Gigi Gorgeous Exposes the Truth About Brand Deals & Staying Authentic After 15 Years Online

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Join Gigi Gorgeous as she spills the tea on the reality of brand deals and the importance of staying true to oneself in the ever-evolving online landscape. With over 15 years of experience in the digital space, Gigi shares her unfiltered insights on navigating partnerships, maintaining authenticity, and the challenges influencers face today. Discover how she balances commercial success with personal integrity, and learn valuable tips for aspiring creators looking to build their brand without losing themselves. Don't miss this candid conversation about the intersection of business and authenticity in the world of social media! Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more behind-the-scenes content from your favorite influencers!   Creator Spotlight is Powered by PRophet and What’s Trending. PRophet is an essential AI-driven CommsTech suite that empowers modern communicators and marketers to work smarter, uncover new audiences, and drive more impactful campaigns. To learn more, visit prprophet.ai.

Transcript

00:00I fan out over everybody.

00:02That's nice.

00:02Who's not a fan of Rihanna.

00:03Yeah.

00:04Disturbia, I put that song over my first ever YouTube video.

00:07Oh.

00:08Yeah, I shoulda told her that actually.

00:10Ha ha ha ha.

00:11♪♪

00:15Gigi Getty, AKA Gigi Gorgeous,

00:17is a YouTube star, transgender activist,

00:19author, and LGBTQIA plus icon,

00:22who's been intimately sharing her life

00:23and journey online since 2009.

00:26And that's why today, she's in the Creator Spotlight.

00:30Gigi, it is amazing to have you here

00:32because we've known each other for quite some time,

00:35but it's been a while.

00:36It has been a while, and this is true.

00:38And we're still here.

00:39We're still here.

00:40We're still kicking.

00:41We are.

00:42How long have you been creating online?

00:44Has it been 15 years?

00:45I started in, yeah, probably 15 years.

00:49Yeah, I started my YouTube channel.

00:51And now.

00:52Never thought it would take me to where it has.

00:53Yeah.

00:54Let's get into monetization.

00:55Let's get into like the business of Gigi.

00:58Yeah.

00:59Right?

01:00Has that changed over the years?

01:01Oh, absolutely.

01:02I mean, in the beginning, no money in it.

01:05Not at all.

01:05I don't even know if I was asked into the AdSense program

01:09for the first year I was on YouTube.

01:12There was no money.

01:12I was not planning on making money.

01:14I was just wanting to flex my creative muscle

01:17and just create and learn about makeup

01:20and also like meet people, like like-minded people.

01:24Because in Toronto, where I grew up,

01:26it was a nice suburban area.

01:29And then there was a city close by,

01:30which I would like skip school

01:31and like go hang out in Toronto downtown,

01:34which was more artsy.

01:35But in my everyday life, there was none.

01:37And then over the years, you know,

01:38got a manager, got a team.

01:41And now it's like a full-fledged business.

01:43It's like my full-blown career and has been for years.

01:47Are there some years that are better than other years

01:50in terms of the brand deals, the money,

01:52the partnerships and all that?

01:53Oh, for sure.

01:54I've always said that it's a business

01:56that like really ebbs and flows.

01:57It is a pendulum.

01:58And whenever, you know, it's hitting, it's hitting,

02:01and I'm all in.

02:02And then when it's not, it's not.

02:04But that goes back to the whole mindset situation

02:07because you can overthink it.

02:09You can be like, what's not hitting?

02:11What's like, what do I need to change about myself

02:14to get that brand deal?

02:16Or there's a saying that comparison is the thief of joy.

02:21And I think that that is so easy to do in this business.

02:25Like this girl is prettier.

02:27She is popping off right now.

02:29You know what, like, I need that dress.

02:31I need that outfit.

02:32Like her recent video is doing better than mine

02:35and all that stuff.

02:36And I think that you just gotta stay in your own lane,

02:38stay authentic to who you are.

02:40And you know, you could try certain things,

02:42but don't change who you are.

02:44I wanna know the first brand deal you remember doing.

02:47One of the first ones that was really, really big

02:49that I'll never forget was I worked with Crest.

02:53I was living back at home.

02:54I was obviously doing my thing online

02:57and Crest reached out and they were like,

02:59we really wanna work with her.

03:00We wanna do a whole campaign with her.

03:02I didn't really realize what a campaign was.

03:04Like I was like, you know, I'm promoting their toothpaste,

03:08which it's a household toothpaste.

03:10I was like, they're paying me.

03:11Like I already use their stuff.

03:13Like every person does.

03:14And then Shopper's Drug Mart,

03:16which is the drug store in Canada,

03:18put my face all over in every single store

03:21across the country.

03:22And this is like the biggest thing I've ever done.

03:23Like from, you know, internet to real life.

03:26Like this is a big deal, especially being trans.

03:28Going in and seeing my face everywhere,

03:30I remember that was crazy.

03:31And my dad went in and he knew the money that was coming in

03:36and he was proud of me.

03:38I think he thought I was maybe lying a little bit

03:41about the money.

03:42I'd be like, this video, dad, I got this.

03:44And he was like, okay, yeah, wow.

03:46Like, you know, if she's telling the truth,

03:48then that's really major.

03:50But this one, it was real for him.

03:52And ever since that moment, I think that was a brand deal

03:54that really changed my family's perspective on my career.

03:58Do you find, as you show more of yourself,

04:02that you become more picky about what you wanna align with?

04:05100%.

04:06I think at the beginning,

04:07I used to just always take whatever came to me.

04:09I was like the guest person of life.

04:11I was like, yep, I'll take it.

04:12Like, they wanna pay me this.

04:13Amazing, amazing, amazing.

04:14Like, I'll take this.

04:15This could all go away soon.

04:16Like, I just wanna impress everybody.

04:18But yeah, no.

04:19Few years in, it's giving like, no, that doesn't work.

04:21I can't do that.

04:22Like, I don't use that.

04:23Or that doesn't align with my brand.

04:25My people aren't gonna like that.

04:27Like, that doesn't make any sense.

04:28Such a reach.

04:29But I think how it's changed, though,

04:32from their point of view

04:34and the way that they strategize working with

04:36whoever they wanna work with,

04:38is before, there really was no understanding

04:41of how it would be perceived online

04:44because there were so few people doing brand deals.

04:47So the asks that you would get, the talking points,

04:51the bullshit that they would ask you to say,

04:53I'd be like, that's not gonna work.

04:55I don't wanna say that.

04:56But you know, on the other hand,

04:58I'm not gonna get paid if I don't do it.

05:00So a lot of the time, I was like,

05:02the wording is so wrong.

05:03You need to let me have creative control.

05:05Like, in some capacity.

05:06Like, I know what I'm doing.

05:08And now, it's much more open.

05:11And I think there's just a lot more open-mindedness.

05:14Do you feel like also brands understand

05:18the queer community and the LGBTQ community

05:22and how they can be part of that community?

05:23Including with Pride, you know, people talk about how,

05:28people just talk about all this stuff during Pride

05:30and support the community during Pride.

05:32Put the rainbow flag up in the window of the store

05:34just for the month.

05:35Rip it down the last day of June.

05:38Our Pride cups are not available as of today.

05:41Yeah, literally, to the clock minute.

05:44So, you know, what do you think about that

05:46and how brands approach their support?

05:48I would always feel so proud to be, like,

05:51one of the first trans people that they would ask

05:53or maybe the first or only.

05:57And now, I think it's just a lot more normalized.

05:59It's kind of expected to include

06:02and keep campaigns diverse

06:04and hire a bunch of different folks.

06:07I think it is frustrating.

06:08It's always such a thing between my friends

06:10and people in the community.

06:12It's like, we laugh about it.

06:13It's like, this company does nothing for the entire year

06:17and maybe even has been against it, seemingly,

06:21and then now June rolls around and they're all for it

06:24and asking us to work with them

06:26and do a little event with them.

06:29And I think that it speaks volumes.

06:33I mean, it can be like, oh, they're trying, they're trying,

06:35but it's like, we'll see later in the year.

06:38Yeah.

06:38You're still trying.

06:39And you're like, I guess I'll do this,

06:41but yeah, there's sometimes brands

06:42that I feel like you're like,

06:43I definitely can't work with them

06:44even though they're throwing me money.

06:45Yeah.

06:46But they represent.

06:47Yeah, yeah.

06:48And it stings because it's like, that's a paycheck.

06:51Yeah.

06:52But at the end of the day,

06:53you got to look at it in the long haul of things.

06:55Yeah.

06:56Are there any misconceptions

06:58about working with the creator community

06:59or do you think brands are working with creators

07:02in the right way right now?

07:04So it's a double-edged sword with this question

07:06because I feel like, for a long time,

07:09I was the token LGBTQIA plus person

07:13in the campaign and whatever.

07:15And I was always honored to be that person.

07:19But now I see the diversity just skyrocketing.

07:23You see these campaigns

07:24with so many people that look different.

07:26And in turn, people, especially the youth,

07:29see themselves in these people who are on the big screen

07:32or they're like social media, whatever.

07:34And on the other side of it all,

07:36you could tell in a way when it's not organic for the brand

07:38and they're just doing it to be diverse.

07:41At the beginning, it was an honor.

07:43And now it's kind of just like

07:44you raise your eyebrow at it a little bit.

07:46But I think at the end of the day,

07:49inclusivity and diversity is so amazing to see.

07:53With brands, it's just if it's organic

07:56and truthful to the brand or not.

07:58Advice for content creators who see you

08:01and what you've been doing

08:02and how they should be working with brands.

08:05I always have said, if you want to work with a brand,

08:07put it out there.

08:09So for example, Celsius.

08:12I'll just use that random one.

08:13Love Celsius, love energy drinks.

08:16If you are fitness girly or whatever,

08:19you drink Celsius often, promote the brand

08:22because they will reach out to you.

08:24I thought back in the day,

08:25I think a lot of people think this way.

08:27It's like, I'm not gonna promote it

08:28unless I'm getting paid for it.

08:30But it's actually the opposite

08:31because it's an organic integration.

08:34So it's like, if you're drinking Celsius all the time,

08:36they're gonna make you a brand ambassador.

08:38It's not like, oh my God, she's already doing it.

08:40No, they're gonna promote you more

08:42because they know you love the brand.

08:43In the next five years,

08:44where do you see this whole space going?

08:46Digital media, your work.

08:48I don't know.

08:49I see it just growing more and more.

08:51I don't know.

08:52I've been asked that before and I'm just like, I don't know.

08:54I can't, I didn't imagine that it would grow

08:56in the way that it has the past 10 years.

08:59I think even like next year,

09:01we're gonna see something that we're not expecting

09:03and it's just gonna keep growing and growing.

09:07Do you think what you're saying,

09:09mindset is really key to everything?

09:11This world is moving very quick

09:14and it feels like we need to keep up

09:17and we could lose ourselves.

09:18That's maybe one of the biggest things that I live by,

09:20mind over matter, honestly.

09:22And like life situations, relationships, career,

09:26like there's a lot of competition within the community.

09:29And I think that that is like the absolute opposite way

09:33that we need to be handling this situation.

09:35Creators need to stand together.

09:38We need to stand together money-wise

09:40because we're gonna get more brand deals.

09:41We're gonna see more success in our careers

09:44once we stand together.

09:45And there can't only just be like one of each category.

09:50And I think that that's advice that I would give people

09:53and I could give my younger self even.

09:56I'm a very competitive person.

09:58And once you kind of just like let that go,

10:01you see it flourish more, your life and just your career.

10:05So looking back and reflecting back

10:08at the 15 years of being online,

10:13why was it important to share so much of who you are?

10:15Yeah, I've always been very authentic.

10:18I've always been just myself

10:19and not really overthought that.

10:21Yeah, yeah.

10:22I've been unapologetically myself.

10:23I assume you don't want kids.

10:25No, oh my God, I want so many kids.

10:27I scrolled through and there's a bunch of questions

10:29about family and stuff, but yes, I want kids.

10:32I want kids.

10:33I just was going through the motions of transitioning

10:36and living my life, living my late teen years, early 20s

10:40and just recording it.

10:42But at the same time, I knew how big it was

10:45and I knew the impact that I was making

10:47because I would hear the feedback.

10:49You see people be try-hards.

10:51You see people try to fit in, try to be cool,

10:54try to be something that they're not.

10:57And I think eventually people see through that.

11:01I feel like that's so much part of your brand.

11:04Yes, no, I've always been into storytelling.

11:07I love doing story times, whether they're wild

11:10or just sharing a coming out video

11:12or whatever, who I was dating,

11:14what I was going through mentally.

11:16But I've always said that it never started out like that.

11:20It was always about the beauty.

11:22It was always about the lifestyle, the glamor of it all,

11:25what products I was loving, what hairstyle,

11:28whatever, all of that.

11:29And then people get interested as you do

11:31when you start watching somebody

11:34and getting invested in them.

11:35We all know that.

11:36We're like, we get nosy.

11:37We're like, who are they?

11:38Like, who are they off camera?

11:41And then once I started sharing,

11:42it was just so addicting to keep on sharing

11:45more and more and more.

11:47And then once I got that reward

11:48of just seeing people's reactions

11:51and relating to what I was going through,

11:54I was like, this is the best drug ever, YouTube.

11:58Like, let me just keep sharing.

12:01And it hasn't stopped.

12:03Life has.

12:04Like, now I'm married.

12:06It's over a decade later.

12:08And it's like, I just look back and I'm like,

12:09wow, if I could tell that little human being back then

12:14where I would be now, it's just, it's mind blowing.

12:18So you did take a break though, right?

12:20While you were going through all your fertility journey.

12:24Why was that important to take that beat?

12:26Because you share everything

12:27and yet you did take some time for yourself.

12:30Yeah, that was such an intense time.

12:33I mean, not so much for me,

12:34but my husband who's trans as well.

12:37We didn't even know that we were going to be able

12:38to create a biological embryo,

12:41let alone have the success that we did

12:43because I'd been on hormones for 10 years

12:47and then I decided to get off hormones.

12:49I decided that I would only film certain things

12:51and I would, you know, come back when I was ready.

12:54I said, I'm going to give this my all.

12:56And God forbid, if I don't have a successful result

12:59in the end, after all of the work

13:01and discipline that I've put in,

13:03then so be it.

13:04And maybe it's not meant for me.

13:05So yeah, you're not worried about

13:06like changing up your brand or how much you're growing.

13:08Like, you don't feel that pressure?

13:10No, I just like to live my life.

13:11Gigi, how can I be more like you?

13:12Well, no, I mean, honestly, it is a thought.

13:15You know, it is so easy to spiral and think like that.

13:18Yeah.

13:19You know, like you just got to stop yourself.

13:21You know, it's not that deep.

13:23Isn't it funny that like back in the day,

13:25and we can both attest to this,

13:26that we were like, ooh, whenever you see like a YouTuber

13:29or like an online influencer,

13:31you bridge that gap into mainstream media.

13:34Like that's a big win for us.

13:36Now it's almost like there's no gap.

13:39It's just basically social media is just so far in front.

13:43Yep.

13:44I try not to stress myself out about it again.

13:46I think it's really important just to like keep level head,

13:48be normal, don't, you know, become such a freak about it.

13:52Cause then I feel like you just lose who you are

13:54in the real world and online, you know?

13:57And then it's just not, it's not fun anymore again.

14:00But that's also why I have a team of people around me.

14:02I've worked with the same management for my entire career,

14:06you know, PR agent, all that.

14:07It's like, that's, let's keep that their job.

14:10Yeah.

14:11And then like, I could just be me.

14:12Well, you are amazing.

14:14This has been fabulous, inspiring.

14:17And I'm so excited to see you continue to grow and be you.

14:20We need more of that.

14:21Yes.

14:22In this world and online.

14:22Yes. Thank you for having me.

14:23You're amazing.

14:24Oh my God, thank you.

14:25This has been a pleasure.

14:26I needed this positivity, so thank you.

14:28Hell yes.

14:29Yay.

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