El Paso, TX (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Ten months after moving to El Paso from Chicago, local TikTok influencer Sam Wags says a single road trip video helped launch a growing social media presence focused on exploring the city\u2019s food and outdoor spots \u2014 and she says she\u2019s been using the money she earns to support local organizations.<\/p>\n
Wags said she moved to El Paso with her fiance and their labradoodle after her fiance was accepted into a new oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program at Texas Tech.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy fiance is doing the new residency program for oral and maxillofacial surgery at Texas Tech, and that is what brought us here,\u201d Wags said. She said he found out he got in in March of last year and they moved to El Paso in June, giving them about three months to prepare.<\/p>\n
Wags said she wasn\u2019t making TikToks before the move. \u201cI for fun, made one from our road trip,\u201d she said, adding that she was surprised by the response and received hundreds of comments with suggestions on where to go.<\/p>\n
After moving near Westside Community Park, she said she began filming more videos around El Paso, including restaurant visits and hikes. \u201cSo I started coming here making videos and the engagement kept coming and it just was a snowball effect,\u201d Wags said.<\/p>\n
She credited El Pasoans for helping shape her content and for making her feel welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like the El Paso community is so unique because they are so welcoming, especially for a big city and everyone has been so nice in my comments and even in public I\u2019ll meet people and they just give suggestions. Welcome us here,\u201d Wags said. She said she previously lived in Chicago and San Diego, but found El Paso\u2019s community especially welcoming.<\/p>\n
Wags also shared some of her favorite local stops so far, while noting she is still working her way through the city\u2019s food scene. Among her picks: El Beso Tacqueria, Taconeta, L.A. Sushi and Hibachi and 2Ten Coffee Roasters.<\/p>\n
Wags said she has also been donating her TikTok earnings locally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve actually been donating all the money I\u2019ve made on TikTok to local organizations,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just really empowering to be able to contribute to the community that I feel like has given me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can see more of what Sam is up to on her TikTok page @samwagsss<\/p>\n
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