Wakefield TikTok star hits 66,000 followers in three months by using platform to improve mental health after losing his grandma

Levi Stokes, from Ossett, was going through a difficult patch with mental health struggles at the end of last year after his grandma died.

The former Ossett Academy pupil focused his energy on creating TikTok videos in which he reviews products that can be purchased through links attached the videos on his Bargains4U2 page.

His presentation of the videos, which review technology, toys and home goods, earned the 16-year-old nearly 70,000 followers from around the world within the space of a few months.

He said: “TikTok is like a new way of being an entrepreneur. At the start of the year I was at rock bottom, before TikTok picked me up from the ground.

“The way I got to where I am was just with my phone and the website – that's how easy it is.

“It’s important to not give up if you’re trying to gather a following. If you keep pushing it can just take off. You can go to sleep with 1,000 views and wake up with 230,000.”

Levi finished his GSCEs last year and has moved into TikTok as a full-time job.

His videos can be viewed around the world but his audience is largely based in the UK because that’s where the products can be purchased.

Some of the items reviewed on the page include a radio-controlled car, window washer, a water gun and shower gels that smell like Kellogg’s cereal – including Frosties and Coco Pops.

He added: “My plan for the future is thinking about purchasing a website so I can link every deal I find on there.

"I'm hoping to start reaching 100,000 views a month. I've set some goals but it's just about getting there.”

TikTok is one of the most popular internet platforms in the world.

Its popularity around the world increased dramatically during the pandemic and initial lockdown in 2020.

Like a lot of people Levi started watching videos on the website around that time.

It was initially launched in China and India in 2016.

And in 2021 it surpassed Google as the world’s most popular website according to data from web security and performance company Cloudflare.