Driver by day, TikTok star by night: The Vietnamese gig worker living a double life

Nguyen Van Huynh doesn’t drive for the money — he does it for the content. A motorcycle driver with Vietnamese ride-hailing platform Be, Huynh records himself dancing with passengers for his popular TikTok channel. 

“If driving wasn’t my source for TikTok videos, I wouldn’t drive,” he told Rest of World. “It’s thanks to TikTok that I’m still pursuing this platform work.”

Clad in his bright yellow and navy-striped uniform, Huynh darts in and out of the swarming Hanoi traffic with a GoPro camera attached to his helmet. As he drives, the 23-year-old chats with his passengers, sometimes cracking jokes and recording their reactions. The videos rake in hundreds of thousands of views — occasionally they’ve hit 1 million. 

Huynh is one of many gig drivers across Southeast Asia who have been using TikTok to share the small joys and dramas of their everyday lives. Their content revolves around their work with apps like Grab and Gojek, through which they earn barely enough to make ends meet. They have gained a loyal following — and, at times, lucrative sponsorship deals. 

40% The rough percentage of commissions and fees that ride-hailing platform Be takes from each of Huynh’s rides.

Huynh said he had dreamed of becoming a TikTok star since high school. He took on a part-time gig with Be when he was in college; after he graduated with a degree in information technology, he joined the company full-time. Soon, he realized his job as a ride-hailing driver would make for good TikTok content. He began saving money from his earnings, and bought a secondhand camera for 2 million dong ($83). 

Huynh’s workday can go on for over 12 hours. In the afternoon, he stops to rest at a fast food restaurant, where he knows the manager. He records his rides by day and edits the videos on his phone at night. 

In one video, viewed 1.6 million times, Huynh’s passenger does a popular TikTok dance and is rewarded with a free ride. In another, Huynh and a fast food worker playfully mime lighting a cigarette as he waits 20 minutes to pick up a delivery order. His most popular video, at 6.7 million views, is one where he gallantly lends his uniform jacket to a female passenger to protect her from the scorching sun.

Huynh said his spontaneous and feel-good content is the reason behind his growing following.  

“I’m selective about my content,” he said. “My content has to be clear, special, and have depth to it.” He said he has refused sponsored content in the past because he’s afraid he’d alienate his viewers.

Instead, Huynh tries to be subtle with his marketing. A recurring presence in his videos is a duckling disguised as Pikachu. The toy attracts remarks from passengers and Huynh’s TikTok audiences alike, and has become his signature accessory. He said he also sells the toy, but only to those who explicitly ask about it.

Huynh’s TikTok presence has made him a mini celebrity in Vietnam. Alongside Be, he also gets ride requests via direct messages on TikTok or the Zalo app, which often tend to be for longer, pricier journeys. 

But despite his TikTok and Zalo customers, Huynh is largely dependent on Be to find rides. “I do come under pressure to drive to make content, but the pressure from the app is greater,” he said. Be takes a roughly 40% cut in commissions and fees from each ride, but offers hefty weekly bonuses to those who meet the app’s key performance indicators. Since Huynh doesn’t advertise his TikTok account, he needs to be constantly on the road to be able to afford upgrading his video equipment. 

One day, he hopes to escape that cycle. “Driving is quite hard and tiring. It doesn’t offer me opportunities for growth,” Huynh said. “It’s TikTok that is my opportunity to develop and escape this job.”