The saying that it’s never too late for anything as long as you’re still above ground really holds true, as proven by an 84-year-old Japanese grandfather who became an Instagram modeling sensation thanks to his grandson dressing him up in some high-fashion outfits.
It all started last month when Naoya Kudo went back home to Akita Prefecture in Japan for the Golden Week holiday. Despite the workaholic reputation of the Japanese, a lot of them look forward to the Golden Week because it’s a series of holidays for one whole week and gives a chance for people to reunite with family and relatives.
But Kudo found himself with a lot of free time on his hands so he decided to dress up his 84-year-old granddad, Tetsuya, with some of his more fashionable clothes. The old man was up for that and Kudo shared the pictures on Twitter. The social media attention that followed was something they didn’t anticipate.
Kudo explained that they both chose locations where Tetsuya had a history with. These included beaches around the family home, fields as well as the middle school where Tetsuya, who is a former chemistry teacher, was also the school’s principal.
“He was surprisingly enthusiastic about it,” Kudo said. “He gave a lot of suggestions about where to shoot and other things.”
He added: “The rest of the family went wild when they first saw him dressed up.
“It was quite a transformation to see my rural grandpa, who has no interest in fashion, in outfits he would never consider wearing on his own.
“However, things like my grandpa’s long johns and muscle pain patches he forgot to remove added a nice personal touch.”
The popularity of his grandpa’s photos led Kudo to create an Instagram account for Tetsuya, which has already gained more than 45,000 followers. Kudo was taken aback by how quickly his granddad got popular. In a single day, the account managed to get as much as 10,000 followers.
Since there is a lot more content featuring Tetsuya, Kudo will continue the project for the foreseeable future. He is also the one who runs the Instagram account as his granddad is not social media-savvy. Eventually, Kudo wants to arrange an album or photo exhibition for Tetsuya.
“It would be nice if we could get some of his former students to show up as well,” he added.
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