The Inspired Unemployed: South coast TikTok stars blow up net

Two blokes from the south coast are among NSW’s ultimate TikTok stars making waves on the hugely popular social media platform. FIND OUT WHY.

Larrikin south coast social media phenomenon The Inspired Unemployed have quickly gone from not knowing what to do to with their lives to Australian comedy kings.

From choreographed dance to relatable sketch comedy, self described “Aussie battlers” Jack Steele, 26, and Matt “Falcon” Ford, 25, have graced the cover for GQ and modelled for Vogue and The Iconic since quitting their tradie jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic to take a chance on online fame and fortune.

Social media stars Matt Ford and Jack Steele, AKA The Inspired Unemployed, have reached one million followers on Instagram. Picture: Richard Dobson

While they say it is totally unexpected, the duo now have a staggering one million Instagram followers and more than 650,000 TikTok fans, and they say they’re having as much fun as they can while it lasts.

Ford, who hails from Gerringong, met Steele, from nearby Minnamurra, on a Kiama High School snow trip and the pair bonded while partying at music festivals in their late teens.

After leaving high school in Year 11, Ford worked at Geringong’s popular Natural Necessities Surf Shop and Steele ventured to Canada, but whenever the pair went their separate ways they always seemed to find each other again.

While they started posting skit videos online while bored on a working holiday in New Zealand, some inspirational words from Ford’s mum made him toss in his carpentry job and join Steele on a trip to Europe.

She told her son to do what made him happy, so he followed his mate, who was “petrified” of a long plastering career, on what turned out to be a trip of a lifetime.

“We knew we wanted to do that kind of thing again (making videos), but we didn’t think it would ever get to this,” Ford said in a recent video posted to YouTube.

With no Wi-Fi, no friends and no distractions while in Europe, the pair dived head first into writing and filming videos during what they say was a”quarter-life crisis”.

Matt Ford and Jack Steele with Tom Derick at Melbourne fashion festival’s opening night at NGV in March. Picture: David Geraghty

“We loved it so much it didn’t feel like work,” Steele said.

Six months later they had 100 videos and just 6000 followers, but that was soon to change.

In 2019 they posted a parody dance video from Germany and woke up with a staggering 25,000 fresh followers.

“Our whole life changed after that,’ Steele said.

The pair blew up even more on TikTok during the pandemic when the social media app became the most downloaded across the globe, as users sought entertainment during lockdowns and social distancing restrictions.

While they say they can’t believe their fame, constant messages from fans saying they’ve helped them through mental health issues by making them laugh have made them feel like they are making a difference.

The Inspired Unemployed were shot for GQ's GQ Style digital cover wearing the latest Fendi looks. Picture: Jake Terrey

Media expert Associate Professor Therese Davis said younger Australians have turned to comedy and followed performers like The Inspired Unemployed on TikTok to laugh “at a time when things weren’t good”.

“The pandemic impacted on comedians during the pandemic by limiting spaces and employment dried up in areas like stand-up comedy,” the chair of Swinburne University’s Department of Media and Communication said.

“There just wasn’t an audience, and the move online for many of them has seen experimentation in new forms.

“It’s allowed spaces for people who may not have got off the ground in traditional spaces.”

She said there was now more comedy available than ever before, with laughter just a click away.

“There’s a new online audience of young people who can’t go to traditional venues, and they’re looking for things that will entertain them and make them laugh.”