Why the internet fell in love with this man

News.com.au

11-05-2025

An unlikely Aussie has become the face of an online reading community after a video that ran for less than two minutes skyrocketed him to overnight fame.
Luke Bateman describes himself as a blue-collar worker but is also known for his appearance on the season of The Bachelor where three men tried to find love, as well as playing in the NRL.
Now, the former Canberra Raiders player has captured a whole new set of fans on BookTok.
Mr Bateman was introduced to the TikTok-based community where people share book recommendations and dissect novels, by two of his female friends after saying he felt like he had no one to talk to about what he was reading.
'I've just never ever had anyone to discuss books with obviously being a male in sporting circles and I've never had mates or friends around me who are readers,' he told news.com.au.
So, he posted a video introducing himself to the community and expressing his love for fantasy novels.
BookTokers were immediately drawn to the Aussie's casual style and tendency to post from the seat of a tractor wearing an Akubra style hat.
The clip racked up 1.9 million views and gained Bateman 136k followers in just days. Currently, on his public Instagram, he has 17,000.
Bateman, who is originally from Queensland, was welcomed to the social platform by the likes of popular influencers Alright Hey and Blue Eye Kayla Jade.
'This poor guy just wanted to talk about books,' one social media user said.
Another added: 'Are we all in love with him or just me?'
'As an Aussie guy, I've always wanted to get into BookTok and seeing this really makes me want to get into reading again and share my thoughts! thanks for getting out there. Following your journey,' another social media user said.
Another added: 'This man made his account a DAY AGO and already has 42k. Y'all are FERAL also welcome. Y'ALL BETTER PLAY NICE.'
One person said: 'Blue collar and he reads?! And he understand emotional depth? Welcome to BookTok sir!'
The reaction was overwhelming for Bateman.
'Honestly, I had the worst anxiety like that entire week. It was too much,' he said.
He joked that a lot of women — who predominantly make up the BookTok community — only followed him for one reason but others were likely surprised to see a man who spends 10 hours a day in a tractor speaking about books.
Bateman told news.com.au he had a love for reading since he was very young, but was convinced this habit was nothing to be proud of.
He said his first memory of reading comes from buying a Pokemon book from the Scholastic Book Fair when he was in Year One.
'I couldn't even read at the time, but I remember I used to sit there and pretend to read,' he told news.com.au, adding that his brother used to make fun of him for it.
But it was when he got to the age of 10 that he really started to delve into the world of fantasy, saying it was easy to do so when he parents were big readers.
'It's not a chore for me. It's a genuine joy,' he said.
Bateman said he felt so 'embarrassed' and 'shameful' about his reading habits for so long, and he wanted to use his new-found popularity to encourage other young men to pick up a book. He said his entire life he felt like an 'undercover nerd'. Bateman said he didn't want anyone else to feel that way, and encouraged parents to get their kids into reading.
He said his introduction into BookTok had been a 'whirlwind' introduction to the community, and it's been amazing to talk with people who have just as much of a passion for reading as he does. Bateman said he's been introduced to hundreds of books he'd never heard of — including a lot of "romantasy" — and that was the whole point.
Bateman revealed he loved physical books, but because of the nature of his work often involving him riding around in a tractor he also was partial to audio books.
'I'll listen to an audio book and then I have to go buy the physical book because I can't, I don't know what it is, like I can't listen to an audio book and not buy the physical,' he said.
He joked that he had 100 books on his shelf that he'd never cracked open but had read through audio books.