Jacob Shane Roshkow, also known as Jake Shane, or online as Octopusslover8, is an American

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

and comedian. In 2023, his

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

videos featuring humorous reenactments of historical events went viral. Also in 2023, he was nominated for a

Streamy Award The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are an awards show presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and wri ...

and appeared on TikTok's inaugural LGBTQ+ Pride Visionary Voices List and on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 list.

Early life

Jacob Shane Roshkow was born on October 27, 1999 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and moved to Washington Heights in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

at the age of 2. His mother,

Helaine Olen Helaine Olen is an American journalist and author based in New York. She is a columnist for ''The Washington Post'' and, before that, ''Slate'', where she wrote the column ''The Bills''. She is the author or co-author of three books: ''Office Ma ...

, is an author and columnist for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. He has described himself as "a

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

kid". He has stated that he did acting as a child, performing in his school's production of ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay by Richard Morris, based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve young ...

'' in sixth grade, but quit due to his insecurities after switching schools. He also took

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

lessons at the

Gotham Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth avenues in Chelsea, M ...

while attending high school on the

Upper West Side, Manhattan The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. Shane moved to

at 18 while working as an assistant at a record label. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts and Science A Bachelor of Arts and Science(s) (BASc), sometimes as Bachelor of Science and Arts (BScA or BSA), is an undergraduate bachelor's degree conferred by a small number of universities from countries including the United States, Canada, the United Ki ...

degree in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

in 2022.

Career

Shane started his social media career in 2021 as an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

food critic A food critic, food writer, or restaurant critic is a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings to the public. Terminology "Food writer" is often used as a broad term that encompasses someone who w ...

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

, using the handle @passthatpuss. He created it after his mom took him to try octopus for the first time when he was in high school. Jake created a TikTok account also for octopus reviews, where @passthatpuss was taken so he created the username "@octopusslover8" because they have 8 tentacles. In February 2023, Shane became known for his

videos, in which he humorously reenacted historical events per requests in his comments, starting with the

Clinton–Lewinsky scandal The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Their sexual relationship began in 1995—when Clinton was 49 years old and Lewinsky ...

, which gained him 100,000 followers within one week of its posting. Other reenactments included dinosaurs seeing a comet, the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

signing the United States Declaration of Independence,

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

parting the Red Sea, and a

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

who did not make it onto

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

. He signed with WME in March 2023; by then his account had gained over one and a half million followers. Shane was nominated for the

for Breakout Creator at the

13th Streamy Awards The 13th Annual Streamy Awards was the thirteenth installment of the Streamy Awards honoring the best in American streaming television series and their creators. Produced by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter, the ceremony was held at The Fa ...

in 2023, though the award was won by Dylan Mulvaney. He was also included on TikTok's inaugural LGBTQ+ Pride Visionary Voices List in May 2023. In September 2023, he signed with

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

for representation in all areas. He was featured on the 2024 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 list and had more than two and a half million followers on TikTok by December 2023. Shane's podcast, ''Therapuss with Jake Shane'', in which Shane responds to listener questions in the style of a therapy session alongside a different co-host each episode, launched in January 2024. On November 22, 2024 Jake Shane released his debut album Puss & Poems. In 2025, Shane was cast as Social Media Girlie in season four of the comedy series

Hacks Hacks may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Hacks'' (1997 film), a 1997 American comedy film * ''Hacks'' (2002 film), a 2002 independent American film * ''Hacks'' (2012 film), a 2012 British telemovie starring Michael Kitchen * '' ...

, which co-stars

Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. Jean Smart filmography, Her work includes both comedy and drama, and List of awards and nominations received by Jean Smart, her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

and Hannah Einbinder.

Personal life and public image

Shane frequently posts on social media about his mental health, specifically regarding his experiences with

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

and

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts (an ''obsession'') and feels the need to perform certain routines (''Compulsive behavior, compulsions'') repeatedly to relieve the dis ...

, which he has stated he has struggled with since age seven and was diagnosed with as a teenager. He also often posts videos about him being a

Swiftie Swifties are the fandom of the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Regarded by journalists as one of the largest, and most devoted fanbases, Swifties are known for their high levels of participation, community, and cultural impact on the mus ...

. Jake's roommates Julia Mervis, Payton Purther, and Brett Chody also sometimes appear in his posts, or help film his skits performing as a humorized version of certain objects or reenactments of historical (and sometimes fictional) events. One person on Jake's team, Julia helps him manage many things including his podcast. Geoff Weiss of ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' wrote in 2023 that "no TikToker adreached mass consciousness" like Shane since fellow influencer

Alix Earle Alix Ashley Earle (born December 16, 2000) is an American social media personality and model who rose to popularity posting " Get Ready With Me" videos on TikTok in which she shares details of her personal life. She is known by online communiti ...

became popular on the platform the year prior. For ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', Julia MacCary wrote, "Perhaps no one better embodies the app's ability to quickly catapult someone into stardom than Jake Shane." ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay- and LGBTQ-oriented entertainment and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors. History ''Queerty'' was ...

''s Carson Mlnarik described him as a "short and sassy queer content-creator" who "skyrocketed to viral fame" in 2023.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shane, Jake Living people Year of birth uncertain American TikTokers LGBTQ TikTokers USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism alumni Comedians from Los Angeles Comedians from New York (state) People from Washington Heights, Manhattan American restaurant critics People with obsessive–compulsive disorder