thanks to Hootie for taking the time to talk with me and for being so kind; I can’t wait to see what’s the next for you.
DL: Hey Hootie, it’s so nice to be talking with you! How are you?
HH: I am doing well! Thank you for asking.
DL: You recently got off the Lights Out Tour, what was it like getting to travel across the country with your friends and meeting so many fans?
HH: Hosting the Lights Out Tour was one of the best experiences in my life. Coming in to the tour I didn’t know many of the guys. After being on the tour together we all became super close, and really became a family. I could talk all day about how amazing all of the supporters were. The amount of love I received was unreal. My favorite part of the tour was being able to meet so many awesome people. I loved everyone I met!
DL: Did you have a favorite city the tour stopped in?
HH: To be honest, no. I can’t really answer that question because I loved every city and every show! It would be impossible to rank them!
DL: It looked like you guys had a lot of fun together! What was one of your favorite parts about getting to travel to all the different places you went to?
HH: We had a blast! One of my favorite parts was the fact that we were all together. We goofed around on the bus and ate every meal together. It was constant comedy no matter what we were doing! I don’t think anyone had a bad day while we were on tour!
DL: Was it hard being on the road at first since it was your first tour, or was it easier because you were surrounded by friends and what not?
HH: The only thing that was kind of hard was going to bed at a decent hour! We had more than enough time to sleep, but I had a hard time going to bed when I knew I could be up having fun with my friends! The only way I can describe tour is like an awesome vacation with tons of your friends! My mom and my little brother were on Phase One with us so that was extra special too.
DL: Back to the beginning of things, how did you first get into the social media world?
HH: I have always been on social media. Through high school and my first 2 years of college I traveled all over the nation for track meets. I posted lots about my pole vaulting progress and built a decent following from my accomplishments on the track as a collegiate decathlete. About a year ago my little brother, Sam Hurley, downloaded Tik Tok and started growing very fast. He always wanted me to make Tik Toks with him but
since I lived 3 hours away for college it was hard.
Last May my mom (who manages my brother and me) decided she’d host an event in Dallas for Sam to meet his supporters. It was called #DallasMeetSam. She asked me to host. It was a very successful event! The next thing I knew I was on a plane to Los Angeles headed to host the Lights Out Tour.
DL: Was it something that you always wanted to do or did you find yourself get into more as time progressed?
HH: I never really dreamt of being a social media influencer. However, even as a young child I had companies reaching out to me to advertise their products due to my large number of followers. After series of injuries from track and field my freshman year of college, I had to have a major hip surgery. The recovery was a year long process. I was very excited to get back into track. As soon as I did, I just kept getting injured again and couldn’t stay healthy. That’s when I decided to start making Tik Toks and I found my new passion!
DL: Would you say social media is your primary focus now over the athletic curricula’s you’ve been doing your entire life?
HH: Yes, social media is my new primary focus. I officially retired from running track and field this fall.
DL: It’s really cool to see that you and your brother Sam do the same thing but in a different way. How is it having him in the same line of work as you? I feel like it’s cool because you can always bounce ideas off of each other.
HH: Thank you! It is awesome having him in the same line of work. Yes, we bounce ideas off of each other all the time! Our mom, Kristy Hurley, is also very involved in our work! We have basically made it into a family business.
DL: Do you think he inspired you a lot when it came to the early stages of you getting involved with YouTube , TikTok , and all the other platforms out there?
HH: Sam most definitely brought me into the social media world through Tik Tok and I am very thankful for that. Before I was on Tik Tok, I was already on all other social media platforms including YouTube, but I deleted all my old videos a few years back. I’m so bummed I did that. It would have been awesome to see those now!
DL: Are there any other influencers out there that you get inspired or motivated by? It’s so hard keeping up with all of the trends going on, but you seem to be such a natural at creating authentic and funny content.
HH: Thank you very much for the kind words! I appreciate it! Yes, it is truly a full time job keeping up with all the trends and such. For the most part I come up with my video ideas on my own and do my best to create genuine content for everyone who watches my videos! Some of the other influencers who I have lots of
respect for includes Brent Rivera and his group, Dolan Twins, and the Merrell Twins. I love how they all make funny and clean content for all!
DL: Congratulations on getting verified on TikTok by the way! How did it feel when you found out you were? That’s so amazing.
HH: Thank you so much! It felt so great when I looked at my phone and saw that check mark by my name! It really made me feel like all of my hard work is starting to pay off. I see that you are verified on all platforms! How did that feel when you got verified on your first platform?
DL: Are there any other TikTok stars you’d like to collab with?
HH: Yes, there are several including a dentist near my hometown named Ben Winters. He’s known as The Bentist. We’ve talked about it and are planning to make it happen very soon. He’s hilarious!
DL: And how about YouTube , any YouTubers out there that you’d love to shoot with or collab with?
HH: Yes, there are so many including the Vlog squad, Brent Rivera’s group, and this animal lover whom I’ve always been a huge fan of named jayprehistoricpets.
DL: Which platform would say is the best way to interact with your fans one on one?
HH: Instagram! To me it is by far the easiest to interact with everyone in the comments and DM’s.
DL: One thing I really love about you is that you’re all about self-expression and using your platform for good, to make people smile. Why is it important for you to use your platform like you do? It’s so admirable since so many others don’t use it like they should.
HH: I really appreciate that! That is my goal, to put a smile on people’s faces in a genuine and clean way. I think it is important to spread happiness and love everywhere you can! That is why I love doing this so much.
DL: Speaking of apps, do you have a personal favorite?
HH: Instagram is my favorite social media platform!
DL: With this year being so great for you, what was the most rewarding or exciting part of 2019 for you?
HH: I’d would have to say hosting both parts of The Light’s Out Tour was definitely among the most exciting and rewarding.
DL: Do you have any hopes or plans for 2020?
HH: I have big hopes and lots planned for 2020! I plan to keep making comedy videos on my Tik Tok and Youtube, and I really want to get into more acting and modeling. I have already started doing some things with Brat TV and I have had multiple photoshoots with well known photographers like @Bryant on Instagram as well as had the opportunity to make some funny content with Awesomeness TV. My biggest goal is to continue making people laugh and spread love and happiness everywhere I can.
XO DIVA D 