Tongaat “aunty” Chantal Naidu a TikTok hit

Tongaat resident Chantal Naidu has carved a niche for herself on TikTok by simply being authentic.

It all started when she agreed to host former eThekwini deputy mayor Logie Naidoo for lunch for the popular Dala U Crew (DUC) social media group.

Little did Chantal know this would lead to more freelance work for DUC – a four-year collaboration.

In April last year she heeded the encouragement of the younger crowd at DUC to establish her own TikTok account.

Since then, she has attracted more than 65 900 followers and a massive 38 million views on her account @thatauntyfromtongaat.

Rejecting the idea of posting rehearsed material, she opted to be spontaneous and simply showcase her real life – comedy, family dynamics, dance, and even her medical journey and the impact of the floods.

Her content, she said, is a reflection of her diverse interests and experiences.

“I have never tried to use my TikTok fame to get freebies from anyone but recently I have been noticed a lot in public,” said Naidu.

Starting with just one video a week, she now shares snippets of her every day life. Her videos, beyond entertaining, have become a source of motivation for many.

Success, for her, is measured in the joy her content brings to others.

However, TikTok fame has its challenges, as Naidu faces trolling from fake and sometimes real accounts. Despite this, she maintains her commitment to respectful dialogue and difference of opinion.

But there is humour too. A photo of her dressed in a wedding dress on the side of the road in Durban once trended on social media, with people claiming it was a ghost.

It was said to be a woman killed in an accident on her wedding day and her ghost was now strolling along the road. Some even went as far as sharing actual encounters with the ghost.

“Hotshots Niteclub in Tongaat hosted its annual Halloween party with a best-dressed competition. I decided to enter as a corpse bride. On my way from the stylist, I stopped at Higginson Highway to take photos and videos.

It was not a ghost, just me dressed up as one,” laughed Naidu.

Away from the screen, she is a stay-at-home mom to three children and married for 26 years to her high school sweetheart.

Her husband’s offshore work often takes him away from home, so TikTok has become a creative outlet to fill the lonely moments, allowing her to connect with new people and make friends.

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