TikTok led to them losing their living space.
An American couple, who have amassed over 12.5 million views on TikTok, have been evicted from their storage unit home after their online popularity caught the attention of the company who own the building they have been staying in.
28-year-old Leland Brown Jr and his girlfriend Breanna, began gaining followers online after they posted a series of videos documenting their day-to-day life living in a storage unit.
While most of us have experienced the effects of the cost of living crisis in recent years, it seems Brown Jr and his partner fell on some rather hard times in recent months.
The Pennsylvania native and father of one, who works at McDonalds but has been in and out of homelessness for the past year, decided to extract some positivity out of the difficulty of his life by sharing his story with people on social media, in the hope that it might help others who find themselves in a similar situation.
Earlier this year, both Leland and Breanna had an idea to upgrade from their tent in the woods to a nearby warm and dry storage unit in their hometown of Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
For the past two months, they have impressed viewers on TikTok with their interior design skills in the small storage unit that they transformed into a functioning and comfortable home.
In this TikTok, Brown Jr explains the benefits and perks of living in the unit, compared with his previous outdoor dwelling.
He explains: “I live in a storage unit because it’s cheap compared to an apartment. Living here is actually really comfortable. I get a lot of things that I need and want to get done here.”
“I can exercise, I can use the bathroom, I can play music anywhere in the unit,” he added.
“It’s climate controlled in here, so it’s nice and warm. This unit is 24 hours. So, I can come here anytime I want, stay here as long as I need to…we can take naps if we need to.”
A week after the above video was posted, Leland was back online updating followers that both he and Breanna had been kicked out of their makeshift home by the “higher ups”.
According to LifeStorage, the company who own the storage building, living in one of the units is against the law.
Following their eviction, the couple returned to seeking refuge in a tent in the woods, but their shelter was quickly damaged by heavy snowfall and became uninhabitable.
Fortunately, a Good Samaritan stepped in, offering to replace their tent and provide accommodation at a local Holiday Inn.
In their time of need, Brown and his girlfriend have turned to crowdfunding, launching a GoFundMe page seeking $10,000 in donations, with the goal of securing an RV and eventually building a Tiny Home.
So far, the couple have raised $162.
Followers of Brown Jr’s @fullestness TikTok page were angry at the storage unit company for evicting the couple, and expressed their disappointment in the comments section of their videos.
One user wrote: “Some of us site managers know and we just look the other way if they’re not causing trouble. The world is rough right now. Be kind.”
Another commented: “As a former storage facility property manager… yes we knew but as long as you didn’t bother nobody we looked the other way.”
In the summary of his GoFundMe page, Brown Jr said: “This fund will be instrumental in securing a car and a roof over our heads before the next relocation, ensuring a safe and stable environment for my son to grow and thrive.”
Related Links:
Millionaire builds 99 homes to reduce homelessness in his town
Horrific response from estate agent after single mum’s rent doubled
Dave Grohl feeds homeless on day off during Foo Fighters tour
