Nicholas Hammond is a firefighter for the Fort Jackson, SC, Fire Department, and runs the popular food social media account "Fireman1231."
Hammond has taken TikTok and Instagram by storm by showing what he cooks for his crew. The videos show how he cooks a variety of meals for his firefighters, and even his family. Hammond currently has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, and more than a million followers on TikTok.
He started on TikTok in 2019 and created the Instagram page after gaining traction.
“We just kept growing, and growing, and growing. That's when I said, we need to be on all platforms,” Hammond told Firehouse.
Despite the major following, Hammond doesn’t focus on the follower count, but we did, and he amassed over 1.5 million followers between his two accounts. That aligns with his perspective on his social media success.
Firefighting is remains his main focus
Many influencers will consider moving to social media full-time after some success, however Hammond is a firefighter and understands that this could all change tomorrow.
“I've never considered doing it full-time, because you can wake up tomorrow, the internet and everything around it can be gone at the snap of a finger,” said Hammond.
Hammond has learned a lot since being on social media. The biggest change was that he eliminated the part where he was explaining what he was cooking. Now, he shows the process, rather than talking through it and does not have to worry about fumbling over his words, and the videos were cut in length. And, Hammond says, the switch-up had a positive response.
Despite the learning curve, Hammond wouldn’t change anything on his start-up on social media, because “that’s how I live and learn.” However, he does have some advice when it comes to the duality of being a social media presence and a firefighter.
“If you're going to get in this business, don't say anything stupid. You must block out the haters, because you're going to have haters. Don't get on there and act like a goofy goober. You're representing your fire department, and when people see the name of where you come from, you're representing that entire organization,” said Hammond.
Throughout the social media journey, Hammond has worked with various brands from seasoning companies to Amazon’s cookware line.
How it started
Fireman1231 started on a Sunday afternoon when he was cooking for his department and the idea just came to him. Years later, he does nearly daily posting and has a major following behind him.
“There are some times, if I'm doing a job for a brand deal and I've got deadlines to meet, then it's just time to nut up or shut up. It's crunch time, and you must put what's going on around you on hold, or just put it out of your mind for a minute and get it done. It's not easy,” said Hammond.
All the popularity, brand deals and sponsorships doesn’t waiver Hammond from his love for his followers. At the end of the day, he is sharing his interests with the rest of the world.
“I love meeting my followers and fans who helped make what we are today,” said Hammond. “I love meeting new people. I love what I do. I love cooking, and I love sharing my passion with others for cooking.”
