Known by his handle Chef Trillie, Austin, a 24-year-old North Miami resident, has become a Miami sports social media sensation with his witty, humorous, and sometimes newsworthy content on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Since joining Twitter in 2018, he's amassed 30,000 followers, earning a reputation as a fans' fan, known for, yes, tweeting, but more so for his impulse to guide the conversation around any and every local sports story.
"It's definitely been a gradual thing," Trillie says of the rise of his following as he recalls users' skepticism about his success, "Some call me an industry plant, and some think I bought followers."
Chef Trillie has become a Marlins Man-esque omnipresence at local sporting events, so much so that local media personalities have asked him for pictures as proof of encounter, not the other way around. That fact was on display as Chef Trillie was on hand for Lionel Messi's Inter Miami debut and ran into Local 10 sports anchor Clay Ferraro.
From behind-the-bench sightings of "Chef" to images of him at Dolphins games, spotting Trillie at a Miami sports event has become a localized game of "Where's Waldo."
A few weeks ago, he posted a picture from above a dugout at a Marlins game in Little Havana and just a few hours later was spotted in the front rows of an Inter Miami soccer game in Fort Lauderdale, even making a cameo on Messi's Instagram.
Reluctant to reveal the secret sauce to how he scores choice seats that any A-list celebrity would be happy putting their ass in, he quips that it's all a social media sleight of hand, "I walk down to sneak a pic until security forces me back to the nosebleeds."I ran into a bigger celeb https://t.co/jR5uHLdh7u pic.twitter.com/gZ8ZsIpgKO
— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) July 22, 2023
Beyond his prolific attendance at games, Chef Trillie is also involved in various camps and charity events. This month, he shared photos of himself standing with Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith on the court at Heat center Bam Adebayo's August 5 SLAM! Miami basketball clinic.
"I get invited to most events, and I always try to give back," he says. "I hope to make it big one day to give back to my community where I grew up."
Chef Trillie says he recently ran into Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at a celebrity softball tournament, a surreal interaction cemented him as Trillie's favorite local athlete.📸: @AaronVisions pic.twitter.com/9Lj2HL1zEJ
— Austin (@ChefTrillie) August 7, 2023
"I struck out at a softball game (how sad), and he gave me a pep talk," Trillie says. "He's a real cool dude. Really humble."
While Chef Trillie's forte is witty Twitter content, he's also ventured into Twitter Spaces, hosting impromptu discussions. He had Highsmith and Miami Heat teammate Tyler Herro as guests, generating local and national buzz. With his content gaining popularity, he stresses that he isn't looking to make a hard break into the sports journalism world.😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/RWKzULn0h4
— Austin (@ChefTrillie) July 27, 2023
"I don't view myself as a content creator. As I said, I just am tweeting. These Twitter Spaces I do are always on the fly, and I really only do it for the fanbase," Trillie insists.
Asked about the recent trade speculations involving Damian Lillard potentially joining the Miami Heat, his hot take on the evolving and often highly tense situation is that business is business, even when it comes to his newfound friendship with Herro.
"People think I don't want the Heat to trade Herro for Dame because we're 'cool' now after his appearance on my Spaces, but it's a business. He understands that he most likely will be in the trade."
Reflecting on how social media has changed the sports landscape and how fans consume news and sports-related content, Chef concedes the old way of interacting with traditional media outlets is long gone and that anyone can be part of the story while also reporting on it.
"Social media definitely gave everyone a voice, including myself," Trillie says. "But I definitely won't let clout get to me."
