He is followed by more than 350,000 followers on TikTok, and his cooking recipe videos are sometimes viewed over four million times. And yet, far from the clichés about successful influencers who make a decent living by monetizing their videos,
“UnTikTolard” is far from taking it easy … The one who is also called
“LeCuistoTolard” on Instagram and “LeTolardCuisto” on Snapchat is … an inmate, who is currently serving a long prison sentence at the Réau prison (Seine-et-Marne).
Camouflaged behind sunglasses, a surgical mask and a cap on his head so he won’t be recognized, the prisoner in his twenties, posts with his mobile phone – which he bought for 800 euros in prison – ten videos a month in which he makes “popular” cooking recipes: chocolate fondant , “Chicken cheese”, pastel, tacos, “Mc Fleury Merogis”, chicken mafé, penne stuffed with cheese, tiramisu … Between two rounds of the night watchmen, 20 minutes was able to discreetly question the influencer, fan of Top chef and Best Pastry Chef, who would like on his release from prison to reintegrate into society thanks to his new activity on social networks.
“In prison, it’s system D, you have to be resourceful if you want to get out of it”
Those who follow him on social networks are all asking the same question: how does an inmate manage to defeat the surveillance of prison guards and thus have free access to the Internet? “It’s resourcefulness, and System D. To get my phone, I had to go through an intermediary. In prison, if we give ourselves the means, we can have whatever we want. For the network, on the other hand, it is more difficult. Either I go through a router, by putting an antenna on my phone that I let out through the bars, or I get a 4G chip on the black market, ”explains UntikTolard. The quality of the network is not always of very good quality, specifies the prisoner, because the prison administration regularly installs jammers, devices supposed to block connections and calls made from cells.
To make his famous videos, – rather well done given the means at his disposal -, UntikTolard must also show a lot of imagination. “For a video of about twenty seconds, I take about two hours to cook, and about 30 to 40 minutes to edit them, all of this out of the sight of prison guards, in the evening between two rounds. It’s a lot of work, especially to get all the ingredients that I have to canteen [acheter à la cantine de la prison] one by one, ”adds the young influencer, who risks the disciplinary quarter if he gets caught. “But I love doing that, it’s very fun, it allows me to pass the time, and to show a little my daily life to people outside”.
“The prison world is a closed world that has always fascinated people”
All his efforts, and the time spent editing, now seem to be paying off. Videos of the “Top Chef in Prison” are viewed several million times each month. And its community of more than 350,000 followers continues to grow. “I didn’t expect such success when I started three months ago. My subscribers, with whom I interact regularly through lives, very much appreciate what I do, and send me messages of support. They do not pass judgment on me, yet I would understand that some criticize me, it is normal when you are a prisoner! », Adds the influencer who gives very little information about him, and who has always refused to say for what reasons he was imprisoned, for fear of being officially identified.
“If my videos work so well, it’s not just for my cooking skills! The prison world is fascinating. It’s a closed world, a world hidden from view that has always captivated people, you just have to see all the series that revolve around this subject. There is a voyeuristic side, the unknown and the forbidden arouse the curiosity of Internet users. The fact that I’m masked adds a bit of mystery too. It is all these ingredients that make my videos go viral, ”recognizes UnTikTolard, in prison for five years already, and of which there is still a two-year sentence to serve.
Most of the internet users in his community are young people, mainly between 13 and 20 years old on TikTok, and a little older on Insta, between 18 and 30 years old. “When I do lives with them, a lot of people ask me about detention. Some may think that prison is cool, because I have a telephone, a game console… At my modest level, I try to make them understand that it is quite the opposite, that it is hard to be put away from society, not to see his relatives … I try to play a little this role of “big brother” so that they avoid doing bullshit like me, and that they stay in the right way ”, confesses the inmate.
Inmates “influencers”, a new trend on social networks?
UnTikTolard is not the first prisoner to “break through” on social networks. For several years, and despite the ban on smartphones in prison and the installation of Internet network jammers, many inmates have opened Snapchat accounts to exchange freely with their relatives, and show the reality of their daily life to their subscribers. But few had until today succeeded in draining such a community. “There are other prisoners like what have recently opened accounts specializing in cooking recipes. I don’t want to sound like the guy who took the job, but most of them were inspired by my work. I also know the vast majority of them, with whom I interact regularly. They too are a real hit, ”welcomes UnTikTolard, aware of having launched a new trend on social networks.
One of the other most followed accounts is that of @ skofield91, a nickname in reference to the character of Michael Scofield in Prison Break. Like UnTikTolard, he made videos watched by hundreds of thousands of Internet users, before his account was deactivated in early September. But it is above all in the United States that the fashion for inmate “influencers” is most widespread. Jeron Combs, 31, who is serving a 70-year prison sentence across the Atlantic, exploded on TikTok last year thanks to his cooking skills. His @blockbyjmoney account was followed by nearly 332,500 subscribers, before it was also deactivated. “Me, I hope to continue making videos as long as possible, that’s what keeps me in detention,” says UnTikTolard, who admits to violating prison regulations, but believes “he does nothing illegal ”.