Tkefan29

Tkefan29 is an American elevator filmer based in the Detroit metropolitan area in Michigan, United States. Currently the state's third-most-subscribed elevator filmer, Tkefan29 has filmed over 1,600 elevators since 2016, having amassed over 1,800 subscribers since opening a YouTube channel and joining the community in 2018.

Tkefan29's logo (2021-present)

Tkefan29 is an inanimate object and uses it/were pronouns. They are noteworthy for their anonymity, having never publicly revealed their name, voice, age, or face.

History

Tkefan29 recalls having watched elevator videos as a young child, leading to them getting in trouble with their parents for being on YouTube.

They started watching elevator videos again in 2015, mainly from DieselDucy and ems318, who inspired them to begin filming elevators. Their first elevator video was filmed on July 16, 2019, featuring a ThyssenKrupp with Impulse fixtures at a Farmington, Mich. restaurant. They filmed more elevator videos in 2016 and 2017, though none have been posted to ensure Tkefan29's privacy, as they were narrated.

They launched the Tkefan29 YouTube channel on May 29, 2018, mainly posting transit clips until the channel's first elevator video, filmed at the JCPenney at Twelve Oaks Mall, was posted on June 25th. The channel's name was originally used on a (now-renamed) Quizlet account they made in sixth grade; with the "TKE" standing for "ThyssenKrupp Elevator," and the "29" referring to the date in May it was launched. The channel's first subscriber was fellow Michigan elevator filmer QuarioQuario54321.

Tkefan29's involvement in the community was sparked when they participated in the chat of DieselDucy's 2018 livestream "Live at target." They met many of their early friends in the community during this stream, including GarageDoorFan1234 (now Elevators of Southeastern Minnesota) and MagicalLift256 (now VCC). They met some of their other friends (including Jamestube 8439) soon thereafter, after being added to a YouTube group chat. They continued to sporadically film elevators, and eventually established a consistent stream of videos: initially four days a week, before switching to daily uploads in 2019.

In February 2020, Tkefan29 had an encounter in which they were questioned by police for filming an elevator. Following that incident, they took a month-long break from elevator filming, which happened to lead into the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Out of an abundance of caution, they only filmed a handful of elevators for the remainder of 2020, though made a point of riding at least one per month from April onward. They returned to regular elevator filming in March 2021. The following May, they introduced a new logo, evoking the emblem of Northwest Airlines.

On January 1, 2023, Tkefan29 announced their retirement from the elevator community. They will continue to post elevator videos through June 25, 2023, after which their channel will be rebranded and relaunched under a new name, with an all-transit format. They will continue to post elevator videos sporadically on their second channel, tkefan2919.

Content

Tkefan29 was notable as one of the first elevator filmers not to narrate their videos; their videos are produced without commentary, aside from a short blurb in their descriptions.

From 2019 to 2021, Tkefan29 hosted a weekly livestreamed game of Kahoot, known as TKE's Trivia Night. Soon thereafter, many other filmers followed in hosting their own Kahoot streams, and eventually branched out into hosting Jackbox games. While Tkefan29 no longer regularly hosts Trivia Night, they still occasionally stream game nights, featuring both Kahoot and Jackbox.

Each year from 2019 to 2022, Tkefan29 produced a year-in-review compilation highlighting the best and worst elevators they'd posted that year. For 2022, the format was changed to resemble an award ceremony, dubbed the Tkefan29 Elevator Awards.

Tkefan29 is a former contributor to HandDryers 4U, the hand dryer channel founded by ExcelElevations 4U.

In addition to their eponymous main channel, Tkefan29 operates two alternate channels: their second channel, tkefan2919, and a channel for the North American Elevator Guide. They previously operated a channel called Metro Detroit Bus Spotting, which was closed in 2022.

North American Elevator Guide

Tkefan29 is the creator, owner, and head editor of the North American Elevator Guide, an encyclopedia of American elevators created as an alternative to the Elevator Wiki. Work began on the project in July 2019, and it was launched to the public on February 2, 2020. Fellow elevator filmer Skivator has since joined the project as editors.

Tkefan29 has announced that they will continue in their role at the North American Elevator Guide following their retirement from the community.

Notable discoveries

• Last remaining Schindler M Series in America
• Schindler Haughton with square buttons
• Tallest Schindler Haughton hydraulic elevator in existence
• First newer Schindler 3300, and later, 3100, in Michigan

Cameras used

• Vivitar ViviCam (2014)
• Samsung Galaxy Core Prime (2015-2018)
• Polaroid iE090 (2016-2017)
• Vivitar DVR410 (2016)
• Samsung Galaxy S6 (on occasion, 2017-2018)
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (2018-2019)
• Samsung Galaxy S9 (2019-present)
• Canon SX740 (2021-present)

Trivia

• Tkefan29 has been active on Kahoot since 2016.
• They have once been alone on the 72nd floor of the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
• The official font of their channel is Trebuchet MS, italicized.
• They are the only person to have filmed elevators in many notable now-defunct buildings, including: the Macy's at Westland Center, the Sears in Lincoln Park, Mich., the Art Van Furniture and Pier 1 Imports stores in Royal Oak, Mich., and the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
• They are the only Detroit-area filmer to have filmed elevators in neighboring Windsor, Ontario.
• They have filmed elevators at thirteen states' capitol buildings - Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah - more than any other elevator filmer.
• They very briefly held the record for most elevators filmed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; surpassed less than a month later by NW Indiana Elevators, and again soon thereafter by TrueWolverine87.
• Their first video intro, used from 2019 to 2020, featured music from the quiz game Kahoot. An unreleased early version used the song "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel.