About Austyn Tester

My Story

I grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, a small city in the northeast corner of the state. It is the kind of place where people know each other, where the pace is slower, and where big dreams can feel very far away. I spent a lot of time wondering how someone like me, without any traditional show-business connections or formal training, could find a way into entertainment.

One night I downloaded a live-streaming app on a whim, sat down on my bedroom floor, and just started talking to the camera. One person showed up. Then five. I told them I would be back the next day, and I was. Those early sessions were not polished or planned. They were just me, in my room, talking about whatever was on my mind. That simplicity turned out to be exactly what people wanted.

Finding the Audience

My social media presence really took hold in 2016. I was active on YouNow and building out my Instagram, posting every day and going live as often as I could. The audience I found was mostly teenage girls who wanted someone to talk to, someone who would say their name and tell them they mattered. I took that responsibility seriously.

I modeled my approach on creators who had made genuine connections with their followers, people who seemed like real human beings on camera rather than performances. I wanted my followers to feel like they were hanging out with a friend, not watching a show. That meant being consistent even on the days when I did not feel like it, and honest even when honesty was less flattering.

The POMSCON Tour

Earning a spot on the POMSCON, which stands for A Part of My Story Convention, national tour was one of my first real milestones. I traveled alongside other creators including Mario Selman, Cat Selman, 99GoonSquad, and Flamingeos, meeting fans in cities I had never visited before.

For a kid from Kingsport who had never been out of Tennessee much, those tour stops were eye-opening. Fans showed up with handmade signs, waited in line for hours, and genuinely cared about the people they were there to see. That experience confirmed that what we were doing online had real weight in the real world.

Jawline and Sundance

Director Liza Mandelup came into my life and spent years documenting what my daily routine actually looked like: the photo sessions that never quite worked, the live broadcasts, the trips to meet fans, the quiet moments at home in Kingsport with my family. I did not know what the film would become.

Jawline premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker. Hulu acquired the film and released it theatrically and on streaming in August 2019. The film also received a Youth Jury Award Special Mention at the Sheffield Documentary Festival and played at CPH:DOX, BAMcinemaFest, and the San Francisco Film Festival.

Being the subject of a documentary shown at Sundance and distributed by a major streaming platform was not something I had planned for. It brought a level of press and public attention that was different from anything social media had given me, and it made very clear that the story of a kid trying to build something from nothing resonated with a lot of people.

What Comes Next

I have been serious about acting for a long time, and the documentary experience only deepened that commitment. Being on camera, even as myself, taught me a great deal about presence and storytelling. I want to keep developing those skills in front of the camera in scripted work.

I still create content, still connect with my audience online, and still live in Tennessee. The ZIP code has never been the limitation people assumed it was. The work is the thing, and I keep doing it.

Whether it is a new platform, a film role, or a live session with followers, the approach stays the same: show up, be real, and make it worth someone's time.

What I Do

Austyn works across content creation, on-screen performance, and fan engagement.

Key Milestones

Quick Facts

Credentials, Education, Recognition

The shorter version of everything above.