Americans discover Black Scottish TikTok – meet their new heroes

Posted on 22nd August 2025

Black Scottish creators on TikTok have been reacting with friendly humour to astonished Americans suddenly discovering they exist.

Their posts in the past week have been overrun by comments from Americans saying things like “I didn’t know there were black people in Scotland!” and talking about being obsessed by Black Scottish TikTok.

It all started when Glaswegian school teacher Torgi Squire – known as @starboysobersfitness on TikTok – posted the video below asking why the weather during the Scottish school holidays is always a washout until mid-August when the schools go back and temperatures hit the mid-20s.

It got 4m views and more than 25,000 comments, mainly Americans finding him on their FYPs and wanting to talk about anything but the weather:

• "Hold up! There’s a Black Scottish TikTok?!?"

• "Explain this to me, why have I never stumbled across a black Scottish man 😍🔥❤️"

• "oh we come in Scottish too?...."

• "Why no one told me black scottish was a thing!!! There goes the next few hours 😅"

• "How have I never heard a black Scottish person!!!! I feel like I found hidden treasure 😐😐😐"

• "ok ... judging by the comments, it's not just me... cool"

• "A black Scottish man? With a Scottish accent from fairytales? Hubba hubs!!! 😍😍😍"

• "How do i stay on black scottish tiktok 👀"

Torgi posted a reaction video next day saying “the love from the US has been crazy” and jokingly answering some of the frequently asked questions on his TikTok, starting with: “Yes I am a black, yes I am Scottish ... 43 years born and raised in Scotland – 100% Scotch beef right here.”

His reaction video got more than 4m views. He tagged a few other black Scottish creators like Bash the Entertainer – one of Torgi's former pupils – so Americans “can blow up their comment sections as well”. And that’s exactly what happened.

Devine Nsakala – KingDee on TikTok – woke up next morning to the Americans finding her posts and leaving comments like "Oh my god there's a girl, there's a girl", Didn’t know Scotland made them like this 😍", "Oh my god there are more of you 😭 yall are so beautiful oh my god"

She started posting a series of TikToks answering Americans' questions and requests including a guide to Scottish Slang 101 with words like boggin', mingin', bowfin', howlin' and her favourite phrases like "nae wunner" and using "How?" instead of "Why?'

Scottish TikToker Manny Daphey posted this video after finding he'd gained 50,000 new followers when he opened TikTok "while munching a sausage roll in Greggs". He explains for his new American followers what Greggs is and what a Scotch pie is – and he posted a second TikTok that racked up 4.5m views, saying: "Yep we do exist. Genuinely feel so special rn🤣🤣🤣"

Americans discovered Scottish rapper Safari through "Black Scottish TikTok" this week – and he's been quick to use the opportunity to introduce them to his music and his latest track Trinity Road. He got more than 100,000 views on one of his TikToks and comments like "I’m collecting yall like Pokemon at this point 😂😂😂💖💖💖💖", "I can’t understand him but I’m moving to Scotland 😍 lol", "I’m having so much fun in this black Scottish rabbit hole. I feel like I found my long lost brothers and sisters."

Safari posted lots more videos showing him rapping in his Glasgow accent and one saying: "Ah guys, I'm living in this 15 seconds of fame and I'm loving it, I'm loving it. But I need you guys to do me a favour, right? Jump ower tae Spotify or your streaming platform of choice ... stream Trinity Road by Safari. And then check out that music cos there's mair coming."

Scottish TikToker Nova jokes about Americans "acting like we're wild animals that you have just discovered" in her video below with 190,000 views – then says: "All jokes aside, the Americans have actually made me feel so accepted. Like, all my life I've been made to feel so insecure about my accent ... but I feel so seen ... I feel proud to be a bit different."

Her TikToks since include showing her new American followers a typical day in the life, answering questions about her skincare routine, and giving her top reasons for why you should move to Scotland, saying "Just do it".

Ex the Barber introduced himself to his new American followers and took them inside his studio on Glasgow's Great Western Road to meet his team:

Ex, who created the business at the age of 19 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, also reposted for his new audience a funny video of the team saying "I'm black and I'm Scottish – of course I ..."

Here's just one of the many Americans posting their own TikToks about the first time hearing a black person with a Scottish accent – Saron says: "Just the notion that every black Scottish person who has a TikTok account woke up to 50,000 notifications this morning because Americans discovered there are black people with Scottish accents. And we are just tickled."

Torgi Squire – whose TikTok about the weather started it all – has been described as a "Black Jamie" by American Outlander fans and lots of others say he looks just like American actor Sterling K. Brown, whose actress wife Ryan Michelle Bathé posted a TikTok saying "He absolutely does" and followed up with another video of Brown himself talking with a Scottish accent. Torgi responded with a TikTok saying "the way this man rolled his Rs ... he's getting there" and gave him "a solid 8.5 out of 10 – we've seen the Scottish accent butchered many a time but this man did us justice".

American comedian Roy Wood Jr, a regular on US late night shows and presenter of the American version of Have I Got News For You?, was in Edinburgh to see some shows at the Fringe this week and headed across the central belt to Glasgow to interview Torgi Squire a few days after his newfound fame. Here's a TikTok showing the pair bumping into each other – and here's the interview below:

We've been using Shooglebox AI to keep track of the growing bond between black Scottish TikTokers and their new American fans and see all the things people are posting and saying on both sides of the Atlantic.