When Nicholas Fearn started a TikTok account a year ago to show off his “whimsical” apartment and what he calls his “divalicious” personality, he had no idea where it would lead.
Twelve months on, the Neath creator — known to his followers as The Diva Supreme — is on the brink of 150,000 followers.
His TikTok account has amassed almost 150,000 followers, more than 17 million likes and 125 million views since May 2025, he says.
Thirty-four of his videos have passed a million views, with his most viral reaching 12.4 million.
But behind the numbers is a personal story that Fearn says many people seem to connect with.
Diagnosed with autism as a teenager, the 29-year-old says he was told he would fail in life.
Instead, he has built a home, a career and a marriage, recently adding a cat and the start of a mental health nursing degree to the list.
Fearn is no stranger to the media himself. An established freelance journalist, he has written for titles including Forbes, the Financial Times and The Guardian — and has used his journalism to write openly about his own autism, including a first-person piece on attending a music festival as an autistic person.
It is that story — as much as the whimsy and the one-liners — that he believes resonates with the people who follow him.
He describes his autism as “a positive identity” and is open about it in his work, using the platform in part to show his followers what day-to-day life can look like.
Fearn has supported the National Autistic Society, and has been recognised as an “Autism Hero” for his awareness efforts.
The approach appears to be working. His most popular video alone drew 2.3 million likes.
His following is not confined to TikTok, either. A new Instagram account, set up only weeks ago, has already gathered 13,600 followers and 11 million views.
The milestone caps a notable first year for the creator, who in February landed his first major brand deal — a collaboration with Keep Wales Tidy to tackle roadside litter.
At that point he had around 112,000 followers. The four months since have added almost 40,000 more.
For someone once told he would not amount to much, the past year has offered a fairly emphatic reply.
Discover more from Swansea Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
