Everyone knows that Los Angeles is the destination of dreams, with creators from all over the world making the move with their sights set on one singular goal: “making it.” Some choose acting, some choose singing, and some simply go direct, purchasing self-promotional billboards across the city’s high-traffic areas (you’ll always be famous, Angelyne). But for Vinnie Hacker, the World Wide Web is his yellow brick road to Hollywood stardom, and he’s walking it, one TikTok at a time.

With a wicked sense of style—one that has hooked his 15.5+ million followers on every lip-sync video clip he’s posted since first joining the app in 2020— Hacker has tapped into realms beyond the iPhone screen. Recently, the e-heartthrob has invested in the modeling side of his ever-evolving career more than before, sitting front row at Saint Laurent and Prada during fashion month and fronting a campaign for Ami. With the sunny summer season settling in nicely and a bevy of new projects on the horizon, the L.A. neophyte is here to prove that the internet (and its homegrown personalities) is forever.

V MAGAZINE: You recently moved from your native Seattle, Washington, to the star-studded hills of Los Angeles, California. What would you say are some of the biggest cultural differences between the two?

VINNIE HACKER: People from Seattle are more welcoming. Los Angeles is so large and spread out that it makes it a lot harder to find a community. There’s a lot of time in L.A. you spend alone—[whether] at home, commuting to shoots, going out for lunch. These are typically times in other cities where you’d be inter- acting with hundreds of people, but not in L.A. With that being said, there’s also something really nice about the peace and quiet L.A. can offer; alone time isn’t always a bad thing.

V: How have your ideas of L.A. held up after a year of living there?

VH: Before coming to L.A., my perception came from everything I saw influencers posting on social media, and while that culture does exist, there is so much more to the city. A lot of L.A.’s best parts come from the areas that have been around for decades. For example, a lot of people on TikTok will see the flashy restaurants in West Hollywood and hold that perception of the city, but will rarely see content of the BBQ restaurants in Koreatown, or the sushi and ramen spots in Little Tokyo that have been around long before the internet.

V: What is one lesson you learned early on about being a content creator in L.A.?

VH: That everybody is a content creator in L.A. It’s very hard to differentiate yourself.

V: What are three places you love in your new home base? Three places you hate?

VH: I love the Berrics skate park, El Matador Beach in Malibu, and Cars & Coffee. I hate downtown L.A., the 405, and the Olympic/Fair- fax/San Vicente intersection (Carthay Circle).

V: Apart from TikTok, you’re also pretty popular on Twitch, with over 1 million followers. If you had the power to design your own video game, what would you create? And what are some of your favorite anime?

VH: I would absolutely create a first-person shooter game like Valorant or Apex, maybe something related to some of my favorite anime. I would love to one day be able to buy a Vinnie Hacker skin with my own emotes. I like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Vinland Saga, Attack on Titan, Bleach, and Dragon Ball.

V: If you could describe your perfect summer day, what would be on the agenda?

VH: Video games—specifically Baulder’s Gate 3—with the boys on Discord.

V: In your previous feature for GEN V, we asked you how you would describe what you do to people who are not into social media. You answered: “I tell them that it’s the beginning of making your own path into something.” Nearly a year later, how would you say this answer has evolved for you? What are other paths you’re considering tapping into now?

VH: I’m simply just a little further down that path. Lately, I’ve been spending my time developing projects for manga and anime. I’ve been a huge fan since I was a kid, and this year I’m excited to actually contribute to the culture. I’ve also been practicing voice acting and reading for roles, I would love nothing more than to breathe life into an anime character.

This story appears in the pages of V148: now available for purchase!

Photography Alvaro Beamud Cortés

Fashion Nicola Formichetti

Makeup Sarah Tanno (Forward Artists)

Hair Frederic Aspiras (The Only Agency)

Model Vinnie Hacker (IMG)

Executive producer Dana Brockman (viewFinders)

Producer Frank DeCaro (viewFinders)

Production coordinator Ernie Torres

Digital technician Dillon Padgette

Photo assistants Simone Triacca, James Mankoff

Stylist assistants Frankie Benkovic, Jeung Bok Holmquist, Lokela Blanc

Makeup assistant Mila Kwan

Production assistant Trey Butler

Location Smashbox Studios