If you’re a TikTok user in Pittsburgh, chances are Harrison Szep has appeared on your feed. The floppy-haired, blonde, 20-something U.K. native has dedicated his account to Pittsburgh, a city he adopted after trading soccer for a life on the road.
Szep, who first came to the U.S. to play soccer, had an agent in England who handled his recruiting process. According to Szep, the agent “did not do a good job” and sent him to the University of Findlay in Ohio. Feeling out of place, the Cleethorpes, England native created his own business helping high school soccer players get recruited.
Szep tells Pittsburgh City Paper that Findlay “wasn’t particularly bad,” it just wasn’t what he expected. He wasn’t a fan of the rural area or the lack of international students.
“If I was aware of these things before I went, I wouldn’t have gone, but my actual experience at the school wasn’t terrible,” he says.
Szep then embarked on a nomadic lifestyle (he’s been to 27 states), trying out different places for a month each. Szep and his girlfriend, Kiaja Bledsoe, whose workplace has a branch in Pittsburgh, rented an Airbnb for one month. After just three weeks, he decided to stay in the city until May.
He says the city has been the friendliest place he’s stayed thus far.
“I’m not saying other places weren’t friendly, but here, it’s just on another level,” he says. “The people have embraced me and taken me in like their own family.”
His TikTok has been “flooded with positivity,” he says. Many call Szep Pittsburgh’s biggest fan and talk about how much they enjoy seeing Pittsburgh through his eyes.
Szep tried Aiello’s pizza and got a comment on the post from the heiress to the Aiello pizza throne, Nina Aiello, herself. He tried pierogies for the first time, calling his first bite, “weird, like you’re biting into air, then you’re greeted with a bit of mashed tatey.” He cites The Grand Concourse and Ritual House as his two favorite local restaurants.
Szep was declared an honorary yinzer when, on Dec. 8, the Steelers invited him to his first NFL game versus the Browns. He was even gifted an on-field pass and snapped a selfie with running back and kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson.
Szep attended Light Up Night and posted his reaction to the tree and skating rink at PPG Place. Multiple radio stations reached out to Szep and he “just picked a random one,” ultimately going with STAR 100.7. He also collaborated with the University of Pittsburgh, attending a women’s volleyball game.
“I’m getting all these different Pittsburgh-based companies reaching out to me, and it’s all very new,” he says. “Pittsburgh’s people are the absolute best thing about Pittsburgh.”
This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2025.
