Irvin Randle is not your grandmother’s second grade math teacher. But he may be grandma’s secret crush.
A grandfather, married almost four decades, 63-years-old … nothing in Irvin Randle’s profile screams style influencer. But, as the Houston educator will tell you, numbers don’t lie.
“Instagram it’s about 1.1 million (followers),” he told CBS Mornings recently. “TikTok is about 1.7 million.”
Most of them are half his age. Even his students, ages 7 and 8, know Mr. Randle is fly.
“They do watch me carefully,” he said. “‘Hey Mr. Randle, are those new tennis shoes you have on? Is that a new watch?’ “
“I’ve been dressing like this all my life,” he told CBS. A few years ago, he started posting photos of himself on social media. On June 29, 2016, a Twitter user named @_magamedze shared four of Randle’s photos under the hashtag #MrStealYourGrandma. And just like that, a 55-year-old star was born.
The post was retweeted more than 10,000 times. Within a month he was featured in People and Cosmopolitan magazines. TMZ aired a segment on Randle.
Now, brands pay him to wear their clothes. He made $20,000 for a series of posts on Amazon showing Randle wearing the company’s V-neck T-shirts.
“Something in me turns on and I have a swagger in me that comes out like a beast,” he said.
Randle now ranks as one of the most successful seniors on social media, a “grandfluencer,” according to The New York Times, “sharing a new vision for what it means to live meaningfully with age.”
But he grew tired of being the only Black male “grandfluencer”, so he decided to pay it forward by founding the Silverfox Squad, a group of fashion-forward senior citizens.
Many have suggested he quit his day job. He certainly doesn’t need the money; he can earn half a year’s salary from one sponsored post on Instagram.
“I was like, ‘No, I can’t, because that keeps my mind going,’ ” Randle said in a 2021 profile in Texas Monthy. “Engaging these children and helping them to learn and open up their minds about the world keeps me sane.”
Not surprisingly, he gets plenty of attention from the mothers (and some fathers) of his students.
During the pandemic, when he taught his students virtually, Randle said, “I’d get online and the mom would be there, sitting up all perky, and I’d have to be like, ‘Ma’am, please turn the camera on your son.’ ”
Randle has become more than a style icon. For men of a certain age, he’s become an inspiration.
“Just because you’re over 50 doesn’t mean the world is over for you,” he said. “You can dress well. You don’t have to wear the pawpaw clothes. You can still be a trendy, swaggy guy and have that confidence.”
Randle is especially bullish on hats. He owns nearly 100 of them.
“I think it just dignifies a man,” he said. “Shows that you’re a gentleman.”
