I Interviewed The Cool Vibe Dad of TikTok aka Teardrop Estates
Meet Ross Harris, a music video director who's become a calming force for me amidst the chaos of TikTok.
There are many a toxic drawback to TikTok, but I don’t want to get into them right now because this post is all about positive vibes only. That’s what Ross Harris, better known on the Tok as Teardrop Estates, has brought me, and what I want to share with all of you.
I came across Ross’s page on my FYP in a video where he’s wrapped himself in a quilt. He leads with saying that he’s about to deliver “investment advice,” a can’t miss hook for our ever-deteriorating attention spans. Financial hot tips from a gray-haired dude in a dope-ass blanket? Sign me the fuck up.
It turns out the hook was a bait and switch, not that I’m complaining. What I got was even better. In the clip he goes on to deliver a message of self care and self love, likening his quilt and the person inside it (himself in this case) to a burrito.
I had to see more, so I smashed that follow button, and it’s one of the best choices I’ve made thus far on the app. That calming, Deadhead dad energy permeates all of his videos, whether he’s talking about an old pizza shop in his hometown or showing off a “new” pair of vintage Levi’s. There’s one particularly charming video where Ross shows off the ashes of his recently deceased father, which he brought to Northern Ireland to spread. Did I mention Ross has impeccable style?
Sidebar: I just learned that you can’t embed TikToks on Substack which is truly insane.
His fits are perfect for the TikTok generation, with workwear leading the charge and “thrifted” finds popping up on a regular basis. As you’ll see below, I had to give credit to the big homie for his impeccable understanding of pants tailoring, as his jeans are seemingly always the perfect length with an ever-so-slight flare that’s sweeping the Internet these days.
Below, I chatted with Ross (who hails from Southern California which explains some of his vibey-ness) to get to know him better because amidst the chaos of TikTok, his content has been a calming force. It turns out he’s way cooler than I even expected. (He directed music videos for Elliott Smith! He was in the movie Airplane!)
Check out Ross’s work on his website here.
I feel like many people (including me) came across you on our FYP on Tiktok, but might not have more context than that. Can you tell me a little more about who you are, what you do, etc?
My name is Ross Harris aka Rossangeles aka Teardrop Estates. I was a child actor, most notably from the film Airplane! My infamous scene wherein I confront NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar was just recreated for the limited series Winning Time on HBO. In the 90’s I was a photographer / video director / musician and I worked on Beck’s first few albums and directed a few videos for my friend Elliott Smith. The past decade I’ve been doing video and photo and artist development for Stones Throw Records. I’m currently writing and creating / shooting content for Levi’s. I also make TikToks. Mostly in front of a shed in my driveway.
How would you describe your personal style?
My father is from Northern Ireland. But I was born and raised in the Oxnard / Ventura area of Southern California so I grew up alongside latino culture. My high school was a social experiment. An attempt to get two rival Latino gangs to coexist peacefully. With a couple white kids thrown in to the mix. It was a jumble of 80’s punk and hip hop. Skateboarding. Maybe some french new wave movies. It’s still California though so some hippie shit creeps in there too. Ha. In all honesty my wardrobe is 90 % from thrift shops. I try and work with what I can find.
Where do you do your shopping, or how did you come into owning most of the pieces you own?
Mostly thrifted locally but sometimes I throw in pieces that I’m working with. Like the pile of vintage denim I was photographing for Levi’s.
You seem to have a great understanding of fit, especially when it comes to pants. What are the things you think about when it comes to tailoring and putting together outfits?
It’s funny because the pants I get the most compliments on are my dads Wrangler Ranch pants I found in his closet after he recently passed. He understood fit and style and I recently travelled to Ireland to scatter his ashes and I saw that the majority of middle age or older men in Ireland understood fit. They were killing the game. Maybe it’s genetic. Seriously though properly fitting pants are crucial. Yeah pants and shoes are the key. If you lock those down you can almost throw anything on up top. For me I try to mix it up a bit. Different eras. Mixing classic and modern.
Can you tell us more about the quilt? Actually everything in that fit is amazing. The shirt plaid is impeccable, the pain splattered jeans, the shoes! All of it rocks.
I bought a couple quilts on Craigslist. This person was getting rid of them even though they were hand made by her family in Texas. I still don’t know why she let them go. But lately I’ve been trying to collect items that are hand made. I think the more things go NFT and crypto a tangible legacy item like that starts to really gain value. Not necessarily fiscally but emotionally. Which I’m much more interested in.
The Jeans are vintage 501s given to me by my friends at Levi’s. The shirt was a Pendleton that I thrifted. It’s a Pacific Northwest American classic but that specific cut and style was adopted by Latino culture here in California and the SouthWest. Got to have that top button buttoned up. That’s crucial. The shoes are huaraches. From a Mexican ranch wear store. It just happened to be what I was wearing when I made the video but I think the grandma quilt softened up the look in an interesting way.
Everything you put out into the world has a calming effect to it, like you've got all this wisdom and are just out there enjoying life. What would be your advice to younger people looking for that level of zen, if you feel like you've achieved it.
Oh cool I appreciate hearing that. I’ve been through some relatively challenging experiences and I’ve come to realize that if I remained calm or got upset pretty much the same thing happened. Getting upset usually just made it an even shittier experience. So I figured might as well stay chill and try and handle things as best as I can. My advice for creators is just be yourself. Do whatever is interesting to you. Not everything has to blow up or go viral. Just keep building a body of work that reflects your point of view.
This dude fucking rocks! Just followed on TikTok. Legit thinking about paying for Substack solely because of this rec.
Good interview