Luke Falzon, Preet Bhullar, Min Xu, Sari-Ella Thaiday: Top 15 TikTok influencers of Cairns
A family who went from running a tiling business to TikTok superstardom, to a single mum who shares her journey with borderline personality disorder— these are some of Cairns’ top TikTok influencers.
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A family who went from running a tiling business to TikTok superstardom, a single mum who shares her journey with borderline personality disorder, to a traveling boudoir photographer — these are some of Cairns’ top TikTok influencers.
With TikTok taking the lead over Facebook as the world’s most powerful social media brand as per Brand Finance’s annual Global 500 report, the spotlight is now on a new era of influencers whose 15 plus seconds of fame have gone viral, built massive audiences and put Cairns on the global map of social media influencers.
@lukefalzon
5.9M followers
105.6M likes
A former tradie has spoken about the moment he knew he and his family were about to be TikTok famous.
“It was when I got a call from a TikTok manager saying I was the fastest growing TikToker in Australia three months in a row that I knew I was on the right track,” Luke Falzon said.
That was in 2021, and today Mr Falzon, who uses TikTok to share survival challenges and outdoor content, has 5.9M followers and a 105.6M likes on TikTok.
The momentum from his account led to the launch of another TikTok handle,
@thatfalzonfamily, which features him with partner Alexandra Bewicke and their 3-year-old daughter Ariah, performing comedy skits and doing family vlogs.
@thatfalzonfamily
335.7K Followers
12.3M Likes
“Everything we film as content is stuff we love doing and now people get to enjoy watching it with us,” Ms Bewicke said.
“There is constant work that goes into TikTok. Luke and I are both content creators. That is what we do for work. It is like a full time job, if not more, because if you are not planning what you are going to be doing, you are filming, if you are not filming, you are editing, or coming up with ideas so hours do go in but it always feels like a lot of fun.”
The Falzons moved to Cairns from Victoria in 2022 when they started TikTok full-time.
“We were tradies before we started this,” Mr Falzon said.
“We used to live in Geelong and then we decided — Alex and myself — we weren’t happy with just the tiling business so we decided to put all our focus in creating content with our backs against the wall.
“We weren’t making any money, struggling at home trying to make ends meet, but just kept filming and filming until we took off, which didn’t start for us until almost two years,” Mr Falzon said.
The family moved to Cairns in July last year, an interstate journey that was filmed after they declared they would never live in Victoria again.
“We have always wanted to live somewhere like Cairns and content creation really allowed us to be able to do that,” Ms Bewicke said.
The family works with a range of brands — from Warner Bros to national names such as Bunnings, Freedom, Supercheap Auto but also small and medium businesses “and everything in between”.
“Three or four days after arrival into Cairns, we worked with Baskin Robbins, a first time for us because they don’t have it in Victoria and that was a really fun one,” Ms Bewicke said.
“It’s kind of a pinch yourself moment when you get a brand that reaches out to you, it’s a good accomplishment when you get that.
“Last year is when we consistently started working with brands and you can see the difference between then and this year, how different the awareness is on the platform. The audience that we now get is also the older audience not just the younger audience.”
The soon-to-be family of four said they were in the process of working out travelling Australia and filming it for their followers some time in June or July this year.
“The plan is to get into a caravan, get on the road and see what this country is all about for ourselves and get to share it with our audience on the way,” Ms Bewicke said.
@preet.aman07
562.5K followers
17.7M likes
With 562,500 followers, Preet Bhullar wants to be the first Indian TikTok vlogger opening up Cairns as a tourist destination to her global following.
Jaspreet “Jazz” Kaur, who goes by Preet Bhullar on all socials, started her journey in 2019 with lip sync videos but on the advice of her husband – who she cites as her biggest supporter – began to post comedy skits and videos with a social message to stand out.
Assistant customer services manager at Woolworths by day, Ms Kaur has a diverse audience from all over the world including UAE, Canada, India and Australia and regularly works with beauty and fashion brands across the globe.
The mother of two said she is often recognised in public when she drops her kids off at school but even with half a million subscribers maintains that “this is just a hobby.”
Nicknamed “ninja girl” for her speedy checkout skills, Ms Kaur recently put Cairns on the map when she won checkout operator of the year statewide and then nationwide – a first for Cairns and a huge win for the Earlville store she works in.
“My colleagues know my passion and I get a lot of support from my store in filming videos,” Ms Kaur said.
@minxu.photography
225.5K followers
3.4M likes
Min Xu gives viewers a glimpse into her techniques as a travelling boudoir photographer, while teaching people how to pose and express their sexuality.
Her TikTok videos went viral during Covid, following which she received hundreds of inquiries from all over the world and started full time boudoir in October 2019.
Every now and then, the matcha lover throws in some life advice and motivation for her followers.
Based out of Cairns, she cites photography and empowering women as her biggest passions, and describes herself as spontaneous and a dog lover.
@sari_ella_thaiday
219.2K followers
7.8M likes
Sari Ella Thaiday is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander influencer who continues to rise in the ranks of popularity with her beauty, comedy and vlog content.
Her dance clips, handstand skills and Wednesday Addams impersonations are some of her most popular posts along with her creative make up tutorials – known in the TikTok universe as GRWM or Get Ready With Me videos.
The Cairns-based influencer does not hold back from addressing haters and often engages in dialogue about current events and indigenous issues.
@aine.cimaabella
111.7K followers
838.7K likes
Aine is a Filipino Australian TikToker who has gathered a massive following worldwide due to her dance videos and her vocal talents.
Her dance videos between shift breaks at her family’s restaurant business in Cape York are some of her most viewed videos.
Aine’s content also features comedy videos with a Pinoy flavour and Q&A clips where she addresses quirky queries.
@travelwithjades
36.2K followers
1.9M likes
Originally from South Africa, 29-year-old Jade Simkins is an enterprising influencer who teams up with tourism brands in the Far North to bring top tour itineraries to her audience.
“Working as a travel creator full-time, I create content for brands, do brand photography,” Ms Simkins said.
“I recently transitioned to full-time work.
“Initially, I was approached by an airline to sell some of my photos and I went on holiday with them, went to Magnetic Island, where I met lots of locals and businesses. I networked with hotels, got collaborating, and started creating content.”
A student of design and marketing, Ms Simkins has worked with several tour operators and cites the Hot Air Balloon Cairns and Silverswift as some of her favourite collaborations.
For TikTok, Ms Simkins shoots with her phone camera and goPro and hopes to be on the move more often, in the coming year.
“For me personally it’s about the saves and shares,” Ms Simkins said.
“When I know people are saving for itineraries, that inspires me.”
@caseyeames
48.2K followers
1.1M likes
Casey Eames, also known as “Crabman”, runs a business in Smithfield selling fresh live mud crabs and his TikTok account serves as a behind-the-scenes, documenting his shenanigans on the boat, giving viewers a glimpse of crab rigs, catches and close up croc spottings.
One of his highest performing videos features him jetting off on a river only to have a crocodile dunk into the water, in his path and the clip garnered 2.3 million views and more than 1000 saves.
@jadeebonymorris
144.1K followers
930.7K likes
Jade Ebony Morris is a Cairns-based content creator whose TikTok videos cover her sobriety and celibacy journey while also showing viewers how to meal prep and how to hustle a grocery haul.
The university student started her account in 2019, following a rough break up and believes niches are not required as she takes her audience through all the ups and downs of her 20s.
@robynlouisen
57.5K followers
1.9M likes
Robyn L Northam is a Cairns-based influencer who uses TikTok as a platform to share her experiences as a single mum with borderline personality disorder.
A huge Game of Thromes fan, she is a massage therapist who works out of Crystal Ball bookstore in the city, which is a haven for all things new age and spiritual in the heart of Cairns CBD.
Her content is especially relatable to mums and is full of positive messages of alignment with the universe for anyone in need of some good energy.
@paigelizabethunter
39.7K followers
648.6K likes
Cairns-based influencer Paige Hunter is a Muscle Nation athlete who posts skincare tips and comedy/lifestyle content while also making a mark in the finance and cosmetics space.
Her most popular video on TikTok was a parody Australian version of Squid Games, which was viewed 3m times and generated more than 4000 comments.
@lachlanbournee
35.4K Followers
297K Likes
Based out of Port Douglas, Lachlan Bourne uses his TikTok account to take viewers on a stunning visual journeys underwater.
His most popular video is a clip capturing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, which racked up more than a half a million plays.
@broomstick_fishing
14.2K followers
217.8K likes
A purely fishing related account, Broomstick Fishing is all about catches and lures.
The account, run by Pat Tomkins, is a great resource for fishing beginners and enthusiasts and has a “what's in my lure box” video pinned to the top, which is among the most watched videos
A longer version of many videos are also available on YouTube.
@jasminehardiee
54.6K followers
268.1K likes
Jasmine Hardiee is a heavy diesel mechanic who has been living in Cairns since March 2022.
While she has an enviable number of Followers on TikTok, Ms Hardiee has been out of action since the start of the year, with her last video going up in December 2022 where she showed followers her life as a FIFO worker in the mining industry.
@notjaide
7K followers
1.2M likes
Jaide is an Atherton based TikTok content creator with a fast growing fanbase who does quintessential TikTok vlogger content with trending sounds and lots of storytelling.
The university student posted a video about her experience in hospital from painful cramps that ended in surgery, which has been played a million times and generated more than 400 comments from people sharing their crazy surgery stories.
@konthaidrivingschool
9K followers
233.9K likes
While there isn’t a single influencer behind this handle, the account is popular in the Cairns region, especially among those preparing for their driving tests and is a great example of a FNQ business generating an audience on TikTok.
Kon Thai is an Australian-Thai mobile driving school and their videos have been referred to by students all over the city to get better at CBD driving, with their sample driving test video garnering more than 617,000 plays.
Is there anyone we missed out on that you think deserves to make it on to the list?
Get in contact via sandhya.ram@news.com.au
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Originally published as Luke Falzon, Preet Bhullar, Min Xu, Sari-Ella Thaiday: Top 15 TikTok influencers of Cairns
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