On Nov. 9, HerCast featured Gabriel Yorke, an Ottawa-based content creator and student at Carleton University.
He gained popularity for his TikTok and Instagram videos spotlighting Ottawa, humorous skits, and giving advice to students at Carleton.
Podcast host Ella Corbin and executives Grace Bestard and Nessa Wallace engaged in a Q&A style format with Yorke, making for an organic, feel good, and comical atmosphere, while offering further insight into Yorke’s life and career.
Here are three TOP questions HerCast asked Yorke.
Q: How do you deal with being noticed or approached on campus?
A: People just come up and they’re like, “Hey I love the videos.”
And I’m like, “Thanks, man.”
And that’s kind of the end of it. I’m not walking around and paparazzi’s taking pictures … One time I was writing a paper for a final in the corner of the library on the fourth floor.
And this guy—and I remember this vividly—he walked past me and then he took a couple steps backwards and he was like, “Where do I know you from?”
And I was mid doing this paper, but I still wanted to be nice.
I was like, “I don’t know man, where do you know me from?”
And he was like, “I’ve seen you on TikTok.”
And then he pulled up the seat in front of me and sat down, crossed his legs, and started quizzing me.
He was like, “So how long have you been doing videos for?” and “Which area of Ottawa do you live in?”
And I was trying to give the most vague answers, and he did this for 10-15 minutes.
Q: YOU RECENTLY DID A STUDY ABROAD FOR A SEMESTER, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
A: So, I did an exchange of the winter semester of last year. I went to Madrid, Spain, and it was the best time ever. I’d always wanted to go away for school. I always pictured myself playing D1 hockey in the States somewhere, but I blew out my knee, so that future took a little pivot …
When I was in first year, this opportunity to go on an exchange came up.
And I was like, “Oh my god, what a happy medium. I get to go away for school, even if it is just for a semester, and I am still paying Carleton’s tuition.”
I applied in first year and I could only go in third year, so I waited for two years just hyping myself up and trying to learn some Spanish … For one, living alone for the first time was spectacular and for two, Spain is just incredible.
I just wanted to take a break [from creating content] this was a very unique time for me. I just wanted to live life for a couple of months, and I did.
Q: What is your advice for students who want to start posting on social media, but are afraid of putting themselves out there because of what people may say?
A: My best advice would probably be just to start posting because there are only two things that can happen. One, you post it and, chances are, you think the video is cringe—it probably isn’t that cringe … You can have the best ideas in the world but until you start actually doing it, you need to try.
Worst comes to worst, it gets 10 views and then it’s like, “Awe man.”
And that’s about the extent of it. Or it does well and you’re like, “Oh nice, let me do that agin.”
But either way you just have to start posting. People are too concerned about themselves to really worry about other people … The most somebody else will [do, is] just keep scrolling—that’s the end of it … So just start, why not?
Listen to the rest of the lively conversation and insightful questions HerCast asked Yorke in the latest episode, out now on Spotify and Apple Music.