TORONTO -- In a time when we need smiles more than ever, a Winnipeg man has been lighting up the Internet with his mega-watt smile.
Borzah Yankey is the man behind a TikTok channel dedicated to one thing: smiling. His videos, which rack up hundreds of thousands to millions of views, feature him panning the camera up over his serious face, before he breaks into a wide smile.
The challenge for anyone watching these videos is to 鈥渢ry not to smile鈥� 鈥� a challenge many children find pretty difficult.
Parents all over have been showing these smile videos to their children, and using the duet feature to show the moment that babies and toddlers feel the urge to smile in response.
Yankey said he receives DMs all the time, from people telling him their child just had to smile after seeing one of his videos.
鈥淚 knew that it was viral when a lot of people [were] messaging me just saying 鈥榟ey, my baby just dueted you, go check it out鈥�,鈥� he told CTV's Your Morning.
He said he wants to spread his smile to cheer up others during the pandemic.
鈥淚 just smile naturally,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ut I guess right now it鈥檚 much needed, because the world is in a dark place.鈥�
Ever since junior high, Yankey says people told him that his smile was infectious.
鈥淚 was just living my life,鈥� he said.
One thing that has surprised him since his smile hit the internet is how many babies instinctively smile after seeing his grin. He said most of the DMs he receives are of babies reacting to his videos.
鈥淎ctually that鈥檚 the most surprising to me, because I feel like [鈥 I don鈥檛 expect them to actually feel energy from it,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o when I see them smile, it鈥檚 like 鈥榶o, that is good, that鈥檚 legit鈥�.鈥�
He hasn鈥檛 been asked to star in any toothpaste commercials just yet, despite his enormous grin.
鈥淚 did get a contact from a teeth whitening company,鈥� he admitted.
What inspires him to smile?
鈥淚鈥檓 a really simple guy, so I like nature and I like peace,鈥� he said. 鈥淕ood friends, and just talking to people.鈥�
