Riding The Wave With Instagram Superstar Liam Martin

By Portis Wasp 

If you haven’t heard of New Zealand teen Liam Martin, who Instagrams under the name @waverider_, then you’re in for a proper treat today. The 17-year-old has become an internet sensation, and rightly so, thanks to his beyond pics of himself dressed up as his favourite celebs. From Miley and Ariana Grande to Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Liam has parodied just about every one of our fave celebrity babes, and the results have left us in a permanent state of LOL. 

With over 1.6 million followers and celebrity fans including Iggy Azalea, Ed Sheeran and Tyra Banks, we couldn’t not get in touch with our new guilty pleasure...

MTV Style: Hey Liam! How are you?

Liam: I am great thank you! Yourself?

MTV Style: We are super thanks! Where did you get the idea to pay homage to pop culture’s finest in such a fun way?

Liam: Well I firstly dressed up as Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  People loved it and I thought... why not keep dressing up? It makes people laugh and it is something completely different from what most people do.

MTV Style: Could you ever have imagined you’d now have well over a million followers, refreshing their Instagram feeds, in the hope that you’ve posted a new iconic selfie?

Liam: No way... The first thing I do every morning is wake up and check my Instagram just to make sure it is real. 

MTV Style: So how do you decide which celebs you want to parody, and then how long does it take you to put a look together?

Liam: I like to choose celebs that have been talked about at the time or celebs who are a little controversial. It takes me about a week to find the right photo, get the correct gear and set up and take the photo! So I post about once a week. I work from 8am-2pm, five days a week, so it makes it harder.

MTV Style: Your dedication to recreating every single detail of a costume is impressive.  Are we right in thinking you make them all yourself?  

Liam: I can't take all the credit - my mother is the one who helps me with my costumes and putting them all together.

MTV Style: And is it true that your mum takes the photographs?

Liam: Yes she is a legend!!!

MTV Style: We have found it very hard to pick a favourite from your Instagram, but we are partial to Cara’s candyfloss dogs, and your Katy Perry Dark Horse look!  What did you use to recreate Katy’s grillz and who have you had the most fun dressing up as?

Liam: I used whatever I could find around the house (a bit of bling) and I love dressing up as everyone. It's all in good fun and for other people’s entertainment, but I love dressing up as Ariana Grande. She follows me and she is amazing.

MTV Style: Who has been the most challenging celeb to recreate a look for?

Liam: The Katy Perry Dark Horse photo was the most challenging and it took three hours.

MTV Style: And who was the cheapest if you added up the cost of materials and the time it took you to get your hair and make-up done?

Liam: I was having budget issues one time when I wanted to dress as Taylor Swift, so I had to use noodles as my hair, and some red fabric I found lying around.

MTV Style: We also noticed you got to meet up with Ed Sheeran - have any other celebs that you’ve dressed up as reached out to you?  

Liam: Ariana is amazing, I once private messaged her and she told me to basically keep doing what I am doing, which was so lovely of her. I have also been noticed by Cara Delevingne, who liked some of my photos, Tyra Banks (who reposted the photo I did of her) and Iggy Azalea. She commented, saying, "You are next level."

MTV Style: Fancy! We couldn’t help but notice an absence of iconic Britney looks in your feed.  Can we expect this glaring oversight to be amended in the near future?

Liam: Good point! I will start researching some images for Britney Spears.  Keep an eye out!

MTV Style: If you ever decide to stop what you’re doing one day – which you should never by the way – which lookalike photo on your Instagram would you most like to be remembered by?

Liam: Hmm... I wouldn't like to be remembered by a specific photo. I would just like to be remembered as that silly kid, who did silly things, and didn't care what others thought.

MTV Style: And lastly, what's the quality like of the photos you take with your McDonalds fries? We can't afford a Moschino iPhone case either...

Liam: HAHAHAHA, I need an upgrade ASAP.

Follow Liam on Instagram @waverider