Austin Taylor had no idea that one TikTok dance in 2022 would lead to all of this: two years later and the Auckland-based sensation’s name is on a call sheet for Disney, his dance is in Fortnite, and he’s the face of a campaign with JD Sports and Adidas Originals.
It was legitimate overnight stardom—he said that first viral video, a dance over a Big Time Rush remix, had about “10,000 views in 20 minutes”—but Austin hasn’t wasted the opportunity. He’s since sent dozens of other dances viral, including 53 million views dancing on a Coi Leray song and a dance over Brent Faiyaz’s ‘Been Away’ that broke containment, becoming widely imitated by creators, and is now immortalised as a Fortnite emote.
If you haven’t seen Austin dance, it may seem like his success on TikTok is due to little more than luck with the algorithm. But once you’ve seen him dance, you know that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s smooth, acrobatic, and pinpoint in what he does—the result of years of intense training in some of New Zealand’s best dance studios. After his call with Complex AU, Austin has about seven hours of dance training pencilled in—which he says is pretty much a standard day. Then, he’s off for a stint in Los Angeles to continue honing his craft and meet with other creators. Somewhere between all of that, he expects word will start to filter out about a film he’s recently worked on that’s still “strictly under wraps.”
To get here, Austin’s already exceeded tough odds. His home city of Tauranga doesn’t come with the same opportunities as those born in, say, New York or London. Austin’s promising dance career was almost cut short at 16 with a stroke that sidelined him for six months and left him without vision in his left eye. While it took him “a while to adjust originally,” Austin has said it now “doesn’t affect him anymore.”
But the Austin you see on TikTok—smiling, wearing a baggy hoodie, and often flanked by dancer friends who keep perfect time with him—keeps it light, as he does in conversation. Austin reflects on a whirlwind two years, from the “blooper” that went viral to seeing his face on billboards thousands of kilometres from home.
How did you get your start in dancing?
I started dancing at Dance Avenue at the age of seven. I began with hip-hop classes and then branched out to other styles like jazz and contemporary. I trained in those for over 10 years and was a competitive dancer, doing competitions every weekend.
I was also a rugby player, but injuries made me choose dance over rugby. I then joined Space Studios in Taringa for two years, and now I'm with Identity Dance Company in Auckland.
My social media journey started about a year ago. I began uploading TikToks for fun, and one video did really well. From there, I kept going, making my own dances, and they started doing well too.
Tell me about that first viral TikTok.
Yeah, it was to Big Time Rush, and we did it as a joke. It was actually a blooper that I posted. I remember checking it during a break in training, and it had 10,000 views in 20 minutes. I freaked out and showed everyone. By the next morning, it had a couple million views. I posted the same dance again the next day, and it did well too.
That’s so surreal. How do you stay grounded with everything moving so fast?
Spending time with family and friends helps the most. I have super close mates from school and outside of the social media dance scene. Doing things like golfing with them helps me separate myself from it all. Going home recently to spend time with family was really nice too.
I'm getting a picture of you here: playing rugby growing up, some golf in your downtime...
Yeah, I love sports. I grew up playing almost every sport possible, so it's always been a massive part of me. I'm always down for a round of golf.
Speaking of sports, let’s talk about JD Sports. What an amazing partnership. How did that come about?
JD Sports has always been huge for me. I’ve always shopped there, so it was crazy when they reached out. I got flown to Australia for a shoot, which was such a cool opportunity. It was amazing to be part of their campaign.
How has the response been back home since you've done the campaign?
The response on social media has been amazing, and it's so cool seeing people send me videos of the campaign.
I went back to Sydney and saw my face on a poster in a JD Sports store. It was surreal. My mates were freaking out. I was waiting for the employees to notice me standing there staring at it. They probably thought, "What the heck is this dude doing?"
Your dance to ‘Been Away’ by Brent Faiyaz is now in Fortnite. How did that come together?
Yeah, Fortnite was a huge part of my childhood. About a year ago, I created a dance that went viral on TikTok. Epic Games reached out and said they wanted to make it an emote. It just got released last week, and the response has been amazing. Seeing my dance in a video game is pretty crazy.
You have a knack for viral dances. I saw a performance on your Instagram from when you were at Space Studios; it was very different from what you're known for on TikTok. What do people often not know about your dance journey if they've only seen you on TikTok?
TikTok is super short-form and mostly hip-hop-based, but I've trained in jazz, contemporary, and ballet. I've competed in various styles for over 12 years. The solo you saw was performed at PACANZ, a national competition in New Zealand, where I got top three. It was cool to share a different side of my dancing.
Can you share a bit about what you're working on at the moment?
It's been a hectic past few months, to be honest. I filmed for a movie, then traveled back and forth to Australia a few times for different jobs.
Next week, I'm heading to LA for about a month for some performances and classes. So yeah, it's pretty hectic. My training schedule is crazy right now; it's every day for a good seven to eight hours.
What's next for you?
It's hard to predict what will happen with social media, but I'm hoping to meet up with other creators in LA. I want to take my dancing further, possibly overseas, and backup dancing for big artists. I also want to explore acting more.
On social media, I aim to stay consistent and branch out to other platforms like YouTube and Instagram, building a community and connecting with everyone.
Any artists you'd love to backup dance for?
It's tricky because only a few artists tour with backup dancers, but Justin Bieber and Chris Brown are massive names that would be insane to backup dance for. Performing at events like the Super Bowl would be incredible, too.
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