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🎙️ Interesting Humans Podcast
Ep 42: 4 Million TikTok Followers [An Influencer's AMAZING Life Story]
01:17:09
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- [00:01]
A
Okay, folks, what a treat we have here today. I have Megan McCarthy. Megan, thank you for being here. Four million. Thank you for having me. Not a typo. Four million TikTok followers. So, yep, my handy. Our handyman. We live in the same neighborhood, sent me a text and said, hey, should I go ask this girl. She's one of my clients. About being on the show. And as soon as he told me why, I was like, yes. Because a lot of what I've been doing is, like, survivor stories and nothing near this. Yes.
- [00:32]
B
Well, I know. I watched a lot of your videos, and I'm like, I'm not sure if, like, what I'm gonna talk about. I know. Like, Secret Service. Like a billionaire. Like survivors. I'm like, I don't know.
- [00:44]
A
Right.
- [00:45]
B
Is he sure he wants me on the podcast?
- [00:47]
A
The answer is yes.
- [00:49]
B
To get a totally different perspective.
- [00:54]
A
It's. It's fascinating. Like, interesting humans. When I started this, I had no clue how much fascination I would have in this world. But under the hood of what it takes, like, even 10,000 followers is a lot.
- [01:08]
B
It is.
- [01:08]
A
So you're at 4 million. We're going to dive in. But there's also some other cool stuff that you shared, so I want to.
- [01:12]
B
Make sure we get to this.
- [01:13]
A
And I noted it. Your family owned a taxicab company.
- [01:18]
B
Yes.
- [01:18]
A
Tell me a little bit about it.
- [01:20]
B
So my dad used to joke it was always going downhill as a business, which unfortunately is true because of Uber and Lyft and all that. But we don't own it anymore. But for a long time, he owned it. It was called McCarthy flowered cabs.
- [01:34]
A
Yeah.
- [01:34]
B
And because we also own flower shops, and they were actual cabs in Scranton, so when the Office was on air, they reached out to us, and they made exact replicas of our taxi cabs, because they don't film in Scranton. They film in la and. But they made exact replicas of our taxis. And there's a few episodes where you can see them and says, McCarthy flowered calves. It's.
- [01:59]
A
No way.
- [02:00]
B
Yeah. It's so cool.
- [02:01]
A
Do you know an episode back then.
- [02:02]
B
So the Rabies episode, like the. The.
- [02:06]
A
The Michael Scott fun run.
- [02:09]
B
So, like, I think it's like, maybe Kevin and Stanley, like, they don't want to finish the run or.
- [02:14]
A
So they jump in the cab and.
- [02:15]
B
Then they get dropped off. So that's our cab. And then also when Michael leaves the office, like, one of the most emotional moments in the whole show, he. He drives away in one of our cabs.
- [02:28]
A
And how can you Tell what makes it okay. So here's the picture. So it says McCarthy.
- [02:32]
B
Oh, do you see it?
- [02:33]
A
McCarthy Flowers.
- [02:36]
B
And it has some flowers on the side too.
- [02:38]
A
Yeah.
- [02:38]
B
But I think there's like a. Like a moment where Jim is looking out the window. I think it's Jim looking out the window with Michael leaving. Or it's Dwight. I forget. But yeah, you could see it there too. It's just like little clips of it. But yeah, it's fun. You know, it's a. Fun. Before being from Scranton, there wasn't like a whole lot to talk about. But now from the office and our.
- [02:59]
A
President, the Biden Expressway, we talked about getting renamed, right?
- [03:03]
B
Yeah.
- [03:03]
A
Which is no joke. Whether they do it or they don't.
- [03:05]
B
McCarthy Flowers Expressway or the Megan McCarthy Expressway.
- [03:11]
A
I love it. Did you work in the business?
- [03:14]
B
Yes, I did and I still do. So. So I was in LA for a while and then I moved back because I wanted to be close to my family and my nephews. That was the most important thing. I'm like, I don't want to miss out on their lives. So when I moved back, I got more involved in the family business again. I kind of grew up in it, but now I run all of the social media. It's like 60 some accounts and I do all of the graphics, all the like marketing, any print graphics, naming the arrangements, which is like one of my favorite things to do. That's like. That's actually fun and just creative. But yeah, yeah, it's a lot. And I've just been involved in it my. My whole life, really.
- [03:57]
A
Wow. So it's not cabs anymore, it's just flowers?
- [04:00]
B
Yeah. So no. We sold the cab company a few years ago. My family owned other businesses. There was a diaper business for a short time. My dad. No the name of it, but my dad. I don't. I won't curse on here. I don't know if I'm supposed to. He called it. It was a really poopy business. He said.
- [04:24]
A
So.
- [04:24]
B
Yeah, he's an entrepreneur. He's done a few random things and now my brother is. He's running it and we're continuing to expand the flower shops. We're in 10 states right now, I think 30. Some retail locations. Yeah, it's a lot and it's always been a lot.
- [04:43]
A
It's McCarthy Flowers.
- [04:45]
B
So the first ones are McCarthy Flowers, the originals that started in 1952 with my grandpa. But then we would buy flower shops. There's not really an exit plan for most florists, so they started finding us, and we're like, yeah, we'll buy it and we'll keep. We've kept the names just to, like, keep the legacy of former florists. And so, yeah, there are a ton of different names right now, but if you went tofamilyflowers.com, then you could see Family flowers. Yeah, then you can see all of them because it's a family owned business.
- [05:17]
A
And do I order, like, can I order on there for somebody in Pennsylvania?
- [05:21]
B
You could. You'll find. You'll go to the location section, and then you'll see, like, we have three locations in Pennsylvania right now.
- [05:30]
A
Anyone by my parents? We'll use you guys to shop at our.
- [05:33]
B
Yeah. Really?
- [05:36]
A
This is. Oh, this is.
- [05:37]
B
My dad and brother will love this.
- [05:40]
A
Yeah.
- [05:40]
B
Okay, cool. We're in Pennsylvania.
- [05:42]
A
Ish. We're like by the Poconos. So sell your flowers. Shop our different shop. Local flowers.
- [05:47]
B
Okay.
- [05:48]
A
Yeah. Okay, I see. Well, Scranton, pa.
- [05:50]
B
There you go. Yep.
- [05:52]
A
This is so cool. All right. You moved from there. You moved From Scranton to LA.
- [05:58]
B
Scranton to Georgia.
- [05:59]
A
To Georgia.
- [06:00]
B
Yes.
- [06:00]
A
Okay.
- [06:01]
B
In 99, my parents moved down here. Got it. They figured that we wouldn't want to stay in Scranton as we got older. So they're like, we need to find somewhere else that maybe our kids will want to live and be near us. So then we moved here, and then I went to college. I went to Auburn. I don't know. You're probably not in Auburn.
- [06:20]
A
Did you see the mascot? The Auburn mascot I had on?
- [06:23]
B
No, you had the Auburn.
- [06:24]
A
I'm not supposed to say what school. It's. I'm. Yes. So I literally thought that you put a uniform like a. And you go out in the field.
- [06:36]
B
Yeah.
- [06:36]
A
That's all I thought it was. Then I met this kid.
- [06:39]
B
Yeah.
- [06:39]
A
From. We have kids in school together, and I don't know how it came up, but he doesn't like talking about it.
- [06:45]
B
Yeah, well, I think you're supposed to be, like, secretive about it, kind of somebody.
- [06:49]
A
And he told me about it, and I go, you're coming on my show.
- [06:52]
B
Yeah.
- [06:53]
A
There's a whole underground world. Both or the three obies cannot be in uniform. Two of them can't be in uniform at the same time.
- [07:02]
B
Makes sense.
- [07:03]
A
So he told a story where the basketball team was playing in a tournament in Ireland. The football team couldn't come on the field. Well, they can come on the field, but the mascot wasn't allowed out until he came out of uniform over there. Because they keep it exactly like a.
- [07:17]
B
Human being and they're Like, I'll be got from Ireland to here.
- [07:21]
A
Yeah.
- [07:22]
B
In seconds.
- [07:23]
A
That's the feel they want. They don't want to, like.
- [07:25]
B
Yeah. That's awesome.
- [07:27]
A
They had every department head from the school comes to the field to do the vote on the final day. There were a hundred applicants.
- [07:36]
B
Oh, my. That's amazing.
- [07:39]
A
Yeah. And you had to do, like, a. You got to be out there for, like, two hours. Very limited ventilation.
- [07:44]
B
Yeah.
- [07:44]
A
You have to be very careful when you're around groups because you can't show that you're breathing at all. So you have. He said you had to learn breathing, how to, like, inhale. Saw a group around.
- [07:55]
B
Yeah.
- [07:55]
A
And you knew that they were coming over to you or something. You had to, like, get a deep breath because you couldn't. I know. They have no ventilation. They want it that way.
- [08:04]
B
That's painful. Like in Alabama, in August and September, like, I would be dying walking in class. I don't know how Abby does it. That's amazing.
- [08:13]
A
It's incredible. So just the whole story of it, of how he would, like, fly on the jet and they would go do, like, commercials for Visa.
- [08:19]
B
And that's.
- [08:20]
A
It was just awesome. Great episode. But.
- [08:22]
B
Yeah, I need to watch that one.
- [08:23]
A
You come down, you go to Auburn.
- [08:24]
B
So I went to Auburn. You said theater.
- [08:26]
A
Okay.
- [08:27]
B
Yeah. Which. My dad was like, not sure that's the best call. But I. I did theater in high school, and my cousin also got into Auburn. She's from Pennsylvania, So we just decided to go there together. I didn't really want to go to college, to be honest.
- [08:44]
A
I didn't either.
- [08:44]
B
Yeah. But I was like, I guess I better.
- [08:46]
A
And so I'll just go to Auburn.
- [08:49]
B
So I'll just go to Auburn because my cousin got in. So we'll just go together. Um, But I do okay. I think everything happens for a reason, obviously. So I was a theater major, and I was not getting cast in the shows. I just wasn't the right fit. Or the teachers didn't like me. I don't know. Or my voice was too specific to, you know. I don't know.
- [09:13]
A
Yeah.
- [09:14]
B
Play these, like, Shakespearean roles.
- [09:16]
A
Yeah.
- [09:17]
B
So I wasn't getting cast. And that's kind of, you know, that hurts a little bit. You're like, oh, I did really well in high school. I peaked in high school. Right. So. But I kind of lucked out. So my junior year, a friend introduced me to Vine. Do you know Vine? The 10 second, 15, 6.4 seconds, if you want the exact. But my friend introduced me to that My junior year, and I just started posting on there for fun. I'm like, oh, well, not getting cast in the shows. This is just a fun, like, creative outlet. Never expected anything to come from it. But I remember then my senior year. So that was the end of junior year. My senior year. I remember one day I, like, randomly hit a thousand followers on vine, and I thought that was so crazy. I was like. My heart was pounding. I'm like a thou. Like, who are these thousand people following me?
- [10:17]
A
What were you posting? How's it going?
- [10:20]
B
I just tried to be funny. Seconds? Yeah.
- [10:24]
A
What can you do in six seconds?
- [10:26]
B
I mean, I made over 700 vines, so a decent amount. I think my brain works in short little bursts of comedy, and that's it. So it really worked for me. But, yeah, So I hit 1000 followers 9-1-1, and then when that happened, I was like, oh, maybe, you know, I better keep trying and see what can happen. I was just posting for friends initially, and then by six months later, I had a million followers on Vine. Oh, yeah? Yeah.
- [11:03]
A
This is nine. What is this year?
- [11:06]
B
2013. And then 2014 is when I hit a million.
- [11:09]
A
Wow.
- [11:10]
B
Yeah. And I was like, this is crazy.
- [11:13]
A
Were they paying anything at that time, or was that.
- [11:15]
B
No, Vine. Vine never had, like, ad revenue on it, but I was paid through brand deals, so I was.
- [11:26]
A
That's what I want to understand. So what people call you?
- [11:29]
B
Yeah, they'd email me. I'd have my email in my bio, and then they'd reach out to me, and, you know, it started off small, just charging a few hundred, and then a few thousand video. And then it kept going.
- [11:45]
A
What was your favorite product and your worst product that you ever.
- [11:48]
B
My favorite product? Oh, that's a great question. I did a lot for Coca Cola, which was fun. Yeah, those are fun. I did McDonald's. I did Ugg Oral B. Oh, you know what the coolest one was? Lenovo. I was hired for Lenovo and for Tech World, and I got to be the person to introduce bendable technology, like, for the first time.
- [12:16]
A
You kidding?
- [12:17]
B
Yeah.
- [12:18]
A
What year was that?
- [12:20]
B
That was 2016, I believe. No way. Yeah. So it was crazy. I had to go to San Francisco. But he. But I didn't know Cam yet at the time.
- [12:34]
A
Okay. You guys didn't know that in the story?
- [12:37]
B
Yeah.
- [12:37]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [12:38]
B
So that was. That was probably one of the coolest experiences. I was so nervous because you're in a room with, like. I think there was, like, I don't know how many thousands of people that Room held. And then it's being streamed like live for people all around the world. It's literally called Tech World. And the night before we had rehearsals and I didn't particularly love what was written for me for my script, and luckily the team was so awesome to work with and they're like, you could change it. And I was like, okay. So I rewrite wrote a script and I had to memorize it that night and then perform it the next day. But the, the scariest part was their engineer, he was from China, and he created this like, bendable phone that you could wear on your wrist. Like a watch, basically, and then a. Like a folding tablet. But it was so scary because he was like, don't touch here or here or here or here, because this is like a prototype. Like, it's not like. So I was like, I could mess this up live. Like, I could break this phone. Like, it was terrifying. But I. I nailed it, I think.
- [13:56]
A
How long was the script?
- [13:59]
B
You know, I don't know. How long?
- [14:00]
A
A couple sentences?
- [14:01]
B
Or was it like. No, it might be like a paragraph, maybe like, I don't know, six, seven sentences, something like that, and like a little back and forth. But it was intimidating. And it was awesome, though. And I met Ashton Kutcher there because he, he also was like on stage and doing some work there with I think, Motorola phones.
- [14:26]
A
So a different product.
- [14:28]
B
He wasn't.
- [14:29]
A
Yeah, that's so cool.
- [14:31]
B
But that was cool. So, yeah, that was a very cool experience. And that started with, sorry, I'm like going all over the place.
- [14:38]
A
And it's awesome. It's literally perfect. This is what I want to do. Wind you up. And I'm.
- [14:44]
B
Yeah, it's hard. Like, it's all over the place all the time. So they first. Lenovo first hired me for a Facebook brand deal and the amount was pretty low, like in comparison to other jobs I've been getting at the time.
- [14:59]
A
And can you say the number or is it.
- [15:01]
B
It was $2,000. Okay for a Facebook video?
- [15:04]
A
Yeah, okay for a video. Yeah.
- [15:05]
B
And that was like, much lower than I had been. And I was like, oh, man. But my manager was like, no, I think it's a good idea. You should take it. And I'm like, okay, I'll do it. And then that's what led into me, you know, getting to work with them more and six figure deals and stuff.
- [15:23]
A
Deals.
- [15:24]
B
Yes, and more.
- [15:25]
A
So you had a manager, you said?
- [15:26]
B
I did. Yeah, for part of the time. Like, not the whole time. I started off by myself doing Everything learning along the way. Yeah, there's a.
- [15:37]
A
So cool.
- [15:37]
B
There's so much to it. It's great. I knew nothing, you know, Like, I had.
- [15:41]
A
No, it was all new.
- [15:42]
B
It was all new. Yeah. There was no, like, blueprint. There was nobody, you know, now so many people want to be influencers, and there's a lot of information on how to get started. And, yeah, back then, there was nothing. I'm like, I do not know what I'm doing, and I'm just gonna.
- [15:57]
A
Wanted to do it.
- [15:58]
B
Like.
- [15:59]
A
Or what was the. I don't know, like, what changed? Like, what, did you enjoy the work? Did you enjoy a piece of the work? Or maybe from a long time ago? Like, when you put your first vine up, you're like, I'm gonna do this forever. How did it work?
- [16:12]
B
How did it all work? So, yeah, I wasn't, you know, I didn't grow up thinking, like, oh, I'm gonna be an influencer. I never had that thought. I always liked making people laugh. For as long as I can remember, I've always just loved making people laugh. So when I first started making Vines, like I said, it was just for me and my friends, like, just making stupid videos, like, just trying to make people laugh. And I did not expect other people to follow along or also really think it was funny. But other people, like, laugh, too. Yeah, I guess other people like laughing. Gosh, that's so cool. Yeah. So then it just kept growing from there. I thought I wanted to do acting, you know, that's why I was in theater. So I had some kind of entertainment background somewhat, I guess, but, like, influencing being on social media, that was never a goal or in the plan, and it just kind of happened that way.
- [17:08]
A
Kind of happened because you dabbled with the vine.
- [17:11]
B
Yeah, exactly.
- [17:12]
A
And what prompted California to move there?
- [17:15]
B
So I don't know exactly how many followers I had when I graduated from Auburn, but it was maybe around 3 million on just behind. Yeah.
- [17:26]
A
So that's fascinating.
- [17:28]
B
Thank you. And seriously, when I first saw a thousand followers, I almost threw up. I was like, who are these people? Like this. It scared me. Like, I don't know if I want random people watching me. But then a few months after I graduated from Auburn, I was like, you know, this is the time to trying to go to California, see what happens. I moved out there, and it was definitely the right career move, for sure. There was so many opportunities I got, like, for brand deals and other. Just other opportunities because I was there.
- [18:04]
A
What were those?
- [18:06]
B
So there's. There's a lot. I got to, like, make Vines for the Voice, that show. I got to go there, and I was so excited because I loved that show. I was so excited. Um, and let me think. What else? Like, a bunch of movie premieres, things like that.
- [18:25]
A
Just.
- [18:26]
B
Just fun stuff. Like, fun random. Oh, the first event I ever went to, this is before I moved to la. It was in Las Vegas. It was like a Vine influencer meetup at Mike Tyson's house in Las Vegas. So random.
- [18:42]
A
Mike Tyson's house? You were how old? I mean, you.
- [18:45]
B
I was 22. Yeah.
- [18:48]
A
To go to Mike Tyson's house at age 22, I would be, like, so nervous.
- [18:53]
B
I was nervous. I was so nervous. And that was, like, my first time meeting all these other influencers. Logan Paul. Do you know Logan Paul? He, I think. Was it Jake Paul that fought Mike Tyson recently? Oh, so he was there. So it's so funny to me thinking back, like, that's when I first met Logan Paul and Jake Paul, and then 10 years later, like, Jake Paul's fighting Mike Tyson.
- [19:17]
A
Oh, my goodness.
- [19:19]
B
It's so weird. But Logan was like, oh, so that is your real voice. I'm like, ah, nice to meet you too. But. So that was. That was wild. There was a lot of pretty interesting wild experiences in la.
- [19:35]
A
Per real. What are they called on Vines?
- [19:39]
B
Just a Vine? Yeah. Per episode or just for Vine? Yeah. So I would. I will say I'm a pretty shrewd negotiator, believe it or not. I know I might not come across that way.
- [19:49]
A
I want some negotiating tips before this is over, then.
- [19:51]
B
All right, great. But, you know, companies would reach out to me. Coca Cola, Milky Way, Burger King. I worked with a lot of different companies, and they would make me an offer, and I would, you know, make it a better offer for myself.
- [20:08]
A
That's right.
- [20:09]
B
Because I could do that. I was. One of the things, I think that really helped me in, like, getting brand deals was that I was always very family friendly. A lot of people on the Internet are not super family friendly.
- [20:22]
A
Oh, that language.
- [20:23]
B
You mean language. And just as far as, like, being an influence, like, I knew I had a lot of young people watching me, so I didn't want to be a bad influence. That was always important to me.
- [20:35]
A
That's so cool.
- [20:36]
B
So that helped. With big companies, I'm like, yeah, yeah, you can hire these people, but, like, I don't think you want to be associated with some of that. So that helped me.
- [20:45]
A
Where'd you learn that? Where'd you learn negotiating? Just by Doing it or did somebody teach you? Manager?
- [20:49]
B
No, just. Just by doing it. I mean, I think my dad, he's good at negotiating too, but he would, like, I'd be in the car, like, on the phone, like, trying to make a deal, and he'd be like, take that, take that. I'm like, yeah, I could do better. And he'd be like, dying. He's like, you know how many flowers I have to sell together?
- [21:10]
A
Like, you don't have to say the company name, but what was the biggest percentage increase? Like, they offered you two, and you got 20.
- [21:19]
B
Like, what's one question after negotiating?
- [21:23]
A
Because most kids would take what they're offered.
- [21:25]
B
Yes.
- [21:25]
A
Like, oh, great.
- [21:26]
B
Speaking of that, that destroyed the, the, like, rates for social media, by the way. Those, like, kids that were like, oh, I have 5 million followers, $500. That sounds great. That destroyed it. Yeah. I honestly, I don't know the company that I, like, got the biggest jump from, but I don't think I ever took the first offer on anything.
- [21:50]
A
Moved it up. Always moved up along the way.
- [21:53]
B
And I'm like, I'm gonna, I, I, you know, I'll have it done for you when you want it done. I'll make multiple videos if you need them. Like, I'll redo things. I was, I was always super responsible, super on time, super responsive. You know, they. There was a lot of companies that would continue to work with me because they knew that I would get the job done.
- [22:12]
A
Yeah. Now, in those, was there specific kind of editing, or was it more about being raw and authentic?
- [22:19]
B
So in the very beginning of vine, there was no editing at all. It was very hard to film. Even though it's only 6.4 seconds, there would be times that I would be filming for hours to get the six point, because you couldn't delete. Like, if you delete it, it would delete the whole thing. So if you wanted to film for two seconds, you have to have that perfect two seconds. And then if you have your next shot and it's just one second and it's not perfect, you have to start all over. It's. Yeah, I know. It's. It's such a short amount of time. But when there was no editing, no uploading, like you. You could only film in the app. It was really like, oh, it was challenging. No, from. You had. Yeah, in the beginning for a while, you had to film in the app, and that was challenging. I remember trying to do some brand deals when I was at Auburn and, like, having friends try to film them for me. And they're like. You can hear them like, three. And I'm like. It was. It was so bad. There were so many times where I'm like, oh, my gosh, I gotta find somebody else to film and. Yeah, because you couldn't even initially, you couldn't even set a timer to film yourself. There was. Yeah, it was way harder.
- [23:34]
A
All right, what's. What's. Take any one of those companies. Coca Cola, Mars, Milky Way. You said a bunch of great companies. Like, what's one example of a Vine? What would they do in six seconds? Eat my candy bar. What else can you say? Or whatever.
- [23:50]
B
I. I'm trying to think. I made so many. I think there was one I made for Coke that I was pulled over by a cop.
- [23:59]
A
Okay.
- [24:00]
B
And I gave him a Coke, like, with his name on it or something like that. Like, it was like a Share A Coke brand deal. Like, they were doing, like, a Share a Coke campaign. So I was like, I, like, shared it with the cop. I don't know. That was one. There was one that was. When they did those machines that have, you know, all the different sodas you can get. Like, I remember I made one for that where I would, like, pick a drink and I would, like, change my outfit into something else. Like, it was like, a different vibe for every drink.
- [24:28]
A
Yeah.
- [24:30]
B
But I tried to make them funny, too. There was one YouTube video I did for Listerine, but it was. I don't. I don't know exactly how he made this work, but it did. Somehow I went to a. Like, a person's home that was haunted, and we did, like, a ghost what Tour thing. Yeah. I don't know. So they're kind of all over the place.
- [24:52]
A
Wow, that's so cool.
- [24:54]
B
Yeah.
- [24:54]
A
Who else do I add to that? So you got Coca Cola, Mars, Milky Way, Listerine.
- [24:58]
B
What other ones? Lenovo.
- [25:01]
A
Oh, that's right.
- [25:02]
B
Ugg. Like, Ugg boots. That one. I did a video with a husky. I remember.
- [25:08]
A
You did?
- [25:09]
B
Yes. I was living with a husky at the time, and they sent me a pair of fake Uggs and a pair of real Uggs for the video. So it was like, you had to make some idea around that. And so I had the dog, like, destroy the fake ones, and then I had him. He wouldn't touch the real ones because he knew better. Like, he's like, these are quality. Like, I'm not gonna chew on these. Trying to think. Cam, can you think of any other brands?
- [25:36]
A
That is awesome.
- [25:37]
B
There was. Yeah.
- [25:40]
A
Are you okay?
- [25:41]
B
I'm good.
- [25:43]
A
Wow. All right, so, Mike Tyson, you're California. Then what happens?
- [25:50]
B
So sorry. I feel like I have a runny nose.
- [25:53]
A
Okay, come back. Let me ask that question just in case.
- [25:56]
B
Oh, yeah, Cut this out.
- [25:57]
A
If I have to, but I doubt it. All right, so you go. So, Mike Tyson, you have this incredible. You're 22 years old.
- [26:03]
B
Yep.
- [26:04]
A
Auburn, California. How much longer do you do in California until you come back to Georgia?
- [26:11]
B
I was in California for four years.
- [26:14]
A
Okay.
- [26:14]
B
Yeah.
- [26:15]
A
What part of California?
- [26:17]
B
Like, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Glendale? Just. I moved around places that all got.
- [26:23]
A
Burned down by the fire. Right.
- [26:25]
B
Yeah. There were times where I was living there that I packed a suitcase because there's fire so close. Yeah. I'm like, I don't know if I'm going to have to leave immediately. Yeah. It's so sad. I. Yeah, it's really terrible.
- [26:39]
A
Different way to live.
- [26:40]
B
Yeah.
- [26:40]
A
Have a suitcase ready to go.
- [26:42]
B
Yeah, exactly. And I barely packed anything. I was like, I don't know. I put, like, dog pads in it for my dog. Like, that's the most important thing.
- [26:54]
A
I love it.
- [26:56]
B
That's awesome.
- [26:58]
A
Four years, California.
- [26:59]
B
Yes.
- [27:00]
A
Are you having the time of your life?
- [27:03]
B
Is that in California?
- [27:04]
A
Like, you're doing vines? You're working with.
- [27:07]
B
Yes. There was so much fun stuff. Like, I had a lot of great experiences. One of the. One of my favorite experiences was flying to New York for the Suicide Squad premiere. I don't know if you're a Batman guy. Sure. But you did.
- [27:25]
A
You worked on it.
- [27:26]
B
I didn't work on it, but I got to, like, promote it. And I got to. I was, like, hired to go, and I got to walk on. It was a black carpet, not a red carpet, but that was cool. And my brother has always loved Batman, too, so I took him with me. And so that was just such a fun experience for us. And then the afterparty was pretty crazy. Like, Margot Robbie was there, Will Smith, Car Deline, Jared Leto. Probably the craziest. And this was back In, I think, 2016 when this happened to Elon Musk was there.
- [28:05]
A
Did anybody know you?
- [28:07]
B
Yeah. I mean, not. Not well. I don't know.
- [28:10]
A
Hey, I saw your vines.
- [28:11]
B
Like, what has happened to me, like, from people that I, like, looked up to. Do you know the band Panic at the Disco? They've been one of my favorite bands since middle school. And it was actually during that trip, I saw the lead singer at my hotel, and I, like, ran up to him, and I was like, I'm sorry to bother you. I love you. And he's like, oh, hey, I know who you are. Like, I watch your vines. And I'm like, really? I almost died right then. But at the Suicide Squad premiere after party, like, my brother, I feel like, was the only person who knew Elon Musk was at the time, like, in 2016, he. His face was not, like, recognizable like it is now. So my brother introduced himself and he was so, like, focused on you. When he talks to you, it's like there's no one else in the world. It was, wow. Intimidating and impressive. Yeah.
- [29:05]
A
Tesla 16, I don't even know.
- [29:06]
B
Tesla was out, right? Yeah, yeah.
- [29:09]
A
Is it the brother that I know?
- [29:10]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [29:11]
A
Get out. He goes right up to him.
- [29:13]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [29:13]
A
Hey, I'm Kevin.
- [29:14]
B
You know, everybody else there, it wasn't. It wasn't a big party. I think, you know, they. Because of the cast being there, they didn't want a ton of random people. But most people that I saw were going up to some of the actors. I didn't see anybody else be like, oh, I need to meet Elon Musk. Oh, yeah, it would be different now, but. So that was a very fun experience. I know we're talking about living in la, but some of the work I kept, I would go to New York for.
- [29:45]
A
Oh, interesting.
- [29:47]
B
But there was a thing called the Shorty Awards, which were like Internet awards.
- [29:52]
A
And I was not like the Dundees.
- [29:55]
B
Not quite like Dundee's kind of clothes.
- [29:58]
A
Nothing as good as the Dundee. Michael Scott.
- [30:00]
B
I never won a Dundee. Sadly, I think I deserve one. But I was nominated for Best Vine Comedian and I was the only girl that was nominated, so I was excited about that. I didn't win, but that's okay. It was still. It was still a very cool experience and I was still, like, honored that anyone thinks I'm funny at all. That was really cool.
- [30:26]
A
You're at the time now. Are you growing? Are your followers just going up with all this exposure?
- [30:31]
B
Yeah. So on vine, the. I reached three and a half million before it shut down in 2017.
- [30:40]
A
Did it convert or just shut down?
- [30:42]
B
It shut down. So Twitter bought it. I was already doing YouTube at the time, so I. I feel like I. This was. I have to thank my brother for this, actually. I have to thank him for a lot. So when I. Sorry, I'm jumping all over the place. It's just the only way I can do it. Yeah. So when I first started getting followers on vine, like, everyone was really nice at first when I had those first, like a thousand followers. And then within a couple months, I started getting all of the terrible, mean comments, like, horrific things that I would never say to anyone. Like, I don't know, can I say it on here?
- [31:27]
A
I would love to hear it.
- [31:29]
B
People tell me to kill myself. I get that one a lot People say that they want to kill me. I get that a lot people say that. I hope they hope I get raped and then killed. Like, why?
- [31:40]
A
Like, what are they?
- [31:41]
B
I'm like, is someone forcing you to watch this? It's not what you're seeing.
- [31:45]
A
Political.
- [31:46]
B
You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm just trying to make people laugh. I'm like, this is. Yes, but there's so much of that on the Internet.
- [31:53]
A
Is anything real? Did anything turn out to be, like, a real threat? Somebody should ever show up where you're at?
- [31:58]
B
No, but I had people that I was concerned about. So there were. There were things called VidCon and Playlist Live, where you would go and meet a bunch of fans and do, like, meet and greets, and I would talk on panels, and I. I put a couple people on the list for, like, the vidcon security to look out for. And it wasn't the people that were saying mean things. It was the people that were saying very creepy, like, I want to marry you and. But, like, way creepier than that. Like, yeah, there was people that would message me, you know, basically 24 hours a day for years, like, and I'd block them on something, and then they would just make a new account or, you know, it was. Yeah, there's a lot of crazy stuff out there. Yeah. Yeah.
- [32:47]
A
At the end of the day.
- [32:48]
B
Yeah.
- [32:48]
A
Is that what it comes down to?
- [32:49]
B
Or is it, like. Because people don't say that stuff to my face. I mean, I have. People have weird reactions to my voice all the time, but no one's ever like, kill yourself. Like, that's. That doesn't happen in person.
- [33:01]
A
Person is that.
- [33:02]
B
There's shockingly a lot of them. I know. It's just they're the loudest. You know, that's the thing. It's. Those type of people are the loudest ones. And there's. There's so many good people and so many nice people, and there's so many great comments, too, and so many things that, like, have meant so much to me to hear from people, but it's just like, the. The jerks. They're the loudest ones always. But wait, where was I going with this? Oh, my brother. I have to. So I owe him for this.
- [33:32]
A
Yeah.
- [33:33]
B
I called him one night my senior year at Auburn. And I was crying because I wasn't prepared for these comments. Like, I didn't expect complete strangers to want to murder me, you know, like, for trying to make people laugh. So I called him crying, and he was like, you need to make a video. Like those mean tweets, videos that, like, celebrities make. And so then that was my first big YouTube video. I wasn't really. I wasn't doing YouTube yet at the time, but that was my first one, and that was the first one that hit a million and like a million views. And it just went over super well and it was just me reading all the mean comments. So I. I turned the negativity into positivity and profit.
- [34:18]
A
And is that still out there?
- [34:20]
B
It is, yeah. But the editing is so bad. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no. Literally no education in editing. I filmed it on my iPhone. Like, I set it up on some books and I put. I felt or I edited it in imovie, but I didn't know what I was doing with the audio. Like, it's a mess, but it's still out there. It works.
- [34:42]
A
Yeah, because it was real.
- [34:44]
B
Yeah, it was. It was all real.
- [34:46]
A
That's where I'm struggling now, with everything going on with AI and all. Fancy, polished reading from teleprompters. And there's a time and place for that. But I don't see a real person knowing, like, that they had 17 takes.
- [35:03]
B
Yeah.
- [35:04]
A
To do something and it's polished and I'm struggling. There's a time and place for it.
- [35:08]
B
Yeah.
- [35:08]
A
But I think it's way overused, especially in this environment.
- [35:12]
B
Yeah.
- [35:12]
A
Like if I keep hitting start and stop and edit.
- [35:15]
B
Yeah.
- [35:16]
A
It. And get a perfectly smooth, polished show.
- [35:19]
B
Yeah.
- [35:19]
A
I don't know.
- [35:20]
B
It's not real anyway. No, I agree. I think. I do think people liked that about my videos. I was just real, you know, I'm not perfect. I never pretended to be perfect because I'm so far from it. Yeah. I think. I think people enjoy that. I didn't mind making fun of myself, embarrassing myself.
- [35:39]
A
Yeah. That's so cool.
- [35:41]
B
Just doing anything I could to try to make people laugh was the most important thing to me. Yeah. But. Yeah, so from vine, then I started my YouTube channel. I got up to, like, I don't know, 2 million some subscribers on there. I haven't posted in a long time on there, but I was doing that for a while, too. And then I also. Yeah, at the time they were. Yeah, they were platform. Yes. So that was nice.
- [36:08]
A
Were you getting Paid through that other paid endorsements or what did you call them?
- [36:12]
B
Yep. I would say brand deals.
- [36:14]
A
Okay. Brand deals.
- [36:14]
B
Did you brand deals? Yes, I did brand deals. And then I also like. You get paid per view as well on there and the, you know, the, the revenue changes. But it was, it was good for a while with, you know, you just get paid however many views you get. And that was nice.
- [36:32]
A
That was awesome.
- [36:33]
B
Yeah. But yeah, I was also doing brand deals on there too. And then I started doing musical ly, which was Tick Tock before it was Tick Tock. So it was originally musically.
- [36:47]
A
Yeah.
- [36:47]
B
And then eventually they changed it to Tick Tock because they didn't want to be known known as just like a lip syncing.
- [36:53]
A
Yeah.
- [36:53]
B
Video app. And so I still post on there and that's where I have 4 million still and on Tick Tock. Yeah. Yeah.
- [37:02]
A
And they pay from my understanding, the best of anybody at least recent.
- [37:08]
B
Yeah, maybe. Probably. Yeah. Like post accurate. Yeah. Because for the views probably compared to. Yeah. YouTube. I mean, I haven't posted much on YouTube, so I guess I don't have that real comparison now. Yeah. But they do, they do pay. They found a way to monetize the app. That was the problem with vine is they never monetized the app. No. So Twitter, Twitter bought it from the original creators of vine and then they were losing like a million dollars a month because they didn't, they didn't monetize it. And I'm like, there's so many ways, like every other app does it now.
- [37:45]
A
Yeah.
- [37:45]
B
And I'm not sure why they didn't. You know, they could have just thrown in an ad every few videos. There was, there's plenty of ways they could have monetized, but they just didn't. They didn't. So they never paid like per view, which if they had paid per view, that would have been very cool. I mean I had, I had billions of views on there, so that would have been.
- [38:09]
A
Billions.
- [38:09]
B
Yeah. Literally billions. Yeah.
- [38:12]
A
And it was all through that platform that you couldn't. You didn't never linked out anywhere else.
- [38:16]
B
No, it was just the views on there. Yeah.
- [38:18]
A
So fine. Was that big. I didn't realize vine was that big.
- [38:21]
B
It was a good time. It was very fun. Sometimes I hear people talk about it maybe coming back. I don't know.
- [38:27]
A
It's supposed to come back. I know. I heard that a couple days ago. It's supposed to come back under some platform.
- [38:31]
B
Yeah.
- [38:32]
A
And I forget, I don't know which one. But I want to see.
- [38:34]
B
I Don't know if it'll come back under X because, like, I think. I don't know, maybe Elon Musk still has the rights to it because Twitter owned it when he bought Twitter. I don't. I don't totally know.
- [38:45]
A
Will you get back on if it does?
- [38:47]
B
I definitely would. I definitely would. Yeah. Yeah. I don't like to, like, get my hopes up about it, but it was definitely my favorite platform. It was the most fun. To me, it was more about comedy. It was. I don't know, I just. It was just very fun. Yeah.
- [39:06]
A
Like. Or whatever.
- [39:08]
B
Yeah, definitely.
- [39:09]
A
Really cool. All right, then. So you. You're back to Georgia and what. What happened? What year are we in when you come back?
- [39:16]
B
It was pre Covid. Yeah. The very end of 2018 is when I moved back here.
- [39:22]
A
Yeah.
- [39:23]
B
And I. I met my husband actually in California, so we were just dating at the time, but I brought him back here with me and we moved in with my parents when we first came back here.
- [39:34]
A
Yeah.
- [39:34]
B
And he survived that. And I'm like, this guy, he's impressive. Yeah.
- [39:39]
A
If you can do that, you're in and with eight. They're here.
- [39:43]
B
Yeah.
- [39:43]
A
At the time.
- [39:44]
B
Yeah. My parents are amazing. So I'm mostly joking, but, you know, it's still hard to live with someone else's parents. Absolutely.
- [39:52]
A
Especially when. When you're coming from. Used to being.
- [39:55]
B
Yeah.
- [39:56]
A
On your own.
- [39:56]
B
Exactly. Yeah. So that was quite the transition. But, yeah, I moved back here because I have nephews now and I have a niece coming soon, which I'm very excited about. Good. I know career wise didn't make the most sense, but I know that I'll never regret the time with family. You know, I had a great career. I still have plans for the future. I'm working on other things. Yeah. So I'm not worried about it. And especially with social media, it changes so fast. It's so up and down. It's so unpredictable. So, yeah, I'm working on other things now, but I sometimes think about how. Oh, you know, moving back here wasn't the best career move, but like I said, I'll never regret having that time with family and getting to know my nephews and Good priorities.
- [40:51]
A
Yeah, I love it. When you came back to Georgia, were you already, like, weaning off of doing social or were you?
- [41:04]
B
I was still filming YouTube videos weekly, but.
- [41:07]
A
For you or for brands too?
- [41:10]
B
For me, for both.
- [41:11]
A
Okay.
- [41:11]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [41:11]
A
Okay.
- [41:12]
B
So a lot of times the videos I would do for brands, it'd be posted on my account. Like sometimes they'd be on their accounts, but most of the time it'd be to my account because they wanted to get the viewers and like my audience.
- [41:23]
A
Oh, yeah. Okay. So that's like what I think of like an influencer.
- [41:27]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [41:27]
A
They're on their own channel and doing stuff. So that's what you were doing throughout.
- [41:32]
B
Yeah. And sometimes it'd be on their accounts, but yeah, it was mostly on my own because they want to get.
- [41:37]
A
So pitching. You're like pitching deal like you're more or less pitching. Okay, cool. But you would do a little bit of. On their channel as well.
- [41:43]
B
Yeah, sometimes. But it was mostly on my own accounts.
- [41:46]
A
For you. Financially.
- [41:49]
B
Financially, it's better for me to post it on my account. Yeah, yeah.
- [41:53]
A
Then you name your price.
- [41:55]
B
Yeah, exactly.
- [41:56]
A
I would think. Right.
- [41:57]
B
Yeah. And like I was mentioning. So then basically kids, like young teenagers started getting famous on musical ly and taking these brand deals that were so low, like the companies were totally taking advantage of like 12, 13 year olds. It was, it was really messed up. So that, that kind of hurt the rates a lot. Like I was still, you know, charging my prices, but a lot of people could have. They deserved more than a lot of companies gave them. And now it's so oversaturated with it. Yeah, it's all ads. It's all promoting some product. It's. Yeah, there's just not. Not as much of that. Just fun, creative. I don't know, it's just not what it used to be.
- [42:46]
A
Authentic stuff.
- [42:47]
B
Yeah.
- [42:48]
A
It's so hard to decipher too. Like.
- [42:50]
B
Yeah.
- [42:51]
A
The polished, incredible reels that you see. And it's like, it's. There's so much sizzle and no steak and like it's hard even to differentiate if somebody's being paid to pitch a product.
- [43:04]
B
Yeah. And they're supposed to be, you're supposed to be very upfront with that. Any like time I had a brand deal, like I'd have to put like sponsored or ad or you know, something like that. But not everyone does that. And that is technically illegal. Yeah, yeah, you're, you're supposed. If you're promoting something, if you're being paid to promote something, you are supposed to disclose that to your viewers in the description.
- [43:30]
A
Like where, where do you, you could.
- [43:32]
B
Say it or in the description or in a pop up, like a text on the screen. It just has to be like obvious that you're actually promoting something. And you're not just doing this because you like the product.
- [43:44]
A
Yeah.
- [43:44]
B
Even if you do like it. But you have to show that you're. If you're being paid, you're supposed to tell people. Notice that.
- [43:51]
A
I wondered what that was. I hear the Chick Fil A deals or commercials in Chick Fil A commercials now. And I never heard it before.
- [43:57]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [43:57]
A
But I hear it in there where they disclose that.
- [43:59]
B
Yeah, that's again, I mean, it should be disclosed. It's.
- [44:03]
A
You feel better.
- [44:04]
B
It's disappointing when it's not. I can't remember. Well, I probably shouldn't even, you know, try to talk about. There were like massive celebrities that would get paid years ago. Like when this like, first kind of influencing came around and they wouldn't disclose it. And it's so wrong.
- [44:24]
A
It's just misleading.
- [44:25]
B
And you know that those celebrities weren't using some of those things. Like, I actually, like, do drink Coke or go to McDonald's or wear Uggs. Like.
- [44:36]
A
Yeah.
- [44:37]
B
I tried to always, like, post things and. And work with brands that I actually did believe in. Like, if it was something like I had, I turned things down that were not aligned with me or like my audience.
- [44:52]
A
Wow.
- [44:52]
B
Yeah.
- [44:53]
A
Anything come to mind? Remember one or you don't want to say no.
- [44:56]
B
They're like, yeah, there's some inappropriate ones that, you know, certain influencers would promote those kind of things. Because though there's a whole.
- [45:03]
A
For the money.
- [45:04]
B
Yeah, for the money.
- [45:05]
A
It's the money. It's a financial.
- [45:06]
B
It's all about money.
- [45:06]
A
You stuck, you navigated and kept your morals.
- [45:09]
B
Yeah.
- [45:10]
A
That's incredible.
- [45:11]
B
Thank you. Yeah, I think that was. It wasn't challenging for me, but sometimes it was frustrating seeing the people that didn't care about morals or values or like having a young audience and not caring what they're showing them. That was. That was really, like. I had a hard time with that. And it was a lot of people that I was surrounded by and I met some of my favorite people ever in la. And also some of, you know, not the best people ever.
- [45:45]
A
You gotta make sure you still have your wallet.
- [45:46]
B
Yeah.
- [45:47]
A
Double check your bill, fold. It was.
- [45:49]
B
So, yeah, there's a lot of people that, like, I thought I had all these great friends out there, and then it turns out, oh, they were just using me. Like, that was a pretty common theme out there.
- [46:02]
A
They're trying to advance their own.
- [46:04]
B
Yeah. Some people just really don't care who they step on to get to the next level. And once they've used you as much as they can, then they go to the next so person. Yeah. So I learned that the Hard way, probably over and over again. But I did meet my husband out there and one of my best friends ever. So, you know, it was all worth it. And I still miss things about la. The weather, the food shopping. There was. There's just so much to do all the time.
- [46:31]
A
Yeah. I want to go behind the scenes on one of these. Pick anyone or like and we'll stay focused on.
- [46:39]
B
We'll try.
- [46:40]
A
So fascinated that you said, I can't get out of my mind. You said it would take hours sometimes to produce six seconds.
- [46:47]
B
Yeah.
- [46:48]
A
Let's start with like thought process. So Coke wants to do the machine. Let's use that machine. Okay. Take over from there. What do you do? You have six seconds to promote the machine. Are you coming up with the creative or are they.
- [47:03]
B
I preferred when I was able to come up with a creative like entirely. But there was some brands like Coke, like major brands like that they would have somewhat of an outline and stricter rules and policies for what you could say, what you could post. You know, they, and they just had some ideas for what they wanted the videos to, to be like, like share a Coke or the ones where they had the names on it. Like I did ones with that. So there were some themed ones and then there'd be other brands that were just more like we just want you to promote Milky Way however you feel like promoting Milky Way, you know.
- [47:38]
A
Really?
- [47:38]
B
Yeah.
- [47:39]
A
Free.
- [47:40]
B
Yeah. So those ones were fun because I could just like had free rein. I could think of any random creative thought. For me it usually would be at night when I'm trying to fall asleep is when I think of all my ideas. Like I don't know why, but that's always how it is. I've always been more nocturnal. I just, I'm better at night and I'd be trying to fall asleep and I'm like, oh, I gotta get my phone and write that idea down and you know, some. Yeah, I would. Then I'd have to go back and forth with the brands. I would like write out my concept, give them like an outline and sometimes they'd approve it. Sometimes they want to tweak certain things.
- [48:19]
A
Yeah.
- [48:19]
B
Then I'd film it and usually like I would be like a one take wonder. I say, but that's, that's not the case. It was like one, one video from me. It was frustrating when brands would be like, oh no, we want you to refilm the whole video. And I'm like, but you approved the outline. And so that rarely happened.
- [48:39]
A
Okay.
- [48:40]
B
Luckily. But there were times that did happen. And I'm like, no, like we're not gonna do that because we went. Went through this. Yeah. So that was annoying. But yeah, most of the time it was just me looking over the concept and trying to think of some way that I can promote a product that's. And somehow be entertaining. Yeah, yeah, it's so common now in the beginning people would comment like, oh, sell out, blah, blah, like all this stuff. I'm like, I'm posting hundreds, like actually thousands of videos for you guys for free. Like none of the viewers have to pay me anything, so you know, I gotta get paid somehow.
- [49:22]
A
Right. So you put one up for Milky Way.
- [49:23]
B
Yeah.
- [49:24]
A
You sell out.
- [49:25]
B
Yeah. And so now it's just funny.
- [49:27]
A
Not a lot of people.
- [49:28]
B
People, no, but in the beginning it was a lot more. Because people just weren't used to like the whole influencer thing, I guess. And now it's just so common. Like everybody's promoting something. But yeah, in the beginning it was a little, A little tougher and people be like, oh, I'm gonna unfollow you, cuz like, I'm sorry, I'm making all this content for free.
- [49:49]
A
Some money. Oh my goodness, you're filling up your feed with.
- [49:54]
B
I know.
- [49:55]
A
Sponsored stuff.
- [49:56]
B
One in every 50 or 100 videos. Yeah.
- [50:00]
A
Just tells me they were a little envious that they couldn't get a deal like that themselves, is what it.
- [50:05]
B
I do think, Yeah, I do think there is a lot of that. A lot of the mean comments out there. It's just jealousy and yeah, it's sad. Just people should just be nice.
- [50:18]
A
So there was a guy, episode three, who's the vice president. Coca Cola brought him in and made a position for him because he was so creative. Vice president of ideas, Keith Wilmot, he. So his fame, his claim. One of his many claims to fame at Coke was in a board meeting in order to get a deal like done, he had to get like permission from the board to do something he brought in. It's an unbelievable story. Tells it on the podcast. A £600 white Siberian tiger from Dahlona. They. The guy pulls up in front of World of Coke downtown, opens the back of his trailer and Keith Wilmot and the guy who owns the tiger had to walk it in, got in the elevator. Yeah. Pictures and video. It's unbelievable. This is so.
- [51:12]
B
That is so awesome.
- [51:13]
A
But he was all. This is at the time, like, yeah, you were talking about the machine and stuff. Yeah, he was there through all that.
- [51:19]
B
That's retired.
- [51:21]
A
Started his own, his own consulting Kind of business.
- [51:24]
B
So how. How did the tiger affect everyone? Like, what happened? Or what was his concept that he needed that white tiger.
- [51:32]
A
So if you go all the way back to the days of Disney when they opened Animal Kingdom. So he tells the story. Animal Kingdom, they wanted to shut it down because it was failing.
- [51:46]
B
Right?
- [51:47]
A
And actually they didn't want to. They shut the idea down. They didn't want to build it. They didn't want to build it. Right. Was this is the story and this is what's out on the Internet. It was the base from, like, Michael Eisner, the CEO. So board declines it. You never go back and ask a board for something. They declined. But first, like, he got through. He got. He was able to do it and pitch it again.
- [52:16]
B
That's awesome.
- [52:17]
A
He said, this time we want to bring in. Now, this wasn't the coke guy, but this is the story of. At Disney. The consulting group said, look, we'll get the board to give us one more shot. The CEO said, okay, I'll let you present to the board one more time. They brought in a white Siberian tiger.
- [52:35]
B
That's so awesome.
- [52:37]
A
And the reason they did it. It's fascinating. The reason they did it is because they felt the only thing they couldn't get past the first time in the presentation with the board was if they just had an animal there for. And that was the concept. So they come in, they pitch it again. Right. They win it. They build Animal Kingdom. An animal kingdom. Don't quote this exactly, but very close to. Has been their major profit center.
- [53:08]
B
Wow.
- [53:08]
A
Year over year over year.
- [53:10]
B
And it was rejected. It was rejected, yeah.
- [53:13]
A
So Keith, the coke guy, took a page out of that book.
- [53:17]
B
That's awesome.
- [53:18]
A
Because it worked. And here it worked to cook again. I don't know what he was pitching exactly, but.
- [53:23]
B
But it worked. And I love that.
- [53:24]
A
Related.
- [53:25]
B
I think that's a great, you know, lesson to. To live by. I was, I guess, rejected by all the casting at Auburn. You know, I wasn't getting cast in anything. Most. Not enough. Most people. But a lot of people would have been like, okay, I don't have a shot in this entertainment world. Like, I'm not making it in theater. And luckily, I. I didn't let them discourage me. There was one professor at Auburn who he actually said to me, he was like, they'll regret not using your talents here. And that meant a lot to me. I was like, thank you.
- [54:01]
A
Really?
- [54:02]
B
Yeah, that really meant a lot to me. But I don't know if they regret it or not, but it worked out fine for me because if I had been cast in those shows, I would have been very busy. I might not have started making Vines all the time.
- [54:15]
A
Followers.
- [54:16]
B
Exactly.
- [54:16]
A
Million and three million. Three and a half million.
- [54:19]
B
Yeah.
- [54:19]
A
Two over on YouTube and four, we didn't even talk about tick tock yet.
- [54:23]
B
Yeah, that's true. Or if I'd let all the mean comments stop me, you know it. I wouldn't be where I am.
- [54:31]
A
I wouldn't stop me. A long time. Like when I first started doing. A long time ago, in the beginning of my first business, I started putting content out. I couldn't get past the comments.
- [54:39]
B
It's hard. It's really hard.
- [54:41]
A
I shut down. I was like, I'm not putting anything else out. Then a book that I read is just sort of part of my story that helped me get past that. I wouldn't have this if I didn't read that book.
- [54:51]
B
That's awesome.
- [54:52]
A
So then of course I got that.
- [54:53]
B
Guy on the Chad.
- [54:56]
A
Oh, I didn't call it the Big Leap.
- [54:58]
B
Okay. I didn't watch that one yet.
- [54:59]
A
One of the great story that happened out and you're. You're out in California, the guy had a small business, very small business. He had three people, three couples that would meet. He was like a consultant, a life coach. And then he goes from being a life coach, having people meeting in his living room to Oprah. Heard about what he was teaching, had him on Oprah.
- [55:22]
B
Wow.
- [55:23]
A
Once, twice, three times. And then he became Oprah Winfrey's next door neighbor. So he goes from there's no better.
- [55:34]
B
Zero to that's a big leap. Yeah.
- [55:36]
A
Oprah's neighbor.
- [55:38]
B
That's awesome.
- [55:39]
A
Now, at the time when he came on and it was a year ago, he has 46 best selling books.
- [55:48]
B
I need to start reading his books.
- [55:50]
A
But the one that got me over the hurdle was called the Big Leap. And I share with everybody.
- [55:56]
B
I definitely want to read that. I. One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more. And I've been trying to read at least one book a month, so.
- [56:04]
A
Oh, that's.
- [56:05]
B
I'll add that to the list. Yeah, that's a good one.
- [56:07]
A
But yeah, Gay Hendricks, his name is. He was on the show. So. All right. There's so much going on in your life now. You're still in your 20s, you're back in Georgia when. So musically.
- [56:17]
B
Yep, it was musically.
- [56:19]
A
Were you on musically?
- [56:20]
B
Yeah.
- [56:21]
A
And. And did that start tick tock or how did it all.
- [56:23]
B
Yeah, so musically became tick tock. So I Knew vine was shutting down. I'd already tried to move a lot of my audience to YouTube and then I tried to gain a following on musically too, because I'm like, well, you know, Vine's not going to be here forever. So I started making more content on YouTube and musically. And then I don't remember what year it was that TikTok became TikTok instead of musical Ly, but it was the same. The same app. So. Yeah, so that's where I have 4 million. I still just post things to try to make people laugh. Mostly try to be a good influence.
- [57:01]
A
That's awesome.
- [57:01]
B
Mostly just. Yeah, just trying to make people laugh is really my goal every day, all the time. Even just in life at home, trying to make my husband laugh, trying to make my mom laugh. My mom does think I'm hilarious.
- [57:18]
A
In life. You got mom's approval.
- [57:20]
B
Yeah, she always tells me how funny I am. I actually used to put her in some vines and she, like, didn't want to be in them, but some of the vines she did. I'm like, she killed it. But she. I had to convince her to be in them. She was like, I don't. Yeah, she's. Oh, she's the best. She's the sweetest.
- [57:38]
A
I love it. Did was me. Is. Is Tick tock exactly like what musically was. I never used.
- [57:44]
B
It's basically. I mean, they're changing features on the apps all the time. It's. It's. You can post longer videos now. When it was. Musically, it was a lot of lip syncing and some people got famous for that. And I'm. People are getting famous for lip syncing. I'm over here trying to make content. Like they would be lip syncing even to my, like videos to my voice. They'd be, whoa. Yeah, I remember Carrie Underwood did one with like, one of my, like, videos. Yeah. Like, this is so random.
- [58:18]
A
Really?
- [58:19]
B
Yeah.
- [58:19]
A
Which one? Do you remember it?
- [58:21]
B
No, I don't even remember which one it was. It was a while ago, but. Yeah.
- [58:25]
A
Was it a timed platform that musically under 60 seconds or third?
- [58:30]
B
I. Yeah, I forget what it started as, but now I think you could post videos up to 10 minutes or something. So it's. Yeah, it just changes all the time. And like, I want vine back where it's just like this simple, fun, quick, happy, creative content. There were influencers in the beginning of vine that would do stop motion. And you know, that's so many frames just for 6.4 seconds to do like a stop motion. But it was so creative.
- [58:59]
A
What Is stop motion.
- [59:00]
B
Was that. Well, okay. Do you know the Nightmare Before Christmas? That. That's so that's claymation.
- [59:06]
A
Four kids upstairs.
- [59:06]
B
Yeah, I know very well that's Claymation. But it's. It's claymation stop motion. So every, you know, millisecond, they have to move the little clay, like, and film it and move it and film it. Like, so people would do that on Vine. Like, there was a lot of creative, fun stuff on there. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of great stuff on the Internet still. I still. I like sewing things. I like. There's a lot I learned and from your videos. Yeah, I was very inspired by Chad Foster.
- [59:37]
A
Oh, how about that story?
- [59:40]
B
Insane.
- [59:41]
A
Like, he's coming back on too.
- [59:42]
B
Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, he seemed amazing.
- [59:45]
A
Yeah.
- [59:45]
B
Yeah.
- [59:46]
A
Starting a whole new concept of having people continually come on and do second, third, fourth, fifth iterations, and people say, can you get them back on and talk about this?
- [59:57]
B
Yeah.
- [59:58]
A
Can you tell about skiing? Can you do about this?
- [60:01]
B
So, yeah, I. I just loved the diversity in thought like that. That's such a great concept. Like, it's not about looks or what someone sounds like. It's diversity and thought, like, I thought that was just brilliant. So I was. I love that one. Yeah.
- [60:17]
A
Incredible.
- [60:18]
B
I hope eventually someday you'll have me back on and I'll be able to talk about.
- [60:22]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [60:23]
B
Other things I've been working on.
- [60:25]
A
Do we want to talk about any of those today?
- [60:27]
B
Because I want to get Tick Tock. Yeah.
- [60:28]
A
But I don't want to let the cat. Because I don't even.
- [60:31]
B
Yeah. So it's not like I.
- [60:33]
A
Let's talk about, like, you got. Musically, you opened up Tick Tock. How many on the very first day.
- [60:40]
B
Oh, wow.
- [60:41]
A
Followed you? Like, did they move over from there or YouTube?
- [60:44]
B
Yeah, they did. I'm sorry, I don't know the exact number.
- [60:50]
A
If you had a guess, like, was it just like, did it feel like a flop or was it a success? Day one? Let's start there.
- [60:57]
B
Yeah, I don't think it felt like a flop. It definitely was like a success from the start.
- [61:02]
A
Cool.
- [61:02]
B
I remember in the beginning especially, you know, when there weren't as many influencers or creators on there, mostly just, like, viewers. I'd get hundreds of thousands of likes per video and I'm like, I don't even think this one's very good.
- [61:17]
A
Were they paying on the platform day one when it started? No, they weren't.
- [61:21]
B
No.
- [61:22]
A
When did it start?
- [61:23]
B
A few years ago. I don't know. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. It was not always monetized YouTube, like since I've been on YouTube, that was always monetized. But yeah, not musically or Tick Tock or Vine. Yeah.
- [61:38]
A
Crazy.
- [61:39]
B
It's crazy.
- [61:39]
A
So you, you went through the whole cycle and you went on a platform that was not paid. Yeah, but YouTube's paying you. And then.
- [61:46]
B
And then I would get brand deals on musically and Tick Tock as well. So, yeah, so, I mean, it was a very full time job. Even though it's 6.4 seconds or 30 second video or a YouTube video for a couple minutes, it was. It was a full time job. You know, I'd wake up, film or get ready, then film something for Tick Tock. Film something for YouTube. Try writing a script for like the next brand deal. Film another YouTube video. But it was fun, you know, and I loved it. I really loved doing all of that. It was creative and yeah, I have so much joy from all of that. I got to do other cool things too, because of social media.
- [62:32]
A
Yeah.
- [62:33]
B
Like I did. I was the lead in a show called Flunky's upset. It's on YouTube.
- [62:40]
A
What's the first word?
- [62:41]
B
Flunky.
- [62:42]
A
Flunky.
- [62:42]
B
Flunky's Upset. I was flunky, so I got to do acting for that. I played a high schooler when I was like 26 or 27. Yeah. So that was fun. I've also done some voiceover work that's. That's kind of originally what I wanted to do. It's a really hard industry to get into because people do it for their whole lives, you know, on like live action, they move on to the next person. If you, like, start looking old, but in voiceovers you can do it forever. So sure, it's challenging, but. Do you know Blippi? Have you heard of Blippi?
- [63:23]
A
Do we know Blippi?
- [63:24]
B
I thought because you have kids of his.
- [63:26]
A
10 billion views, I think 9 billion came out of our house at some time. It feels like that. But he's incredible.
- [63:32]
B
Yeah.
- [63:33]
A
Our kids have learned so much from that. Like. Yes.
- [63:37]
B
I don't know.
- [63:38]
A
So we love him. We have a great.
- [63:39]
B
There's an episode with a penguin. I don't know if you've seen it, but absolutely. I. I'm Pepper the penguin. I'm the voice of Pepper.
- [63:48]
A
No way.
- [63:49]
B
Yeah. So if you talk to Blippi, tell him they need more Pepper episodes.
- [63:53]
A
I would love to get.
- [63:54]
B
Obviously. Oh, my gosh.
- [63:59]
A
I'm texting my wife right now. She's gonna flip when she hears this.
- [64:02]
B
But yeah, Pepper is not like a recurring character. He should be in more episodes. There was this other web series I did called Miss 2059, and I was the only voiceover character in it. Someone, like, was a puppet bear, and I did the voice for the bear, and my name was Tiggle, and that was so fun.
- [64:23]
A
How did Blippi find you? Or did you find them?
- [64:26]
B
How did that work? No, I did not find them. I was reached out to by the director that was. He was directing some of the Blippi episodes.
- [64:35]
A
Yeah.
- [64:35]
B
And he actually was the director for Flunky's Upset. And we, like, you know, we work together a lot, and he was. He was so awesome. And on set, he was so. He was. He was so fun. Like, I always enjoyed doing improv. So on set, I would kind of just like, make up my own lines, and then I check with him. I'm like, is that okay if I do that? And he's like, you don't. You don't have to ask. Like, just basically he'd do whatever you want to do. And I was like, this is the best. So, yeah, he actually found me for the Pepper the Penguin job, and I would love to do more voiceovers. So, like I said, I'm working on other things, but, yeah, let's talk about. That's one of them. Yeah.
- [65:18]
A
So voiceover. Why? You starting a business or you're.
- [65:21]
B
No, I. Okay, well, one thing, I don't. I don't know if I can say, okay, I did a job for Google, a very cool job, but it has not come out, and I don't know if it's going to or not. So that's the frustrating thing. But of all the things I've done, that was definitely one of the coolest. That was back in 2019, actually. They were looking for a voice, and I auditioned, and I had to go through at least three rounds of auditions, and the final round was in San Francisco in person, and I ended up booking the job, and it was such an amazing experience. I had to record, I don't know, 20 or 30,000 some lines. I was staying in Palo Alto for a few weeks, and it was so cool. So, long story short, I love doing voiceovers. I think, you know, a lot of people think my. My voice is like a curse, but it's also a blessing. You know, I've. I've dealt with a lot. A lot of crap because of my voice, but I've also, you know, I've gotten to do cool things because of it, too, and I've Made an impact on other people. I had a P.O. box for a while, and I would get letters from, like, all over the world with people telling me just how I've inspired them and helped them. You know, if they're insecure about something, even their voice or anything, they, like, appreciate that I'm myself and don't let the mean comments stop me. So, yeah, so it's cool. But, yeah, I don't know. I can't talk about what exactly I'm doing yet, but hopefully next time I'm on the show. All right, we'll be able to discuss that.
- [67:12]
A
But you're the point. You're up. You got something going. That's the point. Right? You got something cool going. That's awesome.
- [67:18]
B
Yeah.
- [67:19]
A
And you're here and you get to be. And you got a niece coming soon.
- [67:23]
B
I have a knees, which is like, I'm so excited. I already bought her so many outfits.
- [67:28]
A
Did you?
- [67:29]
B
Oh, my gosh. Oh, no, I don't have any Blippi outfits. Can I borrow some of that?
- [67:38]
A
Tons of it. Oh, he's been awesome. Awesome.
- [67:41]
B
Yeah.
- [67:41]
A
Good.
- [67:42]
B
Yeah. I'm very excited about having a niece, though. It's gonna be so fun.
- [67:46]
A
Let's end on the. You mentioned in the beginning the John Bartis story.
- [67:50]
B
Yeah, I know. I have so many things I could talk about, but I don't want to forget to talk about John Bartis since you know him and he was episode three, I believe.
- [68:00]
A
He's unbelievable. He's truly, truly one of the most fascinating in so many ways. Like when I started Interesting Humans, I have a different respect of interesting from when I started it. It's like I was shooting for more, like, well known in the. In the public eye kind of stuff. But then as I started talking more to more and more people, learned that every person has, like, something incredible.
- [68:28]
B
That's so true.
- [68:29]
A
You don't have to be this big famous. We have pivotal points that if I can listen to it and interview a person and get it on camera and get it out there, it can help. Like you said.
- [68:40]
B
Yeah.
- [68:41]
A
All these people.
- [68:42]
B
Yeah. I think you really can learn something from everyone. I think everyone has something to teach you is something new, some new perspective. It doesn't matter who they are. Like, you can really learn anything from anybody.
- [68:56]
A
And that's. What is it.
- [68:57]
B
Yeah.
- [68:58]
A
It's talking and getting the story.
- [69:00]
B
Yeah. I like the concept of the podcast overall because, I mean, you have unlimited content because everybody's interesting in some way, you know, so you're good. You're good.
- [69:10]
A
So what happened? How do you know John? He's on episode. Yeah, Episode three.
- [69:16]
B
Yeah. So when I saw that you interviewed him, I was very excited. I had to listen to that. So back in, like, middle school and high school, that's when I started doing theater, doing improv. I really enjoyed it. And I was thinking about getting into, like, screen acting. And Robert Downey Jr. Was my favorite actor at the time. I was obsessed with him. And I found out that he was filming the movie Due Date. I don't know if you saw that. Him and Zach Galifianakis. It's like a comedy. But I found out they were filming it here. And I was a sophomore in high school at the time. And I. I don't know, somehow found. The casting director emailed him. He got back to me. He was like, can you be at the Georgia World Congress center at 4:30 tomorrow morning, like on Thursday? And I was like, yep, I'll be there.
- [70:11]
A
Oh, yeah, cancel everything.
- [70:12]
B
I had school. I didn't even tell my parents, like, until after I booked it. I, like, I ran downstairs. I was like, I can't go to school tomorrow. We have to be at the Georgia World Congress center at 4:30am tomorrow because I'm going to be in a movie with Robert Downey Jr. And I was just an extra. And it was such a cool experience. But the reason that I want to talk about John Bartis is because I was. I think I was 15 when I did this. 15 or 16. And it was just such an exciting time for me, like, getting to be on set. I was on set for 14 hours, just doing the same takes over and over again. Yeah. But like, loving every second of it. And then eventually I see Robert Downey Jr. And he ends up talking to me. And it was so cool. But anyways, we had. My parents had a charity Guild party at their house and there was tons of people there and Mr. Bartis was there. And he ended up asking me just like, what was going on, like, about my life. And I told him the whole story about Due Date in the movie. And he made such a huge impact on me. I never had an adult outside of my family. You know, I'm a. I'm a teenager. He was so interested in my story. He made me feel so heard and so, like, he genuinely cared. And there was no distract. Like there was. I mean, there was. It was full of distractions. And he made me feel like, you know, I was the most important person in the world. And like, I'm just a kid and he's a successful, amazing person. And he just made me feel so, like, special. It was just inspiring. Like, I wanna, I wanna be like him. He's just so awesome. So.
- [72:03]
A
Wow.
- [72:03]
B
I loved his episode and yeah, I just had to bring that up. I don't even know if he knows, you know, what impact it made on me.
- [72:10]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Probably does.
- [72:13]
B
I don't think so. It was just a regular day for him. But for me, having this adult just be so interested in my story and.
- [72:21]
A
15, right?
- [72:22]
B
Yeah, like, that's just him. Yeah, he's a.
- [72:25]
A
He's one of one. He's one. I, I say this, I think he's one of one.
- [72:29]
B
He really is.
- [72:30]
A
He's an I, I put this phrase in front of leader. Yes, he's a leader. Yes. He's an incredible leader. Yes, yes, yes. He's an authentic leader.
- [72:41]
B
He's so genuine.
- [72:43]
A
Just incredible.
- [72:44]
B
Yeah, it's just, yeah, just, you know, it was probably a, I don't know, 10 minute conversation that happened 16 or so years, 16 or 17 years ago. And it's still, like, I still think about it because of how much it meant to me. And it just, you know, it just shows what an impact you can make on people just by, like giving them your attention. And I don't know, he's so inspiring.
- [73:10]
A
And I guarantee you it wasn't. It wasn't attention that looked like this.
- [73:14]
B
Oh, yeah, go ahead, tell me exactly.
- [73:16]
A
Right.
- [73:17]
B
No, no, it was like I had.
- [73:19]
A
The only human being on the planet.
- [73:21]
B
That I remember that moment so well, because I feel like that was the first time I ever had someone give me that undivided attention that wasn't like my mom or something, you know?
- [73:33]
A
Right.
- [73:33]
B
And it was someone that was so successful and I didn't even know that. But yeah, for him to just take that time meant the world to me. So everyone should be more like, John.
- [73:44]
A
Did you know him? Like, know who you were talking or.
- [73:48]
B
Yeah, I knew. No, I knew who he was because my best friend growing up in the neighborhood, her mom is best friends with his wife Judy.
- [73:57]
A
Okay.
- [73:57]
B
So I don't know if you know Mrs. Connolly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was best friends with their daughter Megan.
- [74:06]
A
Oh, okay.
- [74:06]
B
So. So I didn't know, like, who the Bardises were, but I was just.
- [74:10]
A
Yeah.
- [74:10]
B
A kid. Yeah. Yeah.
- [74:15]
A
Wow. All right. You're coming on again.
- [74:17]
B
I'm just, I would love to.
- [74:18]
A
I'm gonna nicely ask, will you come on again?
- [74:23]
B
I absolutely will.
- [74:24]
A
You're coming on again. This is just so incredible. We can oh, man.
- [74:29]
B
I know. I have so many other things I could tell you. Like, I don't. Should we end on, like, a funny story or. I don't know. This is your show. You do? Yeah, you tell me.
- [74:40]
A
That's a great idea.
- [74:40]
B
Let's put on A funny story. Oh, there's. Okay, I'll tell you. I'll tell this one because it kind of brings us back to the beginning and how we got connected. It's all coming back. So our handyman that we both have, he was coming into work on my house, and I got a call from the service gate, and they call me, and they're like, hey, we have so and so at the gate. We just want to make sure that they can come in. I'm like, oh, yeah, that's fine. And then the guard at the gate is like, is your mom home? This was last year. So I'm 32 years old, own my own house. Like, I've lived a life, and I'm still, like, answering the phone. I'm like, I promise I'm an adult. Like, I know it doesn't sound like it. And you can ask Casey. He. He heard the whole thing.
- [75:34]
A
He was that. Oh, he was at your house.
- [75:36]
B
He was at the gate when he. When the. The guard was calling. And so he heard the whole thing, and he's like, I promise, she's an adult.
- [75:43]
A
That's incredible.
- [75:45]
B
So things like that happen literally on a daily basis. But, yeah, I just wanted to tell you that one, especially since it related to. That's how we ended up.
- [75:53]
A
Yeah.
- [75:54]
B
And you can either meet each other.
- [75:55]
A
You can laugh about it, or you can.
- [75:57]
B
You know, I could cry about it, but instead, I laugh about it. And I laugh about things like this regularly because it happens literally all the time. Before you could order pizza on an app, it was a struggle for me, let me tell you.
- [76:13]
A
Right?
- [76:14]
B
Like, they're like, did you steal your mom's credit card? I'm an adult, I swear. So that's, you know, it's just what I deal with. But it's fun.
- [76:28]
A
Yeah.
- [76:28]
B
And I. I so appreciate you having me here today. I had so much fun. I can't wait to watch more of your episodes. I've loved all the ones I've watched so far.
- [76:37]
A
Thank you.
- [76:38]
B
Yeah.
- [76:39]
A
And thank you for being part of this one.
- [76:40]
B
Oh, my gosh.
- [76:41]
A
This is such a cool story.
- [76:42]
B
And thank you.
- [76:44]
A
So unique to, like. And I have a lot of unique stories out there. Oh, my goodness.
- [76:48]
B
This is a something.
- [76:51]
A
So thank you for sharing everything.
- [76:54]
B
Yeah.
- [76:55]
A
Willingness, transparency, and just. And thank you for making the time to come over and join.
- [77:02]
B
That's my man.
- [77:04]
A
And being part of this a special day. So, yeah.
- [77:07]
B
Thank you again. Awesome. Thank you.