William Jonas has turned a love of gaming into a lucrative career he ‘never could have fathomed’

South Australia’s most powerful influencer has turned his hobby into a lucrative career he never imagined he would have.

A world-first list of Australia’s 100 most truly influential social media stars has been revealed, and it’s a good thing William Jonas didn’t listen to his parents when they told him to put down the video game controls.

Jonas, under his online handle Mully, is South Australia’s number one according to the Influence Index, published exclusively today by theoz.com.au. It reveals those who are shaping the purchase decisions, conversations and opinions of the next generation at an unprecedented scale and pace by going beyond follower counts, using behavioural science to quantify and rank content creators according to their overall impact.

Thanks to his passion for gaming, Jonas has amassed more than 18 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Mully has been ranked as the most influential content creator in SA, using new behavioural analysis research that measures the actual impact of influencers. Picture Dean Martin

But true social success is about more than just follower numbers.

And in large part because of factors like fan engagement levels, trustworthiness and relatability, Mully is the highest-ranked South Australian on a game-changing chart that for the first time reveals which of Australia’s thousands of “influencers” really make a difference – leaving some well-known names floundering behind newer, younger stars of social.

As well as being SA’s No1, the 28-year-old is the sixth most powerful presence on social media in the entire country.

“Mully makes you smile. It’s as simple as that,” said editor of theoz.com.au, Elyse Popplewell. “He has built and maintained a huge audience by doing what he loves and working really, really hard for it.”

She added that the Influence Index “legitimises those in the industry who are having such a big impact on our lives – until now there has been no way to actually measure the effect they have on our decision-making.”

Of his impressive ranking, down-to-earth Adelaide local Mully said, “It’s really cool,” adding: “But really, I just like making videos and this career has just turned into something that I never could have fathomed.”

Mully has amassed more than 18 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Jonas began making online videos about gaming in 2016 but it wasn’t until he began specialising in virtual reality games posted to the then-emerging platform of TikTok that his work really took off and could quit his day job as a professional chef.

“I’m definitely living the dream, but I think what my past self would be most happy about is the fact that I can use all of this to take care of my mum and my family,” he said.

“That’s what I’m most happy about. Obviously, I’m very grateful that I can do this full time and that it pays the bills, but I can also use that money and platform to take care of other people too.”

And he means that. Jonas recently made a wish come true for a young follower with cancer, by travelling to Melbourne to visit them.

Even though the pandemic has showcased the power of social media and the internet, Jonas said many people remained sceptical about what online content creators do.

“The internet is always evolving, and it’s really the future of making money,” he said.

“But I definitely understand the whole older generation not understanding [social media] and there’s been times where I’ve copped a lot of s*** for it because they just don’t get it.

“A lot of people are old school and they think you need to wake up and go, work your nine to five job, or 40 hours a week and make $1,000 a week.

“When I tried to get a home loan, I got denied a couple of times because the banks don’t even understand the internet. But I now make seven figures a year!”

See the full Top 100 Influence Index at TheOz.com.au