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TikTok banning and becoming an artist with Vasilis Kakasas
129 Plays3 years ago
In this episode we talk about the arts paths. How and why should someone move on to follow his dream to become an artist and which role can the internet play ? We also cover the TikTok banning phenomenon as well as the impact of different social media policies in people’s lives. Featuring a former greek TikTok star Vasilis Kakasas.
Follow Vasilis Kakasas at https://lnkfi.re/vasiliis_k
Follow ChangemakerZ at https://go.changemakerz.org/follow
Episode's page https://podcast.changemakerz.org/vasiliis_k
Produced by Vasilis Skarleas
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Transcript
Introduction to Changemaker-Z
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everyone, I'm Kennedy. And I'm Vasiles. We run Changemaker-Z, a student-run initiative that aims to empower, educate, and connect Gen Zers interested in entrepreneurship. We interview teenagers with impactful projects and create resources to help you change the world. If they can't do it, so can you.
00:00:23
Speaker
On this podcast, we discuss the logistics of creating different types of projects with Gen Zers who have already done it. We will leave our social media and website information in the description.
Pursuing Art as a Career
00:00:43
Speaker
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another great episode. This one has been long awaited, and today we're talking about the art path. How and why should someone move on to follow his dream to become an artist and which role can the Internet play? We will also cover the TikTok banning phenomenon in this episode. Please welcome an upcoming second time TikTok star, Vasilis Kakasas. Welcome to the show, Vasilis. Hey, y'all. I'm very surprised to be here, and I'm so happy about it. You know what? We're so happy you came, and we're so excited to talk to you today.
00:01:13
Speaker
Tell us some things about yourself. What is your relationship with the art? Do you dance? Do you sing?
Vasilis Kakasas' Artistic Journey
00:01:19
Speaker
So my name is Vasilka Casas and I guess you can call me a new performer here in Greece. I'm also known from TikTok. My profile before it was banned from TikTok had almost half million views to each of my videos. And my hashtag has had more than 1.1 million views.
00:01:39
Speaker
So I'm in love with the art, and I respect it so much. My parents and my family, I will have a special connection with the art because my mom was a professional dance teacher. My sisters are both, and my cousins, ballet dancers. So I'm used to seeing, love, and respect what they were doing since I was a little kid. So it's weird to answer the question if I'm dancing or singing because I've never taken any lesson.
00:02:08
Speaker
but I'm a self-taught person with tutorials, videos and so much and so more and I'm doing performances as I can. I love that so much. My brother, he did theater and I would always like go to his shows and that's how I fell in love with it. So he kind of did the same thing.
00:02:25
Speaker
Exactly, exactly the same. I loved it when I see them, but I was in love with what they were doing and they respected so much. But I never did anything like dancing or singing.
Art and Societal Issues
00:02:41
Speaker
Well, what do you think, why do you think that it's important for young people to accumulate dancing, singing, painting and so on?
00:02:48
Speaker
It's very important for humans to give themselves and express themselves with art. Art is something unlimited and it's incredible how a person can show emotions, thoughts and social anxiety with art, with a painting, with a dancing, with a choreography, with a painting and so on.
00:03:10
Speaker
Now is the time that we need art, because art connects people, connects countries, connects cities, connects everything. So we need that during this pandemic, we need connection. And if you think about it, we don't have built a world safe for anyone. A boy without toxic masculinity is not a man.
00:03:32
Speaker
Girls are saving from everyone and for everything. LGBTQ plus community persons having the basic human rights. They can marry, they can have children, and in some countries they can't even live. So I want to say something else right now. I want to say to all the girls that they're hearing right now, to love themselves because they're unique, and to all the boys that they're hearing right now, to love and respect women. Thank you. Preach.
00:04:00
Speaker
I love that so much. I completely agree with everything you said. I remember being in school, and school would just be the thing that I kind of did before rehearsal. So I think it's very important for us to have that connection and community with each other. I wanted so much to say that because I think we have that podcast, and some people, persons will hear us. So I wanted to mention that. It's really important.
00:04:29
Speaker
We totally agree with you. We have seen numerous times teenagers being discouraged from their parents to follow the dream to become an artist. Have you ever been in that position? At first, I want to say that I'm sorry for every teenager that has ever been in that position and remind them that every day is a new day and they can start all over again and nothing is guaranteed.
00:04:53
Speaker
Personally, I have never been in that position. My parents totally respect and support me in every step. So my parents don't agree with everything that I do, of course, but they say that it's my choice and they will respect it. And all my family is standing by me and supporting me and I will be forever thankful.
00:05:17
Speaker
this summer i heard the phrase i don't agree with it i don't agree with the dancing or my dresses and everything but i would i would respect it because it's your choice and i was really so happy because i understood immediately they love me so much it's really important what you're saying to respect all people's opinions
00:05:39
Speaker
You were a rising tiktok star in Greece until tiktok banned your account unexpectedly.
Challenges with TikTok
00:05:44
Speaker
Why do you think that this happened? Okay. The tiktok subject. I want to take the things from the start because everything is complicated. It really thinks it is unclear. So I downloaded the app on April 2020 because I wanted to see the videos that me and my friends had made by then.
00:06:09
Speaker
So, during summer 2020, I posted my first videos and I had many likes and I was on For You page on everyone that I know. They told me, you were on my For You page. And I was like, yeah, I started to think.
00:06:25
Speaker
During October 2020, all of my videos had more than 10,000 views and many likes. And I was really happy because I didn't have many followers, but I had many likes and views to all of my videos. Soon, during December 2020, my videos hit a half million views and my hashtag has more than 1.1 million views.
00:06:51
Speaker
I mean, the family was crazy about it. We were like, what happened? It was many. But I had, as you understand, many hate comments about what I'm doing. And I was doing things that a girl was doing, nothing far away from that.
00:07:08
Speaker
And they all hated it because I'm a boy and they were like, you can't do makeup or you can dress like a girl. And yeah, something like that. So the while, during the while, January 2021 and May 2021, I was using the app, but not so much because I had many math studying. But during May, my profile was banned and I couldn't do anything to save it and stop it.
00:07:38
Speaker
So I think that personally happened because racism and homophobes win some TikTok. I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's 2021 like we should be way past the the whole like oh boy shouldn't do makeup and generals and all that but I think it's getting better at least so.
00:08:01
Speaker
I think it's getting better. I'm in that way too, but I don't know. In TikTok, everyone hates you just for existing, I think. So I'm not offended about that because, you know, I know myself better than anyone. So at the end of the day, nothing changes. Yeah. I mean, it's probably, I mean, it's just so easy to like get away with putting a hate comment anonymously now. I think Twitter is the worst, but I'm talking to really,
00:08:30
Speaker
Twitter and TikTok is the worst thing and YouTube I think too but because you don't have a real account and you do so much hate I don't know why you can just scroll and you don't say anything again or you have the choice to never see that again that you're not interested into bad videos so yeah I don't know
00:08:54
Speaker
I think we have to think that I do hashtag to LGBTQ TikTok and all the homophobes see that so they have they have searched it about that. I mean I kind of just think like before you start like writing a hate comment and by all means I'm no saint I've definitely liked comments
00:09:18
Speaker
put down snarky stuff. If you see something negative, think, why is it making me feel this way? Is it like an insecurity? Is it this? You don't have to type it out. You don't have to say that. Just scroll through. You're talking to real people here and it has real life consequences.
00:09:35
Speaker
As a TikTok star and doing dance things and trends, I want to say that I have been doing a dance more than 40 times and 50 sometimes. Not because I can do the dance or anything, because I'm getting too critical over my posts. So I have insecurities with my stomach or my hair or my hand did this.
00:10:04
Speaker
And I think many people feel that way and so bad when you post something to feel like you're going to be too critical about just a dance, just a trend. I don't know. When I'm doing a trend, I feel like I'm the worst people to do. I'm the worst person to do it. I did just a trend and they hated me because of that. And I was like, why? Why? Why that? No, I hate it because you're just doing it for fun. But then once the hate comments are coming, it just takes all the fun out of it.
00:10:34
Speaker
You wouldn't, I don't know, you wouldn't send that to anybody in real life. So don't say it on the internet. Of course. And also, I think that that's the reason why there is a new transition on the social media industry. Basically, there was a new app back in January 2021 that's called Clubhouse. I don't know if anyone knows that. Basically, it's only an audio app that you cannot leave any comments and like you can only participate in a live conversation with people around the board.
00:11:02
Speaker
And then all the well-known media platforms took the same idea, and Twitter made the Twitter voices, Spotify made the green room, Facebook made something similar, and Instagram, as I know, transitioned into something similar to that. Yeah, I think as soon as some companies start trying to monetize everything and just put a bunch of ads, it just automatically goes to crap.
00:11:30
Speaker
You know, are there any TikTok policies that you think shouldn't exist?
Beyond Social Media in Art
00:11:35
Speaker
Policies are important to social media, but TikTok never controls which videos and accounts bounce or deletes. So I wouldn't say most of users use the child safety.
00:11:50
Speaker
to delete your video or your account. And the most times, you're not doing something wrong. You're just wearing things that are not for you. You're a boy, so you have to wear only baskets and I don't know, I don't know. You can be more girly or something like that. I'd say that TikTok has a million users, so it has to control and double check with videos and account deletes.
00:12:20
Speaker
They do have a background mechanism that they are broken. And what I mean about that, we do have the Twitter account for this podcast, and then just write Twitter account. And actually they banned the account because the algorithm thought that it was a bot behind the account. And there was never activity from that account. Like we just posted one photo and we did like, and after that we couldn't at all
00:12:48
Speaker
type, comment, share, nothing. And we had to contact with it directly to fix that. But if you can't do this with every huge automated platform, because imagine how many users there are in order to process all these custom requests manually.
00:13:08
Speaker
And when the companies fail to do that, then they do add more and more policies in the terms and conditions that nobody makes sense. And like I said, okay, many reports, okay, but that's a solution. If in the end we are afraid that we may violate the terms and traditions of the social media platforms, do you think that it is possible for someone to promote himself
00:13:32
Speaker
as an artist outside of these platforms and if yes, how? Social media seriously harms your mental health. TikTok is so toxic for people. Instagram, Twitter is really toxic for people who are using it.
00:13:48
Speaker
So everything is wrong for these apps. All the persons that are using social media are getting too critical because of their post. So I completely understand an artist who doesn't want to use them for promoting himself.
00:14:07
Speaker
Of course, I think there are many ways that a person, an artist can promote himself to show their talent to the world and to the people. So by taking, by participating to auditions, to local shows, to exhibitions, to artistic galas, and so on. So I feel that social media suits me more, so I try to promote myself with them, with using them. I feel like
00:14:37
Speaker
That's really sad that people don't want to use social media anymore. They kind of get too scared to use it because of all the hate comments because that's like one of the easiest way to promote yourself nowadays. And you don't need to get like an agent and all that stuff because you have social media and it's like easier to blow up. But I think it's not our real life. Our real life is here and it's not our social media.
00:15:03
Speaker
I'm so happy you have that self-confidence and you've developed that strength. And let's just hear it again, guys. Jin Z, please. TikTok is not real life, please. Please, guys. It's not real life. Really? Really? You have to believe that. TikTok is not your life. And nothing a user would say is real.
00:15:28
Speaker
I think I know some people that were really rising TikTok stars and a girl was crying every day and she was so sad because of TikTok hate and I was really sad about it but I couldn't do anything to help her. I said to her that she's doing that so she must learn how to not give and if I don't know I don't want to
00:15:55
Speaker
doesn't speak bad, but he doesn't have to give a fuck about anything. Um, yeah, there was this girl in my grade, like who had a random video that blew up like a million views or something like that. And then all the, and I actually knew her and all the comments about her, like all these assuming things. And I was like, I feel like if I didn't know her, I would be quick to believe these things. I'd just like,
00:16:19
Speaker
of like checked me like right again like another reality check by like these comments are not really even though it seems like very possible stop assuming things about people from one little 10-second video that you saw on TikTok please.
Connecting with Global Audiences
00:16:33
Speaker
You know do you have any tips specifically for people trying to connect with international audiences in order to share their art of any type?
00:16:41
Speaker
people who they want to connect with the international audience in order to share the same type of art. I think that may sound cliche or something, but you have to know yourself and you have to be yourself all the time. And so you have to love what you're doing. And I would say you have to
00:17:01
Speaker
to use technology and what are you doing and translate to many many languages so many person can understand see who are you what are you doing what do you where do you stand and anything you have to keep the control of the brands trends.
00:17:19
Speaker
and promote yourself with social media or not. And last but not least, I think there are many international organizations that promote young artists. We have in Europe the Eurovision that helps artists become known. So I think there are many, many, many. Well, that's a good relief to know that there is many outlets
00:17:44
Speaker
to promote yourself and get your art out there. And I think, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to be willing to put yourself out there. Like you have to not be embarrassed, kind of a couple of risks like reach out and just try to put yourself out there.
00:18:00
Speaker
Of course, you have to want that very much. If you want something very much and not just sitting and say, I want to be famous or I want to be on stage. If you don't sit and you work hard, you will receive what you want. That happened with me. I've never taken any lesson, guys, any dance or singing lesson. And I have done my own performances. Soon I'm going to have another and another after.
00:18:26
Speaker
That's why because I work hard and I wanted that so badly. So if you want something so bad, you can do it. You can do it.
Future Plans and Closing Remarks
00:18:35
Speaker
All right. I'd like to know what are your plans for the future? Okay. My plans for the future is a performance that's coming way sooner than people think. I can say a date because it's not, I don't have one, but it's coming very soon. And then people think like in November or December, I would have,
00:18:54
Speaker
one right now in September but with technical problems we cancelled it so yeah and of course I'm gonna work with my voice and my dance move and maybe and hopefully I will release my first song soon and I will be so happy about it yes I would love that and I'm gonna have for sure the most performances that I can
00:19:20
Speaker
That's extremely exciting. Where are you releasing your songs? Everything. I will try to do everything. Like, you know, organize with a PaniKart.me entertainment group. I will try with... It's a company here in Greece, a grand company, and I will try with it. So, yeah, I'm going to have to try, but I'll be so happy if in a year I have my first song released. We can't wait to see your plans to become a reality in the future. So,
00:19:49
Speaker
Another great episode came to an end. We would like to thank Vasilis Kakassas for being with us today. Thank you so much for inviting me and for having me. It's so nice to meet you both, and it's my honor and pleasure to be here. If you liked this episode, go and listen to one of our previous episodes related to art and fame with YouTube artists' talks and be inspired. Until next time, keep changing the world.
00:20:17
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. We had such a great time. Make sure to leave us a review. If you want more Changemaker's content, you can follow us on Instagram at jinzears2rise and on Facebook at changemakerz.