The official Paralympics TikTok account has garnered 4.5 million plus followers in the lead-up to the games thanks to the range of hilarious, entertaining, and informative video edits shared on the platform.
“To get an account with four million followers and 1.8 billion video views is super. Those are people who were probably not engaged with the Paralympic movement beforehand,” Craig Spence, chief brand and communications officer of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), told Mediaweek.
Spence said it was important for the Paralympics team to engage new audiences, particularly Gen Z, who he called “the sports fans and purchasers of tomorrow.”
He noted that based on the number of followers, engagements, and likes, as a ratio, the Paralympics TikTok account is “the number one sports account in the world right now.”
“We’re a Paralympic sport. We’re not supposed to be the best account in the world. We’re a Paralympic sport, and people often have, in the same way, they have done with a disability, looked down on and have a stigma towards disability in Paralympic sport.
“We are tearing up the rule book and engaging new audiences,” he said.
“We’ve got loads of comments on there saying, ‘I never knew this happened, I’ll be watching the Paralympics Paris 2024’. If some of those four million people tune in and watch the Paralympic games for the first time, then we’ve done our job.”
The account’s success is due to its video formula and the creator behind the clips, known as TikTok Tony.
“It’s proven a winning formula”
Spence said the “three ingredients” that make their videos work are showcasing high-performance sports, the unique ways Paralympians navigate, and the realities of their experience in their fields.
“I’m very clear with the team that we’ve got to stick to three key ingredients, and if we veer away from the ingredients, that’s when we’ll get ourselves into trouble.”
He noted that the traditional ways of showing sports content would not get them as impactful results and engagement numbers as TikTok.
“We have over 13,000 hours of archived Paralympic footage. TikTok Tony knows that archive inside out, taken the three ingredients and added funny, amusing sound beds or noises or trending audio to those clips to drive engagement.
“So far, it’s proven a winning formula,” he added.
TikTok Tony told Mediaweek he had always longed for greater awareness of para sports, having been involved in disability sports since he was 11.
“I am so delighted to see the amount of people who follow and engage with our content on TikTok today.
“Digital media was something I didn’t have in my younger days, and there was a limited representation of para sports, so it is truly an honour to be the person behind it. I’ve created what I didn’t have before,” he said.
Priya Addams Williams
Priya Addams Williams, Shift 20 Initiative lead, told Mediaweek that having a person with a disability and Paralympian run the account cements the authenticity behind the posts.
“People with disability also use and relate to humour and emotion, just like anybody else.”
Shift 20 Initiative, led by the Dylan Alcott Foundation, is a coalition of Australia’s biggest brands supporting greater disability representation.
Among the brands participating in the movement are ANZ, AAMI, Bonds, Kia, McDonalds, Oral-B, nib, Pantene, Uber, and Weet-Bix. While Tourism Australia, Virgin Australia, and TikTok are foundation partners.
Together, they unite to create the ‘Unignorable Adbreak’ by swapping out key scenes in their advertising to include a person with a disability.
For Addams Williams, the account’s global following comes down to a combination of relatability and elite athletes performing at their peak, underpinned by humour.
“It might not be for everyone, including some people with disability, and that’s ok. Not everything needs to be for everyone.”
“We don’t want to be funny just for the sake of it”
Humour has played a significant role in the growth of the account, an element that Spence and his team do not shy away from “just because it involves disability.”
“We fully understand that when you have a global account, not every single video will hit the mark with your audience. We don’t want to be funny just for the sake of it. We’ve got to stick to this formula, and the top of that list is showcasing the best of Paralympic sport.”
The growth in followers and traffic also reflects the feedback seen in the comments section of the posts. Spence said that the best comments are the ones that discover the Paralympics and say, “I’m going to be watching Paris 2024.”
“That’s when we know we’ve landed and done our job. Many comments say, ‘I’m going to hell for laughing at this’. That’s because people have an ignorance towards disability or uncertainty towards disability, and they’re not sure if they’re allowed to laugh at this.”
Spence also noted that the feedback from Paralympic athletes has been positive, with some sharing the content.
“We posted a video of US triathlete and Paralympic champion Brad Schneider transitioning from swimming to cycling. As he reaches out for the bicycle, it looks like he’s playing a piano, and we put some Beethoven music on top of it.
“Some people thought we were mocking the athlete. Brad shared it across all his social channels, said it was hilarious, and said he feels like he’s playing the piano when he reaches out for the bike.”
@paralympicsPara Triathlon is swim, bike and air piano. 🎹♬ original sound – paralympics
Spence noted that as engaging as the posts are, the Paralympics TikTok team have had posts go wrong.
“That’s happened when we’ve gone away from the three ingredients that make the account so special. It’s important that we keep on that tightrope, don’t overstep our mark, and learn from the posts that don’t land right.”
Addams Williams noted that the Paralympics TikTok account has pushed the boundaries of how people without disability think disability can and should be portrayed and that humour plays a significant role.
“People (without disability) often put people with disability in boxes based on their comfort levels, and the Paralympics TikTok has busted through these pre-conceived notions and comfort levels in a big, engaging and thought-provoking way.
“It’s ultimately normalising disability through humour while also educating people about Paralympic sports and hopefully drawing more people to the Paralympics when they kick off on August 28th.”
For TikTok Tony, the inspiration to create hilarious and inspiring content began during the early days of the COVID pandemic, giving him plenty of time to develop ideas for videos.
“I tried tying together viral trending audios on TikTok to moments from the Paralympics I had seen and remember watching previously.
“This started to work, so I kept doing it to make them as short and snappy as possible. I also watch a huge amount of Paralympics footage.”
“His enthusiasm is brilliant”
Behind the hilarious yet informative videos on the account is a Paralympian athlete known as TikTok Tony.
“TikTok Tony is a genius, and we love having a genius in our presence. He was born with a disability and grew up from an early age playing a Paralympic sport. His mind works very differently from ours, and this is where he’s been able to bring humour.
“When you’re in a team environment, and he played a team sport, there’s an element of camaraderie, almost like if you play an able-bodied sport. There are tongue-in-cheek jokes here and there, and he’s almost brought that into the digital world.”
Spence noted that TikTok Tony has an impressive knowledge of the Paralympic archive and constantly searches for appropriate clips, working closely with the digital media team.
“His enthusiasm for what he does is brilliant. I think he loves every day of work at the IPC because he’s living his dream.
“I remember when we interviewed him, he was passionate about wanting to build great awareness of Paralympic sport.
“TikTok Tony has been a revelation since he joined us, and what’s been great to see is how that person has grown in the role. It’s great that the account he created and works with his colleagues is now getting the credit it deserves.”
TikTok Tony said he hopes the videos encourage audiences to tune in and watch the Paralympic Games.
“I want the content to entertain and showcase how good the athletes are. I want fans to be aware of the different sports and the adaptations made for a para-athlete to compete.
“If one of my videos piques your interest and leads to you becoming invested in the Paralympics as a fan or even as a future Para athlete, I have done my job,” he added.
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Top image: Craig Spence