The brother of a popular TikToker has spoken about the family's painful loss after his body was found following a police appeal in Tameside. Michael Selwood, 35, was discovered at around 5pm on Sunday, July 19.
Tributes pour in
Hundreds of tributes poured in for Michael, known as Mikey to friends and family. The dad of four had amassed thousands of followers on TikTok, with videos centred around comedy, boxing and mental health awareness.
His younger brother, Aaron Burnham, 24, told the M.E.N about growing up with Michael. "He's always had the same sense of humour, even before TikTok," he said. "A lot of people know him for dressing up in women's clothes, I've got pictures years before he started TikTok where he's dressed up in women's lingerie for Christmas. He's always been the same."
Inspiration behind his social media
Aaron explained how Michael's seven-year-old son, Reggie, was the inspiration behind his social media presence. "It started off raising awareness about his son Reggie. His son's got cerebral palsy and I think that's how he got his following going on TikTok, bringing awareness around that."
"When he started getting on it, it shocked us a little bit but he just took to it so naturally. You could see when he was talking to it, he loved it. It was one of those things that helped keep his head straight. When he was going on there, he was very open about his struggle with drug addiction, he used to be involved in the wrong lifestyle."
"I think when he got into TikTok and when his son Reggie was born, it changed his mind set and outlook on life. He was more focused on spreading awareness on addiction, getting through it. He was very honest about that; I think he helped loads of people."
Charity climb in his memory
Dozens of tributes have poured in on social media since the news of his death. He had more than 21,000 followers on one of his TikTok pages and around 38,000 followers on another.
"I've had so many people message me saying how he used to talk to them," Aaron said. "I don't think we as a family realised the impact he had on other people until he passed. It's hard for us, especially my mum. It's hit my mum quite hard but she's dealing with it quite well."
To honour his memory, a group of Michael's friends and family are planning to climb Mount Snowdon in women's clothing. The challenge will take place on Friday October 16, Michael's 36th birthday. They are also raising money for men's mental health group, Andy's Man Club and disabled children's charity SCOPE.
Aaron told the M.E.N: "Instead of feeling down and sad, we're trying to turn a negative into a positive. Which is one of the main reasons for this fundraiser. He was always up for a laugh; he was always up for a joke. We don't want to sit there glooming about it. We want to try and do something positive with the social media platform that he has."
