Welcome to Creators on the Rise, where—in partnership with global creator company Jellysmack—we find and profile breakout creators who are in the midst of extraordinary growth.
Stephanie Margarucci was lonely.
As a self-described antisocial teenager going through a rough patch, she didn’t have the kinds of IRL friends and connections she has now.
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Instead, she had YouTube.
For her, discovering the platform was like finding a sprawling, low-key house party where each room held a different, interesting, inspiring person making cool videos about cool stuff. Those creators and their content kept Margarucci company when she needed it most. And some of them, like choreographer Matt Steffanina, did more than that: his how-to-dance videos helped Margarucci sharpen the skills she needed to go from the sidelines to being a central player in several hip hop dance crews.
Becoming a competitive dancer was the start of Margarucci’s climb out of what she says was a “dark time.” Another crucial part of that climb was meeting Marcus Olin, a fellow creator who’s now her boyfriend.
During her time on dance crews, Margarucci snagged herself a reputation for “eating” the competition. So when she and Olin decided to try their hands at making the kind of content that had been a lifeline for Margarucci, she took the nickname she’d been given, BeastEater, and made that her digital identity.
@beasteaterHer reaction at the end 😩🥺 LINK IN BIO ##makingthecut ##grwm ##gymtok♬ Rica – Beasteater
The two of them launched TikTok accounts in late 2019. Margarucci’s very first upload (below) was a vulnerable moment for her–but, she acknowledges, a funny one, too. At the time, she wasn’t comfortable with her short hairstyle, so regularly wore wigs. While trying to film a dance video, a particularly…shall we say enthusiastic move resulted in her wig taking unexpected flight.
Margarucci wasn’t keen on the entire world seeing her in an under-wig cap, but when she showed the video to Olin, he encouraged her to post it. She finally did, and to her surprise, it racked up more than a million views. The comments people left–about relating to the video, about finding it hilarious–reminded her of how YouTube creators’ videos had been relatable to her, and how they’d always been able to make her smile.
Since then, Margarucci (and Olin, who has his own account but frequently features in Margarucci’s videos, and vice versa) has focused on making a mix of dance and comedy content. Over the past two years, her account has grown to more than 14 million followers, and in the last two months has seen more traffic than ever.
@beasteaterYALL MY WIG FLEWWWW WHY AM I POSTING THIS ##comedy ##ad 😩💀♬ original sound – 🥀🖤 ฬเкค🥀🖤
In the first week of August alone, Margarucci’s TikTok content collectively garnered more than 31 million views, 4.5 million likes, and 14.2K shares.
Much like YouTube content helped Margarucci build the foundations of her dance career, her own TikTok content is now helping her build out to more things she’s always wanted to do, like debuting her own products and becoming a singer/songwriter. And, most importantly, it’s letting her follow in the footsteps of the YouTube creators who inspired her to find her way out of the dark.
Check out our chat with her below.
Tubefilter: So, for those who don’t know you, tell us a little about you! Where are you from? What did you get up to before rolling onto social media?
Stephanie Margarucci: My name is Stephanie Margarucci, but I’m mainly known as BeastEater! Fun fact, a lot of people don’t actually know my real name! I’m a proud and very fluent Argentinian. I can speak Spanish, and it always seems to blow people’s minds. Before social media, I was a passionate hip hop dancer and choreographer! I was in multiple dance crews, and it’s actually how the name BeastEater was born. The name was made for me at a dance competition when I “ate the competition.” I became BeastEater that day in the dance community, and I had to adopt the name for my socials.
Tubefilter: You’re a choreographer by trade. How did you fall in love with dance? How has your choreography + comedy + social media presence all tied together?
SM: I fell in love with dance when I started coming across all the YouTube videos of World of Dance performances. As well, a choreographer known as Matt Steffanina would post the craziest dance videos, then would upload how-to video to learn the choreography at home! It all started then and there learning on my own until I thought I was ready for dance crew auditions. Being a choreographer helps me a lot when I film TikToks ’cause I can choreograph a TikTok in my head and then “perform” it in a way when I film it. I know what to do next ’cause I put it all in my head, like a dance I just created and learned!
Tubefilter: You got your start on YouNow, but as your manager put it, recently hit “mega-stardom” on TikTok. Can you walk us through your journey from YouNow to, well, now? When and why did you join YouNow? How has TikTok helped you grow in ways other platforms didn’t?
SM: I was a very antisocial person for a very long time, so I wouldn’t have anything to do, and what would cure my boredom was going into the App Store and looking at the top downloaded apps and downloading all of them. One was Instagram, and one was YouNow! I would go check them out and waste some time ’cause I didn’t go out to the movies with friends our go get food after school around the corner. I would watch YouTube videos at home with my mom and sisters.
It was honestly the door that opened in my eyes, making me realize I want to do exactly that–influence people and make them laugh when they feel like they’re completely alone. When I didn’t have friends and have places to go out to, I would be watching YouTube videos being comforted, feeling everything I needed to feel. It was a virtual connection that lit up my world.
I went through a dark time and thought It would never be lit up again, until I one day accidentally met my amazing now-boyfriend Marcus Olin and changed my life forever. We both started TikTok together, posting anything we thought was funny. We gave it a go just for the world to give us so much love that I truthfully did not know was there. When I sat there watching YouTube videos, not having friends but still feeling loved from those videos…I will do everything and strive to give that to people.
@beasteaterMy house smells so good 😩😭 ##luckycharms ##cerealcandle ##candle ##melting ##CinderellaMovie ##ArmaniMyWay ##HBCUpride♬ virgo – Jadu Jadu
Tubefilter: How has your content evolved over the years and across multiple platforms?
SM: I would say ever since I was a little kid, I would always just do and say things that were really random, and I always made people laugh! I love seeing people laugh, so my mind is always running literally always, going and thinking of random different ideas. Filming so many videos has just advanced my head a little bit, I would say, to be able to come up with the randomest things sometimes. I tend to write my random ideas in my notepad on my phone.
I’ve noticed a lot more people laughing along with the videos and wanting more, so I try post on multiple social media apps, so just in case some people don’t have certain apps they can still laugh and get a smile on their face!
Tubefilter: What made your TikTok account take off? Was there one particular video that got massive viewership and sparked sudden growth?
SM: I used to wear wigs when I first started TikTok ’cause I disliked my short hair so much and it was so damaged from different extensions and so much dyeing! So I was filming a TikTok and it was to Katy Perry’s song “Firework,” and I was pulling plastic Walmart bags out of my mouth. I started dancing when the beat dropped and whipped my head forward and backward, and my wig went flying totally by accident and I was staring at the camera in my wig cap looking bald and shocked!
I was so embarrassed but kept laughing, so I showed my boyfriend and he laughed so hard. He said I needed to post it, and I kept saying no for a bit, being so embarrassed, but then I came to my senses not too long after and posted it because it’s genuinely really funny! TikTok absolutely loved it, and so did everyone else, so I kept being just myself in all my videos! It’s my first uploaded TikTok–if you scroll down, it’s still there!
Tubefilter: How has TikTok helped you develop professionally?
SM: Of course TikTok has helped a LOT! TikTok is family, and they show absolute all love to anyone who shows the app itself love! Literally anyone who posts multiple times in a day continuously, while also actually using the app, will get love shown back from TikTok! TikTok sees the effort people put in and pushes amazing things your way if it fits! My audience helps and supports me in anything I truthfully show I care about. I would say everything I do is all thanks to my audience. I used to be the viewer watching and needing to smile, so I owe it all to my audience.
Tubefilter: As you mentioned, you’re dating Marcus Olin, and of course the two of you show up quite frequently in one another’s videos. How does the collaborative process work for your content? How much time do you spend on collaborative content versus solo content?
SM: Marcus Olin is my boyfriend, and let me tell you, he’s the best one there could possibly be! He’s an amazing support system. We both have a schedule we abide by every day, and we have certain times for TikTok content! We both film what we have planned. If it’s without him, I’ll film what I need to film then circle back to see if I’m needed for a video or the other way around! We genuinely spend all our time together, only separating if it’s a prank or something along the lines of that!
@beasteaterI did not expect him to react like that..😳 @marcusolin ##datenight ##ootd ##xgamesmode♬ original sound – BeastEater
Tubefilter: Due to your recent spike in views/followers, do you have any new plans or goals for your content career? Do you think content will be a full-time pursuit for you long-term?
SM: This is my dream. I have wanted to make people laugh and smile for so long in some sort of way that this is already a full-time, long-term pursuit. I am the happiest I’ve ever been putting smiles on people’s faces and meeting my audience in public at random times! It all happens for a reason. People deserve all the happiness and love in the world and I will continue to spread that. I will never give up.
Tubefilter: What’s your favorite part of making content as a whole?
SM: Being happy is honestly my favorite part of making content. It makes me laugh so hard. I create these memories in my head, and every time a video is being filmed, it gives my butterflies in my stomach. It’s something I really look forward to doing–and seeing people’s reactions is ever sweeter. It’s an amazing, positive, happy time. I love it.
Tubefilter: What’s next in the immediate future for you and your channel? Where do you see yourself in five years?
SM: Surpise surpise, great question. We are actually dropping the coolest merch ever, I believe, this Friday! We made it really custom and put our personal touch in the merch, so be on the lookout. I’m very proud of it and all the time we took to perfect it for our audience!
One thing I’m also very, very excited about is I am actually going to start filming my music video for my first single I just released on my birthday, “Rica”! No one really knows anything just yet, so there’s a little tea I just dropped: there will be a music video to “Rica”!
Where I am, I see myself marrying and having children with the amazing man I’m with, so I would definitely love to see him get on his knees in the next five years and maybe we can advance to a family channel with our own children!
Jellysmack is the global creator company that detects and develops the world’s most talented video creators. The company’s proprietary video optimization technology and data drive social audience growth, unlocking new revenue streams and amplifying monetization.
Currently home to over 150 influential Creators including PewDiePie, MrBeast, Brad Mondo, and Bailey Sarian, Jellysmack optimizes, operates, and distributes creator-made video content to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. Jellysmack-managed content boasts 10 billion global monthly video views and a cross-platform reach of 125 million unique U.S. users, making it the largest U.S. digital-first company in monthly social media viewers.
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