“It’s really just awkward people problems. And I am very awkward, so there’s plenty of material.”
That might be how Rob Temple describes his work, but he’s being modest. While his might not be a name that you recognise, his Twitter feed, Very British Problems (@SoVeryBritish), is one that’s gained global recognition.
Set up in 2012, and now with more than 4 million followers, Very British Problems has evolved from a feed of witty one-liners looking at the awkwardness of being British, to the subject of three books, two TV series, a clothing range, line of greeting cards and even a board game.
Despite the feed’s success, however, Temple, a former magazine journalist, hasn’t let things go to his head.
“It’s all very strange,” he tells us. “I just like writing jokes and people seem to like reading them. To have that as a job and not have to stand behind a microphone in front of a crowd is lovely, if unexpected.”
And that’s what this fun side project has become for Temple, a job. Albeit one that he loves. And but for a chat in a pub things could have worked out very differently.
“An old colleague told me to start a Twitter feed,” he explains. “It was just before Christmas 2012, and he said I should be on it. I didn’t even have a personal account at this point. In fact, even though I was an editor on a tech mag, I think I even replied to the suggestion with “what’s Twitter?”
From that single conversation things moved quickly for Temple and Very British Problems. Very quickly.
“I started it up at Christmas in my dad’s study. A month later it had 100k followers," he explains. “I thought it was absolutely bananas how quickly the numbers started to climb. Then Juliet, a literary agent, emailed to say it should be a book. Next thing I know, it is!”
“I celebrated with a champagne flute of fizzy water as I was doing dry January.”
Things haven’t slowed since, and although Twitter has changed a lot in the years since Temple launched the Very British Problems feed, it has remained his defining and driving platform, despite branching out into Facebook and Instagram. He’s even embraced Twitter’s changes.
“Twitter is perfect for telling jokes,” he tells us. “I think the 280 character limit is great. It gives me a bit more scope to try different things. I just write a joke and hope people laugh.”
And it’s this ability to make people laugh that continues to drive Temple’s efforts. Despite having already brought a chuckle to millions – including his own comedic hero, and VBP follower, Adrian Edmondson – the feed’s success hasn't overcome the underlying awkwardness that feeds his work.
“Firstly I still can’t believe it’s a real thing, and secondly I hate attention, parties, smiling and people who go “woo!”,” he says. “I wouldn’t say I wasn't excited by any of it, mostly just bemused and shocked,”
“I saw someone sat opposite me on the tube recently, reading the book. That was very strange.”
“I didn’t say anything.”