Francis Bourgeois (trainspotter)

Bourgeois often credits Willesden Junction station and the Bakerloo line for sparking his interest in trains

Willesden depot viewed from the westbound North London line platform at Willesden Junction railway station

Luke Magnus Nicolson^[11][12][13] was born on 9 July 2000,^[14][15][13] and grew up in Harlesden, north-west London.^[16][17][15] His mother works for the National Health Service and his father is a photography teacher. He has a brother.^[4] Though Bourgeois's family did not have an interest in trains or engineering,^[5] they became aware of his interest in trains when he was aged three.^[11][4] He was "obsessed" with BRIO wooden toy train sets, the "stage before you go to Hornby trains",^[18] and Hot Wheels toys.^[4][19]

At the age of 4, Bourgeois visited the Peco factory at Pecorama in Devon, after which his grandmother gave him his first model railway set, a "Pannier tank and some old freight wagons". His set received additions at subsequent Christmases and birthdays.^[11] Around the age of 6, Bourgeois and his family moved to Frome in Somerset.^[3][15] Despite being away from London's vast rail network, the nearby Whatley Quarry continued to pique his interest in freight trains.^[5]

Bourgeois was mocked by school peers for his hobby,^[16] and in secondary school, he suppressed his interest in trains to fit in.^[15] He explained: "Being a train enthusiast at secondary school is difficult. Gym memberships and trendy clothes took precedence at that point, regrettably."^[19] He went on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Nottingham.^[19][3]

Bourgeois rekindled his trainspotting pastime during the period of COVID-19 restrictions (2020-2022), frequenting the Pot Lane overbridge in Berkley on the edge of Frome. He considers it his favourite location alongside Willesden Junction.^[11]

In 2020, Bourgeois and his brother^[17][5] began shooting videos and posting them to TikTok.^[11]

Bourgeois studied mechanical engineering^[3] at the University of Nottingham,^[15][4] expressing a desire to pursue industrial engineering and "create new railways or revitalize older lines" as a civil engineer.^[15]

Bourgeois was hired by Rolls-Royce^[3] in early 2021 but did not complete his one-year contract there working at a car factory in Portsmouth instead resigning in November 2021 following his social media growth.^[1][21] His parents supported this decision on the condition that he take the module to convert his bachelor's degree to a master's.^[6]

In the first year of his social media presence, it was widely believed that Bourgeois had borrowed his moniker from the 18th-century court painter of the same name.^[22][23] It was later revealed that the name "Francis" was chosen because he "likes France and the way they do trains",^[19] and "Bourgeois" was inspired by a visit with his father to a sculpture exhibition by Louise Bourgeois.^[3][24] Given the perception amongst his school peers that trainspotting was uncool, he explained that his pseudonym allowed him to "feel a bit more protected" when making videos. When he was applying for his fourth-year work placement, the university staff informed him that potential employers might search his name, and this is not something he wanted to worry about.^[3] Additionally, he believes that "Francis Bourgeois" has "a bit more of a ring to it" than his given name.^[25]

Bourgeois' initial TikTok posts consisted of fake "interviews" and comedic doctored videos of himself conversing with celebrities over Instagram Live, including English rapper Swarmz, drill artist Digga D, and alt-pop artist Billie Eilish, as well as Kylie Jenner,^[24] which garnered him an early following. By May 2021, he had just under 250,000 followers.^[15]

In October 2021, two of his videos went viral, the first featuring him at Brighton railway station reacting to a GB Class 73/9 locomotive and the name it was given, "Dick Mabbutt"; this video accumulated over 12 million views.^[26] Another shows his reaction to the arrival of a British Rail Class 377 train travelling from Littlehampton to Southampton Central, during which he waves at the train driver and then proceeds to fall out of his chair; the video has garnered over six million views.^[4][27] Later that month, Bourgeois appeared with Josie Gibson on the ITV daytime magazine programme This Morning to discuss the success of his TikTok videos.^[17][28]

In late November 2021, Bourgeois registered Francis Bourgeois Limited as a private limited company.^[22] In January 2022, he signed with the Books division of YMU, an international talent management company,^[29] and he became a brand ambassador for GB Railfreight.^[30] Shortly after, he shot an ASOS promotional video on a GBRf locomotive.^[31][32]

After experiencing a surge in popularity, Joe Jonas contacted Bourgeois; on 12 January 2022, the two picnicked^[33] and went trainspotting in rural Milton Keynes.^[34][35] Thereafter, he began posting other collaborations to social media alongside Rosalía, Thierry Henry in a Puma advert,^[36] and Sam Fender.^{[37][38][39][40]} In April 2022, he featured in an episode of Amelia Dimoldenberg's web series Amelia's Cooking Show.^[41]

Over the summer, Bourgeois spoke at an Advertising Week Europe gathering about creating content that resonates with Gen Z audiences,^[42] and he partnered with TikTok for Business to advise users on growing their brands.^[43] In May 2022, he appeared at the British Book Awards to present Cressida Cowell with her award.^[44] He also shot a series of promotional videos alongside British rapper Aitch for Spotify UK's #SpotifySmallTalks segments.^[45][46]

On 8 May 2022, Bourgeois was sponsored by Williams Racing to attend the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, meeting Alex Albon and Lando Norris.^[47][48][49] On 23 May 2022, Transport for London gave Bourgeois special access to promote London's new Elizabeth line, making him the first passenger to board the railway's Class 345 train.^[50]

In mid-July 2022, Bourgeois helped to promote British family film The Railway Children Return. On 9 July 2022, he promoted Percy Pig's 30th birthday, and he attended a related festival sponsored by M&S Food on 23 July 2022. In late July 2022, he participated in Ben Ainslie's safety training and operated a catamaran at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth.^[51]

On 27 October 2022, Bourgeois' autobiographical novel The Trainspotter's Notebook was published.^[37][52] An audiobook was also recorded, with seven hours of narration provided by Bourgeois. Throughout October and November 2022, Channel 4 released the five-episode digital series Trainspotting with Francis Bourgeois, featuring Aisling Bea, Chloe Burrows, Jesse Lingard, Sam Ryder, and AJ Tracey.^[53] On 15 November 2022, Spotify unveiled the Discover List 2022, their 2nd annual showcase of 50 influential creators on the platform across five categories; Bourgeois was categorized as one of five leading "icons."^[54][55]

On 18 November 2022, Trainline launched a social campaign featuring Bourgeois and Craig David to raise awareness of the environmental benefits of traveling by train.^[56] On 24 November 2022, he uploaded the first episode of his co-directed series Scooting & Chatting to his new YouTube channel, the first episode featuring Louis Theroux; in turn, the former was interviewed by Theroux for BBC.^[25]

On 22 December 2022, Channel 4 released a one-off Trainspotting with Francis Bourgeois Christmas special featuring Tom Daley.^[57] After the success of the initial five episodes, the network commissioned three more episodes of Trainspotting with Francis Bourgeois for production, which will air in 2023.^{[needs update][58]}

In mid-February 2023, Bourgeois was sponsored by Prologis UK to visit their warehouse at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, a major rail freight hub in Northamptonshire. The campaign served to promote DIRFT, the logistics aspect of supply chain management, and the sustainability benefits of rail freight. In the promotional video, Bourgeois is seen admiring freights on site, as well as scootering through their warehouse.^[59]

Bourgeois appeared in episode 2 of the Kathy Burke channel 4 documentary, Kathy Burke: Growing Up, where the former discussed his career.^[60]

On 6 April 2023, Bourgeois released a second episode of his self-produced series Scooting & Chatting, featuring Annie Mac.^{[citation needed]}

A signature component of Bourgeois' content is his incorporation of the GoPro fisheye lens, which distorts his face.^[1][15]

Bourgeois claims that certain aspects of his videos are staged, including a video of him falling out of his chair: "I love absurdist humour, so I try to intertwine it. I could just show trains going by, but I also love making people laugh." In most of his trainspotting videos, Bourgeois is often seen wearing vintage railway clothing and what he describes as a "blend between railway memorabilia and streetwear".^[24]

In mid-December 2021, Bourgeois was accused of donning a fake online persona after photographs from his adolescence emerged, as well as videos of him raving.^[71][82] His response received over 5 million views and was well received.^{[6][83][20][84]}

Bourgeois has named the Class 37^[85] and the Class 158^[24] as some of his favourite rail vehicles, and the Class 170 as his least favourite.^[86] Notably, he has included "43" in his Instagram handle. On some occasions, he has been jokingly critical of the Thomas the Tank Engine series for its lack of realism; however, he has commended the show's use of modelling.^[87] In a BBC Radio 1 interview, he demonstrated his ability to identify the make and model of a train by its horn sound.^[88][89]

Bourgeois considers scootering a hobby.^[6]

Since 2018, Bourgeois has been dating Amy Linkin, a university student and freelance social media videographer.^[24]

As of October 2022, Bourgeois has been residing in the Battersea district of London.^[3]

• The Trainspotter's Notebook (2022)