After the wild ride that was 2018, some laughter and positivity is exactly what everyone needs — and Cale Saurage is delivering.
The 20-year-old Baton Rouge native began producing his uplifting dance videos just a few months ago, and now, they are taking the internet by storm.
Since October 2018, Saurage has managed to gain over 21,000 Instagram followers. One particular video titled “HOW IM COMIN INTO 2019!” has even amassed over 20 million views across all platforms.
After a popular account on Twitter reposted the video, the notifications immediately started pouring in. In one night, Saurage said he gained over 6,000 followers. According to Saurage, it all began with him and his roommate, John Corban, joking around and having a good time back in October.
“We went and rode bikes,” Saurage said, “and we ended up thinking, ‘We should put out some dance, some funny stuff.’”
His content is a perfect representation of that. Dancing, interactions with the locals and even a few skate tricks are edited together to create each video.
Unlike many creators today, his content is genuine. No big cameras or scripts are involved. Instead, it’s just two guys, the city and an iPhone. Saurage even edits the videos himself. After filming, he strings together the clips and adds music, well-timed zooms and even the occasional graphic.
“Yeah, it gets frustrating sometimes,” Saurage said, “but making it all come together is probably my favorite part.”
Every new upload is a snapshot of a pair of friends having fun around Baton Rouge. The duo has filmed in some of the most well-loved parts of the city: The Riverfront, Perkins Rowe and even The University, among others. Thanks to these videos, Baton Rouge is finally earning its place on the Internet’s map.
Although he’s only been making dance videos for a few months, Saurage is no stranger to putting his work out for the world to see. Saurage began making videos and publishing them to YouTube when he was just in middle school. From there, he branched out to a few more serious videos focused on dance and skateboarding but eventually found his audience after posting more positive, comedic content.
Though he admits it can sometimes be difficult to maintain a positive vibe while still keeping his ideas fresh, he believes it’s all worth it.
“It’s harder to be positive on social media than to be negative,” Saurage said. “It’s super easy to be negative.”
In 2019, Saurage plans to keep the videos coming, despite also working a full-time job. He’s also considering posting longer videos to his YouTube channel, though the shorter videos he’s more well known for will remain his focus.
“I’m gonna keep riding the wave and see what happens,” he said. “People keep asking, ‘When’s the next one?’”
At their very core, Saurage’s videos are a celebration of fun and friendship, Louisiana style.
“It’s fun to come out here to Perkins Rowe and dance around and film it, acting stupid,” Saurage said. “It’s a good time.”