He hadn't planned anything, imagined nothing.
He just wanted to have fun and, most importantly, "kill time" during the first lockdown last spring.
But when you measure 2.22 m, that you are officially the largest French basketball player by size, you do not go unnoticed.
Whether in the street, where heads inevitably rise and turn around, and even on social networks.
In recent weeks, Vincent Pourchot has therefore become a real phenomenon on Tik Tok, an application specializing in video sharing which is a hit with adolescents and young adults.
"It was a team partner who told me about it, at the beginning I was not too hot but I quickly got caught up in the game, it's fun," smiles the pivot of Tours (National 1, ie the 3rd hexagonal level).
He doesn't regret it.
A year almost to the day after his first video - "March 29, 2020" - he already has more than a million subscribers on Tik Tok.
A community that continues to grow.
More than orange ball stars like LeBron James or Tony Parker.
"I must have found it hard to imagine what that represents," he breathes.
I thought it would take me at least 10 years to reach 10,000 subscribers… ”His notoriety has largely gone beyond the simple circle of French basketball, which has known his name for ten years.
Former great hope of the tricolor basketball, he evolved in particular as a youngster with Rudy Gobert (whom he exceeded by a head) and Evan Fournier, who now play in the NBA, and was vice-champion of Europe U20 and U18.
But this sport is not the reason for its sudden popularity.
Vincent Pourchot already has more than a million subscribers on Tik Tok.
DR GENESLAY Laurent
If in the early days the 29-year-old mainly enjoyed parodying passages from films and performing a few dance steps in front of the camera of his phone, he saw his "fan base" grow when he began to put in scene "with humor" his life as a giant.
His everyday life as an extraordinary man where nothing is suited to his size, neither in transport nor in his 50 m2 two-room apartment on the banks of the Cher.
Even hassle to get dressed.
In France, clothing in 5XL is made for fat and imposing people, not tall.
Fortunately her mother, a seamstress, can readjust them to her measure.
“One day I made a very simple video at home.
I post the video at 11pm as usual and the next morning my phone is hot.
I see I have 200,000 notifications on Tik Tok.
My phone was overheating and I was shocked.
I did not understand.
"
A beautiful story and an atypical romance
The amazement passed, he continued on this theme and saw the subscriptions multiply exponentially.
He sets up regular meetings with his followers.
One autumn evening, during a live, he meets Vanessa.
"Everyone asked me about my size but she put a message on the thread where she said that we could talk about something other than my size, remembers Vincent, currently in rehabilitation with a ruptured ligaments. crossed in November.
Then we exchanged, there was a feeling.
After a few weeks she came to see me in Tours.
The young Belgian, of Italian and Spanish origins, has become his companion.
“I didn't know him before I met him, I thought he played basketball like my brother plays soccer,” she smiles.
A beautiful story and an atypical romance because the young woman of 30 is… 1.57 m tall.
That is 65 less than her lover.
A peculiarity that she did not assume at first.
"The first time I saw it I was not aware of what it was like to measure 2.22 m," says the animation and events manager in tourism.
I am not Mimie Mathy
(sic.)
….
I like to put on heels but I only gain a few inches.
At first I didn't dare go out with him in the street.
I felt the eyes of the people, their judgment.
It was Vincent who reassured me.
It is also he who convinces her to "post" videos of their happiness and this difference in… sizes.
The two lovebirds quickly ignite the network.
“We made a video that reached 70 million views,” says Vincent.
I was used to videos with 7, 8 or 10 million views, but it's true that 70 million is more than the French population.
The worst part is that it's a video made in 30 seconds where we are just seen both.
The video was picked up by broadcasts in 12 countries, from China to Portugal via Japan, Spain, Russia….
If there is "a lot of benevolence and little mockery" in the comments, some do not hide a certain curiosity ... unhealthy.
The couple are not immune to questions about their sexuality.
"It's voyeurism", slaps Vanessa who was forced to join the Ardèche recently for her work.
"There is no reason to be ashamed to be the way we are"
If their relationship is now over, "the basketball player of Tik Tok", his nickname, does not intend to stop his publications.
He even takes advantage of this forum to reassure young people who feel bad about themselves.
“Maybe I can serve as an example for a lot of people who are self-conscious about their size.
My videos help them to accept their physique, some have taken up basketball.
Parents write to me too.
There is no reason to be ashamed of being the way we are.
"
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If he assures that his life has not changed - he always sleeps in his too small bed and rides in a Golf 8 sportsvan - he was able to discuss with artists or athletes for future projects.
He was also contacted by TV and radio broadcasts.
"I want to go on shows but I don't want to sound like a beast.
My difference is a strength, not a handicap.
I have two arms, two legs and a head like everyone else, I just have to adapt.
Personally, I have never suffered from my height.
Basketball helped me too.
People don't look the same when I walk down the street or when I play basketball.
Tik Tok is to pass the time.
Even if I hope to reach 1.5 million subscribers to be in the top 100 in France, my priority remains basketball.
I work like crazy to come back.
We'll see what happens after my career.
We have probably not finished hearing about Vincent Pourchot.