← The Audiobook Club with John York
The Audiobook Club with John York
Brooke Wilczewski | Quinn's Head of Community
00:53:59
Social Media Marketing, Creating a Community & Behind the Scenes
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- [00:00]
John
Foreign. Hello, and welcome to the Audiobook Club. In this week's episode, we are so lucky to be joined by the head of community and marketing lead at Quinn, Brooke Wilczewski. Brooke, thank you so much for joining me on the show. How are you today?
- [00:28]
Brooke Wilczewski
I am doing so well and so impressed that you actually pronounced my last name correctly. That is something I can't say anybody else has ever done correctly on the first try. So round of applause already. But I am so excited to be here.
- [00:44]
John
I won't admit to you how proud I am of myself now that you've just said that.
- [00:49]
Brooke Wilczewski
That's insane. I can't even spell it until second grade if I'm going to be completely honest.
- [00:54]
John
So it's difficult. Was it. Is it Polish? Latvian? Polish.
- [00:58]
Brooke Wilczewski
Very Polish.
- [00:59]
John
Polish.
- [00:59]
Brooke Wilczewski
Very, very Polish.
- [01:00]
John
Yeah, yeah, it's cool. It's a cool one, though. But no, it's great. It's so great to have you on the show. And as I was saying just before we started recording how they sort of how nice it is that when you've watched somebody on, like, social media pretty much every single day for like, a good solid amount of time and then finally getting to meet them, like, so speak face to face. Yeah, it's really nice.
- [01:24]
Brooke Wilczewski
It is. It's such a cool experience. You know, I know we were chatting about this earlier, but, you know, we have such admiration and adoration for all of our creators that we work with, and I was just a honored that you wanted me to come on your show, but also just so exciting to continue to build that community and take you from this screen of TikTok and the Quinn app and actually be able to put a personality to the name and everything like that. So it's, you know, it's so exciting to get to hang out with you, get to know you more and be a part of this awesome show that you've put together.
- [02:00]
John
Oh, thank you. That's very kind of you to say. No pressure.
- [02:03]
Brooke Wilczewski
Yeah, no, no pressure at all.
- [02:05]
John
So as is a little bit of a tradition on this show, I'd really like to start by getting to know a little bit more about your background. So I've read on the Internet about some super interesting roles that you have been a part of. You know, roles and experiences working internationally, you know, on some projects, or overseeing work internationally as well. Is that ringing any bells or am I completely mistaken?
- [02:31]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, you're completely right. Yeah, no, I. Growing up, I had always been really focused on women's reproductive health and pleasure advocacy. When I was younger, I looked a lot older than I was. And so of course, you know, going into high school at 13 because I had skipped a grade and already being younger but looking older, I had to grow up a little bit quicker than a lot of other people and understand that, you know, the attention I was receiving wasn't always as friendly as I thought it was. And so it was something that at a really young age, around 13, 14, that I really started to become passionate about. And I was very fortunate that I have very progressive and open minded parents in terms of being like, yeah, if that's what you care about. Absolutely, that's what you care about. So yeah, I started doing some work locally in my hometown and then, you know, by the time I was in college I was majoring in gender and women's studies and sociology and started doing a bit more volunteer work and got in contact with an awesome NGO that had me help write a little bit of curriculum for them. And yeah, just kind of grew from there.
- [03:46]
John
That's. It was so impressive, you know, to hear it sounds like, did you have like, because all of these like, all of these like achievements like at a young age and like all of you putting out, putting yourself out to, you know, work on things and work on all of these organizations and all this sort of stuff, did you put like a lot of pressure on yourself, on that young age to. To achieve things at the get go at an early age?
- [04:10]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, absolutely. I am such a people pleaser at my core. I know this about myself and as much as people joke about trying not to be a people pleaser, it's just something that also helps me and has helped me for the longest time just really want to push myself and succeed. And I think being a voice actor you have to be so self motivated. So I'm sure you understand that as well to really get yourself in the studio and hone your craft and that's kind of how I felt about everything as well. Was originally I am supposed to be in medical school right now. Yeah. And I did a bit of a pivot. So that's where, you know, a lot of that work came from. A and first and foremost I was so passionate about it and still am so passionate about all the causes that I was working with. But B, I was also really focusing on honing in and getting ready for medical school and showing admissions councils of like, this is the area I'm so passionate about. Please pick me, choose me, love me, you know, I'm going to be a great candidate in this area and help hone my skills and all that stuff, but ultimately decided that marketing and coming into a place where I could be a bit more creative and still pursue all of those incredible passions of, you know, female autonomy and pleasure activism and sexual and reproductive health in a space like Quinn is so much more where I'm happiest. So it definitely all kind of combined up to the pinnacle of where we are today, for sure. I was always grinding and trying to move towards that next step. It definitely was a journey, but I'm glad it got us where we are.
- [05:57]
John
Yeah, I mean, I was gonna say, I hope this isn't too bold of me to say, considering that we had, this is our, you know, first time meeting each other, but it does sound like with your expertise and your interest, it does sound like this gig at Quinn and working with Quinn seems like the absolute perfect fit, you know?
- [06:13]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, not an overstep at all. I remember when I heard of Quinn the first time I was in college, I had just decided I didn't want to go to medical school. I was out at a bar with my friends. They were all chatting with boys. I had a boyfriend at the time, so I wasn't interested. Was just kind of scrolling TikTok on my phone. Had pulled out a little headphone from my purse and was just, like, waving them on, like, yeah, great. Like, good job, looks good. And was scrolling through TikTok and came across quite Quinn's founder story about, you know, Caroline experiencing an eating disorder in college and then using all of her struggles to then be able to create this incredible platform that is now helping millions of women, of people, of men, of every different gender identity to be able to come to this place and hear all of these creators do something that not only helped Caroline personally so much, but also the thousands of people that are using Quinn every single day. And I was going through a time in my life where, you know, of course, college situations happen, and I had maybe not a great experience with a guy. And so I was really coming back into myself. And again, therapy is phenomenal. I'm very open about this, and I've talked about this on Quinn's TikTok as well. But, you know, from that experience and from finding Quinn for myself as a user, first and foremost, it was something that I was like, this is everything I've ever wanted to be a part of. So immediately I sent a novel of a message to Caroline's personal Instagram. Not even the Quinn Instagram. I don't even know how I found hers and was scrolling, was sent her A novel sent her. My resume was like, I will work for free. Whatever you need. I love Quinn. I love the mission. Anything you need me to do, I will do. And, you know, this is when quinn had, like 10,000 followers. So we had hopped on a Zoom call the next day and just hit it off and, you know, the rest is history. Yeah, Very long winded.
- [08:31]
John
No, that's amazing. It's so interesting as well. Like, I think, like, because you see Oroce coming onto, I think mid April, about April time I joined Quit. So it was already like this full, like, the sort of, like, the power behind it. And it was, you know, it was still this, like, it was. It become this, like, huge entity of like, you know, but everybody knows about it, everyone's talking about it. And even, like, in my short time being on the app, seeing the growth, you know, already in my. In my short time to, like, a whole new level, it must be quite astounding, you know, for yourself, seeing it from the behind the scenes, seeing it, seeing so many people at such a fast rate find not only find Quinn, but have it change their life for the better. I mean, there's not many places, certainly not many apps that can say that, you know.
- [09:26]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, oh, yeah. At all. I mean, I think it's something that every single day I sit back and I'm so grateful a that Caroline took a chance on me and, you know, was like, sure, like, maybe she's worked at Bumble while she was in college, but she doesn't have any, like, formal professional experience under her belt outside of that. So let's just, you know, see what happens. Starting as an intern, of course, but, you know, growing into the position that I'm currently in. But, you know, she and I will chat a lot where I've almost been with Quinn for three years now. And so we'll always look back and be like, oh, my gosh, remember this? Or, oh, my gosh, remember this? And it's just always that look of, like, how did what was turn into what is? And I think that's something that, you know, we can't have done by ourselves. We couldn't have done any of it alone with just posting, you know, it's such a team effort, which is what I think is so unique about Quinn and what drove me to Quinn in the first place is the power of community is something that is so unbelievably powerful to me. I grew up in a Jewish family. My family's not religious at all, but very, like, culturally Jewish in the sense that you know, you walk into a deli and you know, someone's cousins, brothers, dogs, aunts, sisters, preschool teacher. So having that sense of community is something that I've always been so fortunate to grow up with and I have always wanted to have that wherever I was. And all of the creators putting in their work every single day on their audios, on social media, on getting to know each other, all of our developers, you know, Caroline obviously doing everything she does, our social team, every single user that is telling their friends. I've gotten so many comments recently, very specifically about people telling their sister in laws about Quinn, which I'm obsessed with. And so I'm like, everybody just preaching Quinn to their sister in laws and everybody else in their lives that it's such a team effort to turn what was into what is. And I think that's something that's so unique about how Quinn processes. And I just, you know, again, we're in awe every single day.
- [11:47]
John
Yeah, absolutely. So, like Quinn, it's talking about community there. It's like Quinn has the most, or at least one of the most passionate, supportive, engaged communities that I've ever seen. Like, full stop. So like, can building such a wonderful collection of people, like, can that like be planned or like, like how do you even like begin to work? Like, connecting people together and sharing, like sharing content that Quinn is putting out into the world and have it like, like have it have such wonderful feedback and bring in such wonderful people together. Like, I just can't get my head around how like positive it is, you know?
- [12:29]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, it's so wild. And I think you came in to Quinn at such an amazing time of growth and just continued like passion from our audience and everybody being very comfortable with being so outspoken because, you know, the time where Quinn was really ideated and started around 2019, it was kind of at the very end of like the Girl Boss era and going a bit more into. Everybody has these very autonomous experiences and these very unique experiences. But also at the same time, we all have such similar outcomes and similar storylines. And so when you hear somebody talk about something that you relate to, you're like, oh my gosh, I'm not alone. And I think that's something that, especially with the rise of TikTok and a little bit less of, of the filtered perspective that you get on TikTok was something that people and, you know, women and gender minority people especially, were ready to finally have a place where they can be like, I feel seen for who I am and what I've experienced and what I want. And so I want to talk about it and share it and really tell everybody that they can have that, too here. And I think so if this. If Quinn was created in maybe, like, 2009, it would have been really different because you were just going into that girl boss area. So it would feel a little bit more forced. And I don't think the community would have been as strong because it would have been something that we maybe had to push even harder than we already are because people weren't as ready to have those conversations. And so maybe they wouldn't stick around as long or talk about it as openly with their friends. But one thing, again, that I just think is such an incredible statistic about Quinn is that about 90% or a little over 90% of our growth has all been organic. We don't really do much paid media. And so having that knowledge that people are coming to our app because they care and because they like it is the only way that you're gonna get such a following that wants to stick around and share what they're passionate about with their friends. Because if you force somebody to do anything, they're gonna either want to do the opposite or have that resentment. I feel like there at times. And we're very fortunate that not only were people able and ready to talk about, you know, female pleasure and loving, to listen to voices whisper dirty things in their ears, but also at a time where as much as we have to put the word out there, people were ready to grasp onto that and also share the word as well.
- [15:28]
John
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, like, because of, like, especially on social media, like, when you're creating content, like, obviously you feature in so many, like, videos on TikTok and Instagram and things. And, like, how did you. Was that like a kind of like a natural thing for you to jump in front of the camera and. And, like, be, like, such, like a vivid part of, like, whether it's like, a meme or a promotion or, like, what. Whatever it is that you're filming or, like, how did that sort of, like, that decision be made of, like, you know what? I'm gonna get in this and I'm gonna. I'm gonna do pieces to camera and stuff. Like, can you tell us, like, how that side of this, that side of your role came about?
- [16:07]
Brooke Wilczewski
Totally. I always grew up loving public speaking. I was a speech and debate girl and competitive dancer my entire life. And so creating a character and telling a story and also taking pieces of myself that are vulnerable and not as this perfect, filtered everything that People usually put into social media on other platforms like Instagram sometimes. It was something that I feel like I had almost been training for my entire life, unintentionally. And so, you know, when I started at Quinn, I was learning a lot, doing a lot of, like, community management and stuff like that. And when they had asked me, like, you know, do you have any ideas? And I originally had started with, like, some Quinn on the street type questions, I was like, absolutely, let's go for it. I'm on my college campus. I will go ask people about their sex lives with zero questions asked on the street, hands down. Absolutely. So I don't know if, you know, in another life, if I didn't have that dance background or that acting background, that it would be something that I'd be as ready to have just done dove in head first. But because of that background, again, it's like, you know, the Olympics are right now, and so are the Quinn Olympics. And so just thinking about how much training every athlete has put in for years and years and years, I'm like, TikTok is my Olympics. But as I'm almost falling out of my chair, you know, it's. So, yeah, I think it was a natural progression, but definitely owe a lot of credit to theater and acting and speech and dance and all that good stuff.
- [17:54]
John
Yeah. So when you get recognized in Starbucks, you're ready for it.
- [17:59]
Brooke Wilczewski
My pimple patches and hair in a bun may care to speak otherwise. The situation was actually so funny. I had walked into Starbucks, and I've been recognized a few other times. And it's just something that. It's like, I never think of myself as, like, an influencer in any capacity. Like, I always think of myself as an extension of Quinn. And so influencing in general was never anything I set out to do as that type of external career in. Trust me, Brooke, I have this for you. But again, being vulnerable on the Internet lets people connect with you. And so it's turned into this again, this beautiful community that people know me for me as an extension of Quinn, which is so awesome. But when I went into the Starbucks, I was ordering, and again, I had just had Covid, so I'm in the very tail end of everything. So I was safe to be in public, but was still, you know, getting my strength and all my mojo back. And she was like, you look so familiar. And I was like, oh, like, that's really sweet of you. Like, there's a lot of people in Austin, and we come into this location a lot, and she's like, no, you really look like somebody I follow on TikTok. And my boyfriend was with me, and we both looked at each other, and he goes, she runs the Quinn account. And she starts screaming and is like, I love Quinn. Oh, my gosh. And she was just the nicest person ever. And she couldn't have been more passionate about a. First and foremost, all of our incredible creators. She could not stop saying positive things about you all, but also was like, I knew it was you. And I was like, oh, like, yeah, I'm Brooke. It's so nice to meet you. And she goes, I know your name.
- [19:49]
John
And.
- [19:51]
Brooke Wilczewski
They wound up giving me a discount on my drink order. And I was just like, this is just the most magical thing. And I think such an authentic example of how awesome the Quinn community is in terms of really being able to just, like, be passionate and outspoken and not have any of those shame associations that, you know, female identifying people or anybody in general really feels around, like, sexual topics. And so it just. It was so cool, but so definitely not easy for me to answer your question in a really roundabout way. Wasn't necessarily prepared for it, but was a really cool experience. You know, the other two times was me filming on the main road, and this Australian woman came up to me and was so nice and was like, I live on a boat, and I love listening to the audios at night when I'm on patrol. And I'm like, yes, absolutely, yes. And then the other time was when I was passed out on an airplane, mouth open, eyes rolled to the back of my head, just, like, conked out. So to quote a very amazing Disney Channel movie, this is real. This is me. Camp Rock. But classic. Classic. Classic. No, it's. It's definitely an adventure. Have you been recognized yet?
- [21:12]
John
Do you know? I don't think it counts. I was recognized a few times, like, around New York, around, like, the APAC area. But it was like, there were people who were, like, within, like, the audiobook industry and stuff. I haven't been recognized on the street for Quinn yet, but it's because I live in such a remote place. Although technically there is a few people I know have bought Quinn who live in the area since I've got it. But I don't know if that counts because they knew me before.
- [21:41]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, no, that absolutely counts. That's still so cool. I'm gonna get it. Like, you're changing people's lives.
- [21:49]
John
There's a lady. I really shouldn't be saying this again, because I've already made a video about it, and I don't know. It's not my thing to say, but there's a lady who lives on my street who found out what I did. And from, like, the name, you know, it's one of those streets where you tell one person and everybody knows.
- [22:06]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, absolutely.
- [22:07]
John
And then I was on a walk, and this other gentleman who lives elsewhere, he comes over to me and says, oh, do you know so and so down? And I went, yeah, yeah. And she goes, oh, she's been, like, listening to, like, all of your audios and telling everyone about them. And he was like, apparently she's saying, like, really nice things and stuff. It's, like, spread across the, like, the whole village.
- [22:29]
Brooke Wilczewski
And everybody's like. Everybody's like, yep, this is our local celebrity right now.
- [22:34]
John
That's that guy. I can't look in the eye anymore.
- [22:40]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, that's amazing. And, you know, again, that's just such a testament to the incredible community that we've built with all of our users and all of our creators. And again, it's such a team effort. So it's you all being able to be so open about. Yes, this is what I do. I think it's so cool. And being okay with your neighbors listening to you make sounds in their ears.
- [23:07]
John
Absolutely, absolutely. So, like, the Quinn Olympics, which is happening as we speak, you know, the content is going out as of the day of recording and such. So, like, that is such a cool idea. For one. There's such a cool theme, but the idea of bringing together, you know, some of the biggest creators on the apps and the most loved creators on the app, I mean, that's got to be, like, a cool thing to be a part of, to have everyone in that room and be doing such, like, fun stuff. I was watching the. The opening with the comment, the commentary and stuff, it was like I was laughing my little head off. It was so good. So well done. It's like, how, like, that idea, like, how did that come about? And how was your experience working on that on the Quinn Olympics?
- [23:53]
Brooke Wilczewski
Totally. Again, first off, all of our creators are equally loved and equally important in our eyes. You all play such important roles on the app, and we're so excited to do so many of these shoots in the future and get more and more people engaged, but being able to be on set with so many of our OGs and some of our really influential creators, being able to have them all in one place and not only just see them really throw themselves into the challenges and have fun with it, but also get that connection with each other. And being able to connect on that personal level and share their own experiences and also just create that friendship. Like, I know the creators, I think they did karaoke after the shooting. They went out themselves and were so excited to do karaoke together. So it just was laughed after laugh. You know, the idea just came from so many conversations about looking. I can't take credit for it, you know, but seeing so many people talk about the Olympics and be so excited with how involved a lot of the athletes have been on social media, we're like, oh my gosh, like quin Olympics, let's do it. So being able to, you know, be a part of that and sending out my master doc of like 70 videos I wanted to film with all the creators and then being like, absolutely whatever you need just was like the coolest, the coolest experience ever. I can't say enough great things about our creators, about our crew, about our Quinn team, and everything in between.
- [25:36]
John
So you touched on it there about the master doc of all the stuff that you've got to film. It's one of the things that I was really interested in learning because of the sheer amount of content that is on your shoulders and on the team's shoulders to create and such a short amount of time to get all that footage in, to film all of that stuff. I can't imagine how sort of rushed that day is for you, running around going like, right, we have this amount of stuff to do, we have a few hours and that is it. How is that? I mean, preparation must just be insane for that.
- [26:15]
Brooke Wilczewski
I am a very anxiety ridden person in the best way possible for this job where I care so deeply about everything, where if I know a shoot is coming up and I'm scrolling my for you page as I do every day, you know, seeing what people are talking about, what should I film, what should I draw from, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But really just looking at here, all the videos that are coming in, oh my gosh, this would be perfect for this. This would be perfect for this. This would be perfect for this. So my whole process is I take a Google Doc, I copy and paste every link that I like from, I don't know, like a few weeks before, a month or two before, as soon as I know that we have a shoot coming up, if I see something that I think will be applicable or a trend that I think would be fun to recreate, I send it in this Google Doc and then about a week before I'll go through all the links, open all of them, and then write a description for what I want for each video and then relink the video so I have it in order. And so the night before the shoot, I wish I could have sent this out earlier to them, but literally the night before the shoot, I just sent out the PDF and was like, get ready. And so everybody came, and they were such good troops. I always, you know, I always joke. I was like a camp counsel wrestler in terms of, like, grabbing you and grabbing you and grabbing you and just the biggest shout out to Chrissy Mez and Zach Kalman, especially when they were doing some of the challenges. And I couldn't access, you know, the other eight creators that were on set. They held down the fort with all of those trends. Let me take them into, like, 85 degrees in their suits outside, and film funny videos, like the Come On Eileen video we just filmed, posted and more. I'm so excited to share. But it's such a process and it's such a team effort. So it is just me drinking. I don't drink coffee. I really don't drink caffeine, which shocks a lot of people, but I know it's crazy, right? But I drink a lot of iced tea. And so I had my little black tea in my hand and I was just downing it, and I was like, okay, next video. Okay, next video. So it's a lot of preparation, but the preparation is then what makes the day so much less stressful. So it's always fun. It's like I'm edging myself to get to the day, and it's like, it.
- [28:41]
John
Must be so rewarding as well, like, seeing, you know, because a little bit of time goes by after the shoot, and as, you know, as you're preparing to launch it, and then when, like, the release day starts and you can start posting, like, the teasers and things, seeing everybody's reactions to it must be. Oh, yeah, I knew. I knew that, like, when we filmed that, like, however long ago it was, I knew it was a banger. And now it's been like, now everyone's loving it and, like, it must be so rewarding.
- [29:04]
Brooke Wilczewski
It definitely is. And it's, you know, it's so funny. I have talked to some of our creators about this as well, because this is just like an overall social thing, especially for TikTok. But sometimes the videos you think are gonna hit aren't necessarily the videos that do the absolute best. So it's like, I have so much fun seeing people really love the content that, like, I was like, this is my Favorite video I filmed the entire day. I'm so ready for everybody to come and see it. But it's also just as exciting to see all of the other videos that I'm like, yeah, those are awesome. But, like, this video. Yes, but all of the other videos, suddenly, out of nowhere, it's like, over 100,000 views, and I'm like, oh, I see, I see. So. It's just so exciting, you know, again, and every single post is a learning process. You see what your. Your community likes, you see what makes them excited, and it's. It's just so much fun with. Whether it's a Quinn original, whether it's Quinn Olympics, everything. Just to see everybody get excited is, you know, just what makes me so.
- [30:10]
John
Happy when, like, for instance, you get, like, a huge, major awesome actor, you know, in for, like, a Quinn original. Right? So, like, when you found out that, like, Andrew Scott was gonna be doing an original, what was that kind of, like, around. What was, like, the buzz around, like, the team? Because it must have. I mean, that was huge. Is huge.
- [30:33]
Brooke Wilczewski
Well, first off, you know, Andrew is just the utmost professional, the most incredibly kind and talented person. And, you know, I could say the same about all of the actors we've worked with for our Quinn Original series. They're all just such wonderful people to begin with and just such incredible actors and really personify each of the characters, you know, that they're playing, which has just been so amazing to see. But whenever we find out, it's like you have an idea in your mind of, okay, yeah, I'm gonna play it cool. I'm so gonna play it cool. Right? I get a text from Caroline, and I throw my phone across the room and scream into my pillow for five minutes. No, no, I'm totally kidding. It was. It was so exciting, you know, it. I had made a video about Andrew Scott as the hot priest in 20. I think the first video we made about Fleabag was about 20, early 2022. Caroline and I had both made a video about him. And, like, months ago, I was like, what about Andrew Scott? What about Andrew Scott? And it was never something that I thought, you know, he would be so excited about because of how incredibly, you know, mega he truly, truly is. But it was just really awesome to see, you know, all of that come to life and see people really, really care, you know, him included, of course, really, really care about the work that he was doing on set. And, you know, I mean, the excitement matched that for sure. Definitely. When I found out, my jaw was, like, through the floor. I was so excited, especially, you know, given some of those old videos we had filmed, being like, oh my gosh, the hot priest from Fleabag would be so good on the app. Like, oh my gosh, that'd be so cool if that happened. Right to that actually coming true. It's just such a cool full circle moment, you know.
- [32:38]
John
Oh, absolutely. I say. I remember when it was I first announced my dad is the biggest Andrew Scott fan you can find. He's a huge theater fan, is my dad.
- [32:49]
Brooke Wilczewski
And oh yeah, he's done amazing Shakespeare pieces and stuff like that too.
- [32:53]
John
Just the best. It's like, I think all of like national, the national theater work that Andrew did is my dad's like jam. That is like my dad to a tea. That is what he sits down with his coffee and watches on an evening. Right. So it's like when that was announced and I like sent it to him and stuff, he was like, he was like, he was reacting exactly the same as all of those TikTok comments were. But just in real life it was so fun to see.
- [33:20]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, and especially with your dad, like, you never really would expect your dad necessarily to have that reaction about something like that. Even when I told my dad, like, I grew up in a family of cinephiles and so like, I think my brother watched. Oh my gosh. Not normal people. What was that? Just won a lot of awards. Movie last year, incredible Asian leads.
- [33:52]
John
Oh, I know what you mean.
- [33:53]
Brooke Wilczewski
You know what I mean? That movie.
- [33:55]
John
The Oscar one? Yes, one of the Oscars. Yes. Oh, no, I'm gonna.
- [34:01]
Brooke Wilczewski
You know what I'm talking about?
- [34:02]
John
Yeah, I do. I'm gonna kick myself later. Okay. Yeah, I know what you mean.
- [34:06]
Brooke Wilczewski
But I think he watched that like three times and so. And this is like my 21 year old brother. And you would never expect that from, you know, a frat boy in some capacity. Obviously he's so much more than that. But jokingly, I'm like a frat boy. Okay. Culture, nice. Yeah. But you know, seeing like even my brother and my dad be like, oh, oh, that's really cool. It's just something, you know, obviously it's, it's, it makes the experience even cooler seeing people who maybe didn't know a celebrity like that would want to do a series like this or you know, Andrew specifically like, oh, yeah, I know his past roles, he'd be so cool, but he would never do that. And then being able to work with him is just, you know, the most amazing thing.
- [34:56]
John
Yeah, I could have. Yeah, it Was. It was certainly a. It was, it was a big moment in our household, that's for sure.
- [35:03]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, yes, I would agree. My entire family, they were like, well, well done, Caroline. Well done. You know?
- [35:11]
John
Yeah. My dad kept calling him my co worker. I was like, yeah, I'll take it, I'll take it.
- [35:16]
Brooke Wilczewski
It's amazing. I know Nick Meyer had made some videos in the past, you know, big shout out to them, but they made some videos where they were talking. I think it was Victoria Pedretti, Victoria Pedretti's original, where they were like, yes, I am Victoria Pedretti's co worker. Absolutely I am. I think they had mentioned they had either auditioned for the show you or something in that capacity. But it is all of your co workers. So, you know, just add the tick to the resume. Right?
- [35:49]
John
It's already on it. It's the top of the cv.
- [35:52]
Brooke Wilczewski
Absolutely, it's there.
- [35:55]
John
As we approach towards the end of this episode, I was wondering if I could ask you they're not quite quick fire questions, but there's sort of more, sort of broader questions just to help our audience get to know a little bit more about the brook behind the camera. Is that okay?
- [36:09]
Brooke Wilczewski
Absolutely. I know, I'm so sorry. Again, it's. The speech person in me always comes out. And whenever I've been on a podcast in the past, they're like, it's an hour long episode. We have three hours of film to go through. I'm like, that's so funny.
- [36:22]
John
No, no, please don't apologize. It's exactly what we want.
- [36:26]
Brooke Wilczewski
Well, I'm glad, I'm glad my blabber mouth is here to help. But yes, rapid fire, let's go.
- [36:32]
John
You don't have to. I've set it up now as I'm gonna read them really fast. And to be answered, you take as much time as you want with them because they aren't really, they aren't really rapid fire. They're just sort of more vague. Awesome.
- [36:44]
Brooke Wilczewski
Sounds great.
- [36:45]
John
First one is what is a challenge that you're currently facing?
- [36:49]
Brooke Wilczewski
Ooh, a challenge that I'm currently facing, I think, you know, putting out so much content every single day. If we're talking a little bit in like a Quinn lens is something where, you know, burnout is so real and I'm so fortunate that I come into every day and I am so excited to be doing everything that I'm doing, but I always get excited about the next trend and the next video and something that's going to be so, so inspiring. And I Know, a lot of commentators recently have been Talking about how TikTok's algorithm isn't necessarily as algorithm right now as they would want it to be with seeing like every single video is a video you're so excited about or inspired. Inspired by. And so, you know, I think our algorithm has been getting a little bit back towards that algorithmy what we're loving now, which is really exciting. But I think that's something that just constantly staying inspired is something that I'm always working to continue to do. It's like a continuous challenge of being in this role of how many new things can I do, how many new things can I create, how many funny skits can we do? And it's so much fun, but it's definitely a big challenge every day, I imagine.
- [38:08]
John
I imagine it takes a heck of a lot out of you because it's been so creative at such a consistent level. I mean, that's, you know, I mean, regardless of whether it's, you know, the funnest and the most passionate stuff, I mean, it's got to take its toll. Like, you must be knackered at the end of the day.
- [38:25]
Brooke Wilczewski
I touch grass a lot.
- [38:27]
John
Yeah.
- [38:27]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, I'm kidding. Yeah, there we go. No, I'm really, I love the outdoors and I'm really fortunate where I live by a lot of greenery and so being able to like kind of take a step outside and disconnect from my electronic devices for about five minutes is so healing and so soothing. And in a world where we're all chronically online, myself at the top of the list. It is, you know, it is. It's nice to be able to get re. Inspired by the things around you outside of, you know, the little screen, to then bring it all back to the little screen, of course, but take that little breath and break.
- [39:07]
John
But yeah, definitely. So what does downtime look for you when you do get those moments where you are able to say, I'm going to do whatever I want to do today or this afternoon or however it may look for you? What is. What do you often find yourself doing?
- [39:21]
Brooke Wilczewski
For the most part, I love concerts. Like, I am such, like, I'm not a raver by any means, but where my boyfriend and I like to splurge is getting nice tickets to music festivals. So, you know, being in Austin, we have Austin City Limits that's here every year, which is so wonderful. So we'll get some upgraded tickets and go to a show that way or get early access or even if we have just regular GA shows We'll bring books and a few like Coronas or something and just sit in line and read our books and have a drink and enjoy our time and that going on walks. Love a good true crime podcast. I love Pilates. I. It's another creative outlet of mine. I'm really fortunate where I'll teach just like one or two classes a week and being able to get discounted classes. No, I'm kidding. But also. But, you know, be able to find a different form of creative outlet, I think is also so helpful for my work at Quinn because of my brain, and one part of my brain was the only thing that was working one time. I feel like it would be so much harder to maintain, but since I can use different parts of my brain for different things, it's a lot more helpful to keep me grounded and centered.
- [40:45]
John
Yeah, fair enough. That all sounds fantastic, to be fair.
- [40:49]
Brooke Wilczewski
Thank you. I feel like living in a smaller town, it's got to be harder to, you know, have those big shows come through. But I'm sure you have amazing local artists and stuff that you get to see consistently.
- [41:01]
John
There is a bloke who lives on a boat just on the near marina. I think he has a guitar. And that's as close as we.
- [41:07]
Brooke Wilczewski
Yeah, there we go.
- [41:08]
John
Yeah.
- [41:09]
Brooke Wilczewski
Hosier who.
- [41:10]
John
Yeah, I can tell you. I can tell you some stories about him, but that'll be after bed another time. I can't wait. What is a piece of advice that you would give to yourself for 10 years ago? Does that make sense? I worded that weirdly.
- [41:28]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, that was worded perfectly. I think it's so interesting. Again, lots of experiences and adolescence and high school obviously, are so transformational and turn all of us into the people that we are today. But I think something I would tell myself is, you know, not to shut up. Don't shut up. Just keep talking and share your opinions even louder than you already did. You know, I think it was something where I was never scared to do that, and I was always somebody that did that, whether it was, you know, political activism, reproductive health activism, doing speech or a leadership role in a club or anything like that, or answering a question in class like I was such the history person, but anything like that. I think, again, that people pleasing nature is something that's always so hard to fight at such a young age. And I would never hesitate to say anything, but I would just continue, you know, to tell myself. And, you know, whenever I speak to younger girls as well, or somebody's younger sister asked me a question or something, like that. That's the thing that I always tell them is just keep talking, keep exploring, don't be quiet, don't sit down. Like, let it out. Because it's something that, you know, women, especially in the U.S. especially right now, are trying to be stifled so consistently. And so having so many women around me that inspire me to keep talking, I want to be one of those people for others as well.
- [43:05]
John
Yeah. Oh, that's such a good answer. You know, thank you.
- [43:09]
Brooke Wilczewski
That means a lot, you know, thank you. Not to get deep on everybody here, but again, that's, you know, that's something that I love about creating for Quinn. And, you know, being on the Quinn team is. I am such an open book where, you know, nothing is off limits to talk about with me. And so being able to confidently share my own experiences and realize a everybody else is not alone in their experiences, but I'm also not alone in my experiences is something that's so powerful and gives people so much agency for every other facet of their life. And to be somebody like that for somebody else is just anything I could ever ask for.
- [43:50]
John
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. What is a question that you wish that you were asked more?
- [43:59]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, wow, That's a great question.
- [44:05]
John
Is. Everybody hates that question.
- [44:07]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness gracious. Ooh. Well, I can share the first thing that came to mind, you know, and who knows? Ask me in 10 minutes and I could have a different answer. But, you know, when I was younger, again, like, now I'm diagnosed anxiety. I have a little bit of an SSRI that helps me keep my feet on the ground in the most magical way possible. Phenomenal therapist and a support system, you know, that I'm so grateful for and I know a lot of people don't have, but growing up, I never was put into therapy because I didn't need it. And it wasn't something like, my mom is a social worker by degree and has, you know, has worked in that field professionally. She doesn't do that anymore, but she still volunteers her time in that space because she loves and cares for people. But it's something that, you know, I was fortunate to have as her. That was, like, so in tune, of course, with feelings I was having as I grew up or questions that I was having and how to answer those appropriately and, you know, all that good stuff. But I was so high functioning anxiety perfectionist where my mom would call me Mount Vesuvius, where I would just build up and build up and I'd shove it down and I'd build Up and, you know, being a competitive dancer, I was training 20, 30 hours a week. And so I would go into the studio, get my energy out, and I think my cat's about to jump on my lap. Hi, Spider. This is Spider. Little girl. She little baby. Yeah. But I would ask, I think a question I wished I had been asked more is, do you need to take a break? I think it was something that I necessarily. Even now, I like to say yes to everything. I like to do everything. But, you know, sometimes, like, resting is okay. Giving yourself, you know, 20 minutes to meditate or go for a walk is okay. And I think that's something that a lot of people also forget, where they just think they need to go, go, go, go, go. But it's sometimes so much more powerful and impactful for yourself and your own growth to just be like, okay, do I need 10 minutes? Do I need to recenter? And I think we all forget to ask ourselves that sometimes. So I think that's the first thing that came to mind.
- [46:46]
John
Yeah, well, that's a really good one. I think you're absolutely right. And this sort of, you know, the general. I know it's going to be different at, you know, various places, but the general sort of work culture being, you've got to show up and you've got to give your best 100% all the time. And I think we do get sort of swept up in. In. I'm trying to be successful, I'm gonna be successful and all this sort of stuff. And then we sort of forget to be successful at being like, just ourselves and slowing down and just. Yeah, just looking around and just sort of being one for a little bit.
- [47:19]
Brooke Wilczewski
Exactly. I mean, you have such a wonderful collection of books. I'm sure, you know, reading is. Is that something that you like to do for that?
- [47:27]
John
I do, I do, yeah. Yeah. I think although I'm all Kindle now, I'm all electronic reading. I know.
- [47:36]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, how do you feel about that?
- [47:39]
John
Do you know, I was. Because I was the person who swore that they would. I swore I would never get a Kindle. And then I got one from, like, A Moment of Madness. You have to think and. Yeah, and it just. We went out to a castle and read in the gardens. We have, like, a membership that gets us into certain castles in the uk. That's how you know you've reached a certain age. But it's the best thing ever. It's an English Heritage membership, if anyone's interested. But the. You get. You get into it and we take Our books. And I took the, I took the Kindle and I fell in love with it. It was love at first sight. Amazing.
- [48:20]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, that's awesome. That's so great. My boyfriend just got a Kindle and he feels the same way about it. I, again, like, you know, my family is not religious. My mom and I have always been very serious spiritual. And she lost her parents when she was very young. And you know, my mom and I feel like they're both still with us. And you know, I've had some situations where I'm like, yep, my grandma's right there. Like, absolutely, she's right there. And especially being such like somebody that is a. A history geek, but more close, like more specifically a female women's history geek is something that like, has led me to really love, like Charlotte Bronte, Jane, like Jane Austen and those writers. So, like my prized Possession is a second edition copy of Jane Eyre and from 1890. And that was like, all I wanted for my 18th birthday was an early copy of Jane Eyre because I had read it in so school. And you know, it was one of those things where you're just reading the book and Jane Eyre is so semi autobiographical that, like, flipping the pages, I was like, I feel Charlotte here. Like, I know she's here. Absolutely. And it's still just like such a text that like resonates so much today. So being able to hold that piece of history is just like, you know.
- [49:49]
John
Yeah.
- [49:51]
Brooke Wilczewski
Sorry for the side tangent.
- [49:53]
John
No, it's. No, it's that. I mean that to have that in your, in your own, you know, your possession, your collection is amazing. I don't know if you've sort of, if you sort of travel to the antiquarian bookseller area of TikTok, but that's, that's really cool.
- [50:10]
Brooke Wilczewski
Absolutely. I have, Absolutely. I have. I, you know, I can appreciate them from afar. I see their price tags and I say, absolutely for somebody else. And I hope they respect you and love you as much as I would.
- [50:27]
John
Tell me about it, you know, 400 year old version of Shakespeare. That's really cool. Then it's like $500,000 and you're like.
- [50:38]
Brooke Wilczewski
Okay, and I'm gonna pull it up for free on my Kindle, so thank you very much. And it comes right full circle.
- [50:47]
John
Exactly. That's why I'm team Kindle now.
- [50:50]
Brooke Wilczewski
No, I respect that. My, my partner's been loving that too. He has truly gone down the deep dive of Kindle. And you know, when he's at his family's cabin up North Being able to just get the next book immediately and be like, ooh, I like this one. Like, it's. It's so cool. I mean, for any avid reader. And your shelf looks like you needed a little bit more space in the best way possible. So now you have unlimited space on your Kindle.
- [51:15]
John
I'm living the dream.
- [51:16]
Brooke Wilczewski
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- [51:18]
John
My life is kicking off recently.
- [51:20]
Brooke Wilczewski
The house, the Kindle man, the Castle membership. You're really crushing it.
- [51:27]
John
I don't want to brag, but, you know, but the. So, to finish us off, the last question I was going to ask is if you had anything in the diary upcoming for yourself that you are excited about that we can share in that excitement.
- [51:46]
Brooke Wilczewski
Ooh, well, every day we're posting new TikTok. No, I'm kidding. Obviously, that is something I'm so excited about. To quote Caroline, she was just in. I want to say this was in Business Insider, but in terms of Quinn in general, of something you can be very excited about is we do have more Quinn originals coming up this year. We also, of course, have drops every single Tuesday and Friday of all of our incredible creators. But in terms of one of those, like, larger projects, we have a lot of very fun things coming up our sleeves. So we're really excited for everybody to, you know, in the future learn what those things are. And personally, I'm going to a music festival this weekend with my brother and my boyfriend, so I can't wait.
- [52:39]
John
Very nice.
- [52:39]
Brooke Wilczewski
Thank you. Noah Khan, Hosier, Vampire Weekend. The vibes are great.
- [52:44]
John
This has been so much fun. Thank you so much for. For taking the time and joining me on the show and letting us peek into your world. It's been so much fun. Thank you.
- [52:57]
Brooke Wilczewski
Absolutely. Again, I'm so honored to come on your show and get to be a part of your incredible podcast. And first off, huge shout out to you and all the work that you do, not only on Quinn, but outside of Quinn. You are so phenomenal, and we're so appreciative of you and everything, the entity that you are. And I mean that in the most complimentary terms, of course. But I'm so happy to be here and I am so excited. We got to chat more and can't wait for everybody to listen in.
- [53:31]
John
Well, thank you. That really does mean a lot generally, so thank you very much. Well, that just about does it for this episode of the Audiobook Club. All of Brooke's socials and links, and of course, the social and links for Quinn, which are already linked all over pretty much anywhere you can find me can be found in the show notes as well as more information on Amplify audiobooks. Who very kindly sponsored this podcast. But it's been such a pleasure to chat with you, Brooke, once again and thank you so much.
- [53:58]
Brooke Wilczewski
Thank you so much, John.