“Whatcha Sippin’ JB?” has become an iconic saying in Normal West High School.
Math teacher, Mr. Jeffrey Breuning, has “gone viral” this year for his innovative TikToks that he films with his students during class each day.
With the help of some of his senior students, Breuning has created a new way to form relationships with his students…and even some of the students who don’t have him in class.
Breuning’s TikTok film sessions have helped motivate his students to get all of their work done in his math classes because he has a deal with his students that once the work for the day is completed, they have time to film a TikTok.
“It has motivated my students to focus better and to learn and complete their tasks, so that we have time at the end of class to record the videos…because if we don’t get through what we need to get through, then we don’t have time for videos, and there is no video for that day,” Breuning said.
The now-famous account gained most of the fame with a video going viral on February 13th, 2025 when Breuning flipped Senior Jack Hanks out of his desk and then proceeded to yell “RAWR” at Hanks. Although the video appears to pick on Hanks, Hanks is actually a huge help in getting the account up and running as he helps Breuning actually run it.
This “Hanks video” has over 261,000 views with over 48,000 likes as of March 6th, 2025. To Breuning, this a whole new world to be apart of.
“It [the video’s initial fame] was pretty exciting. I also thought it was kind of humorous, because I’m not a big social media person at all. I honestly didn’t even have TikTok when that blew up, so I just thought it was pretty funny that one of the videos went viral, and I didn’t even have a TikTok account at that point,” Breuning mentioned.
“Sippin’ with JB” is not only drawing attention on the internet, but also throughout the entire school.
Excited kids who have never even had him in class actually come up to Breuning to see the “Sippin’ with JB guy.”
The TikToks also create a much more positive environment in the classroom as well.
“I think it’s created an even more positive environment in the classroom because the students are excited about the videos. I see students in the hallway that I’ve never had in class that seem excited when they see me like that.
“We have a wall of ideas for TikTok videos, so it lets students get creative. And they’ve got a ton of good ideas up there that, you know, it’s going to be challenging to get through those, but we’re going to get through all those at some point. I think it helps include all different students in the classroom, and it lets them be creative and join in on the fun,” Breuning explained.
It’s safe to say that “Sippin’ with JB” embodies our school’s 2025 theme of “Wildcat Energy.”
In fact the positive environment and motivation the TikToks bring is exactly what the Normal West staff imagined when creating the theme.
“The ‘Wildcat Energy’ [theme] is about being positive and having a positive learning environment. And again, it encourages students in the classes that we record the videos in class to be motivated, to ask questions, to stay focused, so that we can get through the material and have time at the end to record the videos. It creates positive energy in the hallway with students that I’ve either had in the past, currently have or don’t know that seem excited that we made the videos,” Breuning added.
And in addition to contributing to “Wildcat Energy,” Breuning is also seen as a man of the people as he did a majority of Normal West a favor by dumping Senior Jack Hanks out of his chair, in the account’s most viewed video.
“Geez, my favorite video to make, obviously has to be dumping Jack Hanks out of a chair, because who wouldn’t want to dump Jack Hanks out of a chair?” Breuning joked.
“I’m sure half the student population has wanted to do that at some point in time, so I did that for all [of] you Wildcats!”
If you want to keep up with all of the fun and interactive TikToks created by Mr. Breuning and his classes, you can do so by following @Sippin with JB on TikTok!
