Ben Butch never planned to be TikTok famous, but the interstate truckie now has 100,000 followers on the social media platform – and counting.
The Wollongong native, 33, said he’s an “idiot” when it comes to technology, but started a TikTok account as part of a bet with a friend two years ago.
“My mate’s partner said to me, ‘Let’s have a competition,’” he told Big Rigs.
“‘We’ll start a TikTok, and the first to get to 1000 followers wins.’
“I didn’t know much about this sort of s**t at all, but she put the app on my phone and away I went anyway.
“I woke up the next morning and I had 5000 followers. I couldn’t believe it.”
Ben’s content is a mix of funny videos and music, with an impressive singing voice that has won him plenty of fans.
But his page has really blown up in the past few months, since he released his first original song – Highway Addiction.
The tune, which describes how Ben can never escape the call of the open road, has racked up over 70k views on TikTok and 15,000 streams on Spotify.
“I was at the traffic lights a couple of weeks ago and I could hear this song, so I put my window down,” he said.
“The car next to me was playing Highway Addiction.
“I just wanted to shout out, ‘That’s my song!’
“I just never expected anything like this.”
Ben wrote the country music song about five years ago but didn’t do anything with it until a musically minded friend encouraged him to put it out into the world.
“The song is about being addicted to the highway, and it really is an addiction,” he said.
“Once you’ve had that freedom, you can’t get away from it.”
Ben, who has worked for Boland Transport for the past six years, said he has tried to switch from interstate to local work several times, but he gets itchy feet.
“I’ve got three beautiful children at home and walking away from them is the hardest thing I have to do every Sunday.
“But at the end of the day, I’m doing it all for my kids.”
Truck drivers make up the majority of Ben’s followers, and he said most of them are supportive – though he does get the odd negative comment.
“You’re always going to get people saying stuff like ‘New age truck drivers make you sick,’” he said.
“I can’t get fuel now without someone saying ‘Hey, you’re that TikTok idiot.’
“I worry that people will think I’m arrogant, but I’m not like that at all.
“Thankfully I don’t get too much hate, it’s mostly positive.”
@benbutch6913_official Songs we forgot about 100% the highway song #justatruckiewithamullet #foryoupage #trucktok #trucklife #johnfarnham #burnforyou #tillmyheartslastbeat💚💚💚 ♬ original sound – BenButch6913🇦🇺_Official
Ben, who transports steel up and down the East Coast, said he “didn’t care” if no-one ever listened to his song.
This is partly because he just wanted to get it out of his system, and partly because it contains a tribute to someone very special who has passed away.
“The reference to the person who has passed away is very meaningful to me,” he said.
“That person, he ran the highways for 40 years and taught me everything I know.
“I don’t want to name him because the family are quite private, but he was an amazing person who changed my whole outlook on life.
“I think he would be proud of me now.”
Ben has no ambitions to become a world-famous country music star or influencer.
“I don’t need millions of dollars,” he said. “I’m happy being a truck driver.
“I love it and I hate it, and I could never give it up.”