Just about anything, and anyone, can go viral on TikTok.
We’ve seen discussions blow up about the most innocuous thing, from couches found on the side of the road to controversial tributes to Kobe Bryant, and the latest account to blow up is just as unexpected. Plenty of people share their workday through the app, particularly when that workday includes some kind of unusual or glamorous element, but the Repo Reaper doesn’t experience much glamor in his day-to-day.
The popular TikToker has been blowing up of late, as users flock to his highly specified account. While most TikTokers who rise on the app become sought-after stars in their own right, there are few people out there who actually desire an in-person meeting with the Repo Reaper.
Who is the Repo Reaper?
TikTok’s Repo Reaper refers to user @only1reporeaper – whose account was recently deactivated. It was suspended, according to the Reaper himself, due to some kind of account violation. Even without access to his original videos, however, plenty of Repo Reaper TikTok videos continue to litter the web, thanks to reposts and stitches with other creators. He also created an alternate account — @thereapersecpage — where he continues to post near-daily videos of his day-to-day.
And that day-to-day is surprisingly entertaining. The MO of the Repo Reaper’s account is quite straightforward, and apparently fits perfectly into the niche many TikTokers never knew they needed. His videos almost exclusively follow the Reaper’s job, which sees him travel around his city repossessing cars following late car payments. Recording himself as he works, the Reaper has earned a reputation for dancing, doing pushups, and bopping along to music — typically DaBaby’s “SHAKE SUMN” — as he carefully maneuvers repossessed vehicles onto his tow truck.
In the wake of his broad TikTok virality, the Repo Reaper has become a meme, of sorts. TikTokers now joke about the anxiety of hearing “SHAKE SUMN” in the background, and fearing that their car is about to be repossessed, or about hiding their cars in elaborate locations to avoid the Reaper’s arrival.
Some of his videos get extra attention due to the presence of car owners in the background. Occasionally, when the Reaper comes to collect, vehicle owners are close enough to catch him in the act, and often attempt to stall his work. Their outrage — in the background of his videos — is a humorous addition to the videos, but one that causes mass anxiety in many car owners. It’s all fun and games to laugh at someone else’s misfortune, but don’t laugh too hard — someday the Reaper may come knocking at your door.