Adam Page started Humans of Launceston in 2016, and since then the page has gone “gangbusters”. 

“It all started when I met an elderly gentlemen in the street and I just sat down and ended up having a chat to him,” Page said. 

“He was an incredibly interesting person. He mentioned that it felt like no one listened to him any more. He said ‘once I’m gone, my story will go with me’, and I said ‘we’ll I’d like to do something to change that’.”

After writing the man’s story and posting it on the newly-formed page, he said it went “ballistic”.

“I got 10,000 followers on the page within a month and I just kept the stories up. The more stories I did, the more fascinating they become,” Page said. 

“I really just got the name and idea from Humans of New York. I’m a lot different to Humans of New York because I do a life story rather than just a fragment of conversation that they’ve had.”

Page, who has never had any writing or photographic training, said it’s the page’s achievements that keep him dedicated. 

“I was just a good English student back in the day,” he said. “I didn’t envisage that I’d be doing something like this, but I’ve always been a carer or doing something in the community.”

When he started the page, he was working as a full-time musician and admits he now doesn’t have as much free time for the page as he’d like. 

“When I haven’t had enough time to do Humans [of Launceston], it’s things like achievements which keep me going and have inspired me to get back into it,” he said. 

“Families have reconnected, a lot of people who have passed away and I’ve done stories on them – their families read their story as a eulogy at their funerals. 

“It inspired the Launceston Feeding the Homeless which is now quite a big movement in itself. The lady read one of the stories on there and decided to do something and has been doing it ever since.”

Page has also been able to make a bunch of friends through writing about Launceston’s people. 

“One of my best friends in my life right now at 46 years of age is a 91 year-old-man,” he said. 

“Him and I have just become the best of friends. He comes to all my gigs at the Casino. I did a story on him and we’ve just become incredibly close ever since. He’s an amazing man and he’s respectful and everyone loves him.” 

More than 120 people have featured on the page. 

“There are thousands of people out there whose stories don’t get heard and I want to capture some of these stories before these people leave,” Page said.  

Page will be a special guest at the 2018 Tamar Valley Writer’s Festival.