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 show. Bright, alert, and dressed impeccably, she is using her grandson to translate, but her gestures tell a thousand words.
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin May 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin May 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
