Saco woman's love of Nerf lands her a dream job

SACO — Sophie Jamison dreamed of working for Nerf when she was a child. She’s made that dream come true, and found some fame along the way.

Jamison is better known by her fans as Sophie Lightning, the name she goes by on her Tik Tok channel, Nerfers101. The 21-year-old University of Southern Maine marketing student shares her passion for all things Nerf – a brand of toys owned by parent company Hasbro that features foam dart blasters.

Jamison was hooked after getting her first Nerf toy at the age of four.

“I’ve loved Nerf since as long as I can remember,” she said.

When she was in 8^th grade, Jamison received some devastating news. She was diagnosed with a disorder that causes her blood not to clot properly. The active young teen was told that she had to abandon the contact sports that she loved.

She turned to Nerf as an outlet for physical and outdoor activity. In 2014 created an Instagram page, sharing her love for everything Nerf through photos of Nerf blasters and posts with tips and trivia. She soon got thousands of followers and within a few years caught the eye of Hasbro, who sent her some merchandise, and she discovered the world of competitive Nerf battles.

In 2020, the pandemic hit, and Jamison was laid off from her job at Vans in the Maine Mall.

“I had multitudes of free time,” she said.

She decided to fill that free time by creating TikTok videos, getting in front of the camera to create entertaining demos and talk about her favorite past time it. It’s clear in Jamison’s clips that she’s having fun. Her enthusiasm for all things Nerf shines through, and she now has 1.9 million followers on TikTok. Many of Jamison’s videos are recorded in her studio located in a shed in her backyard. All her videos are shot on her cell phone – and she doesn’t use any fancy equipment.

“I think that’s one of the coolest things – it’s just my phone,” said Jamison.

Her TikTok fame has led to several sponsorships and many opportunities. Jamison’s traveled to Texas for an event dubbed “The World’s Largest Nerf Battle,” She’s also traveled to other parts of the country including Hawaii, for promotional events and collaborations, and was filmed with her Nerf gun while tandem skydiving.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been a crazy year,” she said. Nowadays, when she goes to the Maine mall, a dozen or so people will recognize her.

The biggest opportunity yet is the position Jamison landed earlier this year as the Nerf Chief TikTok officer.

“I’ve wanted to work for Nerf since I was 10,” she said.

Originally a three-month gig with a $10,000 a month salary, the job has been extended indefinitely. As part of the job, Jamison creates content for the Nerf TikTok channel and has helped create strategy and set the tone for the new channel.

“To some extent, Nerf will always be in my life,” she said. “I have too many of them.”

She has about 800 Nerf toys from the newest blasters to an original 1969 Nerf ball. Her favorite – a classic Long Strike blaster that looks like a sniper.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.