Meet the New York influencer who's a Philadelphian at heart
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Mike Schulte always felt like a Philadelphian trapped in a New Yorker's body, so four months ago the social media influencer moved his family to what he calls a "calmer, kinder New York."
Why it matters: The move gave Schulte the perfect excuse to create content, partnering with Visit Philadelphia on a five-part series chronicling his family's introduction to Philly's food, culture and neighborhoods.
State of play: Philadelphia's recent population growth has been driven largely by international immigration, but Schulte believes the region is primed for an explosion of New Yorkers chasing cheaper housing and a slower pace of life.
- Schulte is trying to build a Philly following as a fun-loving dad and husband who documents the city's quirks — like how Philly calls juice jugs "hugs" rather than "quarter waters," in New York parlance.
- His content credo: "If you feel something, you should make it."
Zoom in: Despite Philly's tendency to hate on New Yorkers (enhanced with the Knicks in the Finals), Schulte told Axios he's been embraced by Philadelphians — including fellow influencers now used to seeing him pop up at events around the city.
- He described locals as more low-key than New Yorkers, where he says he grew accustomed to cutting through layers of noise and competition.
Case in point: At last month's Italian Market Festival, Schulte climbed into a cherry picker to capture a bird's-eye shot for Instagram. And he didn't even need permission from some city bigwig.
What they're saying: "No belts, right, with lard still all over the bottom, with some random guy's like, 'Yeah, it's cool, hold on,'" Schulte told Axios.
- "That would never happen in New York. You would need permits, you would need approval. There would have to be somebody to overlook it."
Catch up quick: After more than a decade creating real estate content, Schulte pivoted to motivational videos and eventually hired a full-time videographer to follow him around. One of his early vlogs — playfully roasting a colleague from Queens — went viral in 2019.
- That paved the way for a major pivot toward videos aimed at everyday people rather than real-estate insiders.
How it happened: Schulte moved to Philly on a lark after a chance meeting with a Visit Philadelphia representative at an event at the James Beard House in New York.
- He had pitched an idea about a series documenting his move to Philly. Her response: "You'd have to actually move to Philly."
Weeks later, Schulte had the family's U-Haul packed up and had secured a house in South Philly.
What he's looking to do: Schulte is less interested in creating "fancy curated bulls--t" than documenting the city as he experiences it — like figuring out how to get an Angelo's cheesesteak in 11 minutes.
- He wants to cook up a series on the city's overlooked people — the bus driver, the maitre d at your local restaurant — plus another documenting Philly's "evolution" as a destination for transplants.
The bottom line: "We are all young production companies, and essentially, the future of communication," he says.