TikTok ban? SoCal Vault House kids keep influencing
A potential TikTok ban in the U.S. could mean the loss of a burgeoning and diverse economy for the app’s mostly young creators and influencers.
![LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 03: TicTok Influencers living at The Vault House in West Hollywood make a video at the house in West Hollywood Monday, August 3, 2020. If the Trump administration decides to ban TikTok, it will likely hurt a new creator economy that has sprung up in L.A. to cater to the app. There are more than 65 L.A.-based career creators who rely on TikTok for income through brand deals. The Vault House is one of nearly a dozen creator houses that sprung up in Southern California because of TikTok. These houses are meant to inspire influencers to collaborate together on their TikTok videos. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c8ca934/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3d%2F80%2Fb850dc6e49b7ba6284dec6e9dd4f%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-8-ajs.jpg)
TikTok influencers living at the Vault House in West Hollywood make a video on Monday. The popularity of the app has given rise to a new Hollywood industry. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![The exterior of the Vault House in West Hollywood.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b4e8744/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc6%2F81%2F69170c364d2499e312b0ae16f865%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-24-ajs.jpg)
The exterior of the Vault House, one of about a dozen in the L.A. area where TikTok video creators live together and cook up viral videos. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![The young Vault House residents.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d10cc5a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faf%2F04%2Ff8c064314c00bfc11f659043c51f%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-2-ajs.jpg)
Vault House occupants, from left: Mariano Castano, 17, Rave Vanias, 17, Keith Pichardo, 18, Malcom Suarez, 18, Jackson Krecioch, 22, Bryce Xavier, 18, Cayman Rhodes, 16, Addy Rae, 18, and Kiera Vanias, 19. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![Vault House residents collaborate on a video.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/885120a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2F38%2F43515289464dbf130620780183cb%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-15-ajs.jpg)
House residents collaborate on a video. The seven-bedroom home has more than 5,000 square feet of living space. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
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![Bryce Xavier, 18, practices singing in his room at the Vault House.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/931ba9e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2Fb8%2F3d9cc0a74375ba290b25c7413afc%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-19-ajs.jpg)
TikTok influencer Bryce Xavier, who is among other things a vocalist and violinist, practices singing in his room. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![The deck at the Vault House.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3d0c812/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2c%2F51%2F5f13d218434aa83132ca8701846f%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-22-ajs.jpg)
The deck at the Vault House. The fate of TikTok in the U.S. is in limbo after a threat by the Trump administration to ban the app. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![The Vault House residents on a couch at their West Hollywood abode.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e73b198/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3206+0+0/resize/1437x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F01%2Fe9797c8b404283e3da1c100478d0%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-27-ajs.jpg)
Malcom Suarez, left, Mariano Castano, Jackson Krecioch, Bryce Xavier, Keith Pichardo, Rave Vanias, Addy Rae, Cayman Rhodes and Kiera Vanias. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![A view of the pool at the Vault House.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5d0a883/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3c%2F39%2F04fec3d14614ba0294aa4f126f81%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-23-ajs.jpg)
A view of the pool at the modern West Hollywood abode. There’s also a rooftop deck and an interior courtyard with fake grass. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
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![House residents work on a 15-second TikTok video.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dc64e05/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffa%2F08%2F77ff3de94af7a5b2579621d666cd%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-13-ajs.jpg)
House residents work on a 15-second TikTok video. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
![Vault House residents relax on a couch.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/547fa79/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x3200+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9f%2F3b%2F7bd1edac430dbaefcc5a0e7338b6%2Fla-photos-1staff-586164-la-et-ct-the-vault-house-influencers-in-west-hollywood-26-ajs.jpg)
TikTok influencers make themselves at home in West Hollywood. Resident Bryce Xavier says TikTok’s community is “like no other. ... It would suck to lose that.” (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 34 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.