KALISPELL — When you think of the app Tik Tok, you probably think of dancing teenagers, but there is a Kalispell man who is using the platform to make people laugh with a hammer.
“Everybody was like, 'Yeah, this is good,' and so I just became that - the 'hammer guy' on TikTok,” said Justin Schiele.
Schiele began making videos in March 2020, and last month reached nearly 700,000 followers due to his newest series: "Can I hit it with a hammer?" He explained, “What if it was just like an educational TV (show), but it’s super bad? And that was the thought in my mind. I was like, hey everybody, or friends, you know, have you ever been in your jacuzzi bathtub and thought, 'Can I hit it with a hammer?'"
Among the things that he has hammered: a Millenium Falcon model; a slot machine; a framed piece of art; and a printer. He also smashes objects using both sides of the hammer: the hammer part, and the claw part.
The success of the videos got him thinking - why not make more? “It was just beyond me. I was like, that’s crazy. You know, like I thought that was as good as it got. [But] as the day went on it it just kept going and going and going and I was like, well, l I guess when we go back to work on Monday, we’re going to hit some more stuff - if we find some more stuff to hit,” said Schiele.
With nearly 8 million likes across his 145 videos, Schiele says it's been a great feeling to bring a smile to people’s faces.
“I have been doing it for a month and a half now and just making content for TikTok and it seems to be working pretty good for me now,” said Schiele.
TikTok offers creators a fund so they can get paid for their content, but Schiele says he will stick with his day job: “If it just started to pay the bills then I would consider doing it full-time right now. And I don’t make enough money off it to pull out of my job completely."
Schiele says his construction job is what kick-started his viral videos. "I enjoy what I do and if I hadn’t been doing what I did then I wouldn’t be here at TikTok, so...you know, I got it, maybe I should keep my job so that I can keep making content,” said Schiele.
Here's a recent video that Schiele made with his grandfather:
@justintherealschiele Can I hit it with a hammer! ##marty
Click here to check out his TikTok page; click here to visit his Instagram page.
