With a following of more than 155,000 followers on Instagram and a few thousand more on YouTube, Nick Rendina is no doubt one of regional Australia's most popular social media influencers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
At 79, Mr Rendina from Leeton in the NSW Riverina region, has gone viral several times on Instagram thanks to his charm, his wisdom and his ability to reach through a tiny screen and connect with many.
Born in Italy, Mr Rendina first came to Australia when he was in his early twenties. After a brief stop in Melbourne it was off to Leeton, a place he has called home every since.
Hard work was in his blood and it wasn't long before he married wife Zina.
The pair and their children made their home on Fivebough Road, which is now the subject of his Instagram fame.
In the space of just seven months, Mr Rendina's videos and reels have generated a following many of the younger influencers across the country and globe could only imagine.
So, exactly what is it that Mr Rendina is posting online that is attracting so much attention?
His charm and Italian heritage are two elements, but it's his garden, vegetables, his love of nature and being a natural in the kitchen that has everyone quickly pressing "follow" on his Instagram page.
Using the handle thehappyharvestertable, all of Nick's passions are combining to make him a humble social media sensation.
Mr Rendina said it all started out when his children and grandchildren started requesting his recipes and special ways of doing things to prepare his food, how he grows certain vegetables and fruits and tips for the garden.
"I would start writing some of it down, but I never would finish it, but I would get busy," he said.
"So now my daughter (Nadia Gerhardy) she came over and I was in the garden, covered in dirt. She said 'dad, what are you doing?' and I said 'why?' ... she said 'we're going to do a video'.
"I didn't really know what for, but it was to start talking about what I was doing and how I was doing it.
"We thought it would be a good way for everyone in the family to watch."
The videos first went up on Mr Rendina's YouTube channel just before Christmas last year, with Instagram kicking off early in January.
From there, the numbers starting rising and rising as his videos and reels started to gain traction.
"I grow, I pick, I preserve, I cook ... it's all fresh," Mr Rendina said.
"My social media and YouTube is a whole range of things. It's 'a bitta this, a bitta that'.
It's made me so happy to have so many people watching the videos.
- Leeton's Nick Rendina
"I joke people love me because I'm an old man. But I think it's really the simplicity that people like to watch."
Of Mr Rendina's followers, there are many "blue tick" accounts also following along, including prominent journalist Chris Bath, Martha Kalifatidis of Married at First Sight fame, former AFL football player Dylan Buckley, entrepreneur (and fiancée of comedian Andy Lee) Rebecca Harding and many more.
In some of his videos, Mr Rendina simply sits and shares his stories, how we grew up, there's an edible garden tour and many are accompanied by his own recipes.
Mrs Gerhardy is the one behind the camera, filming and editing the material.
She said what started out as something just for family has turned into something much greater.
"We get so many messages to the page saying dad reminds them of their grandfather, their dad, a brother or an uncle," she said.
"I think that's part of his popularity, but it's also just the way he shares things with his followers.
"It's all about keeping it simple and I think that's what people love."
For Mrs Rendina, she said the support of the page had been overwhelming, recounting how the pair were away for the weekend recently and Mr Rendina was recognised and asked for a photograph.
Mr Rendina will soon have his own line of merchandise for sale, featuring one of his iconic catchphrases "bewdiful".
"For me, it's all about the love," he said.
"I love sharing what I love to do.
"It's made me so happy to have so many people watching the videos."
Mr Rendina has also caught the attention of comedy troupe Sooshi Mango, going on their podcast, with other offers also starting to come in.
Next on the list will be applying for his own "blue tick" as his social media stardom shows no signs of slowing down.