BRADEN MCMAKIN
Tony Bame, pothole influencer.
How to go viral from St. Louis: Focus on the one thing we do better than anywhere else
BRADEN MCMAKIN
We all know St. Louis roads are bad, but who knew you could make a whole TikTok channel about it?
A few years ago, Oakville native Tony Bame moved back to St. Louis after living in Los Angeles and started making social media content about the potholes he hit and the aftermath of ridiculous accidents he saw. He often stands in a pothole he just hit and tells you where it is. In one video, he holds up a piece of his car that fell off; in another he has a case of beer in the pothole for scale.
He’s now reached more than 8 million views across all his social platforms. Unfortunately, a post earlier this year came at the cost of his car.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
So in a TikTok earlier this year, you said your car was totaled.
I was parked across from the Maplewood Schnucks and someone hit it. They said they were Snapchatting. I wasnât even in the car. I walked out to it. There were five people around the car screaming, crying, laughing, kind of mocking me about it happening. I was like âOh my gosh, my car. What did you guys do?â And theyâre like âDude, itâs just a car.â Iâm like, âI know, but I really like this car.â
Itâll slow you down finding more potholes.
It has slowed me down, because Enterprise is out of cars right now. But weâre at 1.5 million views, so I guess weâll make the best of it.
You often stand in potholes you just hit. Isnât that dangerous?
Sometimes itâs dangerous to get the job done. I may be risking my life, but I could be saving someone elseâs. They could break an axle [and] crash into another car. There could be a baby in the car. Who knows? Also, Iâm pretty good about timing when I go out there and do it.
In one you said youâd spilled coffee on yourself from Cafe Dulce on the Hill. Was that real?
I spilled it all over me. I hit the pothole and got a flat, so I couldnât move. I got up in front of the car and said, ‘This needs to be fixed.’
You start all of your TikToks with the phrase âWouldnât you know it.â Where did that come from?
I have a few creative friends that help me produce the ideas. The brand is âwouldnât you know it,â but it isnât just St. Louis. We hope to have an impact on other cities as well. We want to bring light to the kind of situation everyone has to deal with.
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