Stephen Sharer: Avalon’s Own Influencer
Stephen Sharer visits with campers at the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children.
By Ben Niewoehner
Few influencers will ever match the online fame of Stephen Sharer. The influencer, 28, has been making YouTube videos for more than a decade and has amassed more than 20 million followers across his social media accounts on YouTube and TikTok, in addition to billions of total views.
Sharer also happens to spend much of his time in Avalon. Dating back to his childhood vacations at the shore, he felt a fondness for the community. For the past few years, he has owned a house in Avalon.
This summer, Sharer has focused on giving back to Avalon. On Aug. 1, he hosted a free concert at Surfside Park, which attracted 6,000 fans. Four days later, he visited the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children, which gives blind and visually impaired children a free week of coastal summer camp.
After his show, Sharer donated $10,000 to the Diller Home and Friend In Need, a charity that supports those in need in Cape May County.
This week, Sharer took some time to speak with the Seven Mile Times about his YouTube rise and love for the Avalon community.
Can you tell me what you do?
I’m a YouTube creator, musician, entrepreneur, and entertainer. I’ve been creating content since 2016 and have built the multifaceted “Share the Love” brand.
What kinds of videos do you make?
My videos are really entertainment-driven. We do everything from big adventures and challenges to super cars, travel, and larger productions. I always want the videos to feel exciting, meaningful, and give people a reason to come back and see what happens next.
How did you get into making YouTube videos? Did any other YouTubers inspire you?
I’ve always loved creating things and entertaining people. YouTube gave me a way to take ideas that were in my head, turn them into videos, and immediately share them with people all over the world. As the audience started growing, I realized this could become something much bigger than just making videos for fun.
There were definitely creators I watched and learned from, but I think a lot of my inspiration also came from outside YouTube – TV, movies, music, live entertainment, and figuring out how to bring that kind of energy to an online audience.
What is your favorite YouTube video that you have ever made?
That’s almost impossible for me to answer because there have been so many different eras of the channel. Usually my favorite is whatever we’re working on next because we’re constantly trying to make things bigger and better. Some of the most memorable ones, though, are the videos where an idea that sounded completely crazy actually came together and became something millions of people watched, and the videos where I surprise people who are doing something good for their community and the world and allow me to give back and continue to share the positive message that good things still exist in this world.
Where are you from, and what is your connection to Avalon?
I grew up in Oakton, Va., but Avalon has become a really special place for me. I spent a lot of time at the Jersey Shore as a kid, vacationing with my parents (from Doylestown, Pa.) and at a young age I fell in love with the community here and knew it was a place I needed to continue visiting. It has this amazing combination of being a family town while also having so much energy during the summer. The more time I’ve spent here, the more I’ve wanted to become part of the community rather than just someone who comes down for the summer.
What motivated your free concert at Surfside Park?
I wanted to do something completely free where families and kids could come out, have fun, and experience something they normally only see through a screen. So many of these kids and their families have watched me and listened to my music for years, and being able to actually meet them and put on a show for them felt like the perfect way to give something back to the community.
It was also really important to me that it was free. I wanted anyone to be able to be there.
How do you feel about the turnout for that concert and the community reaction?
It was incredible. Seeing that many families and kids show up was honestly surreal. You can see numbers and comments online every day, but standing onstage and actually seeing everybody there is completely different.
What meant the most was how supportive the community was. It made me realize there is a real opportunity to continue doing fun things like this in Avalon and bringing people together.
What inspired your Aug. 5 visit to the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children?
Once I learned more about what the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home does, I really wanted to visit and spend time with the kids. For me, it wasn’t about just showing up for a photo. I wanted to hang out with them, answer their questions, participate in what they were doing, and together we had such an exciting day!
Experiences like that are also a reminder of how powerful it can be to use the audience and platform I’ve been given to create positive experiences offline.
What would you like to tell people about that organization?
I would encourage people to learn about and support what they do. They’re creating experiences, friendships, independence, and really special summer memories for children who are blind or visually impaired.
Being able to spend time there and see the environment they create for the kids made me appreciate the organization even more.
Do you have any exciting upcoming projects, including any in Avalon?
Definitely. We have a lot happening with YouTube and some much bigger projects that I’m excited to start sharing.
And I absolutely want to keep doing things in Avalon. The response to the concert showed me how much opportunity there is to create experiences that bring the online community together in real life. I don’t want to give away everything we’re working on yet, but the concert definitely wasn’t something I look at as a one-and-done. Next time think bigger. More attractions, more fun for everyone and more ways to give back and SHARE THE LOVE!