More on KentOnline
A Sunday League goalkeeper from Maidstone has become an internet sensation - pulling in millions of views.
Ben Austen set up a GoPro camera to record his performances for Invicta Sunday in the Maidstone & Mid Kent Sunday League.
Little did he realise the impact his videos would have when he started posting them on TikTok.
Users of the site have gone mad for his portrayal of the life of a goalkeeper, including a collection of howlers.
His top three videos have attracted 2.8m, 2.3m and 1.1m views and saw him contacted by internet giants SPORTbible.
They posted a compilation of Austen’s finest moments to their 12m Facebook followers this week, which has been watched more than 580,000 times in just four days.
“It’s quite mad, really, the fact a Sunday League goalkeeper can attract that type of audience,” said Austen, 24, who has built up 28,000 followers on TikTok.
“I only went on TikTok to try and get a few more subscribers to my YouTube channel and ended up getting millions of views. It’s absolutely crazy.
“You have to be able to laugh at yourself. As it says in my bio, I’m just your standard Sunday League goalkeeper.
“I’m prone to making errors. Last year wasn’t my best season, to be honest, but I had a really good season the year before that and won the players’ player-of-the-year award.
“Having the camera perhaps puts a bit more pressure on me now, knowing you’ve got an audience, and not wanting to mess up.
“When you do mess up, you either laugh or you cry.
“I’ve had plenty of highs and lots of lows where I’ve made mistakes, you’ve just got to have a thick skin.
“Goalkeeper is the hardest position on the pitch, it always has been and it always will be, in my biased opinion.
“If a midfielder makes a mistake, eight times out of 10 it probably won’t result in a goal but if a goalkeeper makes a mistake, nine times out of 10 it ends up in the back of the net.
“I understand why people see me as a bad goalkeeper. I know what I am, I’m a Sunday League goalkeeper playing for the love of the game and I try to engage people in grassroots football.
“If that gets a laugh out of people, brilliant; if not, so be it.”
Austen, who is on the media team at National League club Maidstone United, jumped at the chance to feature on SPORTbible.
The Facebook comments section was predictably brutal but the keeper has taken it in good spirit.
“I literally had a message over Instagram from SPORTbible saying they absolutely loved the videos and wanted to put a compilation together, and I was all for it,” said Austen.
“It’s not about me, it’s showing keepers up and down the country that you can have a bad game.
“You’re going to make mistakes as a keeper, and I probably make more than the average keeper, which is why I play at the level I do.
“It went on Facebook on Tuesday and has already had over half a million views.
“I read all the comments. Some people say stay away from comments but I take them with a pinch of salt.
“I like to read them because if it’s criticism, in some way it motivates me more.
“I know I make mistakes, I put my hand up when I make mistakes but I do get positive comments as well from people who enjoy the videos.
"I’m going to get stick but, as long as it’s not personal, I don’t mind. It’s just a bit of fun.”