Ever want to take a sledgehammer to your leaking fridge? This TikTok celebrity does it for you
Two brothers started uploading videos to TikTok from their small town appliance store.
Ever want to take a sledgehammer to your leaking fridge? McMullan Appliance and Mattress has you covered. This Smiths Falls, Ontario business became TikTok famous for their wild stunts and straight talk on appliances, and now customers are driving hours out of their way to do shop at this small-town store.
"It all happened accidentally. It was just boredom with COVID and, you know, it took off like fire," says Corey McMullan about his unexpected side career as a TikTok content creator. McMullan works with his brother Kyle at the local appliance store in Smiths Falls, Ontario and they had been uploading videos to YouTube and Facebook.
"We got OK traction for a business our size. And then one day I just wanted to know what TikTok was. I heard about negative things in the news, but I really didn't know what it was."
This time, he turned the camera on himself and a TikTok star was born. MuMullan's story is featured in the Smiths Falls episode on the popular CBC series Still Standing, which shines a spotlight on small communities around Canada.
"We're a tiny little store in Smiths Falls, Ontario, and we're batting way above our weight," says McMullan, whose folksy, no-pressure videos about home appliances have made him a celebrity around the world. "It's really changed the consumer perception of us. So when they come to our store, they're pre-qualified. They already feel comfortable with where they're coming."
Straight-talking McMullan gives authentic and honest advice about the products they sell at the store. And he has opinions about a lot of things, like fabric softener (he's not a fan) and box springs (don't get a new one). He also has a lot of fun with nickels, kettlebells and the tractor he bought himself.
Some of the most popular videos on the channel are a bit, well... destructive. As he shares with Jonny Harris in Still Standing, some appliances cause his customers so much frustration that all they want to do is smash them with a sledgehammer. So he started doing it for them. "They were happy to see it happen, so it was something I didn't expect. But that's become a huge part of our channel," he says.
For Still Standing, his brother Kyle had grander plans that involved a local excavator and monster truck driver.
Watch ｜The McMullan brothers destroy four refrigerators
"We've done something that bigger businesses can't do, which is humanize ourselves so people know when they support us, that they're supporting an actual person," says McMullan.
On New Year's Eve a few years back he reviewed a fire extinguisher suggested by a TikTok viewer. The video was such a hit that the very next day McMullan had to open a Shopify store to sell it, making him a quick $50,000 on one product.
"But I always believed if you only try and sell things and you're only talking about your business, you can't keep a lot of viewers." This inspired MuCullan to create videos about his maple syrup hobby and his new tractor, which also went viral. "I feel like these are all little pieces of art for me, little paintings, when I make them, and I really enjoy doing it," says McMullan.
Since their channel took off the McMullans have been invited to charity events, met the CEO of TikTok and been flown to tour appliance factories. "We're the most quote-unquote famous appliance store in the world right now. Customers are coming from up to six hours away just to do business with us."
And that's the downside. The McMullans' business is exploding so much that they are too busy to make TikToks during the day.
"What you can do with your thumbs is incredible," says McMullan. "Now you have the power in your phone to create and broadcast to your audience — and for free."
Watch Still Standing on CBC Gem.
