ZERO TO OVER SIX MILLION— HOW TOMMY WINKLER GREW TO STARDOM WITH THE HELP OF RICE CAKES.

Most people dream of a life where they can make a career out of eating food. More importantly, whatever food they want! Tommy Winkler, 20, is fortunate enough to say he is doing just that. The content creator currently has over six million followers on TikTok, where he broadcasts his food intake through his various food challenges. 

Winkler is perhaps equally known as the “King of Crunch,'' a nickname given to him with the help of his fanbase. Rice cakes were a recurring food at the start of his What I Eat In A Day series, leading users to comment "King of Crunch," "King of Rice Cakes," and even "CEO of Rice Cakes" under his videos. Tommy recognized the growing popularity of the titles, leading to some of his most popular content to date. “I did a crunch series where I ate crunchy foods for a whole day," he shared. "It was a seven or eight-part series, and the videos did so well.” 

Before Winkler was crafting TikTok content, he was an athlete from the cold winter state of Wisconsin. The King of Crunch thanks his competitive nature derived from his sports-oriented family, who encouraged him to engage in sports like soccer, downhill skiing, and golf. This upbringing bred a competitive native, which led him to go the extra mile in school and later produce social content.

Winkler recorded his first vlogs during his junior year of high school. Using his older brother's camera would arguably be the catalyst for his social media career, as in 2019, he started making relatable yet comedic content on TikTok. 

According to the creator, "consistency is key." For nine months, Winkler found himself posting two to three videos daily. “I did not miss one day," he explained. "During the times where I was out of ideas, I really pushed myself to search for content...that's how I hit my first 100,000 followers.” 

One day, upon scrolling the app, Winkler came across the “What I Eat In A Day'' trend on TikTok and decided to try it out for himself. It would soon become his signature niche, as he began to dedicate his internet content to various food challenges. Some of his most popular videos involve him eating the same food for the entire day. 

“Taco Bell isn't bad because at least I least am getting some protein in and everything," the creator explained. "But when it comes to doing just sweets for the whole day, eating all that sugar becomes hard.” Despite this, Winkler remains dedicated to his content. Fans now leave comments on his TikToks with increasingly creative requests. In one of his more recent videos, he was challenged to solely eat food from the popular Netflix show, Squid Games.

The King of Crunch has big plans for the future. Winkler dropped out of college his junior year, leaving behind his golf team and friends in his college town to pursue a career in food full time. His parents were not fond of the idea at first, and it was only after he took his mother to the Disney Wine and Food Festival to collaborate with other influencers that she realized his impact. “I think that is where she really realized how much time and effort it takes outside of just filming myself eating. You can always go back to school and finish, but if you want to be financially successful with your social media, you really need to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Winkler recently started a new endeavor, going around to every state and trying their most iconic foods. It began in his home state, Wisconsin, and after weeks on the road, Tommy shares that he plans to continue posting content day-to-day. Even with hundreds of millions of likes across social media, the content creator sets his sights on even greater heights. The dream, he says, would be to do a travel series with a big network where he travels the world and tries every country's signature dish. Keep an eye out as Tommy Winkler travels from state to state and hopefully from country to country.