Five years ago, Caz Milligan posted a video online of himself enjoying a white chocolate cream from Starbucks.
He blew up on social media overnight. His post was viewed 50 million times across various platforms, with commenters from across the world amused by his very Fife pronunciation of “choaklit”.
Since then, the twentysomething from Methil has given up his job as a pipe fitter on a chemical plant for a career online.
His TikTok videos – he has over 130,000 followers on the platform – document his day-to-day life: whether he’s trying viral food trends, hitting the shops or heading out on a run with his girlfriend of two-and-a-half years, Gigi.
“My full-time job is being myself,” he tells me on the phone. “I get paid to be me.”
He is speaking to me on his way to London for an influencer trip, where he’ll be collaborating with “big creators” on new content.
It sounds very glamorous.
How much money do influencers make?
And the pay isn’t too bad either. Caz has raked in over £100,000 per annum for the last two years.
This comes from a variety of income streams, including his production and marketing companies.
He also coaches wannabe influencers, teaching them how to build a community on social media and monetise their channels. “It’s not the cheapest because I’ve put in the work to get to where I am – so I’m not going to just give away that sauce for free.”
Brand deals pay well, too. “You can get paid up to £2,000 for one video on TikTok, which is very good.
“So it’s just small things like that. So yeah, everything just sort of adds up.”
From the looks of his Instagram feed, this has afforded him the luxury of holidays at the kind of resorts which have an infinity pool, fancy cars and Louis Vuitton clothing.
He even bought Gigi, a make-up artist, a Rolex watch for her 21st birthday. (And made a YouTube video of the unveiling).
Caz, who attended Kirkland High School in Methil, is transparent about his earnings online, often making content around the matter.
He wants to dispel the stigma around money – especially big money.
“As soon as you start making good money and you’re successful, people turn their nose up at you if you talk about your money,” he explains.
“It’s this Scottish mentality – as soon as you make good money, there’s a negative attitude towards it.”
Caz, who grew up in a £20,000 Methil council flat, says he has manifested his dream life.
“Since I was a little boy, I knew that I was going to be rich, I knew I was going to be successful, I knew I was going to do whatever I wanted to do.
“I just had that feeling.
“And to be honest, I feel like a lot of people can do that as well.
“But being surrounded by negative people, and being in this environment, especially with the Scottish mentality, a lot of people are low-key brainwashed by their environment subliminally.
“And then by the time they’re 18 or 21 or whatever, they just think the normal life is, you know, just getting up, working a job that they usually hate, and being low-key depressed.
“And it’s sad, because I was living that life up until I was like 24.”
What does a typical day look like?
A typical day nowadays, he says, starts at 5am.
“The first thing I do is run around a 10k.
“Then I’ll come home, have an ice bath, have a nice shower, have breakfast – avocado on toast – and then I get just in my office.
“I’ll have a boring couple of hours doing emails and production company stuff.
“Then I’ll get my phone, I’ll [make] a few videos, throw them on the internet, get the views in.
“And then I’ll go to the gym, do some weight lifting – right now, my bench press is sitting at 150kg.
“Then I’ll pick up my missus, and then we’ll go for dinner, and then come home and chill.”
But not all his dreams have gone to plan.
A fight with Nacho Novo – Caz had been due to take on the ex-Dundee ace and Rangers forward at Glasgow’s Ovo Hydro in August last year – was cancelled.
At the time, he put this down to a number of reasons, including his concerns over his opponent’s health issues. Novo had previously suffered from a stroke and a heart attack.
Caz was inspired to bring social media influencer boxing events to Scotland after their success in England and the US.
The career of his dad Tommy, who was an amateur boxer who also fought four times professionally, sparked his interest in the sport.
Why Caz won’t be hosting anymore social media boxing events
But he has no plans, as of yet, to organise a similar event.
“Jealousy comes into play when there’s a successful event,” he explains.
“There’s so many people that do enjoy it and they want it to happen, but then haters will go away and phone venues and ruin it for venues.
“I’ve stopped basically trying to do stuff like that up here, because too many people want to ruin it through jealousy.”
This is the dark side of being a social media influencer – and the only negative of the career in Caz’s view.
“It does trickle into family, which is quite annoying. Your family has to deal with some bullshit as well from certain haters or whatever that may be.
“So that can be annoying.”
But even this, he puts a positive spin on.
“Everybody that has a certain amount of attention is going to get that – from a small scale all the way to a large scale.
“You know, I always say, Drake is the most hated rapper, but he’s also the biggest rapper.
“I might get the most negative comments in Scotland – I’m also the biggest in Scotland.”
I don’t have the figures to back up this claim, but I would hazard a guess he is the most confident.
What is next for Caz?
What is next for Caz?
“A whole lot,” he says.
“I’ll be taking over the UK, I’ll be taking over LA, I’ll be going to America soon.
“People say sky’s the limit – but I never see the sky as the limit either.
“Especially when there’s a whole universe out there.
“I just feel like you never know what’s around the corner.”
This seems like a great note to end on, and I ask Caz my usual final question: “Is there anything I’ve missed, or that you want to add?”
He has a message for readers.
“To everybody who supports me and understands my humour, I appreciate you all.
“And to the people who hate me and try and tear me down – I love you so much my little munchkins.”
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