For Shaine Buhat, it was her childhood dream to become a Flight Attendant (FA) but never had she imagined that her career would pave the way to be recognized as a rising creator on TikTok.
TikTok, the leading destination for short-form mobile video, prides of its safe and user-friendly features for creators to express their creativity and talent. There’s already a growing number of Filipino creators who are gaining popularity within the local and global TikTok community.
“It was March 25, 2019,” Shaine clearly remembers creating her first TikTok video, a dub of a viral audio clip, “Joneeeel.” Like every starting creator, she explored various content ranging from comedic dubs to duet, transitions and pick-up/hugot lines until she discovered the what works for her – her every life and travels as an FA.
“At first, it is challenging to grow my followers. I am not a celebrity and I don’t have any friends who are using Tiktok during that time,” our FA creator admitted that starting as a nobody in the app had been a hurdle for her before she reach TikTok stardom. Instead of concentrating on her follower count, she shifted her focus on creating fun quality content and consistent in her video uploads.
“My work schedule constantly changes. As flight attendants, we are adjusting to the flight schedule given by the Schedulers. I learned to manage my time by creating 3 contents ahead of its scheduled time of upload,” said Shaine. She finds the “Drafts” feature of the app helpful to bank her videos to be able to stick to her upload schedule.
At present, @fa_shainebuhat, has 110K followers on TikTok. Her most liked and watched video to date is her video demonstration on Flight Safety gathering 1.1M views and 85.5K hearts.
She still can’t believe that people would recognize her during flights. People would tell her that they’re inspired by her story and dreams to be a flight attendant someday. She specifically recounts one saying, “Ate, I want to be like you when I grow up!” This is her reason why she loves creating content, why she continues in spite of hectic her schedule and regular job – to be share something positive to the world.
“I think that is the most rewarding part of being a content creator…that you can influence others and encourage them to continue their dreams. To meet other creators, the perks, freebies, and promotions are just a bonus. But for all of that, I am truly grateful!,” Shaine shared as she prepared for her next flight.
