It's the biggest event in Australia's social media calendar. Over 90,000 people had converged on VidCon Australia 2019 in Melbourne. Stars from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more were on hand to hold panels, performances, and meet and greets - but nobody was enjoying themselves more than Hui Jin Wang.
TikTok had only just launched in Australia, but Hui Jin and her grandson Thomas had already formed a hit account, posting as The Chainz Family. Together, they were “Ricky and Granny" and their short-form comedy videos - with Granny in the starring role - were rapidly collecting followers and sponsorships. Now, they'd been invited to speak at the conference to share their knowledge of this newly emerging platform.
"Grandma was taking pictures with hundreds of fans," Thomas, 34, laughs, adding that Hui Jin was in her element. "When we started three years ago, it was crazy. We used to get noticed in Westfield, outside the toilets, in the food court. We were doing really well in that first year and used our money to go out and eat. All the time!”
“Yum cha,” Hui Jin interjects. “She liked a slap on the pokies sometimes too,” adds Thomas with a wink.
As the pair meet with The Weekly today at her flat in Sydney's Maroubra - where she lives with Thomas' aunt Julia - Hui Jin, who turns 96 on April 24, is still clearly the star of the ow. Bright, alert and dressed impeccably, she is using her grandson to translate, but her gestures tell a thousand words.
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