Larry Canam isn't your typical TikTok star.

Canam, a 69-year-old ex-military man who lives in Fredericton, never expected anyone would watch his "how-to" cocktail videos when he and his son started making them.

One year later, he has nearly 800,000 followers, and some of his videos have had millions of views — and Canam is loving every minute of it.

"I really enjoy it. It's the interaction with people," he told Information Morning Saint John.

Canam's videos explaining how to make a vast range of cocktails and milkshakes have had a global reach. He estimates 69 per cent of his viewers live in the U.S., based on analytics, but he also has followers in Canada, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and other countries.

Under the username @thewhyteelephant, Canam built a following by personally connecting with his viewers. He responds to nearly every comment and takes recipe requests for the drinks he makes, from cosmopolitans to margaritas to peanut Butterfinger milkshakes.

One of his most popular videos, which reached 11.5 million views, showed how to make a whiskey old-fashioned.

"Somehow, it really resonated with people," Canam said.

Canam said he picked up making cocktails as a hobby using a book he bought over 20 years ago, and started making milkshake videos after he received requests to make non-alcoholic drinks.

But while his milkshakes might be what bring all the views to the yard, what really catches viewers' attention is his almost 50-year-old blender.

The blender was a wedding present for Canam and his wife, who will have been married for 48 years this summer. 

It adds to the nostalgic atmosphere of Canam's videos, which are often paired with vintage songs like Lollipop by the Chordettes and Sugar, Sugar by the Archies. 

Canam films his videos in his downstairs bar, which is also where he starts his day by going through the comments on his videos, thanking the commenters and taking note of new requests.

"I answer almost everybody" who comments, Canam said. "I think that's important."

Canam said his son, David Canam, is his best critic. 

A computer programmer at St. Thomas University, Canam spends time every week at his father's house, where they make drinks together, read poetry, have a glass of scotch.

On one of those visits, he came up with the idea of making videos of his father for TikTok.

At first, the videos were private, but father and son decided to make them public so they could send them to friends.

"We never had any idea anybody would watch them, let alone subscribe to see more of them," David said. "It came out of nowhere."

It was also David's idea to put the finished product at the beginning of the video, hoping to draw in viewers before they scrolled on.

Now the intro is the videos' hallmark, with Larry Canam holding up a glass and announcing: "And that's a chocolate monkey cocktail!"

David said he thinks his father's personality and dedication to his followers is part of why people keep coming back for more. 

"Anytime somebody suggested making something, a lot of times he'd go out to get the stuff and make it. People seemed to really like that."

It's unusual to see an older person on TikTok, but David said his father has created a safe space for people to connect with each other. The fact that the videos are capturing the memories he has of spending time with his father is a nice plus, he said.

David has two young children himself, who, though a bit young to understand that their grandfather is "TikTok famous," are enjoying the sudden abundance of milkshakes in their lives.

"If the kids end up liking them, they usually end up on the videos for Milkshake Mondays," David said.

Writer and social media editor

Raechel Huizinga is a CBC writer and acting social media editor based in Moncton, N.B You can reach her at raechel.huizinga@cbc.ca.

With files from Information Morning Saint John.

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