When Dominic Tomkowicz first started as an engineering student at UVic, he needed something that would help him get around campus faster than on foot.
“UVic is a really small campus, but I often [woke] up late. I needed a method of transportation to actually get to classes,” Tomkowicz said. “After looking at e-bikes and e-skateboards … I decided to go for an e-scooter.”
Tomkowicz remembers that while riding his e-scooter, he started gaining a following on campus — he still isn't sure why. He’s since transferred to UBC and is now in his third year as a political science and economics student — and is equipped with a brand new faster and more powerful dual-motor scooter.
“I just started doing the same thing I did back at UVic, riding around, but at this time, I was actually making videos and treating social media seriously.”
You might know Tomkowicz — better known as ‘Scooter Dom’ — from social media. With around 28,800 Instagram followers and over 7,000 TikTok followers, Tomkowicz accepts his role as an influencer and sees the people who cheer him on as his fans.
Tomkowicz remembers his first Jumpstart frat party vividly. Last September during Jumpstart, he recalled pulling up to the Greek village and being recognized by a swarm of people.
“It was a shocking, overwhelming experience, and honestly, at that point, I knew I had to keep going,” he said.
With a much larger student population at UBC, Tomkowicz saw the campus and Vancouver as an opportunity to fulfill his influencer aspirations.
UBC provided Tomkowicz with a larger audience and more ideas for content. While he had already been posting about cruising around Victoria, his new content about exploring campus and its various food places started to gain considerable traction.
“I was just experimenting here with different niches and styles to see what would bring me the best views and best engagement.”
Riding a winding road
Despite his wide viewership, Tomkowicz’s audience seems to concentrate in certain areas. Support from UBC fraternities, sororities and sports teams have been particularly important for his career, and he is thankful to them.
“By the first quarter of 2023, I had a lot of following at UBC, from Greek life and from the general campus population and I also started to get recognized from some Vancouver events companies from the BC Lower Mainland area. I also gained a following from UVic because I was an OG there, so people there watch my content a lot.”
It was around the same time that he had his first viral reel. A video posted in September 2023 of him dropping a girl home gained popularity and got him recognized by Vancouver media companies.
“That is my trend, that I created and it's gotten millions of views now across both platforms.”
“I built that brand up. It went viral. So I built that trend: On My Scooter. That's how you create a trend — having a good idea,” he said. “You can't be afraid to be weird. You have to embrace whatever personality you have.”
A big part of his social media identity is meeting his fans at parties on campus and around Vancouver. The brand image that Tomkowicz portrays of himself is specific. He said that you have to have an energetic, social and outgoing personality to get noticed.
“Once you get on social media and get a big enough following, it's like an open-world game,” said Tomkowicz. “You don't really lose [the following] unless you do something really, really dumb, like say something really controversial.”
When asked about interacting with underage fans, Tomkowicz said, “I say hi to all my fans regardless … I usually ask for the age. I am not going to ID everyone who comes my way because that’s just weird. I have fans from all walks of life from all different age groups, from all different countries, and that's the best thing.”
On the topic of negative comments, Tomkowicz said those are inevitable when gaining a following.
“Dealing with slander … is just one [sign] that you're making it to the top because there'll be people who try to bring you down.”
On the crossroads of branding and politics
Apart from working with different event companies, Tomkowicz promotes different scooter brands. He mentioned that the job helps him be financially independent in a way a regular part-time job may not. Tomkowicz’s $10,000 scooter brand deal meant he did not have to work last summer.
However, earning money through brand deals as an influencer is not always straightforward. Having lost deals with household brands, Tomkowicz has seen the uncertain side of the business too.
With a fast-growing social media audience like his, it is obvious to wonder how Tomkowicz hopes to use his popularity. When asked if he had any plans to run for AMS Elections, Tomkowicz said the thought had crossed his mind, but he isn’t sure if he could “take on that kind of political responsibility.”
So where does a niche influencer go from here?
Tomkowicz sees himself collaborating with more scooter companies, expanding more through affiliate marketing and turning into a full-time influencer.
“I love what I do. I love having a persona. I love bringing entertainment and laughs to people, and joy in people's faces when they get their first ride on a scooter.”
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