VidCon US 2022 is back and in-person, and TikToker Andre Swilley is ready to head back to Anaheim to meet his fans at the biggest creator convention of the year.
“I have attended VidCon in 2016-2018 as TikTok creator attendee with my manager,” Andre exclusively tells Celeb Secrets in an interview. “After Covid taking over the past several years, it’ll be nice to be back in person for a convention with all my social media peers. I’m looking forward to interact with other influencers and to meet all my fans and create new ones and I’m excited to participate in some good panels and meet and greets.”
The young creator is one of many that are scheduled to appear at the 4-day fest in Southern California from June 22-25, which includes Aaron’s Animals, AdamRayOkay, Alejandra Tapia, Alan Becker, Alan Stokes, Alex Stokes, Allison Holker, Ashleytheunicorn, Ben Azelart, Blake Manning, Danny Plascencia (sweetea), Emirichu, Frank (sweetea), Halle Burns, Mr. Hamilton, Jazzy Anne, Jenny Nicholson, Jon Cozart (Paint), Julian Lopez (sweetea), Kat Blaque, Lexi Rivera, Logan Mendoza (sweetea), Michelle Khare, Miki Rai, Natalie Burdick, Nicole & Josh (Mythical Kitchen), Quackity, Rachel Levin, The Trills, tWitch, and Yung Astroo among others.
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At VidCon, fans, creators, executives, and brands who are passionate about online video, community-led media, and building diverse communities will come together for a variety of panels, performances, meet-and-greets and exclusive events, making it the ultimate experience that online media enthusiasts crave.
“I would love to do a joint meet up and I think it would be fun to get some really popular influencers together where we could meet our fans and spend some time with them,” Swilley tells us about his dream VidCon meet-up. “Maybe they could make some TikToks with their favorite influencers and get a chance to talk to them for a few minutes and pictures.”
VidCon US 2022 comes on the heels of the success of VidCon’s virtual programming, VidCon Now, which attracted 1.2 million unique attendees since launching in the summer of 2020 as a year-round virtual experience. You can purchase tickets to VidCon US 2022 here.
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Celeb Secrets sat down (virtually) with Andre to learn more about his VidCon appearance, some of his favorite memories from attending previous conventions, and his plans to dominate both acting and music. Keep scrolling to see the full Q&A below and don’t forget to let us know if you’re excited for VidCon to return in-person by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
You can connect with Andre by giving him a follow on Instagram at @andreswilley and TikTok at @andreswilley.
Want more VidCon coverage? Watch all of our interviews with your favorite creators here.
Celeb Secrets: Hi Andre, the last time we talked with you was regarding the release of your Snapchat Series Endless! How have things been since then and since that release?
Andre Swilley: “Things have been good. Endless was a really good experience and created a great exposure for me. Since then, I’ve been focused on myself and building my acting career and also working on YouTube as well.”
CS: You’re headed to VidCon US later this year – tell us more about your special appearance!
AS: “After Covid taking over the past several years, it’ll be nice to be back in person for a convention with all my social media peers. I’m looking forward to interact with other influencers and to meet all my fans and create new ones. I’m excited to participate in some good panels and meet & greets.”
CS: What’s your favorite thing about VidCon? Do you have any special memories or moments from previous years? If not, what are you looking forward to most since it’s your first?
AS: “I have attended Vidcon in 2016- 2018 as TikTok creator attendee with my manager. Many special moments include seeing how Vidcon works and walking through the convention floor was so much fun. I got to see some great performances on the musical.ly stage from some up-and-coming artists. Also getting to meet a lot of influencers that have now gained so many followers. It was great to meet a lot of my influencer friends in person and to make new friends and being able to collab.”
CS: You started out on Vine like a lot of other content creators, what has it been like switching over to TikTok, and what’s something you’ve learned from the experience?
AS: “After Vine I was on musical.ly for a while and then I took my talents to TikTok. I just had to get used to the platform and what it was like to broadcast live to interact with my fans and make new dance videos or trends. I’ve learned so many people are on the app and there’s new trends every day and it’s important to stay current.”
@andreswilley i guess i won the challenge 😭😂 all jokes tho happy for u
CS: Along with being a TikToker, you’re also in the music industry, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced getting into such a competitive industry and how did you overcome them?
AS: “I was fortunate to be able to participate in two social media tours as an influencer and music artist. I was very fortunate to be able to perform on stage in front of my fans and to build my confidence and get the experience. Music is very competitive but I had to find my own style and take a chance and just go with it and not be like everybody else.”
CS: You’ve also started to branch into the acting world, how has that been? And have you found you prefer one over the other when it comes to music and acting?
AS: “I’ve always wanted to be an actor and I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my acting dream. I have an agent for acting and had some great experiences through Brat TV and now I’m getting auditions again which have been tough during Covid. A lot of self tapes. Music is fun and I enjoy it but I prefer acting which is my main career goal.”
CS: Do you have any future projects that you could hint at or tell us a little about?
AS: “I plan to get back into music and also I’m scheduled to be back on a social media tour in July 2022. I’m also attached to an upcoming motion picture from the director of “Twilight.”
CS: If you could have a dream meet-up at VidCon, what would it be like and why? Would you do a joint meet-up with any other creators on the guest list?
AS: “That’s actually a good question. Every time there is a convention there’s always some new influencers that start blowing up big that would be fun to collaborate with. I would love to do a joint meet up and I think it would be fun to get some really popular influencers together where we could meet our fans and spend some time with them. Maybe they could make some TikToks with their favorite influencers and get a chance to talk to them for a few minutes and pictures.”
CS: Since we’re Celeb Secrets, do you have any secrets or facts that fans might not know about you?
AS: “I love to travel but I don’t really like to fly. I don’t like airplanes. Also, I am a huge fan of Cobra Kai and Euphoria.”
