For as long as he can remember, Kennedy Anderson has dreamed of visiting New York. Smitten with the city from what he’d seen in movies and on social media, the breakout star of The Apprentice Aotearoa knew he’d love the Big Apple when he finally visited with his boyfriend Oliver Tyack.
But even he never imagined he’d become so spellbound that they would decide to move to New York. Laughing, the 25-year-old tells Woman’s Day, “I had insane expectations and it blew every single one out of the park. I was walking around going, ‘Wow! This is buzzing.’ It felt like it could be home. It’s hectic, but I thrive in it.”
Pooches Hunter and Parker are packing their bags too!
Relocating to New York is a big move given the pair have just finished renovating their Auckland home, but with Kennedy having recently been named one of the “top entrepreneurs you should follow” by none other than The Wall Street Times, it seems like the right moment to explore opportunities in the US – and there’s no doubt he’ll take his 36,000 Instagram followers along for the adventure.
Kennedy’s love for the limelight developed at a young age, with the wee lad putting on shows for family and acting in school productions. He says, “I’m glad I did all that because it’s been so helpful confidence-wise – pitching to scary people in boardrooms is hugely theatrical! I have no problem sitting in hard meetings because I learned to face an audience early on.”
While Kennedy’s creative drive and entrepreneurship have overshadowed his dreams of chasing the spotlight, he remains a star to his followers as the founder, product developer and face of at-home oral-care business The Whitening Co.
Kennedy (left) and Oliver on a New York high!
Having worked in social media for so long, Kennedy says the industry has changed drastically in recent years. “These days, with anything I do, someone will have a negative spin. It’s a lot of work because I’m posting 15-plus stories daily, so when engagement’s down or I get a s**tty message, I think, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But then I’ll wake up the next day and make $5000 in sales from those posts, so the hard days are still helping me build everything.”
Kennedy’s business drive is what led him to The Apprentice in 2021. Despite being fired, he signed six contestants as clients.
“I ended up making our business more than $50k, which was the prize money.”
Kennedy’s since left the agency to focus on expanding The Whitening Co, which aims to make professional whitening services more accessible to Kiwis. He tells, “People come out of our studios in tears because they can smile with their teeth again. I love that our job’s literally to make people smile!”
Of course, there’s one person who never fails to make Kennedy smile – Oliver. The two met through friends, and while Kennedy was instantly struck by how level-headed and handsome Oliver was, he warned him away.
“I was still finding myself sexuality-wise and thought there was no way I was ever coming out. I was 19, in denial and thought I could just not accept being gay. When Ollie came along, I had to open myself up. He helped me accept it and come out to everybody.
“It was pretty hard with my family, but since Oliver’s family was so accepting, he didn’t expect it to go the way it did with mine. It was one of the hardest times of my life, but there were a lot of lessons. We’re a tight family, so I couldn’t give up.
“Once they got to know Oliver, it was like, ‘What were we worried about? This is the best we’ve ever seen you and he’s great.’ Now they get along with him better than with me! They’re coming on holiday to Dubai with us.”
Kennedy credits paramedic Oliver, 27, for his unrelenting support amid the chaos of his career. “If he gets home and finds me working late, he’ll start working next to me and now we’re building a business. It’s cool seeing how our brains work together. He’s calm and analytical, while I’ve got the manic, creative side.”
While Kennedy says “never say never” when it comes to marriage, for now, he’s focused on next year’s New York move, which will also see their dogs Hunter and Parker relocate Stateside.
While Kennedy is nervous about starting afresh as a “small fish in a bigger pond”, he’s looking forward to the anonymity he felt there.
“New Zealand’s an incredibly free country, but if you wear bright pink, you’ll get looked at, whereas in New York, no one gave a hoot. It makes me excited about how far I can push my creativity in an environment that encourages that. I think I’ll evolve as a human within months!”
