Newcomer from Ukraine engaging TikTok audiences by trying Canadian staples

Since moving to Canada in May, Andrian Makhnachov has been on a quest to discover and try the most Canadian treats and activities. 

A few short months ago, Makhnachov was studying international relations and communications in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv when Russia attacked his country. 

The 19-year-old made the difficult decision to leave his father, who was staying to protect Ukraine, and move to Regina to be with his brother, who had been living in Canada for three years already.

When he got to his brother's apartment, it was so different from apartments he had seen before, so he took a video to send to his friends. They encouraged him to post it on TikTok. 

He's now made videos testing out all dressed and ketchup chips, Nanaimo bars, Canadian beer, Kraft Dinner, Coffee Crisp, maple cookies and his neighbour's homemade borscht. He's gone camping, fishing and to Tim Hortons. Most recently, he visited Toronto and Niagara Falls. 

We at CBC decided to take him for his first traditional Canadian poutine, which was one of his top requested videos on TikTok. 

After a quick explanation of cheese curds and gravy, he gave it a 10 out of 10.  

WATCH | New Canadian tries traditional poutine for the first time:

Luckily it did not disappoint, becoming one of his favourite Canadian foods so far (along with Boston Pizza's spicy perogy pizza, which he says tasted Ukrainian.) 

His first viral video on the app was trying macaroni with maple syrup. The funny comments and advice he received prompted more videos as he would reply, trying their suggestions. 

Now, being a TikToker is second nature. 

Every morning when he wakes up, he starts his day by reading comments, DMs (direct messages) and Instagram messages. 

"They are really all kind. I don't have any bad messages [or] bad comments and it inspires me to post," said Makhnachov. "I feel like I have a lot of friends here in Canada.

"It's really cool."

While he now feels a responsibility to film and post about what he's doing, he said he still has fun doing it. If it gets to a point where it isn't fun anymore, he says he'll stop. 

His current aspiration is to have a million followers. 

"Every day I have new ideas," Makhnachov said, explaining that when he picked up his favourite childhood candies from Regina's Ukrainian Co-op for me to try in a video, he decided to film another video at the store. 

He didn't expect to become somewhat of a social media celebrity, but now has over 165,000 followers and 3.8 million likes. 

Thirty per cent of his followers are Canadian, while he also gets views in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia, among other countries. 

TikTok has also been a much needed break from the weight he carries, knowing his home country is in the midst of war. Luckily, his father is OK, but when Makhnachov first moved, his days and nights were mixed up and he would spend hours reading the news. 

"I don't sleep in general and then I started posting videos and it distracts me. It helps," he said.  

The strong Ukrainian community in Saskatchewan has also made the transition easier. He belongs to an association of Ukrainian-Canadians that hosts events and meetups regularly. 

He enjoys seeing Ukrainian flags on homes and businesses and takes a photo of each one he sees to send to his friends back home. He has also noticed that a lot of the people he meets in Regina have Ukrainian last names. 

Sometimes, when he's walking to his job at a local bakery, he'll overhear a couple of people speaking Ukrainian and he'll cut in.

"Everyone is really friendly," he said.

Makhnachov hopes to become a student of international relations at the University of Regina. He also has an interest in both film and journalism. 

But for his next taste test, he's going to give beaver tails a try. The fried dough pastries, stretched to resemble the tails of perhaps Canada's most well known animal, have been highly requested by his followers.