From ABC to 123, Trini alphabet guy goes viral

IF you have been on Facebook lately you may have seen one of Stephon Felmine's alphabet videos in which he introduces a letter of the alphabet, gives a local word that begins with the letter, defines the word and then demonstrates its use in a comedic way. The simple and short videos have more than a 100,000 views and turned Felmine into an internet sensation.

Felmine, an economics teacher at Morvant Laventille Secondary school, told Newsday he enjoys making comedic videos and posting them on social media. He said while he was not a funny kid growing up, when he was with his friends he had no filter.

"You know when you don’t have a cover for your mouth?"

He has been posting videos on Facebook and Instagram for some time and his videos already have 22,000 followers. He played around with new Tik Tok app during the covid19 pandemic and launched his alphabet series on this platform.

He said the idea was inspired by Sesame Street and a Guyanese Tik Tokker who had started a Guyanese alphabet series.

"I messaged him and told him I really liked it, and that I wanted to do a Trini version. But he never responded."

Felmine said he credited the Tik Tokker when he did his first letter, A, and then continued with the rest of the alphabet. When the series "blew up" the Tik Tokker and his fans began bashing him publicly and accusing him of stealing the idea. The Guyanese Tik Tokker even contacted him via e-mail and threaten to have his profile taken down. Felmine said he placed everything in the hands of his lawyer and continued with his comedic alphabet, which went from "A" for "ah" to "Z" for "zog up".

He said from first video multiple pages began sharing it and he was really surprised the series blew up so quickly.

"People just attracted to it because it made them feel Trini. Doing these videos reignited 'Trininess' in a sense. And this caused it to blow up."

He said while the words are commonly used there is a lack of documentation, and the video medium was very effective in this tech era.

"People said it was the best online class they had. They can’t go anywhere but they can log on and laugh and learn."

His page was inundated with friend requests and had to set up a separate public account which is managed by his social media team. The series also led to Felmine being featured in ten advertisements including for Carib, Standard and Value Optical.

"People would recognise me as I go out. And people would message and inbox me. A lot of positive vibes. It was overwhelming. There were one or two 'hates' but 98 per cent was positive feedback."

Felmine explained that he wanted the series to be funny but also cultural education by bringing back some of these colloquial words and phrases.

"Do not be ashamed of where you come from. You can learn to speak 'properly' but you need to know where you come from. It makes you who you are and you shouldn't be ashamed of it. It is not 'broken English' but part of the colloquial tongue. You should be proud of where you come from, your parents and your history."

He said the words were selected after a meeting with his team – his mother, brother and cousins. They would discuss the words, do internet research and decide which was the funniest.

"They are behind the scenes. I'm in front the camera."

The videos were filmed at his home in New Grant and the shoot would take about five to ten minutes, even though he made mistakes sometimes. He included some of them in a blooper reel.

Felmine said he knew all of the words used in the series and his favourite was "eh heh" meaning "really."

"Nowhere else in the world would people answer you 'eh heh.' I find it real Trini. There are also different sound variations which indicate different kinds of 'why.'"

He said even his students like the idea and would bring it up during Zoom sessions.

Felmine has already launched his new number series and said his fan can count on him to continue delivering entertaining content.

Find him on Facebook at @Stephon23Official, and on Tik Tok and Instagram @stephon23.