Top 30 under 30: The Geelong stars of social media
From actors, athletes and even a drag queen, meet the young stars with mega followings on social media.
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Locals from across the region are finding fame on Instagram and TikTok, growing their platforms to reach tens of thousands, even millions, of followers.
From actors and athletes to media personalities and even a drag queen, meet the social media stars aged 30 and younger who are taking social media by storm.
1. Art Simone
Handle: @rtist—
Followers: 209k on Instagram
Age: 30
Jack Daye, better known by the stage name Art Simone, is a drag queen and entertainer.
She is well-known in the local drag community after her regular performances at Piano Bar Geelong, but the 30-year-old shot to fame when she appeared on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under.
She also released her new podcast called ‘Concealed with Art Simone’ in September this year.
2. Tommy Cockram
Handle: @tcezy
Followers: 7.8m on TikTok and 35k on Instagram
Age: 15
Barwon Heads teenager Tommy Cockram has gained a cult following on TikTok sharing dark and mysterious historical events and terrifying moments caught of camera.
His videos have more than 226 million likes combined and he has multiple videos with over a million views.
3. Chloe Hayden
Handle: @chloeshayden
Followers: 589.3k on TikTok and 181k on Instagram
Age: 25
Local actor, author and disability advocate Chloe Hayden shot to national fame for playing neurodivergent character ‘Quinni’ in the Netflix smash hit ‘Heartbreak High.’
The 25-year-old was recently named rising star at the Marie Claire Women of the Year awards.
Hayden’s social media following has increased over recent months after sharing her relatable experiences growing up with autism and ADHD with her fans.
4. Will Taylor
Handle: @will..taylor
Followers: 13.5k on TikTok
Age: 21
Rising local TikTok star Will Taylor posts combine his passion for local football and cricket with punchy comedy skits.
His content has gained more than 690k combined likes and one of his videos about how footy players are punished after losing a game has 1.1m views.
5. Taylor Henderson
Handle: @taylorhenderson
Followers: 243k on Instagram
Age: 29
Henderson has released two studio albums since appearing in the reality singing competitions and most recently performed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year.
6. Jakara Anthony
Handle: @jakara—anthony
Followers: 17.2k on Instagram
Age: 24
Skier Jakara Anthony won gold at the 2022 Beijing winter Olympics in the women’s mogul event and finished second at the World Ski Championships in 2019.
The Barwon Heads local was recently award an Order of Australia medal in September for her service to sport as a gold medallist.
She has gained more than 17k followers on Instagram and has partnered with brands for social media content such as lululemon Australia, burger chain Grill’d and Mercedes-Benz.
7. Brit Selwood
Handle: @britselwood—
Followers: 86.7k on Instagram
Age: 30
Married to former Geelong Cats captain and premiership champion Joel Selwood, the special needs teacher and model has grown her social media following by partnering with brands like PE Nation and Myer as well as Metricon Homes and The Pilates Class.
Selwood announced in September that she was expecting her first child.
8. Amie Rohan
Handle: @amierohan—
Followers: 43.8k on Instagram
Age: 28
Single mum Amie Rohan has shared her personal experiences of loss online to help others.
Rohan heartbreakingly lost her daughter Willow in 2018, five hours after she was born.
She is an ambassador for Red Nose Australia and mental health charity One in Five.
Rohan has also partnered with brands like Cotton On Kids and Decuba plus most recently Hawaiian Airlines.
9. Cadan MacDonald
Handle: @cados38
Followers: 68.9k on TikTok, 32.9k on Instagram
Age: 27
YouTuber and podcaster Cadan Macdonald has grown his following online posting sport content and clips from with interviewees from his podcast ‘Goes Alright.’
MacDonald is joined by AFL stars on his podcast including Jake Viney. He has also spoken to other social media influencers and sporting personalities.
10. Jess Wolfe
Handle: @jesswolfee
Followers: 13.6k on Instagram
Age: 27
Jess Wolfe works in real estate and grew her social media following her appearance on the 2020 season of Farmer Wants a Wife.
She told the Addy when the show aired in July 2020 that she applied because she was sick of being the only single one at the table.
11. Steph Harper
Handle: @stephanieshae
Followers: 12.3k on Instagram
Age: 29
Steph Harper gained her social media following after appearing on the 2020 season of The Bachelor.
The Ocean Grove woman has since become a model and partnered with clothing brands such as City Beach and White Fox Boutique on her Instagram account. She was invited to Melbourne Fashion Week earlier this year.
12. Hugh Jeffreys
Handle: @hughjeffreys
Followers: 25.9k on Instagram
Age: 20
Hugh Jeffreys has a passion for technology, film making and photography.
His YouTube channel where he posts videos on how to restore broken phones, tablets and other electronics has more than 860,000 subscribers.
13. Amber Sidney
Handle: @amber.sidney
Followers: 27k on Instagram
Age: 26
Amber Sidney is Geelong’s resident beauty pageant queen.
She was crowed Miss Grand Australia this year and was third runner up in Miss International in 2017.
Sidney is now an ambassador for anti-bullying charity Bully Zero and not-for-profit organisation Destinry Rescue which help to rescue children from human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
14. Ruby Brownless
Handle: @rubybrownless
Followers: 36.1k on Instagram
Age: 24
Ruby Brownless is the daughter of ex-Geelong Cats footballer and media personality Billy Brownless.
She has grown her social platform by partnering with brands such as Diish and Wittner Shoes as well as Crown Melbourne.
15. Lucy Brownless
Handle: @lucybrownless
Followers: 35.6k on Instagram
Age: 26
Lucy Brownless is also the daughter of ex-Geelong Cats footballer and media personality Billy Brownless.
She has partnered with brands such as Witchery, Sportscraft and Cotton On Body.
Brownless also has plans to launch her own brand Bless in early 2023.
16. Darcie Verstraten
Handle: @darcieverstraten
Followers: 8.5k on Instagram
Age:
Darcie Verstraten is the owner of cosmetic clinic Aesthetic Injectables in Pakington Street, Geelong West.
17. Sam DeKoning
Handle: @sam.dekoning
Followers: 27.7k on Instagram
Age: 21
Sam DeKoning is young Geelong Cats football player.
The young star has gained quite a following on social media since he debut for the Cats in round 5 of 2021.
18. Lily Edwards
Handle: @lily3dwards
Followers: 10.6k on TikTok
Age: 20
Lily Edwards built a following on TikTok with her online shopping reviews and daily vlogs.
She continues to post clothing hauls and ‘get ready with me’ videos daily to her thousands of followers.
19. Sarah Czarnuch
Handle: @sarah—czarnuch
Followers: 124k on Instagram
Age: 30
Model Sarah Czarnuch first shot to fame after being crowned Miss Tourism Australian in 2013.
She has her own clothing collaboration with brand clothing label Elliatt.
Czarnuch is also a beauty columnist for the Geelong Addy’s lifestyle magazine, GT Magazine.
20. Ollie Henry
Handle: @0lliehenry
Followers: 20.4k on Instagram
Age: 20
AFL player Ollie Henry is one of latest recruits to the Geelong Football Club, having started his career playing for Collingwood.
The 20-year-old now has a fan base of more than 20,000 followers of Instagram.
21. Jack Henry
Handle: @jackhenry—
Followers: 11.9k on Instagram
Age: 24
Older brother of Ollie, Jack Henry was drafted to Geelong Cats in 2016.
He has also grown his social media following his beginning his footy career at the Cats.
22. Lily Mithen
Handle: @lilygracemithen
Followers: 8.2k on Instagram
Age: 24
Geelong local Lily Mithen is an ALFW star and has played for the Melbourne Football Club since 2016.
Mithen, who originally played for the North Geelong Football Club, won her first AFLW premiership in November.
She also works as a real estate specialist for Infolio Property in Geelong.
23. Gryan Miers
Handle: @gryan—miers
Followers: 22.8k on Instagram
Age: 23
Gryan Miers is a footballer for the Geelong Cats.
His social media following has increased after he was drafted to the club in 2017.
24. Eliza Anne Boyd
Handle: @elizaanneboyd
Followers: 8.2k
Age: 29
Local designer Eliza Anne Boyd is the founder of small business Earth Covers which make bohemian style picnic blankets and interior rugs.
Earth Cover’s Instagram has 11,000 followers.
25. Joshua Maxwell de Hoog
Handle: @joshuamaxwelldehoog
Followers: 4.3k on Instagram
Age: 28
Artist and creative Joshua Maxwell de Hoog is the writer and photographer behind the Instagram page Keep Geelong Weird.
He shares portraits of other local artists and their stories.
26. Gemma Ruffin
Handle: @gemmaruffin
Followers: 4k
Age: 23
Ruffin is a women’s fitness coach and posts gym and nutrition content to her growing audience.
She recently was a guest speaker at a women’s empowerment summit in Geelong hosted by Ruby Darcy.
27. Alex Hecker
Handle: @alexhacker1
Followers: 5k
Age: 30
Alex Hecker is a presenter, model and puppy development adviser for Guide Dogs Australia.
She found the spotlight after competing in both Miss World Australia and Miss Universe Australia.
28. Clare Walker
Handle: @clarewalksalot
Followers: 3.1k on Instagram
Age: 21
Local woman Clare Walker is an international model and recently strutted down the catwalk at Melbourne Fashion Week.
29. Mia Plecic
Handle: @miaplecic
Followers: 17.2k on Instagram
Age: 30
Geelong local Mia Plecic is the owner of successful hair care company Slick Hair Co.
Her company has more than 35,000 followers on Instagram and has been featured in The Daily Mail and WHO Magazine.
30. Maddison Temelkovski
Handle: @maddisontemo
Followers: 9.7k on Instagram
Age: 31
Maddison Temelkovski is the founder of The Aesthetic Skin Clinic in Geelong and skincare company Skin Series.
Her beauty clinic now has a team of 12 employee and her businesses continue to grow.
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