Laughing and fitness are good for the body. So, why not figure out a way how to use them together? That’s exactly what Tom Filline ’09 has done thanks to his education, his creativity, and a little thing called TikTok.
Filline’s comedic career began way before TikTok or any other social media platform. The physical education major started getting laughs at a young age as a member of his high school’s improv team. While he loved to make people smile, he found another passion, fitness, and exercise, when he came to Illinois State University.
After graduating with his bachelor’s, Filline earned a master’s and became a physical education (PE) teacher for Chicago Public Schools. While learning the ropes as an educator, he continued to master his craft as a comedian in his off time. So much so, he trained at Second City, iO Chicago, and the Annoyance Theater.
Filline was able to jump-start his stand-up comedy career in 2016 and has since headlined many comedy shows at places such as Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago. “I can vent about my job and get paid for it … an ideal scenario there,” Filline said.
Combining his crafts came during a time when Filline was teaching at a “turnaround school” in Chicago. His administrators preached toxic traits to the educators which Filline picked up on himself. He received high marks from his principal, but he didn’t feel right being tough on his students.
“They filled our heads with a lot of nonsense about teaching in tough neighborhoods. Sometimes we were told not to smile until a certain point in the year,” Filline said. “I didn’t feel right about it, I just felt constantly I was being a jerk.” At this point in his life, the persona of the “Angry Gym Teacher” was created.
For Filline, content creation wasn’t a thing for educators like himself. “When I first started in education, there was no such thing as TikTok teachers. Teachers had their own personal social media pages, and it stayed that way,” he said.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and educators had to work quickly to find new ways to instruct students in remote settings, too. While brainstorming ways to make virtual learning more efficient and fun for his students, Filline came up with the idea to produce the videos ahead of time and then play them for his students on Zoom. “I discovered that it was a lot easier and a lot more efficient to film the videos ahead of time,” Filline said. He then began to produce these videos consistently which led him to gain a new skill—knowing how to edit.
Filline’s started dabbling in online comedy with Facebook in 2020, too. In his first video post, Filline played a host of different students and poked fun at all the ridiculous things they are doing on Zoom. The video went viral on Facebook, opening a door to different opportunities for the funny teacher.
After hearing reviews from his support system, he decided to post that same video on TikTok. While he didn’t garner the same success, Filline learned about algorithms and how different each platform functions. “I played with different niches,” Filline said.
He eventually found his footing and the “Angry Gym Teacher” now builds confidence in fitness through teaching and builds a following of laughter with over 190,000 TikTok followers, 6.8 million likes, and 115,000 Instagram followers.
A prime example of a viral TiKTok is Filline’s Teaching Phys Ed: High School vs. Elementary School. Here he compares the different ways high school and elementary students appreciate PE class. He pokes fun at his high school students who have plenty of excuses on why they can’t participate in class activities like capture the flag or freeze tag. “I can’t crease my shoes.” “My stomach hurts.” On the other hand, the elementary students were extremely happy to just run laps.
Filline has taken his talent and stepped up into the advertising world, producing promotional content for companies like TBS Network, Crocs, and Bastion. He recently completed the Teachers Do Stand Up Tour, joining fellow educators as a part of a rotating lineup of teacher comics nationwide.
Make sure to get a laugh in today and check out Filline on any social media platform with the handle @angrygymteacher.
