They might be the most internet-coded boyband of our time: five best friends from Germany who turned TikTok fame into a full-blown global phenomenon. The Elevator Boys, Jacob Rott, Tim Schaecker, Luis Freitag, Julien Brown, and Bene Schulz, built their following one lip-sync, thirst trap, and GRWM video at a time. With model-off-duty charm and classic pop-star charisma, they racked up millions of views just by getting dressed. Now, four years later, they’ve leaped from phone screens to center stage, evolving into bona fide music artists and fashion influencers without breaking a sweat. Their journey from playing around in elevators to playing sold-out shows is a modern coming-of-age story; equal parts friendship and hustle, humor and heart.
Elevator To Everywhere: Friendship At The Core
It all started with a group of goofy, confident friends posting just-for-fun videos back in 2021. “People always called us the boyband that doesn’t sing,” Jacob once joked. In those early days, the Elevator Boys were five college-aged pals sharing a Berlin apartment and a dream. They pressed record on an elevator-set TikTok as a joke, and the internet fell in love. Their chemistry was undeniable; five tall, photogenic guys synchronized in dance and mischief, clearly having the time of their lives together. That genuine friendship became their superpower. “We have lived together for three years, we know each other inside out…we’re like brothers,” Tim says, reflecting on their bond.
Through every viral video and whirlwind tour, their tight-knit camaraderie has kept them grounded. That authenticity, the best-friend energy that radiates through the screen, is what makes fans feel like part of the family! But don’t mistake their silliness for lack of ambition. Behind the scenes, the Elevator Boys quietly nurtured much bigger goals. They weren’t content being known as influencers forever. Still, they bided their time, determined to enter the music world the right way, with real preparation and heart.
From Thirst Traps To Chart Tracks
Their leap from TikTok to the recording studio came in late 2022, almost by fate. As their online momentum grew, the group gradually began carving out space for music, testing ideas and sounds before fully committing. Early studio sessions confirmed what they had begun to suspect: music wasn’t a side project. It was becoming the core. What began as “just for the fun of it” quickly lit a creative spark. The Elevator Boys discovered that making music together felt just as natural as making TikToks.
By summer 2023 they dropped their debut single ‘Runaway,’ a breezy pop anthem about escaping with someone special. To their relief, and mild surprise, the song took off. The DIY music video quickly crossed the million-view mark, while the song has continued to rack up millions of streams. Not bad for a group once teased as not really being a band. What followed was validation: listeners were willing to meet them where they were headed, not just where they started. They weren’t content to be a novelty act; they wanted respect as real artists.
Over 2024, the five poured their hearts into songwriting and vocal training, even releasing a heartfelt debut EP, Scared to Love, that year. Each release inched them closer to defining their signature sound. Still, they faced skeptics who saw them only as pretty faces from the internet, a perception that only fueled the group’s determination.
California Dreaming And Coming Of Age
This past summer marked a turning point. In July 2025, the Elevator Boys dropped ‘California,’ an upbeat yet emotionally charged single that has “chart-hit” written all over it. Collaborating with A-list Swedish and US hitmakers on the production, the song is a sun-kissed banger with an addictive chorus, but it’s more than just a summer jam. The song reflects more than a place, capturing how California became a marker of growth, possibility, and who they were becoming together. Indeed, ‘California’ draws from the group’s experiences in the Golden State and how far they’ve come since. The music video (a glossy, golden-hour tour of the West Coast) captures the vibe of that journey: five wide-eyed friends experiencing Hollywood thrills for the first time, dreaming big under California skies.
Most importantly, ‘California’ was the first song the Elevator Boys created entirely on their own terms. In an industry that often manufactures young acts, they flipped the script. The result was their most personal work yet–and fans felt the difference. ‘California’ trended on TikTok, and sparked hundreds of fan-made tribute videos. Clearly, the bond between the band and their “Elevator Army” of fans has only grown stronger with authenticity.
Fever Dreamers: New Sound, Same Boys
If ‘California’ showcased their emotional depth, their latest single ‘Fever Dream’ proves the Elevator Boys aren’t afraid to experiment. Dropped in October 2025, ‘Fever Dream’ dives into darker, clubbier pop territory: a moody electronic soundscape built for the dancefloor. It’s a bold departure from the sunny vibes of ‘California,’ and that’s fully intentional. “In terms of making music, we’ve been doing this for three years now and developed quite a bit. We tried out different sounds… and I think ‘Fever Dream,’ and the direction of it, was just something we really like listening to personally,” Luis explains of this new chapter.
The track, crafted during a whirlwind songwriting camp in Stockholm, pushed the group out of their comfort zone. “We were on a two or three week songwriting camp there with talented producers,” Tim says, recalling the ‘Fever Dream’ studio sessions in Sweden. When they first heard the rough demo’s hard-hitting electro beat, not everyone was convinced. “I thought, ‘Is this the direction we’re going?’” Tim admits. But some of the guys instantly loved it. Bene was “such a big fan” from the start; he even phoned Luis late at night saying, “It’s fire, we have to do it,” when others were on the fence. Julien confesses ‘Fever Dream’ “turned out better than we thought” once they all got on the same page.
The result is a high-energy track that expands their sonic palette while keeping their signature edge. If ‘California’ was a sunlit road trip, ‘Fever Dream’ is an all-nighter in Berlin’s club scene. “I would say a fast, driven night, from club to club action, ending up in a really cool techno club,” Bene says, painting the song’s vibe. Fittingly, the music video was filmed in a legendary Berlin techno haunt, complete with strobing lights and sweat-slick crowds. “Once in a while you have that perfect night out…everything feels like a fever dream,” Luis adds, explaining the title. That one magical night is exactly what the song bottles up: euphoria tinged with surreality, the kind of joy you don’t want to end!
Crucially, ‘Fever Dream’ also marks the dawn of a new creative era for the group. When asked to complete the sentence “The ‘Fever Dream’ era is the start of…,” the boys’ answers say it all: “Our new sound,” Tim declares. “Our new cool sound,” Bene emphasizes. “Our new boyband sound,” Jacob exclaims. However you label it, the Elevator Boys are stepping confidently into a more mature musical identity; one that they shaped themselves. They each have writing credits on the track, and each gets a moment to shine vocally. After proving their pop promise with earlier hits like ‘Ruin Me’ and ‘Parachute,’ the guys see ‘Fever Dream’ as a glimpse of the band they’re becoming. And judging by fans’ ecstatic reaction, this darker edge suits them!
Fashion, Fans, And The Future
Part of what makes the Elevator Boys so special is how multidimensional they are. In 2025, it’s not enough to just sing or dance…and these five excel at everything. Indeed, the fashion world embraced the Elevator Boys early on, and the love affair is mutual. They’ve appeared in campaigns for luxury brands like Gucci and Rabanne, sat front-row at Fashion Weeks, and even become muses for designers who adore their coordinated style and Gen-Z aura. The growth of their global fanbase has helped secure official partnerships with top fashion houses, including Gucci, Prada, Armani, Hublot, L’Oréal Paris, and Rabanne Beauty. When they’re not in the studio, you might spot the boys turning heads on a Milan runway or a Paris party. In fact, Jacob Rott made his runway debut last year at Versace’s Fall/Winter 2024–25 show, striding for one of the world’s most iconic fashion labels. Not many “TikTok stars” can add Versace model to their résumés, but Jacob and his bandmates aren’t content to stay in any one lane.
Their foray into fashion isn’t just about looking good; it’s an extension of their creativity and humor. These guys genuinely love styling and pushing trends (sometimes playfully). Jacob recently endorsed “very very short shorts for men, or no pants at all” as his obsession of the moment, name-dropping Pedro Pascal and Harry Styles as inspirations and daring fans to try it. Julien, meanwhile, is experimenting with new ways to wear a tie (“tucked between two buttons” for a casual-chic twist). The Elevator Boys bring that same mix of confidence and playfulness to everything they do, be it picking stage outfits or joking about pre-show rituals. (Julien has a quirky habit of listening to raindrop sounds to calm his nerves before going onstage… whatever works, right?) It’s clear they don’t take themselves too seriously, and that makes their rise all the more enjoyable to watch.
The group’s New York City stage debut came this past fall at designer Jonathan Simkhai’s NYFW after-party, marking a standout moment in their live performance journey. “We were singing three unreleased songs on top of a bar…the people were very surprised. They had a lot of fun, and we had a lot of fun,” Julien says of that night, describing it as “super sick.” Luis recalls looking out from the Boom Boom Room rooftop, seeing the Manhattan skyline. “Standing on top of New York and performing was insane,” he says, still awed. Moments like that blur the line between influencer, rock star, and fashion darling. Are they performing at a club, or gracing a runway, or headlining a concert? In the Elevator Boys’ world, it’s often all of the above at once.
This past December, they capped off the year by performing at Amazon Music’s Winter Ball in Berlin; fittingly their final show of 2025 was a glitzy holiday gala on home turf. In the span of one year, they went from being newcomers on the music scene to playing marquee events for global brands. And it’s just the beginning. The Elevator Boys have an Amazon MGM Studios movie project on the horizon, the five recently wrapped filming their debut feature in Malta, slated for release in 2026. (Yes, you’ll soon see them on the silver screen too.) With a growing discography, a Hollywood movie in the can, and fashion’s biggest names dressing them, the Elevator Boys are crafting a multimedia empire that’s as fun as it is impressive.
The Next Chapter: Always Upwards
It’s hard to believe that four years ago they were just college kids goofing off on TikTok. Today, the Elevator Boys stand as icons of a new generation of entertainers, the kind that thrive at the intersection of music, fashion, and social media. Through it all, they’ve kept their trademark sense of humor and their unshakable friendship. That authenticity, paired with relentless hard work, has carried them from the literal elevator to figuratively every elevator in life… always going up!
As they prepare to ring in another year, with new music on the horizon and dreams of a world tour, the Elevator Boys remain refreshingly down-to-earth. They still tease each other like schoolboys and geek out over simple pleasures (these days, Bene is obsessed with padel, a tennis-like sport, while Luis is busy building a home studio in his closet). But put them on a stage or a set or a catwalk, and they light up like they were born for it. That duality is exactly why fans love them: they’re stars you could imagine as your friends. Four years in, their evolution from viral TikTokers to well-rounded global stars feels less like a calculated industry move and more like a natural growth: a glow-up powered by passion and brotherhood. The Elevator Boys’ story is still unfolding, but one thing’s for sure: their trajectory is only moving in one direction. And as any fan will tell you, that direction is up.
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