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.
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