81-year-old former dentist gains 1.5 million TikTok followers with life advice

Representative Image of an elderly man creating joyful TikTok videos, sharing positivity and life lessons with a diverse audience (AI-generated image) At 81, Ian Smith from Snettisham in Norfolk, England, has attracted a large following on TikTok by sharing short videos about positivity, motivation and lessons from life. The former dentist retired in 2022 after decades in the profession, and his social media journey began with a different ambition: promoting a self-published novel after hundreds of literary agents he approached sent back only 3 responses. According to a BBC report published on April 18, 2026, Smith was then posting 2 videos a day and had 1.5 million followers. His most-viewed clip had reportedly crossed 59 million views. The figures reflect the time of that report, rather than a verified count today. His online journey began with a book, but his videos eventually took a different direction.Ian Smith’s TikTok journey began with a self-published novelSmith first turned to social media to find readers for a novel he had written himself. After approaching hundreds of literary agents and receiving just 3 responses, he decided to self-publish the book and promote it onli...