Inside the famous TikToker training facility: Behind luxury mansions lives being trapped, bullied, and money-stealing, unable to complain to anyone.

TikTok is now no stranger to the international online community. With just short clips, many internet users have created trends followed by millions of people around the world. TikTok brings a world that allows people to comfortably share and connect with each other through easy “penetrating” videos.

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world life upside down during the past time but has made TikTok even more popular globally by helping people create a richer “virtual” life. to many new colors during the social gap. In Italy, in 2020 alone, the number of TikTok users increased 104.5%, reaching 9.8 million users.

TikTok training furnace

In fact, young people between the ages of 16-20 have become social media phenomena and attract a huge number of followers by participating in the production and distribution of short videos on the TikTok app.

With the dream of being a star that shines throughout the mass media, a group of 8 people in Italy have made their own glory through joining the TikTok “network star” training in Milan. . They have together present a common house called “Defhouse”. This is also considered an inevitable trend when training facilities are born to meet the increasing demand of TikTok (TikToker) users who want to assert their name in a methodical and professional way.

The Defhouse shared house is a luxurious mansion located in the east of Milan, 500m2 wide, colorful decorated with giant terrace, hot tub … Every corner of the mansion is used as a backdrop. for creative short videos on TikTok. The style of the mansion interwoven between real life and virtual world creates a space for students to unleash creativity.

The Defhouse shared house is a space that creates entertainment products on TikTok

8 members in the Defhouse shared house

The members work together to create influential TikTok products at Defhouse

Simone Berlini, 20, one of the emerging TikTok stars from Defhouse, shares the joy of taking a step from an unknown business administration student to a social networking phenomenon with over 2.7 million people. follow. Berlini also hopes that joining the Defthouse star training facility will be a springboard for him to build up his acting career in the future.

Mr. Lucas Casadei, CEO of Defhouse, said: “ Many schools have not provided the skills needed for young people to enter today’s work world, such as video editing or content creation. We are not a substitute for school, but a supplement to the learning of the younger generation . ”

The man added that gathering influential characters living together in a creative space like this is not the same as shopping commercials on TV. Instead, short videos will be creative entertainment content, but inside are brands in a natural and playful way.

Luca Casadei said he was initially skeptical about the idea of ​​releasing products on TikTok. At that time, he felt that only lip-syncing according to the available music was a trivial job and did not need natural talent.

Luca Casadei, 44, founder of Defhouse

However, later, he set up a website that brought Stars Channel to launch the careers of people who want to become famous on social networks in Italy. This idea has also been tested in Los Angeles (USA) with names like Hype House or some other company modeled after content creation companies, focusing on influencers to create entertaining content suitable for Generation Z (GenZ) – generation of young people born in the late 1990s to around 2010.

However, Casadei wants to take this idea further, like setting up a star training academy, with a professional training process. All the stars from Defhouse are living at the filming location, only the youngest is still in school.

The group is trained in a variety of fields for acting in videos, from musical knowledge and culture, to politics and current affairs, pronunciation and proper behavior. . Casadei said that initially he expected it would take 3 years for the project to start making a profit because renting the site alone cost about 608 USD / day (14 million VND at the current exchange rate). However, the project was so successful that after only 3 months it achieved its goal of 3 years.

Every corner of the common home is a place to shoot creative video productions

Many brands, such as Herno, Vodafone and Pioneer, have contracted with the Stars Channel web, to promote their brands through influential TikTokers and pay these in return. Despite earning a lot, there are still TikTokers who feel that success in the virtual world is fleeting. Alessia Lanza, 20, an account holder with 1.4 million followers, shared that ” today you can reach the peak of glory, but maybe the next day you will completely fall down the cliff. abyss “.

One of Defhouse’s TikTok phenomena, 17-year-old Jasmin Zangarelli, says that ” social networks all make good sense if used properly “.

Gianluca Conte (20 years old) left his home in Charlotte in early April 2020 to move into a villa for TikTok stars in Los Angeles. Like many young people in America, Conte thought he needed to be in Los Angeles if he wanted to be famous on social media.

“ In this city, a quarter of people have more than 100,000 followers online. Even people who don’t prioritize social media have more than 20,000 followers. It’s a place around you full of influencers , ”Conte said.

Not only that, Los Angeles is also a convergence of hostels, common homes, and a dedicated training facility for TikTok stars. Young stars live, live, learn and work here to create their own “empire”.

Influencer common homes aren’t new – several generations of YouTube users, Vine stars, and streamers have been living and working together since 2009 – but TikTok stars of Generation Z have to a completely different level from its predecessors. Those are magnificent and magnificent villas worth millions of dollars, an ideal environment for young people to develop together.

Some members in a common home at the Drip Crib Training Facility, Los Angeles

Hidden corners are few people know

However, behind the magnificent multi-million dollar edifices with a host of amenities, the TikToker’s learning and working environments are not as ideal as many people think. In particular, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many people were even trapped in training furnaces, where they hoped to give wings to their famous dream of flying high and flying away, but suddenly turned into nightmares.

At the end of May, although some states in the US gradually reopened after a period of epidemic blockade, Los Angeles was one of the last to lift quarantine orders because of the complicated Covid-19 situation. However, this can not prevent the influx of people flocking to the TikTok shared houses.

“ This is a golden opportunity for us. I want to be at the highest level possible. I feel improved after coming here, ”Conte, who is sharing a house with seven other youngsters, told the New York Times.

Many people come to their common homes to fulfill their ambitions to be Internet stars

Demand increased, causing TikTok common houses to appear massively in the middle of an epidemic. Meanwhile, a clubhouse under the name Clubhouse is isolated in a vast modern residence in Beverly Hills. With friends and colleagues overcoming a pandemic in a luxury villa that sounds attractive. However, according to many people living in shared homes, the experience can be boring, tedious, or even terrible.

Abby Rao (21 years old), who lives at the Clubhouse, said: “ It’s a little weird. I am wondering when this will ever end. Now, I realize how underestimated we have been the epidemic ”.

For Rao, who moved to Clubhouse in March, her life is now nothing more than social media. To keep followers, Rao and those who live in shared homes are encouraged to work late into the night.

” We filmed a video last night setting up a tent and camping on the roof, ” she said. After spending two months stuck in a shared house, Rao began to feel homesick in Louisiana. ” I try to be more busy not to think about my parents, ” said the young girl.

The Clubhouse mansion

A person who likes to move, Josh Richards (18 years old), a member of Sway House, feels extremely pressing and confined when stuck in Los Angeles due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the blockade of the city, he and five of his housemates can only hang around in the 800 square meter villa.

“ We eat fast food every day, play paintball and Truth or Dare. But of course just for the video to be posted online , ”Richards said.

According to Insider, privacy is also one of the things to worry about when living in shared homes, TikToker hostels in Los Angeles. Being with the stars and big names brings the opportunity to study and collaborate, but they cannot avoid being bothered and scrutinized by extreme fans.

In early June 2020, Anthony Reeves, a TikToker living in the Sway House in Los Angeles, had to beg fans not to pull over, knock on the door or sneak a video through the window. Last year, another TikToker named David Dobrik also shared a story that was often bothered by followers while living in a shared house.

“ Please don’t come here, please! I don’t want to have to move, but this is horrifying, ”Dobrik wrote on Instagram.

Behind the flashy life of the shared house are hidden corners that few people know

In addition, many newcomers reported that they were also exploited by common housing companies, with their wages cut. Brittany Tomlinson is the name that emerged from the tea clips on TikTok. In early 2019, she received an invitation to collaborate from Ariadna Jacob – the founder and manager of the Girls in the Valley shared home.

Brittany is promised to become famous, earning money from the clips he uploaded. The company also said it would favor her exclusive advertising contracts and the opportunity to cooperate with big stars. However, after moving into a shared house, Brittany had to work day and night, without taking time off. She felt herself being squeezed out of work and creativity.

But the amount of remuneration she received decreased over time. In April, Brittany officially sued the management company for owing her more than 23,000 USD (530 million VND at the current exchange rate) of salary. Thomas Petrou, a star at Hype House, once admitted to the New York Times about the exploitation of labor at TikToker training facilities.

“ The whole house is designed to be productive. You can’t see this as a weekend outing. If you don’t try and get left behind, you won’t be part of the group anymore , ”says Petrou.

Source: The Star, NYT