Haley Kalil and Caleb Simpson have over 30 million followers combined and are part of a budding generation of creators paving their own paths to success. But if you ask where they got their start, the answer is as easy as picking up a camera.
“I picked up a camera when I moved to New York nine years ago,” Simpson says. “And then TikTok rolled around and that’s all she wrote.”
Simpson is best known for his apartment tour series on TikTok, where he asks strangers on the street how much they pay for rent, and then asks to tour their apartments. It’s a Gen-Z version of MTV Cribs, with constant appearances of stars like comedian Ben Schwartz, Sarah Sherman, and Shark Tank star Barabara Cocoran. But most people don’t realize that the fan-favorite series is how creator Haley Kalil (@haleyybaylee on TikTok) got her start in the world of online stardom and red-carpet hosting. Now a staple at traditional red carpet events, Kalil makes comedic skits and satirical videos about nostalgia, feminism, and sometimes, just how difficult it is to be a girl and be perceived. But before she made a video with Simpson, she was considering leaving New York City entirely to go back home and re-start applying to medical school — a process that had been interrupted by a surprise chance to pose for Sports Illustrated.
“I was working as a model. I had had enough — it was bad for my mental health,” Kalil says. “And I was gonna move home to Minnesota to go back to medicine and then you found me and were like ‘Hey can I tour your apartment?’ And I said yeah let’s do this. I hope he doesn’t murder me.”
The two stopped by Rolling Stone to talk about how they found their respective niches, their favorite door-opening celebrity collaborations, their dreams of starring in a romantic comedy, and what they think the future of the creator space will be.
Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
