I first met Frankie McNamara unexpectedly, thanks to my For You page on TikTok. A twenty-something Irish native, McNamara’s series of “cultural observations” dissect everyone from Swifties to Gen Z to young men who wear North Face puffers. Conveyed with an unwaveringly flat affect, his well-researched videos are recorded in public alongside individuals who match the given description. Dozens of commenters refer to him as this generation’s David Attenborough, although I wouldn’t peg him as a biologist. Cultivating a largely European audience, his account has amassed nearly half a million followers and over 43 million views.
After watching McNamara's videos for nearly a year, I did what any other sane person would do and traveled from California to meet him in Ireland. We spent a chilly afternoon together wandering the streets of Dublin, chatting and photographing as we went. Between incessant selfie requests from admiring fans, he explained his rise to online fame and dreams of becoming a sociology professor.
Story pitch, photography, and reporting by Brandon Tauszik.
Published in Paper Magazine.