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At the recent second annual TikTok Awards held at Magazine London and hosted by TV presenter Aj Odudu, a diverse group of creators were celebrated for their outstanding contributions to the platform. Among the winners were a transport aficionado, a beauty influencer, and a mother sharing her experiences of raising an autistic child. The awards spanned 12 categories, including fashion, travel, food, and education, showcasing the broad range of content flourishing on TikTok.
Max Klymenko earned the top accolade of creator of the year for his innovative career ladder series. Known as the most popular non-animated show on TikTok, Max invites strangers to join him on a stepladder in public and then attempts to guess their profession through yes/no questions. Originally from Ukraine, Max moved to the UK 14 years ago and started making videos after struggling to find employment, aiming to help others discover job opportunities through his content. Speaking about his journey, Max shared, “I had a lot of anxiety and stress around finding a job so I created videos helping people know what jobs were available to them.” Holding the golden ladder prize, he dedicated his award to his grandmother in Ukraine, commenting that she “has no electricity to follow along,” and recalled how she used to log in from different TikTok accounts to boost his early views.
The video of the year award went to Bemi Orojuogun, affectionately called “bus aunty.” Bemi, a mental health nurse, gained viral fame through her silent, smiling appearances near London’s transport hubs, often narrowly avoided by passing buses. Her video, viewed nearly 50 million times, has led to partnerships with major brands like Burberry and Ikea. Bemi described the experience as “slightly overwhelming” but expressed pride in her achievements and gratitude to Transport for London and musician Stormzy, who helped amplify her content by sharing her videos. During the event, she enjoyed connecting with fellow winners, including Nikki Lilly, who took home the fashion and beauty creator of the year award.
Nikki Lilly, a 21-year-old creator with 10 million followers, uses her platform to challenge superficial views of fashion and beauty by openly sharing her life with a chronic illness and facial difference caused by an arteriovenous malformation. She explained, “I don’t want to only make my social media a highlights reel. It’s also me having surgeries, a chronic illness and me having a facial difference.” Another highlight of the evening was Tola and Kevin, a mother and son team who received the voice for change award for their heartfelt videos about raising a young adult with autism. Tola was moved to tears accepting the recognition, sharing how isolated she felt after Kevin’s diagnosis 16 years ago but has since built a supportive community through their TikTok account. Meanwhile, Charley Marlowe, a Radio 1 presenter famous for her distinctive laugh, was named entertainment creator of the year, dedicating her win to “every northern, working-class diva.
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