It's the biggest event in Australia's social media calendar. Over 90,000 people had converged on VidCon Australia 2019 in Melbourne. Stars from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more were on hand to hold panels, performances, and meet and greets - but nobody was enjoying themselves more than Hui Jin Wang.
TikTok had only just launched in Australia, but Hui Jin and her grandson Thomas had already formed a hit account, posting as The Chainz Family. Together, they were “Ricky and Granny” and their short-form comedy videos - with Granny in the starring role - were rapidly collecting followers and sponsorships. Now, they'd been invited to speak at the conference to share their knowledge of this newly emerging platform.
“Grandma was taking pictures with hundreds of fans," Thomas, 34, laughs, adding that Hui Jin was in her element.
"When we started three years ago, it was crazy. We used to get noticed in Westfield, outside the toilets, in the food court. We were doing really well in that first year and used our money to go out and eat. All the time!”
"Yum cha," Hui Jin interjects. “She liked a slap on the pokies sometimes too,” adds Thomas with a wink.
As the pair meet with The Weekly today at her flat in Sydney's Maroubra - where she lives with Thomas' aunt Julia - Hui Jin, who turns 96 on April 24, is still clearly the star of the show. Bright, alert, and dressed impeccably, she is using her grandson to translate, but her gestures tell a thousand words.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Where to go in 2024
Who doesn't love fantasising about their next trip? We've gone for lesser-known locations, and whether you're seeking bright lights, striking natural scenery, serenity or excitement, here's where you're sure to find it.
Money matters with Effie
Didn’t reach your financial goals in 2023? While a new year won’t wipe away pressures like rising costs, there are a few things you can do now to refresh your money mojo in 2024.
Bright stars in a rugged land
The hot, dusty opal fields around Lightning Ridge in outback NSW have traditionally been a man's world. Now The Weekly meets the women who have been struck by opal fever.
The gift of life
Maureen Elliott had just months to live when she went on St Vincent's Hospital's transplant list. Thirty years on she's one of the longest living heart-lung transplant recipients in the world.
An uncaged heart
After more than two years in Iranian jails, Kylie Moore-Gilbert has forged a new life that's brimming with love, and a determination to help others who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
The woman behind The King
As Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla readies to hit screens, we look back at the early life and great love of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.
Say hello to the Cockatoo cake
When we put a call-out to our readers for their best children's cakes we were inundated with recipes, and this clever cockatoo was ahead of the flock.
The French revolution
Dawn French quit her sketch show because she felt so ugly. Now the \"roly-poly comedian\" wants us all to stop fretting about our faults. She talks body image, surviving the 1980s and owning her mistakes.
Trump's women
Will it be the jailhouse or the White House for Donald Trump this year? The women in his life could make all the difference.
Can you buy a good night's sleep?
Forty per cent of Australians have trouble sleeping, and the market has responded with a mind-boggling array of sleep aids. But do any of them actually work? The Weekly goes in search of slumber.
