MHS students garner fame on TikTok app

Aybika Kamil | The Chronicle

With over 3,500 students, Mason High School (MHS) is a hub for all kinds of people – even famous TikTokers. 

MHS sophomore Azizbek Ismoiljonov started posting on TikTok in April 2024. His first video was greeted with over 1.5 million likes. In the post, he filmed himself holding his brother’s baby to a trending audio. He has amassed over 500 thousand followers and 23.2 million likes on the app since then by making videos to popular audios and trends. 

“[The attention] made me confused,” Ismoiljonov said. “‘Why am I getting this many likes and followers?’ It was crazy, but I’m used to it now.”

With every new TikTok post, Ismoiljonov continued to acquire tens of thousands of followers. Brands like Based Bodyworks started noticing his presence online, leading to his first monetized collaboration. He said he is making more money than other people his age who go out to try to find jobs. 

“My friends said if I kept posting then I’d get company contracts,” Ismoiljonov said. “Based Bodyworks made a contract with me, and I made at least $5,000 promoting their hair products. If I keep doing this and it becomes better, it might be my living, so I want to keep going.” 

In addition to his followers, Ismoiljonov received support from his friends and family. He gets the occasional joke from his friends about his TikToks, but he said that the jabs are just an example of their close friendship. Ismoiljonov’s mom was impressed that he was getting paid for TikToks. 

“I showed my mom my first video and she was like, ‘Wow, good job!’” Ismoiljonov said. “It also made me feel like I’m doing something and not just wasting my time. Instead, I’m making money and supporting my family.” 

On the other end, Ismoiljonov has also received hate comments. He said he just brushes them off and has learned to ignore the hate.

“Everyone will receive hate for something and there’s always something people want to say,” Ismoiljonov said. “There are people that might hate you, but just don’t listen and don’t care about them. You have more support in the end, so who cares?” 

MHS senior Navya Asem has also gained traction on TikTok. Unlike Ismoiljonov, Asem started making videos back when it was a separate application called Musical.ly. She said she has wanted to go viral on social media from a young age. 

“I always wanted to blow up on [Musical.ly], but that didn’t happen,” Asem said. “I changed over to TikTok and I started uploading lip-syncing videos and more relatable content with little relatable texts. Then, a few of my videos suddenly blew up.”

Asem said there was a thrill factor and excitement involved with posting TikToks and obtaining support online. Videos with all kinds of trending audios can be found on her TikTok account. 

“I was at work, checking my phone, when I refreshed the page and one of my videos went up 10 thousand likes,” Asem said. “I kept refreshing and refreshing, and it just kept going up and up. From there, it reached about 150 thousand likes. As soon as the first video blew up, I think the rest of my videos also started to do better.”

Happy with the likes and followers she was gaining, Asem told her parents about the success of her TikTok account. They subsequently became the managers of her account, helping her deal with the financial aspect of a viral page.

“My parents are supportive of my TikTok account,” Asem said. “I think they are more into that than anyone because I earn quite a bit of money when it comes to TikTok.” 

Recently monetized, Asem has started profiting through collaborations and paid partnerships. Asem said a lot of different brands often reach out to her, such as Rare Beauty, Skims and Morphe. One of her deals was with Temu, where she was paid $1,000 for a 7-day deal. 

“Honestly, it just feels very unreal to me,” Asem said. “The emails and [direct messages] are kind of normal by now since I’ve been getting them for a while, but now and then it hits me again like, ‘Woah, Temu is in my DMs.’” 

With the current discussions of a TikTok ban, Asem said she began branching out to other forms of social media. Asem has been posting reels on Instagram, which have also risen in popularity. 

“If your videos blow up, there’s going to be a good amount of hate and support,” Asem said. “I have some very loyal people who have been commenting since the beginning and that’s what keeps me going.” 

At first, Asem said it was difficult dealing with the hate she received on her social media since she was not used to the millions of views and comments about her. Since Asem shows her face online, she said a lot of people make hateful remarks about her appearance. 

“One of my videos had a few million likes on TikTok and it came with thousands of people bashing the way I look and it was really hard,” Asem said. “I remember being very upset about it and I was thinking about deleting my account. It was pretty tough and I remember crying, especially since it was a time when I was young and sensitive. My parents didn’t want me to continue since they saw me so distraught.” 

Despite the hate comments, Asem did not cease posting content on TikTok. She shares Ismoiljonov’s sentiment about handling hate comments on social media.

“I feel like I really don’t care about it that much anymore and I grew a tolerance,” Asem said. “It’s just not worth my time and people will hate regardless. Plus, the hate is pretty outweighed by the support. The friends I had around me also helped me.”

Looking ahead, Asem said she plans to keep making content while pursuing a primary career – acknowledging that social media and the followers she gained will remain a significant part of her life. 

“Some of my followers have been supportive across multiple social media platforms which is just amazing,” Asem said. “Connection-wise, I really do remember and appreciate my fans and I’m definitely going to continue posting because I have an ambition to get bigger online.”