Tiffin featured on popular influencer's TikTok page

Last week, Tiffin was a featured city on influencer Sir Yacht's TikTok, a video-based social media app. Sir Yacht's account has nearly 300,000 followers, and the Tiffin video has already passed 100,000 views. Sir Yacht's real name is Joey Kinsley, and he's a 27-year-old based in Rocky River on the west side of Cleveland. Though his hometown is only an hour and a half from Tiffin, he'd never been before this visit. Kinsley met up with Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz and Bryce Riggs, executive director of Destination Seneca County, for a tour of the town. Though he was only in town for a day, the trio managed to visit many of Tiffin's greatest hits, including Heidelberg, Tiffin University, Ralph's Joy of Living, the Empire, the Renaissance, the Ritz, Kuebler Shoes, Hawkes Crystal, Jolly's Drive-in and more. "Everybody was really welcoming," Kinsley said. "It's a great city that's on the rise thanks to young, forward-thinking people." He thought Tiffin had the perfect mix of small town and downtown atmospheres. Kinsley's favorite attraction was Madison Street Tavern. In the video he posted about Tiffin, he called the classic chicken chunks "the best food I've ever had in my entire life." He also enjoyed the 1920s, Gatsby-esque vibe of the Renaissance, where he tried the signature blackberry whiskey sour. "Tiffin is definitely one of my favorite towns I've visited, largely because of the people," Kinsley said. "Mayor Montz and Bryce Riggs are two amazing people that have done great things." Kinsley has made a career out of showcasing Ohio towns on social media, but that wasn't always his intention. "I saw the potential for this series after the first video or two," he said. "The Mayor of Parma reached out to me for a tour after I took a playful jab at them on Twitter." He's been on TikTok for nine months, but it's only been his full-time gig for about a month and a half. Typically, the comments on his videos are filled with suggestions of the next town to visit; that's how he discovered Tiffin. After getting enough requests, Kinsley reaches out to the town's leadership and asks if they'd be interested in a promotional video. A feature on Kinsley's media channels is valuable: in addition to his 280,000 TikTok followers, he has 38,000 followers on Twitter and 12,000 on Instagram. He's currently traveling three or four times a week, often double-booking cities in similar areas. "People in small towns really care about their communities," Kinsley said. "I'm so thankful for my role of showing people Ohio's hidden gems." Kinsley graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 2016, and has worked in various sales and marketing positions since then. He still works part-time in digital marketing for Lorain County. He also makes music on the side with his band Maui Ski Club, a pop alternative group he founded in 2016 with three friends. And to add to that, Kinsley's going to be on the next season of Worst Cooks in America. Though nearly all of Kinsley's videos have featured towns in Ohio so far, he is looking to expand to other states. This winter, he's vacationing in Florida and filming a video there. He's also booked a town in West Virginia for May. "I don't think I'll ever run out of towns to see," Kinsley said. "I'll always do stuff in Ohio, but I want to see other places, too." Though this was Sir Yacht's first time in Tiffin, he's certain it won't be his last. He's already craving more of those Madison Street chicken chunks. Watch Sir Yacht's video on Tiffin here.