“1..2..3..”, the phone chimes and the live has loaded. In a matter of 30 seconds there happens to be 400 people online, chattering, donating, and filling the screen with likes. This might seem extraordinary, but to juniors Jahsai Juste and Josiah Knight, it is just an average Wednesday.

Juste and Knight have built an immense online following by turning their daily life into regular live streams. Known on campus for their football skills, the two have also become recognized voices on TikTok Live, where hundreds of people tune every night.

The juniors started live streaming separately yet quickly noticed how their audiences overlapped. Juste explained how Knight started streaming and soon after observing his success, he picked up on it. Knight remembers he “was just sitting in [his] room,” trying out live streaming for the first time and getting numerous views.

Their streams cover everything from casual chats to playful competitions. Knight recalls his favorite memory was when the two [Knight and Juste] were battling. He recalls, “[Juste] was beating me so badly. I was in the corner, standing up with my legs starting to give in.” The pair still laughs at how competitive it got.

The two athletes added that sports keeps them disciplined and also increases their online audience. As they train on the weekends, balance football with track and field, and still find time to go live.

Although money is not their main motivator, the two have already made more than $500 in gifts, which are donations from viewers. Knight comments that his favorite part of live streaming is spending time with his friends and building unbreakable bonds.

The two have also experienced the downsides of live streaming. Juste comments, “I get a lot of trolls in my live stream now. Some people would join and start saying, like … [racial slurs], so then like, that’s when I started slowing down.”

Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. Both believe that live streaming has strengthened their friendship, much like football. “It has brought us closer, we spend so much time together,” Juste says. “We’re kind of like brothers.”

For now, their lives, classes, and football seasons remain the priority. Nonetheless, the two definitely see social media as a potential future. Juste adds, “I know that it does pay very good money, so if it ever did get there, I would probably do it.”

From the earnings of their own success, the two encourage other students to try going live. Juste comments, “If you can’t talk to yourself and entertain people, you [shouldn’t] try it out,” and added that live streaming can change people’s outlooks on lives, as it made him more extroverted.

As their audience grows, Juste and Knight still treat live streaming like an extension of hanging out after school. Planning to continue the streams going as long as it remains an interest.