+
upworthy
Pop Culture

Wholesome 'Old Biker Dude' goes from zero followers to modern day social media sensation

Emmett's sweet travel and cooking videos have explode in popularity.

old biker dude, karve tv tiktok
@karvetv/TikTok

What's not to love about Old Biker Dude?

Hi, folks! Meet Emmett, the retired, motorcycle-riding nomad better known as “Old Biker Dude.”

On any given day that you have access to YouTube, you can follow along on Old Biker Dude’s ultra wholesome off-grid adventures, where he might show you how to bake a trout to perfection, show off his impressive solar-powered wagon or take in the majestic beauty of the surrounding mountains and trees.

For the longest time, almost nobody was following Emmett or his content. Despite posting regularly, his videos largely went unviewed.

Then a stranger completely turned things around.


Cole Caetano, better known as @karvetv on TikTok, regularly scopes out YouTube channels in need of support and shares them on his account to help them get views and followers. He also reposts videos of people doing kind acts. Just nourishing content all around.

Caetano came across Old Biker Dude, and shared this:
@karvetv Old Biker Dude❤️ #oldman #wholesome #grandpa ♬ original sound - Cole Caetano

As usual, the repost worked. People were completely charmed by Emmett, and almost overnight, his following grew exponentially. Today he has 102,000 subscribers.

Emmett ended up writing on his channel:

“ATTENTION: On July 24th, I suddenly began getting thousands of subs as the result of one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. A Tik Tok'r named karveTV featured me on his channel. I'm literally in tears as I sit here watching this. Thank you son.”

In TEARS. This is just too sweet.

As others were quick to point out, this endearing story really shows the power of TikTok being used for good.

Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok doesn't require users to already have a following in order to go viral, which means creative, unique and even absurd content can quickly infiltrate the online zeitgeist. If you put out something that is entertaining, as Emmett clearly did, the odds of getting it to those who would appreciate it are far more likely. That’s why, for all its faults, TikTok can be a magical tool for human connection.

If you’d like to join Old Biker Dude’s ever-growing subscriber base, head over to YouTube.

And if you'd like to give Caetano some much-deserved love as well, follow him on TikTok.

True

Larissa Gummy was first introduced to the work of the Peace Corps in high school. All it took was seeing a few photos shared by her ninth-grade teacher, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, to know that one day, she would follow in those footsteps.

This inspiration eventually led Larissa away from her home in Minnesota to Rwanda in East Africa, to give back to her family’s country of origin and pursue her passion for international development. Though her decision confused her parents at first, they’re now proud and excited to see what their daughter has accomplished through her volunteer work.

And just what was that work? Well, it changed from day to day, but it all had to do with health.

Mostly, Larissa worked for Rwanda’s First 1,000 Days Health project, which aims to improve the conditions that affect the mortality rate of kids within the first 1,000 days of being born (or almost three years old). These conditions include hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of childhood diseases like malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI). Addressing malnutrition was a particular focus, as it continues to cause stunted growth in 33% of Rwandan children under the age of five.

In partnership with the local health center, Larissa helped with vaccination education, led nutrition classes, offered prenatal care to expecting mothers, and helped support health education in surrounding communities. Needless to say—she stayed busy with a variety of tasks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

13 side-by-side portraits of people over 100 with their younger selves

These powerful before-and-after photos reveal just how beautiful aging can be.


Centenarians — people 100 years or older — are a rarity. Their lives are often scrutinized as holding the key to aging.

Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time.

In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.

Keep ReadingShow less

Woman holds new signs walking in New York causing laughter

There's the old cliché, desperate times call for desperate measures and one woman decided it was time to pull out all the stops. Well, sort of. Karolina Geits was annoyed with dating sites when she and her friends came up with the joke of walking around New York City with a sign that reads, "looking for a husband."

The sign isn't something fancy that they printed up at Office Depot or something. It's just a piece of cardboard with black sharpie writing. Geits, who is a model, debuted the sign in July, racking up more than 6.4 million views on TikTok. Since striking virility, she's taken to filming herself with some pretty eyebrow raising signs.

People walking along the streets seem to be a mixture of confused and amused by these silly signs, which sometimes actually result in money. One of her signs, "need money for a Birkin" had onlookers giggling and some folks forgetting they were in New York traffic while craning their necks to...read her sign. I'm sure.

Keep ReadingShow less

All GIFs and images via Exposure Labs.


Photographer James Balog and his crew were hanging out near a glacier when their camera captured something extraordinary.

They were in Greenland, gathering footage from the time-lapse they'd positioned all around the Arctic Circle for the last several years.

Keep ReadingShow less

A concerned woman gets a DNA test.

A woman, 35, and her husband, 38, had been married for 10 years and during that time became good friends with a neighbor in her 20s. Two years after they met the neighbor she had a son. She said the father wasn’t in the son’s life because he was a one-night fling.

The woman had health issues, so the couple happily took care of the child when she was in the hospital. Sadly, the woman died when the child was young, so the couple became his foster parents and legally adopted him at the age of 7.

Years later, when their adopted son was 10, and their biological child was 5, the mother noticed that both children looked a lot alike. “Now that they are 10 and 5 years old and they looked so much like each other that I begin to have suspicions,” the woman wrote on the Reddit Relationship Advice subforum.

Keep ReadingShow less
@parental_with_me/TikTok

"It's awesome"

There comes a point in every person’s life when the toys, games, fantasy books, cartoons, all start to take up less space in our lives. Partially because of naturally changing interests, and also due to the responsibilities of adulthood setting in.

But then when we have kids, suddenly we are transported back to this magical time when play ruled our lives.

For a dad named Andrew, this is one of the biggest “unsung benefits” of parenthood, and he is ready to sing its praises.
Keep ReadingShow less
All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia/ Wikipedia

That was not alright, alright , alright

People are applauding the way Matthew McConaughey refused to be reduced down to the partisan label of “anti-gun” during a recent guest appearance on “The View.”

McConaughey had initially been brought on the show to discuss his new children’s book, “Just Because,” but host Sunny Hostin later praised the actor for being “so outspoken against violence, and gun violence in particular,” referencing his previous impassioned speech in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Hostin then asked McConaughey if he had given any more thought to holding a political office. Previously in 2021 the actor publicly announced considering running for governor of the state of Texas, but then decided to focus on his family.
Keep ReadingShow less