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On a sunny day in February, a group of Toronto’s most influential people arrived at the Star’s office in The Well to have their pictures taken.
In many ways, it was a varied crew: Morgann Book, 20, got her start making ice cream TikToks at her parents’ Dairy Queen before pivoting to become one of BookTok’s most influential voices. Neelam Ahooja, a successful chartered accountant and mother of two, launched her luxury fashion account at age 50 and now sits front row at Paris Fashion Week. During the pandemic, Donté Colley uploaded videos of himself dancing at home. Now he “likes” comments from fans like SZA.
What unites these individuals — and the other content creators featured in this special package — is that they help shape the way we read, dress, eat and understand the internet. Taken together, these 24 local influencers have a combined following across platforms of more than 70 million people, almost twice the population of Canada.
From food to fashion, self-love to social justice, these influencers reflect both the diversity of the internet — and the diversity of Toronto.
In “The Influencers: Toronto’s Top 24 of 2024,” the Star celebrates the astonishing impact of Toronto’s creator community.
Last November, a small team got together to start working on the project. First up: the list. For six weeks, we scoured TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in search of the most interesting and impactful Toronto-based creators. We dug into the vast and various corners of the internet — from self-expression to self-love; gaming to books; style to social justice.
This year’s final list reflects Toronto’s creator community in all its glory and breadth.
There’s Sarah Nicole Landry, one of the most popular creators on Instagram, whose journey of self-discovery and self-love has attracted over 2.3 million followers: “I’d never seen stretch marks on social media until I shared my own,” she told the Star. Over on YouTube, comedy sensation Kurtis Conner got his start after a regular at his barista job encouraged him to attend an open mic night. Makeup artist Mei Pang paints her face to look like a cubist painting and her 3.7 million TikTok followers respond rapturously.
Behind the scenes with Thi Kim Ngan Le and her catsGinger, Paper and Cinnamon.
The creators brought their creativity and verve to two special shoot days. The influencers got glammed up and shared the secrets of their success with the Star team. Sarain Fox, activist powerhouse, brought her adorable baby, Animkiibanasie, who crawled all over Star photographer Steve Russell between takes. YouTube sensation Corey Tonge, known for comedic take on gaming, pushed his physicality to the limits, leaping several feet into the air in pursuit of that one great shot. And then there was Ginger, Pepper and Cinnamon — a trio of ultra-famous cats known for their rascally antics — who wreaked havoc across the studio, requiring two senior editors to finally wrangle them into position.
The result is an inclusive list of tastemakers, changemakers and entertainers, whose content makes the internet a far more enjoyable and interesting place. Check it out here.
Richie Assaly is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Follow him on X: @rdassaly.
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Credit belongs to : www.thestar.com
