We chat with Blake Pavey about his self-titled Tik Tok series BLAKE PAVEY.

What inspired you to create this series?

I really just started making content because I got quite good at acting like an idiot on camera and it ended up giving me a following. I've always wanted to write, direct and perform comedy but living in a country town didn't really give me the confidence to do it (you can really only become a tradie where I grew up).

But doing it via a platform like TikTok, a reasonably new platform has given not only me, but many other people like me who don't have any industry connections, who don't have a lot of money, who haven't really had much of an opportunity to break into the industry - a platform and a voice to create the stuff they want. So to hopefully put myself amongst a new wave of voices in the industry through platforms like TikTok is a huge source of inspiration to make content.

I will admit, TikTok is by far not the most credible platform out there, I admit that - But it has given me a lot, and it's inspired me to the point where I can make my content consistently while giving me the belief in myself to make it as an actor and a writer.

What challenges did you face in creating this series?

Thinking of fresh stuff to make comedy content out of every day is probably the toughest challenge that I face every single day, and it's always in the back of my mind like "ok what's today's video? What's tomorrow's video? What's next week's video?" But at the same time it keeps me on my toes, so it's a good challenge to have.

The biggest challenge has probably been the fact that because a lot of my content is based around news, politics and events. It's often very draining to not only have all of the chaos of 2020-21 on my mind all time, but to also make it part of my content and try make light of those topics in a sense. It's very mentally draining at times. Especially with COVID and my fear of it as someone with a genetic and terminal respiratory illness (Cystic Fibrosis) and especially when we turn on the news every day and something else has made a headline that makes me lose hope in the future of the country and world at large... but it's chill. And making fun of it is a good way of coping.

What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring content creators?

Just create, don't care about the numbers or the views or the follow count. Just create. I know it's very ironic for someone with a social media following to say it doesn't matter. But as someone who has sometimes let the thoughts of "I need this video to get a million views" "I need to hit X amount of followers by X date" it really just takes away from your ability to create. If you can let go of all the background noise and just focus on creating stuff that you are passionate about, and have fun creating - it's going to translate to the audience and slowly but surely the work will be done for you.

What are you hoping audiences will take away from watching your series?

Really, I just want them to have a laugh. I don't think anyone really wants to hear a 19 year old's political opinions and complex theories on social issues, so for someone to look at my videos and lightly exert air from their nose is good enough for me. But, if in the process of that someone has a bit more of a think about what I'm really trying to get across and point at in the videos. Thats great too, but I started this whole thing to make my mates laugh. Now it's just become my job to make 700,000 mates of mine laugh, and that's been the biggest source of pleasure that I get out of it. So if the audience takes anything out of my entry, it would be that it was all made in good fun with only a slight bit of narcissistic egotism and need to seem intelligent to my audience.

Final thoughts?

I know that TikTok from on a surface level isn't the most credible platform on the market and it's probably leading to the demise of Western democracy as we know it. But being able to make my stupid little skits every day has been a pleasure, and it's really just a jumping off point for me. I'm a 19 year old, country town kid with a terminal illness who loves to do comedy and I think I have a lot to offer the industry. So to get a nomination for this award would just be a dream come true and a huge representation of what I've been able to achieve at this age (plus, I need something to stick next to my participation award in year 8 high jump).

Follow BLAKE PAVEY on Tik Tok for more @blakepavey content.