This feature appears in the pages of VMAN 46, now available to order!

From emo kids to scene kids, the alt community is an ever-evolving sector present on all digital platforms. And with a viral new alt-group heavily present on TikTok, where e-boys and e-girls reign supreme, Damiar Krogh and Xowie Jones are at the top of the throne. In an exclusive interview with VMAN, the two lovebirds sit down to discuss their humble beginnings, their initial expectations when joining the app, and where they see themselves in the years to come. Get ready world—Damiar and Xowie are just getting started!

VMAN: For our readers who might not know you (yet!), how would you introduce yourself and what you do? 

Xowie Jones: Hi! I’m Xowie Jones and I do content creation—makeup, hair, clothes, short films sometimes through TikTok and YouTube, [along with] modeling. Anything remotely creative, I’m into!

Damiar Krogh: People know me as BenKroTV but my real name is Damiar Krogh. I’m into video creating, I do modeling, and I have a gaming channel!

VM: Let me ask you about BenKroTV—what’s the story behind the moniker?

DK: Well, my dad was the one who created the name a while back when I was first starting off. My full name is Damiar Benjamin Krogh so he took the first three letters of my middle and last name!

VM: There we go! Mystery solved! When did you both start your accounts?

DK: I started my channel at the beginning of 2019, so TikTok already had their first wave of people and then I came second. 

XJ: Yeah, I think I joined around the same time as you. 

VM: Did you guys ever think your channels would get to where they are today?

XJ: In a way yes, but did I ever think it would be because of TikTok, no. *laughs*

DK: I was doing Twitch and social media for three years, prior to TikTok coming out, and I had no luck. I never thought it would blow up that much but I was always keeping a [positive] mindset, and thinking ‘It’s gonna happen’.  

XJ: It’s weird—I originally started on Instagram so when I [went] on TikTok, I already had 30k on Instagram which was big to me at that time. 

VM: What did your lives look like before your TikTok accounts blew up?

DK: I was pursuing social media for a while, I would say for about three years. So I was hopping around from Texas to California because I was trying to make it independently. I was living with my father and I had a job at Starbucks, [while] doing TikTok, [and] it got to a point where I didn’t need to work there anymore.

XJ: My life was all over the place! I’ve had a job since I was sixteen years old, but at the time, I was a delivery driver for Domino’s. My mom also kicked me out of the house and I was living in this girl’s trailer which had holes on the floor, but [yet] I hit a million [followers] on TikTok. So I quit my job, moved from North Carolina to Atlanta, packed everything in my car, and was [doing TikTok] without making any money but now I can pay my rent! *laughs*

VM: That’s the ultimate fucking goal!

XJ: Exactly! Like, as long as I can pay my rent, then I can continue doing this.

VM: How did you two meet? Tell us your love story.

DK: I knew about her for a while and was already following her for a bit. We have mutuals together that were in her videos [and] it went on for so long that she didn’t follow me. *laughs* Then one day, she followed me and I was like “Oh my god, finally!” [After that], I was live-streaming one time and she joined in and said “Come to Atlanta”.

XJ: In my head at the time, I thought “this guy is never going to like me or talk to me, and I’m immediately going to be put in the friendzone.” So my pick-up line was “Come to Atlanta” and the masterplan in my head was that he was going to come to Atlanta and fall in love. *laughs*

DK: I was like “okay, bet!”. We were DMing and then we exchanged phone numbers.

XJ: Umm, that’s not exactly what happened! On that Livestream, you told me you were going to send me your phone number and you never did. I waited two days and you know what I did? I sent you MY number. 

VM: So I guess the rest is history after that! To me, you guys are pretty much the ultimate e-couple on social media right now. Why do you think this category resonates so much with users of the app?

DK: I think because it’s a great way to express yourself and speak your mind.

XJ: You know, a lot of people in the alt community don’t really like e-boys and e-girls and I’ve never really understood that. To me, it’s just another era of the scene and emo kids that alt kids hated back in [the day]. Times are [always] changing, so what’s happening now was completely different 10 years ago. I guarantee in five, ten years from now, it’ll be a different alt genre and they’ll be mad at them.

VM: It’ll always be an ever-evolving trend that everyone will keep up with. Speaking of trends, the popular ones on TikTok always seem to be so fast-paced and short-lived—do you both ever find it difficult to keep up with them, especially in making sure your content is always relevant?

XJ & DK: Oh yeah!

XJ: For me personally, I’m not even on my phone so much but I have to be because if I don’t go on for a day, I have no idea what’s going on. 

DK: Some trends don’t even last 24 hours!

VM: Xowie—with over 6 million TikTok followers and having been named the app’s resident goth girl, was the fashion and beauty sector of TikTok something you wanted to delve into when joining originally?

XJ: I think in the back of my mind, it was what I wanted to be doing. I [like] doing fashion and beauty stuff and it’s something I want to continue and evolve in. I’m just figuring out who I am and what my style is, like everyone else and I’m not putting a label on myself or putting myself in a box that I don’t want to be in. 

VM: With every video, you almost transform into a new character through the power of beauty and fashion—How would you describe your connection with the two and what it does for you?

XJ: It helps with my social anxiety a lot, and in a way, dressing and looking how I want to, even when I look outlandish, in a way actually helps me. Whenever I’m out in public and people are looking at me, I know it’s because I look crazy, and not because of anything else. It just helps me feel good about myself and be more confident.  

VM: Damiar—your videos are quite the eclectic mix of comedy, fashion, and hypnotic lightsaber tricks. Are there any limitations to the content you produce or do you want to try it all? 

DK: That’s exactly what I want to do. All those things are stuff that I’m passionate about so if I can tap into everything that I like, why not? Why just do one thing so you’re not burning yourself out? If I have the option to do a serious video today and a comedic or fashion skit the next, then my brain can think better! 

VM: We noticed that you have your own merch line—is clothing creation something you’d like to explore further? 

DK: I want to come out with my own name brand of clothing. I actually want to make clothes, not just merch. 

VM: Now for the both of you, where do you see yourself going in the next 5 years? What do you hope to accomplish?

XJ: So much! I want to start designing clothes as well, get more into modeling, I have some music that will probably be coming out this year—I just wrote my very first song a couple of months ago! I just want to continue growing with my platforms, doing a little bit of acting, and I know at one point I want to direct music videos. 

DK: I really want to pursue high fashion modeling, and my dad has been an actor for his whole life so, since my childhood, I wanted to do [the same]. Getting into some music, game development, making high fashion clothing, and creating a solid household brand.