Jake Shane.Photo:Joseph Morrison
Joseph Morrison
There’s one question social media star Jake Shane, akaOctupusslover8on TikTok, finds he’s constantly asking himself these days: “What is goingon?”
It’s been a whirlwind year for the 23-year-old Los Angeles-based creator, who first gained steam on TikTok in 2021 for his funny reviews of his favorite food (unsurprisingly, octopus). In February, his following skyrocketed when he started posting hilarious comedy skits imagining how historical moments (like the founding fathers reacting to John Hancock signing his name super big on the Declaration of Independence) played out.
To date, he has more than 2 million followers, and he now countsOlivia Rodrigoamong his fans. Recently, the singer reached out to him after watching his reaction video to her new single “Vampire.”
“Honestly, I was in a rough place at that time, where I was like, ‘I feel like I can’t think of anything funny,'” Shane told PEOPLE at a dinner in L.A. on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of his collaboration with Spotify on theirBlendfeature. “I was like, ‘Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Vampire’ is out, let me just react to it.’ Female singer songwriters are my jam. That’s my favorite thing to listen to.”
After posting his reaction, Rodrigo DMed him and said, “Do you want to hang out tomorrow? We can do a skit.”
“I was like, ‘Yes,'” he recalls. “I was on the floor. That was one of the most exciting moments. It’s crazy. When stuff like that leaves your lips, it’s hard to tell if it’s real, but it is.”
During their hang out, Rodrigoposted a TikTokpoking fun at the speculation about who she wrote “Vampire” about, joking that Shane was her muse.
“I was like, ‘I’ll take it!'” he says with a laugh. “We were also just hanging out as friends. It was so awesome and so relaxed. Normally, I get so anxious to meet with people or to collab, but she made it so easy. She’s such a pro. Hopefully, I’ll see her again. I told her, ‘If I ever see you again, my No. 1 thing on my bucket list is to see you in action at the studio.'”
Shane is next manifesting a meeting withTaylor Swift, whose attention he caught in 2021 when he posted a reaction video to her “All Too Well (10-Minute Version).”
“Taylor Swift commented, and it’s my claim to fame,” he says. “I manifest [a meeting] every night. I go to bed and I think about it. I’m like, one day.”
Jake Shane.Joseph Morrison
A hardcore music fan, the partnership with Spotify on their Blend feature seemed like a natural fit for Shane. With Blend, fans can combine their musical tastes with Shane’s and see how much the musical tastes overlap.
“Music is so important to me and integral to who I am as a person, especially female singer songwriters, which I really emphasize in all my playlists,” he says. “It’s something I really always connected with my mom over and with my friends. So, it feels like a dream come true. I feel so blessed to be able to be in a situation where I could do something like this.”
Along with Swift and Rodrigo,Amy Winehouseis also a mainstay on all of Shane’s playlists.
“I’m so grateful to have such a tight-knit group of friends that would tell me if I’m funny or not funny,” he says. “And when they tell me I’m not funny, I don’t get embarrassed. They’re just being real.”
Jake Shane and Reneé Rapp.Kyle Goldberg for Spotify
Kyle Goldberg for Spotify
When Shane first started posting to TikTok two years ago, he says “it was really kind of an inside joke with me and my friends.” He realized it could be something bigger though when he was approached on a night out during his time as a student at the University of Southern California.
“She was like, ‘I just want to let you know that I think your stuff is really funny,'” he recalls. “It was like a switch in me. I hadn’t processed that other people could consume what I was putting out. After that, I took it seriously.”
Shane admits it’s been an adjustment getting used to all of the attention that’s shifted on him in this short period of time.
“I feel like I spent my whole life trying to fit in,” says Shane, who was born and raised in New York. “I grew up in the suburbs as a closeted kid, and my friends and family were all so supportive, but I still felt like I had to fit in.”
Jake Shane and Sofia Richie.Kyle Goldberg for Spotify
To break from his past, Shane pushed himself to be as authentic as possible when he first started blowing up on TikTok. That meant being candid with his followers about his struggles with anxiety and OCD in addition to providing laughs.
“I really try to be as open as I can about that,” he says. “I think it’s important. I always love when people tell me that they can relate to my stuff. It’s the same thing as being like, ‘I also didn’t start the homework.’ Sometimes knowing someone else is on the same page as you is all you need.”
At times when he’s struggling, Shane says he often leans on his best friends and one of his favorite pastimes, writing poetry.
“When I’m getting very anxious, I don’t have the self-control to put my phone down,” he says. “Usually my friend, Alice [Grainge], will take my phone and be like, ‘We’re not being present.’ Then it usually grounds me, and I’m good. And writing poetry is so cathartic, honestly.”
Elliot Grange, Jake Shane and Sofia Richie.Kyle Goldberg for Spotify
As he looks to the future, Shane has his sights set on acting.
“That’s my end goal,” he says. “I just watchedNo Hard Feelingswith Jennifer Lawrence, and I was like, ‘I wish I could do something like that.’ Something LikeBridesmaidsorBodies Bodies Bodies. I mean, that’s the dream. I’m taking acting classes and watching a lot of movies.”
Until then, he says, “I just want to make sure everybody’s happy and laughing.”
source: people.com
