{"id":71176,"date":"2022-09-21T20:38:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T20:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/21\/how-nikko-ortiz-became-everyones-favorite-military-tiktoker\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:56:50","slug":"how-nikko-ortiz-became-everyones-favorite-military-tiktoker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/2022\/09\/21\/how-nikko-ortiz-became-everyones-favorite-military-tiktoker\/","title":{"rendered":"How Nikko Ortiz became everyone\u2019s favorite military TikTok\u2019er"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army Staff Sgt. Nikko Ortiz was working out just over a year ago when he decided to pull out his camera and make a video. He sent the finished product to a buddy who was familiar with TikTok. After watching, the friend told Ortiz he should make an account and post it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fast forward to today and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikkoortizzz\" target=\"_blank\">Ortiz has amassed 2.9 million followers<\/a> and developed a reputation for being one of the funniest military content creators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNothing was ever planned,\u201d he told Military Times. \u201cI never planned to be a content creator in any way, shape or form.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikkoortizzz\/video\/6943997510230871302\" data-video-id=\"6943997510230871302\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\" > <section> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"@nikkoortizzz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikkoortizzz?refer=embed\">@nikkoortizzz<\/a> <a title=\"army\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/army?refer=embed\">#army<\/a> <a title=\"fyp\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/fyp?refer=embed\">#fyp<\/a> <a title=\"marines\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/marines?refer=embed\">#marines<\/a> <a title=\"navy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/navy?refer=embed\">#navy<\/a> <a title=\"airforce\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/airforce?refer=embed\">#airforce<\/a> <a title=\"coastguard\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/coastguard?refer=embed\">#coastguard<\/a> <a title=\"spaceforce\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/spaceforce?refer=embed\">#spaceforce<\/a> <a title=\"foryou\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryou?refer=embed\">#foryou<\/a> <a title=\"foryoupage\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryoupage?refer=embed\">#foryoupage<\/a> <a title=\"cod\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/cod?refer=embed\">#cod<\/a> <a title=\"warzone\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/warzone?refer=embed\">#warzone<\/a> <a title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/funny?refer=embed\">#funny<\/a> <a title=\"veteran\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/veteran?refer=embed\">#veteran<\/a> <a title=\"godzillavskongroar\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/godzillavskongroar?refer=embed\">#GodzillaVsKongRoar<\/a> <a title=\"drinks\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/drinks?refer=embed\">#drinks<\/a> <a title=\"xyzbac\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/xyzbac?refer=embed\">#xyzbac<\/a> <a title=\"hi\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/hi?refer=embed\">#hi<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"\u266c original sound - Nikko\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/music\/original-sound-6943997393297820421?refer=embed\">\u266c original sound &#8211; Nikko<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ortiz, who has been in the Army for eight years, was in the early stages of switching from active duty to the reserves when he first kicked the tires on TikTok. The videos, he said, gave him a sense of meaning and community, the depth of which he didn\u2019t fully realize until he ran into a retired Marine at the VA who showed him how impactful his content was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis guy walks up to me, he\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, do you have Facebook?\u2019\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cIn my head, I\u2019m like, \u2018This dude is crazy,\u2019 until I realized maybe someone reuploaded one of my TikToks there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, he said yes, not entirely sure where the Marine was going with his query.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018I love your content, man. It really makes me laugh,\u2019\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cI was able to make his day better, and make him laugh and help him connect with his family. It was a gut punch. I have purpose again, just like in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ortiz is perhaps most famous for his takes on the six service branches and how each operates in different scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is the quintessential old man, Navy a little flamboyant, Marines are hammers, Air Force is uptight, Coast Guard is jealous, and Space Force is from a different planet entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne day, I was just brushing my teeth, going about my life, and then I was eating, and I wondered, \u2018How would the Marine Corps eat this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikkoortizzz\/video\/6942144526333119750\" data-video-id=\"6942144526333119750\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\" > <section> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"@nikkoortizzz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikkoortizzz?refer=embed\">@nikkoortizzz<\/a> 2020\u2019s most viewed video! \ud83e\udd1f\ud83c\udffd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a title=\"army\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/army?refer=embed\">#army<\/a> <a title=\"fyp\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/fyp?refer=embed\">#fyp<\/a> <a title=\"marines\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/marines?refer=embed\">#marines<\/a> <a title=\"navy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/navy?refer=embed\">#navy<\/a> <a title=\"airforce\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/airforce?refer=embed\">#airforce<\/a> <a title=\"coastguard\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/coastguard?refer=embed\">#coastguard<\/a> <a title=\"spaceforce\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/spaceforce?refer=embed\">#spaceforce<\/a> <a title=\"foryou\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryou?refer=embed\">#foryou<\/a> <a title=\"foryoupage\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryoupage?refer=embed\">#foryoupage<\/a> <a title=\"lol\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/lol?refer=embed\">#lol<\/a> <a title=\"cod\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/cod?refer=embed\">#cod<\/a> <a title=\"warzone\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/warzone?refer=embed\">#warzone<\/a> <a title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/funny?refer=embed\">#funny<\/a> <a title=\"veteran\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/veteran?refer=embed\">#veteran<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"\u266c original sound - Nikko\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/music\/original-sound-6942144399774141190?refer=embed\">\u266c original sound &#8211; Nikko<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exercise of exploring the mundane is what makes Ortiz\u2019s content so relatable, not just for veterans and service members, but military enthusiasts and civilians \u2014 those who may not know much about branch rivalry, but still enjoy a peek into the niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy favorite to do is either Navy or Coast Guard,\u201d Ortiz joked. \u201cThey\u2019re so freeing. The Navy is just such a character. It\u2019s the funnest one to play out of all of them. If I had to pick one that I disliked, which will surprise people, it\u2019s Space Force. Space Force is so &#8230; out-of-pocket weird [that] I have to do something a normal human being wouldn\u2019t think of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, Ortiz\u2019s guardian character dons a tiny hand on each finger, worships a potato, and wears a tin foil hat, whereas the Navy caricature is the pinnacle of \u201canything goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The popularity of Ortiz\u2019s TikTok also gave rise to a bit of an entrepreneurial venture that includes a YouTube Twitch presence and a podcast, which is something he says he\u2019s most excited about now that he has begun separating from the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2018ve slowly started the branch out process, because I know my content touches more than just the military community, but I will never stop the military content,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will always be my base. Everything I do, it will always have that military stamp on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a service member who created content for social media during a time when the Defense Department has encouraged increased limitations on apps like TikTok, Ortiz believes there needs to be a compromise in order to shore up recruitment and retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think there has to be a middle ground,\u201d he said. \u201cThey banned TikTok, and that\u2019s totally unrealistic. People literally aren\u2019t going to join because they\u2019re addicted to their phones now. That doesn\u2019t make them bad soldiers. But is that an issue? Yeah, it is. But I do think people should be able to be content creators in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While he believes there should be rules regulating how service members use social media, Ortiz thinks a platform like TikTok has potential to create community and raise morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou have to be able to flip that switch, which has always been a thing when you\u2019re at work,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cYou need to work, but when you\u2019re off work, go have fun, film and do whatever you want. There are a few military values &#8230; you need to maintain, but outside of that, go live your your life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nikko Ortiz has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":105449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-observation-post","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,13,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3271],"class_list":["post-71176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"I36VAAZHZNA2FKM7TVAVEGKP4Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/2022\/09\/21\/how-nikko-ortiz-became-everyones-favorite-military-tiktoker\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"observation-post","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Nikko Ortiz became everyone\u2019s favorite military TikTok\u2019er - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nikko Ortiz has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Nikko Ortiz became everyone\u2019s favorite military TikTok\u2019er\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nikko Ortiz has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/2022\/09\/21\/how-nikko-ortiz-became-everyones-favorite-military-tiktoker\/\" \/>\n<meta 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