 and on Instagram (1.6 million followers). Comical fish-eye footage of his own face and frequently tearful encounters with his favourite locomotives endeared him to millions who cleaved to his joyous abandon and unabashed passion. In defiance of trainspotting's unglamorous reputation, celebrities from Thierry Henry to Joe Jonas contributed cameos to Bourgeois's account. In January this year, despite no one quite knowing who he really was or where he had come from, Bourgeois fronted a North Face X Gucci campaign dressed as a train conductor. Even as we all laughed and smiled along with his infectious enthusiasm, the doubts lingered: was this Brady Bunch-style vision of comeliness with a penchant for slapstick for real? Having had the honour of spending an afternoon trainspotting with him at one of the UK's most iconic stations, the winter-sea-lashed Dawlish in Devon, yes he is. Well, sort of. England loves eccentrics, which explains why we took him to heart so quickly. We also love to cut our heroes down to size. Bourgeois, at 6ft 3in, had height to spare. When photos started circulating on Twitter of him looking cool and trendy as a teenager, in contrast to the dorkiness that had garnered him a following, questions started to be asked about his authenticity. Bourgeois was forced to address the furore on his social media accounts. 'It did get to me, people saying nasty things. Saying my lifelong passion was a mone){kind=link}
Francis Bourgeois is followed by millions for his goofy videos – but who is the man behind the camera?
You may well be familiar with the name Francis Bourgeois: his trainspotting videos are followed by millions. But the answer to the question “Who is he?” isn’t, unlike the trains he adores, so straightforward.
A trainspotter with a penchant for baggy old Missoni jumpers and Crockett & Jones loafers, Bourgeois arrived blue-eyed and bonny with an attention-grabbing whistle during lockdown. The videos of him chasing British Rail Class 43 trains while wearing a GoPro backwards on his head became a feelgood sensation on TikTok (where he has 2.6 million followers) and on Instagram (1.6 million followers). Comical fish-eye footage of his own face and frequently tearful encounters with his favourite locomotives endeared him to millions who cleaved to his joyous abandon and unabashed passion.
In defiance of trainspotting’s unglamorous reputation, celebrities from Thierry Henry to Joe Jonas contributed cameos to Bourgeois’s account. In January this year, despite no one quite knowing who he really was or where he had come from, Bourgeois fronted a North Face X Gucci campaign dressed as a train conductor.
Even as we all laughed and smiled along with his infectious enthusiasm, the doubts lingered: was this Brady Bunch-style vision of comeliness with a penchant for slapstick for real?