This article is a part of #KanvasLive, an interactive, cross-platform content series brought to life on the Kanvas app and AOL.com[1]. See more on coverage here[2].
Brandon Bowen was just another normal teen from Georgia until he found Vine. Now, the comedian has over three million followers on the short video app and nearly two billion loops.
SEE ALSO: Social media stars reveal their favorite emojis[3]
Bowen first blew up on Vine in 2014 with his "Hater Blocker[4]" video. That's the moment where he says he realized being a Vine star was a professional -- and attainable -- goal.
"I realized people wanted to see my face, so I thought maybe I could keep the momentum going and create a career out of it," he told AOL.com at Playlist Live, an annual conference that brings together online video creators and their many fans.
Check out all the social media stars we talked to at Playlist Live!
Now, Bowen is temporarily trading in those 6 seconds videos for a full-length feature film called, "Mono."
But have no fear, Viners! The Georgia teen isn't ditching the app. In fact, Bowen in starring in "Mono" alongside other major social media celebs who got their start on Vine, such as Jake Paul and Christian Delgrosso.
AOL.com had a chance to catch up with Bowen, who talked about his path to social media stardom, how he comes up with ideas for videos and what it's like shooting a feature film.
What brings you to Playlist Live and is this your first year here?
I come here because it's a great way to meet fans. Normally, you meet them on the street, and it may be like two or three people. But here you get to meet them in the hundreds, so that's really fun. Plus, you're able to network with a bunch of people on social media, and work on social media branding.
Fans take Playlist Live seriously. Check out this huge line for an event!
How did you get started in social media?
I started doing Vine because I saw my sister was looking at a Facebook page that had a compilation of Vines, and I thought: "Hey I could do that". So I downloaded the Vine app on my iPod, which was all I had at the time I didn't even have an iPhone. I just played around with it for a couple of months until one of my Vines just kind of blew up and went viral. Then it all started to happen so fast. Now, I'm getting to travel and meet cool people that I used to see on the internet.
Can you talk about the moment you realized this would be what you wanted to do?
There was a defining day where I thought, "This is real, these Vines are going out to real people, they aren't just numbers liking my page". After my "Hater Blocker" video blew up, I got an email from a local news channel wanting to use my Vine on TV, then a national news channel, then "Dr. Oz", and then "Good Morning America", and all of these other shows kept emailing me. The whole week I kept getting emails from people requesting me to go on their shows. It was crazy. I realized people wanted to see my face, so I thought maybe I could keep the momentum going and create a career out of it.
What is your favorite thing about Vine?
My favorite thing about Vine is the creativity. It's a platform where you can make these fun creative posts that can be funny or artistic, they can be whatever you want them to be. There are no holds barred. It's a lot of fun.
How do you come up with ideas for your Vines? What inspires you?
There's not really a formula to it. Sometimes I see something and it triggers an idea, or it's just a thought that pops into my head. You know, I have ADHD so I get these random thoughts all the time that are so stupid, but sometimes they're actually kind of funny. It's just really randomness that pops into my crazy head, and then I try to figure out how to put the idea on camera.
Do you want to talk a little bit about the film "Mono" that you're acting in?
It's going to be great movie. It was a lot of fun to work on and there were a lot of great people involved. I loved the director, he's a super cool guy.
What are you most looking forward to about the movie?
It's my first film that I'm in so I'm looking forward to seeing people's reactions, but I've been on TV, and so I've seen that reaction. It's just going to be cool to see how people react differently to me being in a film versus other stuff.
What was it like to work with some of the other stars like Christian Delgrosso, Eric Ochoa, and Jake Paul? Was it fun?
Yeah! It was fun! I already knew Jake Paul and Christian Delgrosso -- us Viners all know each other. But it was really fun to work with Eric too. He's a super fun guy and really down to Earth. He's so fun to hang out with, and it was great to be able to be on set and do this huge project together.
You can watch "Mono" on July 8 on Netflix and other digital streaming platforms.
Check out this gallery for more photos from the star-studded convention:
More from AOL.com:
Alexis G. Zall's age has no reflection on her great influence
Vine star Meghan McCarthy is not stopping at 1.6 billion loops
The Nive Nulls breathe unique life into viral Internet content[5][6][7]
References
- ^ AOL.com (aol.com)
- ^ here (www.getkanvas.com)
- ^ Social media stars reveal their favorite emojis (www.aol.com)
- ^ Hater Blocker (vine.co)
- ^ Alexis G. Zall's age has no reflection on her great influence (www.aol.com)
- ^ Vine star Meghan McCarthy is not stopping at 1.6 billion loops (www.aol.com)
- ^ The Nive Nulls breathe unique life into viral Internet content (www.aol.com)
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