Griffin Maxwell Brooks
{{Short description|American college diver, TikTok influencer, and socialite}}
{{Excessive citations|date=February 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Griffin Maxwell Brooks
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2000|12|08}}
| birth_place = Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
| education = Princeton University
| occupation = College diver, TikTok influencer, socialite
| years_active = 2020–present
| employer = Susanne Bartsch
| known_for = {{plainlist|
- College athletics at Princeton
- TikTok content surrounding comedy, fashion, and social justice
- Nightlife producer and socialite with Susanne Bartsch }}
| website = {{URL| https://beacons.ai/griffinmaxwellbrooks}}
| module = {{Infobox TikTok personality|embed=yes|followers=1.2M|likes=91.7M|page_display_name=GMB|page=griffinmaxwellbrooks|stats_update=March 26, 2023}}
}}
Griffin Maxwell Brooks (born December 8,{{Cite tweet|number=1468670973499093001|user=GriffinMaxwellB|title=@Grindr and @NICKIMINAJ It's my bday too smh 💃|author=Griffin Maxwell Brooks|date=Dec 8, 2021|access-date=March 18, 2023}} 2000) is an American college diver, TikTok influencer, and self-described "digital club kid" and socialite.{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Ernesto |date=2022-05-19 |title=Meet @GriffinMaxwellBrooks, TikTok's Favorite Party Girl |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/meet-maxwellgriffinbrooks-tiktok-favorite-party-girl |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023323/https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/meet-maxwellgriffinbrooks-tiktok-favorite-party-girl |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Donovan |first=Joshua |date=2022-05-09 |title=The Yassification Of Sport – Griffin Maxwell Brooks Is The Queer Princeton Diver Redefining Being A Jock |url=https://www.dnamagazine.com.au/the-yassification-of-sport-griffin-maxwell-brooks-is-the-queer-princeton-diver-redefining-being-a-jock/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=DNA |language=en-AU |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023321/https://www.dnamagazine.com.au/the-yassification-of-sport-griffin-maxwell-brooks-is-the-queer-princeton-diver-redefining-being-a-jock/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Kagan |first=Sam |date=April 22, 2022 |title=In a Manhattan nightclub, Griffin Maxwell Brooks comes alive |url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2022/04/queer-princeton-diving-griffin-maxwell-brooks-susanne-bartsch |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=The Daily Princetonian |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221024827/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2022/04/queer-princeton-diving-griffin-maxwell-brooks-susanne-bartsch |url-status=live }} A Division I former diver and engineering graduate from Princeton University, they{{Efn|Brooks identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.}} are known for TikTok videos focusing on comedy, fashion, and social justice through an LGBT lens,{{Cite web |last=Reimer |first=Alex |date=2022-05-03 |title=This queer Princeton diver is an NYC club kid and TikTok sensation |url=https://www.outsports.com/2022/5/3/23055530/griffin-maxwell-brooks-tiktok-princeton-diving-queer |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Outsports |language=en |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023323/https://www.outsports.com/2022/5/3/23055530/griffin-maxwell-brooks-tiktok-princeton-diving-queer |url-status=live }} and as a figure in New York City nightlife, including working with event producer Susanne Bartsch. On TikTok, they have over one million followers and have been credited, along with Chrissy Chlapecka, as a key figure of "BimboTok", an online community seeking to reclaim the bimbo stereotype in a leftist and Gen Z fashion.{{Cite web |last=Stall-Paquet |first=Caitlin |date=Dec 15, 2022 |title=The Year of the Bimbo |url=http://www.ellecanada.com/culture/society/bimbocore-trend |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Elle Canada |language=en |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023328/https://www.ellecanada.com/culture/society/bimbocore-trend |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Richards |first1=Arielle |date=2 February 2022 |title=Bimbofication Is Taking Over. What Does That Mean for You? |work=VICE |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/4aw4kd/bimbofication-is-taking-over-what-does-that-mean-for-you |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306073819/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4aw4kd/bimbofication-is-taking-over-what-does-that-mean-for-you |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=Lucy |date=15 March 2022 |title=Bimbofication is the empowering new trend that's reclaiming the power of hyper-femininity |work=Glamour UK |url=https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/bimbofication |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108175519/https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/bimbofication |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Sinclair |first1=Leah |date=9 March 2022 |title=Bimbofication: The TikTok trend focusing on self care |url=https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/y2k-bimbo-aesthetic-self-love-tiktok/632635 |website=Stylist |language=en |access-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325144812/https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/y2k-bimbo-aesthetic-self-love-tiktok/632635 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Haigney |first1=Sophie |date=15 June 2022 |title=Opinion: Meet the Self-Described 'Bimbos' of TikTok |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/opinion/bimbo-tiktok-feminism.html |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322180227/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/opinion/bimbo-tiktok-feminism.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Dickson |first=E. J. |date=23 November 2020 |title=The Bimbo Is Back. Like, for Real! |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bimbo-reclaim-tiktok-gen-z-1092253/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=2023-01-19 |archive-date=September 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923062326/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bimbo-reclaim-tiktok-gen-z-1092253/ |url-status=live }}
Early life
Brooks grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, a community they have described as "semi-conservative". They are Jewish{{Cite twitter|number=1574085495793090560|user=@GriffinMaxwellB|title=Tiktok finding out I'm Jewish was such a weird moment of validation but also "oh you're Jewish! I love that, suddenly my unwarranted hatred for you is gone" like maybe unwarranted hatred should be challenged in general? Lol|author=Griffin Maxwell Brooks|date=Sep 25, 2022|access-date=Mar 26, 2023}} and were raised by atheist parents.{{Cite tweet|number=1378383075307061249|user=GriffinMaxwellB|title=I love Easter bc growing up as a child of previously-Jewish atheists meant I would go to Six Flags every year Easter and not have to wait in lines because everyone was at church that day|author=Griffin Maxwell Brooks|date=Apr 3, 2021|access-date=Mar 26, 2023}} Brooks experienced homophobia both at home and at school and viewed diving as a respite from the loneliness of growing up queer in such an environment. They matriculated at Union County Magnet High School, a small application-based public school for STEM students, where they first studied engineering.
Career
= College athletics and study =
As a student at Princeton University, Brooks was a diver with the Princeton Tigers varsity men's diving team.{{Cite web |title=Griffin Brooks - Men's Swimming and Diving |url=https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/griffin-brooks/18823 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Princeton University Athletics |language=en |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023323/https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/griffin-brooks/18823 |url-status=live }} During the 2019–2020 season, they advanced to the final on both the one-meter and three-meter dives at the Ivy League Championships, finishing seventh on the one-meter with a score of 292.25 and 11th on the three-meter with a score of 323.10. They also had high scores of 226.40 on the 10m dive at Princeton's Big Al Invitational; 327.68 on the one-meter against the Villanova Wildcats; and 369.32 on the three-meter against the Columbia Lions.{{Cite web |title=Griffin Brooks |url=https://swimcloud.com/swimmer/675128 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Swimcloud |date=23 February 2022 |language=en |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222012255/https://www.swimcloud.com/swimmer/675128/ |url-status=live }} After missing the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they returned for the 2021–22 season, in which they scored a season high of 336.83 points on the one-meter against the Navy Midshipmen, and 361.05 on the 3m in a tri-meet against the Brown Bears and the Dartmouth Big Green. They once again advanced to the finals of the Ivy League Championships, with the Tigers placing second behind the Harvard Crimson and Brooks placing fourth with a 355.55 score on the three-meter dive and 7th with a 292.95 score on the one-meter.{{Cite web |date=Feb 26, 2022 |title=Raunak Khosla Honored as High Point Swimmer, Tigers Finish Second at Ivy Championships |url=https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/2/26/mens-swimming-and-diving-raunak-khosla-honored-as-high-point-swimmer-tigers-finish-second-at-ivy-championships.aspx |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Princeton University Athletics |language=en |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319054627/https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/2/26/mens-swimming-and-diving-raunak-khosla-honored-as-high-point-swimmer-tigers-finish-second-at-ivy-championships.aspx |url-status=live }} They were also one of five divers to represent Princeton at the 2022 NCAA Zone A Championships, placing 15th on both the one-meter and three-meter events (scoring 572.90 and 634.40 respectively).{{Cite web |date=March 7, 2022 |title=Colten Young Qualifies for NCAA Championships on 3-Meter |url=https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/3/7/mens-swimming-and-diving-colten-young-qualifies-for-ncaa-championships-on-3-meter.aspx |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Princeton University Athletics |language=en |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319054624/https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/3/7/mens-swimming-and-diving-colten-young-qualifies-for-ncaa-championships-on-3-meter.aspx |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2022 |title=Men's Divers Compete on 1-Meter at NCAA Zone A Championships |url=https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/3/8/mens-swimming-and-diving-mens-divers-compete-on-1-meter-at-ncaa-zone-a-championships.aspx |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Princeton University Athletics |language=en |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319054628/https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2022/3/8/mens-swimming-and-diving-mens-divers-compete-on-1-meter-at-ncaa-zone-a-championships.aspx |url-status=live }}
Brooks has been noted for their open queerness and gender non-conformity within college sports, such as their Princeton Athletics headshot during the 2021–22 season showing them with black eyeliner, a pearl necklace, earrings, and pink-streaked hair. DNA wrote of Brooks, "By way of being a proud queer person, they are carving a very public stance against traditional notions of being an athlete." While Brooks has noted that teammates are largely supportive of their identity, they have criticized their treatment by opposing teams as well as the general state of queer acceptance at Princeton, saying in a December 2021 TikTok that "as a queer, and gender nonconforming person, I often feel unvalued, unwelcome, and sometimes unsafe here at Princeton University." They expressed support for fellow trans Division I swimmer Lia Thomas during the public debate her success sparked.{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Michael |date=2022-05-29 |title=What Lia Thomas Could Mean for Women's Elite Sports |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/us/lia-thomas-women-sports.html |access-date=2023-04-14 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530200015/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/us/lia-thomas-women-sports.html |url-status=live }}
Outside of diving, Brooks graduated with a mechanical and aerospace engineering major in 2023. They have spoken of their commitment to pursuing an engineering career, saying "I might do, you know, 10 years of being a socialite and then I’m like ‘okay, time to be an engineer.'"
= TikTok =
Brooks gained popularity on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by May 2022 they had over 1 million followers on the platform. Their content focuses on comedy, fashion, and social justice through an LGBT lens, including outfit of the day videos, humorous monologues, and documenting of their experiences as a college student and nightlife figure. Outsports described their content as "an effervescent collection of comedic relief, bold fashion choices and social justice stands", while The Daily Princetonian noted their "affirmational positivity, tongue-in-cheek confidence, and fiercely independent expression" and called them "a digital flagbearer for Gen Z’s queer community." Brooks, who self-identifies as a "bimbo", has been credited alongside Chrissy Chlapecka as a leading figure in "BimboTok", a TikTok community reclaiming the archetype in a queer and anti-capitalist context.
In one February 6, 2022 TikTok, Brooks gave a humorous "marketing pitch" to "yassify" the racing company NASCAR, suggesting the name "YASCAR". In response, the company chose to partner with Brooks for Pride Month on a YASCAR marketing campaign and line of merchandise promoting LGBTQ acceptance.{{Cite web |last=Reimer |first=Alex |date=2022-06-22 |title=How this queer diver's viral TikTok made NASCAR gayer than ever |url=https://www.outsports.com/2022/6/22/23178844/griffin-maxwell-brooks-yascar-nascar-tik-tok |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Outsports |language=en |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023319/https://www.outsports.com/2022/6/22/23178844/griffin-maxwell-brooks-yascar-nascar-tik-tok |url-status=live }} Discussing the campaign with Outsports, Brooks said, “In the midst of corporate pride being a point of fair criticism, it was sort of refreshing to have a point of contact with queer people at a really big company whose fanbase is typically not that embracive of queer people."
= Nightlife and fashion =
A self-described socialite and "digital club kid", Brooks is a figure in New York City's nightlife and fashion scene. Since summer 2021, they have worked with event producer Susanne Bartsch, including co-hosting events with her, making regular appearances at her Manhattan parties, and running her TikTok account. They are known for their eccentric fashion sense, which they have described as "eclectic, flashy, over the top [...] Some might say camp."
Brooks began clubbing after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, beginning with an anniversary party for Lady Gaga's Born This Way album where they wore a Gaga-inspired look. These parties also marked Brooks' first in-person interactions with their TikTok fans, which they described as "pivotal for me. I had never been in a space like that where the idea of standing out was celebrated”. In May 2022 they attended the Met Gala afterparty, where they were noticed by musician Anderson .Paak. In September, Brooks made their New York Fashion Week debut at the Vogue World show wearing a Stella McCartney/[https://mylo-unleather.com/ Mylo] outfit, where they introduced themselves to Vogue editor Anna Wintour.{{Cite web |last=Eddy |first=Kayla |date=2022-10-06 |title=Looking Back On NYFW |url=https://thedtmag.com/2022/10/looking-back-on-nyfw/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=DOWNTOWN MAGAZINE |language=en-US |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222012254/https://thedtmag.com/2022/10/looking-back-on-nyfw/ |url-status=live }} That same month, Brooks attended the Coach x VOGUE World afterparty atop The Standard, also attended by Lil Nas X, Ansel Elgort, Caroline Trentini, Jeremy O. Harris, and Stuart Vevers; Brooks was photographed with fellow TikToker Davis Burleson.{{Cite web |last=Ramzi |first=Lilah |date=2022-09-13 |title=Lil Nas X Ended His Night at the Coach x VOGUE World After-Party |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/vogue-world-after-party-2022 |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Vogue |language=en-US |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023320/https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/vogue-world-after-party-2022 |url-status=live }} In November, they attended the Humane Society's To The Rescue! gala wearing a dress from sustainable fashion designer Collina Strada; the event was hosted by Andy Cohen at Cipriani 42nd Street, with other attendees including Justin Theroux, Amy Sedaris, and Cory Booker.{{Cite web |last=Colyar |first=Brock |date=2022-11-21 |title=It's Gala Season, You Animals! |url=https://www.thecut.com/2022/11/inside-the-humane-societys-2022-to-the-rescue-gala.html |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=The Cut |language=en-us |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023319/https://www.thecut.com/2022/11/inside-the-humane-societys-2022-to-the-rescue-gala.html |url-status=live }}
Personal life
Brooks identifies as non-binary, gay, genderfluid, and transfeminine and uses they/them pronouns.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Katie |date=2022-03-19 |title=Explained: Science entangled in transgender athlete debate |url=https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/sports/researcher-explains-transgender-athlete-debate/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=NewsNation |language=en-US |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221023319/https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/sports/researcher-explains-transgender-athlete-debate/ |url-status=live }}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://griffinmaxwellbrooks.com/}}
- [https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/griffin-brooks/18823 Griffin Maxwell Brooks] on Princeton Tigers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Griffin Maxwell}}
Category:People from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
Category:Princeton Tigers men's swimmers
Category:Jewish American swimmers
Category:American anti-capitalists
Category:American non-binary sportspeople