Stefan Leonhardsberger had published six short clips on the “TikTok” social media platform by the beginning of April. The success in the online network, which is particularly popular with young people, was still limited – the cabaret artist, musician and actor from Lasberg near Freistadt had 25 fans (“Die Leonhardsberger & Schmid Show”, “Da Billie Jean is ned mei Bua “) on Tiktok. Until a video suddenly changed everything. Released on April 12, the clip “Walk Like A President”, in which Leonhardsberger imitates well-known (ex-)heads of state, was clicked a whopping 5.4 million times in less than two weeks. In a hilarious way, Leonhardsberger strolls through the picture like Obama, Biden, Trump, Erdogan or Putin. Look for yourself:
@leonhardsberger Walk like a President #obama #biden #trump #macron #erdogan #putin ? Original sound – Stefan Leonhardsberger
Below the post are comments from all over the world. Users from Africa, the US and India praise the apt parody. Even Turkish newspapers reported on the viral click hit of the Upper Austrian, who now lives in Bavaria. Leonhardsberger himself cannot fully explain the success. “No one knows how something like this comes about. There’s a good deal of luck involved,” says the Mühlviertler modestly on the OÖN telephone.
Idea during lockdown
The idea for his own TikTok channel came to him during lockdown times. “I’ve expanded my social media activities a bit because otherwise you couldn’t have much contact with the audience,” says Leonhardsberger. The first posts published in early February had a few hundred clicks. He was therefore very surprised that the video would hit so hard. The cabaret artist now has 40,000 followers on the platform and “there is no end in sight”.
Series in planning
Leonhardsberger says he could well imagine producing a whole series of these videos. A first step has already been taken: at the suggestion of his fans, part two of “Walk Like A President” was released on Thursday. This time Leonhardsberger slips into the shoes of Johnson, Selenskyj, Trudeau, Scholz and Van der Bellen. There were more than 60,000 clicks within 24 hours:
@leonhardsberger Walk like a President! Part 2 #borisjohnson #trudeau #scholz #vanderbellen #selensky #selenskyj #zelensky #zelenitsky #zelenskyy #walk #walking ? Original sound – Stefan Leonhardsberger
Although there were some critical comments, especially with regard to the Putin parody, “the positive feedback far outweighs the negative”. Everyone is cordially invited to rate the videos, “of course also the parodied people,” says Leonhardsberger with a wink.
Source: Nachrichten
