‘Mr. Syracuse’ promotes city positivity by juggling TikTok, real estate job
Having grown up in Syracuse and attended Cicero-North Syracuse High School, Alec Scripa decided to start posting Syracuse-based content last June, adopting the "Mr. Syracuse" nickname. On Scripa's main social media platform, TikTok, he's amassed over 17,000 followers. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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Growing up in Syracuse, Alec Scripa always noticed a general boredom and negativity about his hometown. Last June, he decided to flip the rhetoric, creating social media platforms dedicated to spreading positivity in the city.
“After living here for so long, I have seen so much negativity get thrown to Syracuse,” said Scripa. “My biggest goal is being a resource for residents and people moving to the area not knowing what there is to do.”
Known as “Mr. Syracuse” to his followers, Scripa’s primary job is a real estate agent. But online, his platforms create content that aims to spread positivity about the Syracuse community. The 21-year-old started posting on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and his main platform, TikTok, as a side gig; now he’s amassed over 17,000 TikTok followers.
“I’m somebody who’s driven by results, so seeing the growth there has definitely made it a lot easier to continue making content,” said Scripa.
Scripa has combined his real estate knowledge and Syracuse background to create a social media profile that is uniquely his own, he said. From sharing facts about Syracuse restaurants to man-on-the-street-style interviews with BMX bikers, Scripa experiments with a variety of video styles.
In one of Scripa’s videos, he interviewed a Syracuse-based vintage vendor, Kendra Derleth, about her clothing company, Poppy’s Path, inspired by her late grandfather. Her friend connected the two to promote Derleth’s business. Derleth said she appreciated the opportunity to talk about her company and share her grandfather’s impact.
“Talking about him is very hard for me, but the fact that I can talk about him and honor him in a way is awesome to me, and I loved that I did meet Mr. Syracuse,” said Derleth. “I love to watch his interviews.”
Scripa said he is invested in learning how to manufacture his own content and grow his page. He’s still new to the industry, but he has big goals for the new year: 200,000 TikTok followers.
Known as “Mr. Syracuse” to his followers, 21-year-old Alec Scripa’s primary job is a real estate agent. His videos range from sharing random facts about Syracuse landmarks to man-on-the-street-style interviews with BMX bikers. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
“I’m a one-man show. I’m doing the filming, I’m doing the editing, I’m doing the posting,” Scripa said. “I enjoy seeing good reactions from people.”
Scripa doesn’t monetize his account; it’s still a side gig. For him, it’s about giving people positive information about his hometown.
“In Syracuse, I feel like we have a lack of marketing for things going on,” Scripa said. “It’s a lot harder to find than it should be, and that’s one of my goals, is to make it a lot less hard to find.”
The scope and regularity of Scripa’s content resemble his real estate work, friend and fellow real estate agent Josh Santana said. He uses his real estate skills to better his content, Santana said.
“He has established consistency in other areas of his life and the way he’s able to just relay that right into social media shows how important consistency is,” Santana said.
Santana, who also posts content about his real estate business, said the two of them share techniques and processes. He first met Scripa when he had only 700 followers, he said.
Posting on social media opens him up to many opinions, Scripa said. But he said he’s learned to stay true and remind himself of the joy his content brings, he said.
He especially appreciates connecting with younger viewers; it’s “powerful” when they look up to him, he said. One moment that stands out to him was when he met multiple kids who recognized him from his TikTok fame outside of a Circle K. They took photos with him; one of the kids later made his photo with Scripa his TikTok profile picture. They were “starstruck,” he recalled.
“To be able to make somebody feel like that just by being a human being who posts videos online is just mind-blowing, and it’s super fulfilling,” Scripa said. “I love providing value to people, that’s a big thing for me.”
