In the fourth episode of season two of Kiwibank’s This is Kiwi podcast, social media creator Louis Davis talks about how fatherhood has shaped him.

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Louis Davis is a husband, stay-at-home father, adventurer and hugely successful content creator. With nearly two million followers across Tiktok and Instagram, he cuts through the noise with his unique, heartfelt content about fatherhood, whānau and everyday life. 

Stumbling into the world of content creation through a successful university assignment, at a time when social media wasn’t the advertising powerhouse that it is now, Davis began to wonder about the power of social media for brands.

Creating branded content for social media to pay his way through university, Davis then spent some time in another job, before realising the goldmine he was sitting on; his knack for engaging with audiences online.

“Then Covid rolled around… and I just started telling stories again. That just continued to grow and grow and grow,” Davis says. “We average around 200 million views a month. We have an opportunity to tell huge stories, meaningful stories, and it eventually became enough where I could do it as a job.”

But it’s not his huge follower count or number of video views that keeps Davis motivated: “my highest aspiration is to be at home with my kids,” he says. 

That’s not a surprise to followers of Davis, who are used to seeing the smiling faces of his daughters Anakiwa and Kanoa, as well as his wife, Ashleigh. Being a stay-at-home dad as well as a content creator is a big undertaking, but Davis says any job is easier when you’re enjoying what you’re doing. 

“If you’re passionate about storytelling, people that make vlogs or people that make skits, that part comes easily. So that’s like a hobby, and if you get lucky, it can also be where you generate revenue as well,” says Davis.

While money wasn’t talked about much in his household growing up, Davis does credit his parents for teaching him a lot about the value of experiences – something he is passing on to his own children. 

“To have the ice cream or to go on the camping trip, or go and do different things… My parents have never criticised the decision to travel or go do something or try something. I’ve always believed in the importance of that.”

With endless numbers of mums sharing their experiences online, but a far shorter list of dads doing the same thing, Davis is also pushing back against certain stereotypes through his content. 

“There’s this story we tell about Māori men. We’re the athlete, we’re the warrior… the protector, the provider. There’s an archetype for what we think of as the Māori father,” Davis says.

“Telling the story that I do, dancing to songs with my daughters, being playful, affectionate and silly with them and looking the way that I look can be quite jarring for people. And I think that’s what’s interesting. I think that’s my niche, it’s my point of difference.”

That point of difference has struck a chord with many other parents in Aotearoa and around the world, for whom Davis is a positive role model for modern fatherhood.