Introducing: Joe Martone, our first TikTok Bear of the Month

Our very first official Bear World Magazine TikTok Bear of the Month is none other than Joe Martone!

TikTok: @laviejoem

Follower Count: 41.3k

Current Location:  Los Angeles, CA

Pronouns: He/him

Check out some of his videos below:

@laviejoem

Here we go….#midwest #ohio #ohiocheck #acting #actorslife #actorsoftiktok #la #laboy #bear #beard #bearded #bearsoftiktok #beardedmen #beardedmenoftiktok #bears

♬ Buckeye Swag – The Ohio State University Marching Band

@laviejoem

Based on a true story #gogo #gogoboy #gogoboys #gogoboydancer #bear #beard #bearded #gaybar #gaybars #tipping #lgbt

♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

@laviejoem

Bella, Interrupted #twilight #twilightsaga #twilighttiktok #twilightrenaissance #bella #bellaswan #edwardcullen #jacob #bear #beard #bearded #lgbt #beardedbeauties

♬ original sound – Joe M

https://www.tiktok.com/@laviejoem/video/7112885816489413934?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Check out our exclusive interview with him below!

Bryce Quartz: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Joe! How are you doing today?

Joe Martone: Good! A little busy, the holidays are crazy.

BQ: That’s good to hear that you’re doing good! So when did you first join Tik Tok?

JM: Late 2020. Everyone and their mother was asking me to join, it took a loooooong time for those walls to crumble. 

BQ: Did you start creating videos right away, or did you wait a little while before posting your own videos?

JM: I did it immediately! I made a silly video of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” to cheer up my friend Sina. I then realized this was something Tik Tok would like, so I uploaded it, threw on some hashtags and gave it a shot! 

It got 10k views in a day. I decided to stick with it.

BQ: Wow, that’s awesome to hear! What has the reception been like to the content that you create?

JM: When it’s good, it’s amazing. When it’s bad…it’s largely ignored. Very humbling.

BQ: Definitely understandable. Have you experienced any downsides to the content you’ve posted before, such as hate comments, and how do you deal with that? 

JM: Yeah, homophobes are on any platform. I’m pretty sure one transphobe got so under my skin that I made a huge educational video essay! Now, I don’t have the patience for it, the block button is free. 

BQ: True, true, fair enough. Do you have any advice for other bears who might want to start making their own content but might not feel as confident yet?

JM: Find your niche. What makes you excited? What makes you passionate? There are others who care, I promise. Make content for you and people like you.

BQ: I love that advice, it’s perfect! Thank you for that. So what do you like to do outside of Tik Tok?

JM: Cry.

Lol, mostly. I try to be social when I can, binge watch tv and documentaries when I can’t.

BQ: Honestly, same haha So who are some of your other favorite content creators?

JM: @buckharder is super fun, I got him into Tik Tok and he’s become theeee bootblack king of the platform.

Also, @jasunmark. He’s doing amazing work de-stigmatizing and enlightening people about porn. Also, he’s funny/sexy as hell. 

BQ: Great picks! We will have to go check them out. Where else can we find you on social media besides Tik Tok?

JM: @laviejoem on all platforms!

BQ: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, Joe!

Let us know on social media of any bears who YOU think should be the TikTok Bear of the Month for Bear World Magazine, and stay tuned for next month’s pick!