Highway couple reaches 2.3m TikTok followers
The TikTok super couple who enjoys travelling and exploring decided to document their travels across the African continent.
HIGHWAY couple, Jonty (33) and Candy King (28) were bitten by the travel bug and have since become travel content creators and use social media to share their journey.
The intrepid travellers, famously known as Candy and the King on social media, have grown their TikTok account to more than 2.3 million followers.
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Candy grew up in Hillcrest and is a former Hillcrest High School learner, while Jonty is a Westville Old Boy.
The couple do not consider themselves influencers but rather content creators. They said they will soon release an eBook with pointers on how to create content for the platform.
The pair shared that TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform in the world. “What we love about it is that it is real and authentic,” said Jonty.
“Whenever we are in a certain country, we engage with the public, we show our journey, try to learn the language and local trends. People find that amusing. We forever try to capture the ‘other side’,” said Candy.
Their journey is filled with many exciting adventures and has opened their eyes to so many things and connected them with numerous people.
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“We are also active on Instagram, with 27 thousand followers, but with TikTok we are able to show more of our character,” said Jonty.
The couple, who have been married for six years, said experiencing and exploring has always been their interest.
“We do not have an interesting love story, but I always tell people I married him for his surname,” laughed Candy.
They said the whole experience has just been overwhelming. “We never expected this. We joined TikTok while stuck in Laos during lockdown last year. Everywhere we go, people recognise us in the streets,” said Candy.
“Although it was a sad time, we decided to look at the positive side. We used the time to help rebuild tourism in the destination,” said Jonty.
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The warm welcoming duo said anyone could sign up for TikTok. “People must not undervalue themselves. All ages, even the elderly citizens, share very interesting and fun content.”
Candy advised people to not try and copy other people but to be themselves.
“They need to find something that they enjoy and show their character. Videos that use a local, trending song, that people can relate to, are also very popular on the platform,” she said.
When asked about their favourite destination, the couple said it was hard to choose as the countries they have visited have all been so different and special in their own way, but admitted they were very impressed by Sri Lanka and Israel.
Among the things that they have learnt is that all the countries they have visited have their own version of ‘uphuthu’.
Asked about the weirdest thing they have eaten on their travels, Candy, who likes to experience different food, said it would have to be a giant worm and a packet of crickets.
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