Three years ago, Austin Lawrence was a computer science graduate addicted to online gaming and Marlboro Reds.
Now, he's a “Vape God” — an Instagram star who can manipulate e-cigarette smoke to create tornadoes, intricate swirls, and even triangles with just a puff of smoke and a few flicks of his wrist.
The 21-year-old Jersey native has become so famous that rapper Drake noticed him and invited him to his LA mansion to learn vape tricks .
“I was like, okay, okay?” Lawrence told GQ.
Lawrence’s most recent Instagram video has been viewed 1.4 million times. He turned to vaping to kick his smoking habit and successfully quit in 2014.
Applying all the methods and focused attitude that comes from being a computer science major—or an avid gamer—he began teaching himself basic vape tricks.
Today, Lawrence has dropped out of computer science to open his own vape shop — New Brunswick's Vertigo Vaporium — and create impressive videos on Instagram.
It's a full-time job, he says, starting with three to four hours of vape trick practice every morning before heading to the store.
“I’m just curious, trying new things, trying crazy things,” he said. “And every night, I’ll do something beautiful and cool for people to watch.”
Since his first post in January 2014 – a photo of him blowing out his first clumsy jellyfish – his talent has grown rapidly.
Now he can create intricate lassos, smoke rings that intertwine in rows in the air.
He can release rows of “jellyfish” at once like he is firing a machine gun.
He can create spiraling columns of smoke that cling to the tabletop with just his fingers.
You can create triangles from smoke by “pushing” air around the smoke rings until they form a cube.
His talent caught the attention of rapper Drake, who befriended Lawrence via Instagram messages after sharing a Vape God vape trick video.
Rapper Drake took notice and welcomed Lawrence to his mansion to learn vape tricks
“He was still using shisha at the time,” Lawrence said. “He was like, ‘I've never seen that machine you use.’”
“Then he said, ‘Hey, can you get me a vape?’ I said, ‘I'll get you a starter kit or something.'”
The rapper, who is worth an estimated $60 million, said, okay, and took Lawrence to his LA mansion to teach him how to vape properly.
“I don't even know how to describe it,” Lawrence said of Drake's mansion. “It doesn't look like a house to me! It's the craziest mansion I've ever seen. Guaranteed.”
Lawrence appeared on Drake's Instagram in a vape trick video posted on January 16.
Drake's a pretty good trickster, Lawrence said - It's unclear whether this is a genuine compliment from Vape God, or if the 21-year-old just wants to save face for his famous friend.
Article source: dailymail.co.uk
Author: James Wilkinson
Translator: The Vape Club
