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BROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Andrian Makhnachov has become a successful social media influencer, largely through embracing Indigenous culture.<\/p>\n
For all the ups and downs, there is no doubt in the Ukrainian-Canadian\u2019s mind that he made the right decision to move his life, and his burgeoning influencer career, to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
He had first come here in 2023 when he was invited to attend the Manito Ahbee Festival; right from that moment, it felt to him like a place where all Canada\u2019s stories flowed together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like that Winnipeg is not hiding its culture,\u201d Makhnachov says, chatting one recent afternoon at a picnic table in Old Market Square. \u201cYou go to The Forks, and there is this Oodena Circle. You see this and it\u2019s very inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our conversation is briefly paused when a man, walking by the square with his family, strides over to shake Makhnachov\u2019s hand: \u201cWelcome to Winnipeg,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The young man smiles shyly; he\u2019s still getting used to being recognized most places he goes.<\/p>\n
Just five years ago, Makhnachov could never had imagined he would be TikTok-famous in Canada. He\u2019d grown up in a tiny village in western Ukraine. After high school, he moved to Kyiv to study international relations. That\u2019s where he was in February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.<\/p>\n
The first days of the war were chaotic. Russian forces were bearing down on the capital. At first, Makhnachov fled to his home village, thinking, like many Ukrainians at the time, that the war would not last too long. After it became clear that wasn\u2019t the case, his father urged the young man to go stay with his brother, who had been living in Regina for years.<\/p>\n
At first, Makhnachov struggled in Saskatchewan. Having come from the dense, lively neighbourhoods of Kyiv, the sparse and car-dependent urban landscape of central Canada left him feeling disconnected. At home with his brother, those frustrations spilled into tension.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were fighting and arguing a lot,\u201d Makhnachov recalls. \u201cAnd he was like, \u2018I cannot listen to your complaints anymore. Go talk to someone on
\nTikTok.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t BROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Andrian Makhnachov has been sharing his experiences with Canadian culture on TikTok.<\/p>\n Makhnachov had not, until that point, thought of becoming a social media figure. But he had always been someone who was open about his thoughts and feelings, willing to voice even the smallest curiosities about the world around him.<\/p>\n His first video was a lighthearted observation of something that confused him about Canada: why can\u2019t you detach shower heads here from the wall? (In Ukraine, shower heads are usually of the handheld type.) It was a quirky, mundane observation, but something in the genuine excitement of his delivery made it go viral.<\/p>\n Soon, the video had racked up tens of thousands of views. The comments overflowed with Canadians raving about other surprises his new country might offer: \u201cYou haven\u2019t had ketchup chips yet!\u201d \u201cYou haven\u2019t seen milk in bags!\u201d (He actually had; supermarkets in Ukraine commonly sell bagged milk, yogurt and sour cream.)<\/p>\n Energized by the response, Makhnachov started creating new content at a breakneck pace, marvelling at life in Canada with equal parts skepticism and wonder. He tried Kraft Dinner for the first time. Then he tried it with hot dogs, as fans advised. He went to a Saskatchewan Roughriders game, his first Pride parade and searched for the best poutine.<\/p>\n Over the next three years, he would build enough of an audience to make doing those videos his career: nearly 430,000 followers on TikTok, 120,000 on Instagram, and an exuberant Facebook community.<\/p>\n Soon, the direction of his channel would change forever, as he began to explore and embrace Indigenous culture.<\/p>\n The connection started from another curious observation. Among the cheerful comments on his earliest videos, there were scatters of uglier thoughts. Some comments pushed racist stereotypes, warning Makhnachov to stay away from Indigenous people on the streets of Regina.<\/p>\n At the time, Makhnachov knew almost nothing about modern Indigenous life in Canada. He can remember being in grade school, reading over a list of foreign countries. Beside the entry for Canada, there was a photo of an Indigenous person in traditional regalia. That was it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was something, maybe there\u2019s like one sentence. It\u2019s not something you\u2019re paying attention to,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Instagram<\/p>\n Testing the local delicacy that is Jeanne\u2019s Cake<\/p>\n The first time he saw a dancer in regalia, at a rodeo, he was transfixed. At first, he was nervous to ask questions, but soon found Indigenous folks welcomed his interest.<\/p>\n So when one follower invited him to come to a powwow, he quickly agreed.<\/p>\n Makhnachov was dazzled by the dancing, the regalia and the warmth of the people. Everywhere he went at the event, he was introduced as a \u201cUkrainian nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n Above all, he was drawn to the drums. Their rhythms reminded him of wedding ceremonies in his little village in Ukraine, where residents would line the streets while musicians drummed and played. In that moment, he realized, his culture and this one from the other side of the ocean may be more similar than he realized. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen the drum started, it was super emotional,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n From there, Makhnachov threw himself into showcasing Indigenous culture, and documented the journey in dozens of videos and social media posts.<\/p>\n After learning about kookum scarves \u2014 the vibrant floral wraps beloved by Indigenous grandmothers for generations, originally shared in trade by Ukrainian newcomers \u2014 Makhnachov had an idea. In April, he released his own limited run of silk scarves, designed by Indigenous artist Brianna LaPlante and manufactured in Ukraine.<\/p>\n (Stay tuned \u2014 he has a new project in the works that will connect with his newly grown Manitoba roots.)<\/p>\n In the joys and struggles of Indigenous community in Canada, Makhnachov recognized a deeper connection. Ukraine had also been colonized; Ukrainians too have fought for centuries to preserve their language and culture. With his Indigenous friends, he discussed their historic experiences of survival, from residential schools to the Holodomor famine.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Instagram<\/p>\n Trying his first ketchup chips<\/p>\n Through his awe in the beauty of Indigenous culture, Makhnachov showed what the spirit of reconciliation can look like, when not burdened by preconceptions.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tWinnipeg Gardener<\/p>\n Monthly<\/p>\n What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Winnipeg Gardener<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201c(Indigenous culture and community) is something super unique. I feel like Canada could do a better job of showing it to the world in different ways,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He can\u2019t quite say what the future has in store; he\u2019s learned, over the last four and a half years, that everything can change all too quickly. He carries the weight of what\u2019s happening in his homeland: just two days before we met, one of his closest friend\u2019s apartments in Kyiv was destroyed by a Shahed drone. Thankfully, she survived.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a kid, I had a plan: school, university, then I will have a job,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then it was all ruined. Now I still cannot build plans for the future, and then it turned all in different ways with social media. I just want to do something mindful. I\u2019m getting inspired from people, and culture, and the energy here and all the feedback. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very big reward for me.\u201d<\/p>\n melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Melissa Martin Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Melissa produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Reporter-at-large
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