Nash Grier, Vine sensation, makes list of 25 most influential teenagers

Nash Grier, the social media sensation from Mooresville with about 9.7 million followers on Vine, has been named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential teenagers of 2014.

Grier, 16, who attends Davidson Day School, has had his six-second videos played more than a billion times on the social media site.

His Vines are a mix of adolescent humor and angst, song parodies and slapstick. He describes them as “upbeat stuff that’s kinda wild and makes people laugh.”

Grier was profiled in the Observer in October 2013 for his quirky videos. He became the most-followed person on Vine in March.

In July, he was criticized for yelling a gay slur on a Vine. He tweeted a picture of an apology.

Others on the Time Magazine list: The president’s daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama; Mo’ne Davis, the 13-year-old girl who pitched a shutout in the Little League World Series; and Rico Rodriguez, who Time described as the “scene-stealing Manny on ABC’s smash-hit ‘Modern Family.’ ”

This story was originally published October 13, 2014 at 6:24 PM.