Out of prison, TikTok influencers are reshaping how we think about life behind bars

My favorite TikTok video starts with a clean-cut man in a baseball cap walking down a snowy street.

“I’m going to my favorite teacher’s house from when I did my 21-year prison bid,” he tells the camera. “She is the BOMB. She doesn’t know I’m coming. Here we go, let’s surprise her!”

He knocks, then turns back to the camera.

I’m So Nervous Right Now,” the caption reads.

Seconds later, the door swings open.

“Mr. Lacey? Oh my God! How are you?” his former teacher cries, dissolving into laughter and then tears before inviting him inside.

The 54-second video went viral last year with more than 2.7 million views. Michael Lacey — who did 21 years in Indiana prisons and now posts under the username Comrade Sinque — went on to become one of the top creators in the niche realm of prison TikTok, where people who did time tell the rest of the world what it’s like and put faces to the concept of mass incarceration.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/prison-tiktok-influencers-rcna23090
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I didn't know where to put this, but Media finally seemed obvious. I'm more of a podcast person myself, listening while I do other things, but TikTok apparently has a LOT