SubwayCreatures is an internet brand run by Rick McGuire focused on documenting "train-riding oddities". When McGuire first moved to New York City from New Jersey in 2010, he said he "saw the craziest stuff on the subway". He then decided to begin documenting what he saw on a website, which he named SubwayCreatures. Not long after he created the website, he created an Instagram page, where he then started posting most of his content to.
History
McGuire says he has always had an interest in people-watching. He moved to New York City in 2010 and started the SubwayCreatures website not long after, where he started documenting the strange things he saw as a hobby. Once he created the SubwayCreatures Instagram account, however, it grew into a "social media phenomenon". As the Instagram account got more popular it began to get more mainstream attention, including being reached out to by several different news outlets. Over time SubwayCreatures has become less reliant on McGuire's personal content, and more reliant on user-submitted content. On November 20, 2017, a blog post was uploaded to the website saying the Instagram account had been hacked and all of the photos and videos had been removed. McGuire stated he was not sure if he could get all of his content back, but if he could not he would start over from scratch.
Content
SubwayCreatures is mainly focused on pictures and videos of odd riders found on subways. The Instagram consists of pictures and videos both taken by McGuire himself and user-submitted, while the website mainly focuses on longer video clips and comments. McGuire has stated that he will remove footage of anyone who has been captured if they so request. He has also said he will not exploit the homeless, disabled, or children for views.
References
- "City Subway Creatures Documents The Metro's Weirdest Riders, And It's Both Disturbing And Glorious". Ranker. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ "Instagram Account Tracks The Strange, Wild And Wacky Denizens Of The NYC Subway". CBS. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ "NYC subway sightings: Candid pics of bizarre life on the rails". amNewYork. 28 April 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ "Clifton native shows story of 'Subway Creatures' on wildly popular Instagram account". northjersey.com. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- "'Subway Creatures' Instagram Account Wiped Of Viral Videos". New York City Patch. 20 November 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2018.