Online celebrity and podcaster Bobbi Althoff sits down with WIRED Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond for The Big Interview—discussing her childhood and family, the circumstances of her rapid rise to fame, and a lifelong pursuit of financial security.
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00:00I didn't grow up with money. I am on a lifelong journey to get money.
00:03I love that I'm able to take care of my family. I love, like, it's...
00:06Money's nice.
00:06It's amazing.
00:07Today, WIRED is talking to online celebrity and podcaster Bobby Althoff
00:12about making lots of money on the internet.
00:15This is The Big Interview.
00:23Let me start by welcoming you to The Big Interview.
00:26You're a really interesting case study in what it looks like to go from TikTok celebrity
00:33all the way into what I would say is sort of like a People magazine is writing about you,
00:38TMZ is writing about you.
00:39Can you tell us a little bit about the start of your rise?
00:43I believe it was right after I had my first daughter, so 2020.
00:462020.
00:46I think I posted my first video November of 2020.
00:49And was that planned?
00:51Did you think to yourself, TikTok celebrity, here I come?
00:54Yes.
00:54I'm doing it.
00:55Yes.
00:55And correct me if I'm wrong, there was a banana.
00:58Were you dancing with a banana?
00:59What's really funny is that didn't go viral.
01:02That was just a video I put up that had, like, barely any views.
01:05How many views is a few views?
01:06At the time, okay, at the time it got a million views.
01:08But it was a slow million.
01:09A million is a lot of eyeballs on someone dancing with a banana.
01:13But around the videos it was surrounded by had, like, at least five million.
01:16Okay, so as a mommy TikToker, what is Bobby's claim to fame?
01:21I started doing this thing where I was calling my daughter Richard.
01:25Because her name is kind of, um, unisex, is that the word?
01:27Yeah.
01:28Yeah.
01:28Okay, so I was, like, thinking about it.
01:30I didn't know.
01:31Okay.
01:31Someone maybe made fun of that or something.
01:33So then I was like, I'm going to take this a step further.
01:36Let me just go with a name that is not for girls.
01:39So Richard.
01:39So Richard.
01:40I was, like, holding my daughter in my arm and I was like, yeah, I want it.
01:43Because they were like, you named your daughter Richard?
01:45And I was like, yeah, I wanted a boy, but I had a girl.
01:47So I named her Richard anyway.
01:48And I had a few viral ones before that.
01:49But I feel like there's a difference between getting a viral video that gains you an audience
01:53versus getting a viral video that just gets nothing.
01:56Like, it doesn't go anywhere.
01:57You didn't get followers or anything.
01:58So I think it got five million views.
02:00And then I created a character of a person who was just only worried about looks.
02:04I was like, I only let my daughter wear neutrals.
02:06I only let her play with toys that are of the earth and stuff.
02:09And, like, I think I even called it, like, a parody of a really bad mom was, like, my bio at the time.
02:14And then I just went.
02:15That was it.
02:15That was, like, the start.
02:16And so you found yourself in a world all of a sudden where you had fans.
02:21Yes.
02:22And they were moms.
02:23Yeah, mostly.
02:24Mostly moms.
02:24Yeah.
02:25Mom fans.
02:25Moms got it.
02:26Because there is, like, some moms that are, like, very, I don't hate to them for me,
02:30but are very just into dressing their kids in their aesthetics.
02:34So I was just, let me take this a step further and really create that.
02:37I was so determined to get my TikTok page to blow up.
02:39When I tell you I had notes, I was trying so many things.
02:41My first videos were, like, because I used to be a nanny before I had my baby.
02:44I stopped because of COVID.
02:46My first videos were literally, like, how to become a nanny on care.com.
02:49Like, I was trying every avenue until finally that took off.
02:52But I was, like, something would take off.
02:53There's just no way that I don't make money in my life.
02:56I need to figure out something.
02:57I want to talk to you about money.
02:59I have some questions for you about money.
03:00OK.
03:01OK.
03:02Brand deals and making money on TikTok.
03:05You're still in your TikTok era.
03:06I know you've changed eras since then.
03:08How did that work for you?
03:10And how much money were you making?
03:12I want to say that before I had my, like, big break, I don't know, last July,
03:16I was making around, like, $250 to $300 a year.
03:20A thousand.
03:21Yeah.
03:22From brand deals on TikTok.
03:23From brand deals on TikTok and from the creator fund and just combined.
03:26That was just off of that.
03:27Three million followers before.
03:28I mean, yeah, I was doing pretty well for myself.
03:30I thought I had, like, really made it.
03:32I didn't know there was, like, a level above that ever.
03:34I was like, I did this, guys.
03:36Oh, I'm excited to talk about that level.
03:38Yeah.
03:38How would you decide, though, like, yes, I will wipe up milk with your paper towels in my TikTok,
03:45but no, I will not do XYZ?
03:48What were the lines?
03:49And what was, like, the worst brand request you ever got?
03:53The worst ones?
03:54I don't think that I've ever had.
03:55I got really lucky.
03:56As soon as my little break into the mommy TikTok era, I signed to, like, a management team.
04:01And I got, like, pretty good brand deals.
04:03And I think I was making, like, between, like, $5,000 and $10,000 per branded video.
04:07I want to say, like, there was a couple that were over that.
04:10And I remember being like, no way.
04:11Why are you going to pay me to make this video that much?
04:13That's a good question.
04:14It is.
04:15But, you know, they're going to get their millions of views.
04:17And they're going to.
04:18I'm like, I don't.
04:19But it's, yeah, I don't know.
04:21I did a lot of just, oh, do I actually use this product?
04:25Or is this actually something that I would use?
04:27And one of the things that's interesting about you as sort of like a case study in online celebrity
04:33is that you became the subject of internet conspiracies, right?
04:36And one of them, there are many, one is that you were an industry plant.
04:40You were so well-connected in LA that you were able to get celebrity guests and sort
04:45of gain a following and that sort of that's how you were able to become so successful
04:49so quickly.
04:50Well, early on, I was like, is that a joke?
04:52Like, what is an industry plant?
04:53You guys.
04:54And I would just play into it because I was like, there's no way people actually think
04:56that.
04:57But then I realized, like, what people actually think.
04:58People actually know.
04:59I did my reading.
05:00They actually think that.
05:01They really do.
05:02And I think that it makes sense.
05:03Like, from an outside looking in perspective, I can see why they would think that.
05:05But I've been a hard worker for my whole life.
05:09Like, my first job was when I was 16.
05:11When I was in high school, I would go with my parents to the houses my dad would work
05:15on and clean the houses with my mom.
05:17And like, I would skip out on football games and stuff to like do that to make money.
05:21Even during COVID, I was selling face masks on Etsy.
05:24That's a hustle.
05:25Oh, I was like eight months pregnant and I had a sewing machine my mom bought me and
05:31I wanted to make money because my job as a nanny, they didn't need me since COVID shut
05:35everything down.
05:36And then Etsy said you have to wear all cotton face masks.
05:38So I was like, this is my time.
05:39You can use the one.
05:40I was like, this is my time to shine.
05:41Did you shine?
05:42I made $3,000.
05:43That was like 300 face masks.
05:46I would stay up all night and just sew.
05:48A brand deal sounds way easier.
05:50It was so much easier.
05:51It's so easy.
05:52It sounds like a better way to make a living on the internet.
05:55I agree.
05:56I know that's a controversial thing because a lot of influencers say, like, this is so
05:59hard.
06:00But as someone who's lived both lives, I will tell you right now.
06:03Are you having a hard time?
06:05No.
06:06I'm like, how is this real?
06:08At any moment, I'm like, this could all just be taken away and I'll go back to working
06:13at, like, Sonic or Jersey Mike's or all the places I've worked in my life.
06:16But it's so easy.
06:18It's crazy.
06:19Selling face masks is much harder.
06:21My fingers hurt.
06:22It's very difficult.
06:23I was tired.
06:24It wasn't as fun.
06:25It's very unpleasant.
06:26Yeah.
06:27As I've been thinking about it, you sort of, you had your mommy TikTok era and then you
06:30launched the really good podcast.
06:33The way that my podcast started was I was like, 250 is great and all, but it's hard
06:38to come up with content with just me every day.
06:41$250,000 a year as an annual income is great and all.
06:43Yes.
06:44It is great.
06:45It is great.
06:46But I was like, this doesn't have longevity, you know?
06:49Like, it's not what every day I'm having to come up and go viral.
06:53And it's like, no matter how long you've been doing it, going viral and keeping being
06:56viral is not easy.
06:58So it's like, every day I was still posting 10 videos a day, even when I had my 3 million
07:03followers and some of those videos would completely flop and get like 50,000 views.
07:06And I was just constantly having to think, and I was like, the only thing that is so
07:09successful every time is collabs.
07:11And then I saw this video of a girl talking about how much she made from her podcast.
07:14And I think I mentally decided that she made like at least 300 a year on her podcast
07:19alone.
07:20And I was like, that's what I need to do next.
07:22Like, I need a podcast.
07:23So I started, it was first called So You're Rich.
07:26Was it?
07:27Yeah.
07:28And I was interviewing rich people.
07:30Money, a recurring theme.
07:31I want, I didn't grow up with money.
07:33I am on a lifelong journey to get money.
07:35I love.
07:36You want money.
07:37I love my life now.
07:38I love that I'm able to take care of my family.
07:40I love like it's.
07:41Money's nice.
07:42It's amazing.
07:43I think more people should talk about the fact that making money is, can be a primary
07:47driver of waking up in the morning.
07:49I know.
07:50I know.
07:51I lived my whole life like struggling.
07:52Now to not struggle.
07:53Yeah.
07:54It's like such a driver.
07:55Like I want to, I wish I could help more people.
07:56Like that's why I'm so, I love teaching people about TikTok and stuff and how if you just
08:00push yourself, you can do it.
08:02You could do it if you need to.
08:03I don't want to do it.
08:04You can.
08:05I don't want to.
08:06You should.
08:07We can make, you can make your first TikTok together.
08:08Fine.
08:09Okay.
08:10With you.
08:11Fine.
08:12So you moved into the podcast world.
08:13You paid people $300, I think, to help you get your first guests.
08:17Well, so my first guest was Miranda things.
08:21I was basically just DMing anybody I had with the following.
08:24The idea was like, I would interview rich people and I would be like, so you're rich.
08:29Tell me about how you got there.
08:30It was supposed to be a parody of Guy Raz.
08:32How I built this.
08:33That's my favorite podcast.
08:34Like I told you, I've been listening to podcasts and how to build money my whole life.
08:38And I was like, I'm going to make a parody of that.
08:40Cause I don't know how to interview.
08:41Cause first I was researching how he interviews people.
08:43And I was like, Oh God, this is a lot of work.
08:45Let me just go in there and know nothing.
08:47It's so much work.
08:48Like you have notes.
08:49I just get to show up.
08:50I have a whole notebook here.
08:51Yeah.
08:52I have, I think like multiple pages.
08:53That's rough.
08:54I don't.
08:55Questions here.
08:56Is the notebook just for show?
08:57Cause you kind of have it open.
08:59Paper on top of it.
09:00This is just my method.
09:01This is my method.
09:02I'm a journalist.
09:03So I have my method.
09:04I love it.
09:05You have yours.
09:06I love it for you.
09:07Mine is nothing.
09:08Sometimes I'll be like, can you guys give me a few pointers right before I walk in?
09:10And then that's, that's what I have.
09:12It's what you do.
09:13It's just me.
09:14And it's like, I don't know.
09:15It's, it's easier.
09:16And it makes money.
09:17And it makes money.
09:18Exactly.
09:19So when did it turn into the very good podcast?
09:21After the first episode.
09:23Oh, okay.
09:24Didn't last long.
09:25No.
09:26The people I was with at the time, I'm not going to call them out or anything.
09:30They're great people.
09:31I don't actually, the company doesn't exist anymore.
09:33No.
09:34Okay.
09:35They sent them in my pilot of it.
09:36Oh no.
09:37And then I get a, one day I was like, finally they watched.
09:39I got an email and it was a thread that was sent between the company.
09:43Not meant for me to see.
09:44And I was like, and they were like, this is so bad.
09:47This is horrible.
09:48This is not funny.
09:49I see what she's trying to do, but it's just not funny.
09:51And they were just really, they're like, yeah, she should just stick to doing a regular podcast
09:56and stuff.
09:57So that's when the idea was born.
09:58This is not going to just be a podcast.
09:59It's going to be the really good podcast.
10:01And you guys are going to, this is going to be good.
10:03So again, just DMing every person I knew that had a following.
10:07And then I ran out of people I knew that had followings.
10:09And I was like, how do I get celebrities?
10:11The celebrities don't benefit from $300.
10:13That's what I can afford to give, but that's what the celebrities don't benefit from that.
10:17But they could look generous if they, if like a random regular person is getting $300
10:23because they connected us.
10:24So I had, if you comment a celebrity and that leads to them being on my show,
10:30I'll give you $300.
10:32Marco was the first one, I think.
10:34Somebody tagged him.
10:35That was the first time I saw him.
10:36And I was like, okay, if this comment leads to me getting him, then I'll give you $300.
10:41I posted a screenshot of that on my story and I tagged him.
10:43And I remember thinking there's no way he's going to see this because he has 5 million followers,
10:47I think, like 5 or 6 million followers.
10:49I was like, there's no way he's going to see this.
10:50And he replied so quickly.
10:51And he did it.
10:52And he did it.
10:53And it took him all the way to where I was living at the time, which was in Laguna, pretty far.
10:57And he did it.
10:58And he was, it was amazing.
10:59Like it, that was, that one went crazy online.
11:02The numbers were insane.
11:03And it was like such a fun experience.
11:05And then from there, I believe that Drake saw the clips of that one.
11:09The incident with Drake.
11:11There was like, well, you know.
11:13No.
11:14Okay.
11:15Well, what I know is you did an interview with Drake.
11:17You were in bed.
11:18Bed.
11:19Ha ha, laughs.
11:20Everyone laughing.
11:21And it did incredibly well, right?
11:22Like 10 million views.
11:23Yeah.
11:24Mega viral.
11:25I think that's probably the first time I saw one of your interviews, was that.
11:27And it, to me, felt like this moment where you were catapulted into this new level of celebrity, right?
11:32Like you became like famous.
11:34And then all of a sudden you pulled all of those clips.
11:37And there was all of this speculation, questions, more of these internet conspiracies that we were talking about earlier.
11:43But I'm curious, sort of like in that moment, the Drake thing, if we're not going to call it the incident.
11:49I was hoping we would.
11:50Laughs.
11:51That sounds bad.
11:53You know what?
11:54Okay.
11:55Tell us why it's not bad.
11:56It's just not.
11:57Okay.
11:58You know?
11:59We're friends and everything is good.
12:00Everything is good?
12:01Yeah.
12:02Are you going to put the video back up?
12:03I don't know.
12:04Well.
12:05I could one day.
12:06You might be able to monetize that.
12:07I make enough money.
12:08Oh, okay.
12:09And now YouTube was once my biggest earner, but now I'm good.
12:12Okay.
12:13I don't think I make my most money from YouTube these days.
12:15Well, I was going to ask you, as that was all happening, that was a year ago.
12:19Mm-hmm.
12:20Did you feel at any moment like you had built something that you couldn't control anymore?
12:24Do you know what I mean?
12:26Yeah.
12:27There was a moment in my life where I could walk in places and no one is coming up to me.
12:31Or if they were, because with TikTok, moms would come up to me.
12:34Or I knew who was going to come up to me.
12:36I would still be able to live my life as completely normal and do everything.
12:40And then there was definitely a moment where everything was different.
12:43Where I'm like, oh, paparazzi wants to take photos of me now.
12:46Yeah.
12:47Or if I do stuff, it's making news.
12:49If I post a story answering something people want to know about, it's now like I see it on TMZ and stuff.
12:55And that was definitely a huge, crazy thing.
12:59I don't think it happened sudden because I don't really remember a moment.
13:02It just kind of slowly happened after I interviewed Drake, obviously.
13:06That was so huge.
13:08My life before that and then my life after that is just completely different.
13:12But I have no complaints because I've dreamed of this life.
13:16I remember as a kid doing interviews in the mirror by myself.
13:20Dreaming of this moment right here where I'm getting interviewed by you.
13:24You dreamed of being interviewed by Wired Magazine.
13:26Exactly.
13:27Yeah, I interview really cool people.
13:29And I get interviewed by really cool people.
13:32You're welcome.
13:33That's so nice of you.
13:34How much money do you make now?
13:35How much money do I make?
13:36I don't know.
13:37You'd have to ask my business manager.
13:39That's a sign that there's some real money.
13:41That is a sign.
13:42I will say I don't worry about money anymore.
13:46And I'm able to help people without worrying about money.
13:50It's just, it's not, I've been able to.
13:52Which I'm sure is a really good feeling.
13:53Yeah, it's amazing.
13:54One thing about celebrity, and I think I would say online celebrity in particular,
13:58although someone could argue with me about that,
14:00is that it is fickle, right?
14:02Like it is finite and unpredictable and unstable.
14:07If the goal is obviously to further your career and also to never worry about money again.
14:11Yeah.
14:12How do you make that sustainable?
14:14Without this, it's not like I had another stable option.
14:16Right.
14:17I graduated from community college.
14:19I have no, my family has no money.
14:21I didn't have, there was no stable fallback plan.
14:24It was like just work hard and keep working hard.
14:27And that's kind of the way that I am.
14:29Like just be a good person and keep working hard.
14:31And I think that I'll be fine.
14:33And I know that this career is definitely not like a lawyer or not like a doctor or anything.
14:37But there is skill to it.
14:39And I think a lot of people don't recognize that.
14:42There's been times where I'm down and up and down and up.
14:45And I know how to climb back up and I know how not to let things get to me.
14:48And I know how to just keep pushing through.
14:50But at the end of the day, if I had to go back and work at Jersey Mexican to support myself,
14:54I'll make your sandwich for you.
14:57You talk a lot about not working, right?
15:00You talk in your interviews about not preparing.
15:02You never seem prepared, to be fair.
15:04So it seems like that's true.
15:06But a lot of work goes into running a TikTok page, right?
15:11Or doing a podcast.
15:13What is the work behind the scenes that people don't see?
15:17Can you tell us a little bit about that?
15:18There's a lot of just running things.
15:20It became a business out of nowhere.
15:22It started off as just me and one camera guy traveling together.
15:25And it was like, haha, one video every time I get a guest, whatever.
15:29Now I have a lot of people depending on me, a lot of people who work for me.
15:32And I have a studio that owns my ad space.
15:35So they take care of that.
15:37But it's me going to the studio, recording ads, setting up the guest.
15:41The majority of my guests are still set up by me and through me.
15:45I have a booker now, but the podcast has become a full-time job.
15:49Whereas TikTok was never a full-time job.
15:51It was like, okay, let me just film a couple ads.
15:53The podcast, especially now that I'm having to put out an episode every single week.
15:57It's like, that means that I have to do lots of interviews and that's a lot of travel.
16:01It's actually a lot that goes on behind the scenes that I think it's easy to miss.
16:06Because it looks like I do just show up.
16:08If I show up alone, no interview is happening.
16:10I show up and I have everything.
16:12Where do we find Bobbi Althoff in 10 years?
16:14In 10 years, my dream.
16:16What I'm working towards right now is either having a late night show or having...
16:21I would love to get into acting.
16:23Not dramatic acting.
16:25I don't think I'm ever going to be...
16:27I can't even think of an actress right now.
16:29That's how my brain works.
16:31Like a Meryl Streep.
16:33No, that's not going to be me.
16:36But doing dry comedy type movies and stuff.
16:40That would be my dream or shows.
16:42That's where I hope you see me in 10 years.
16:44I hope that I go from D-list to A-list.
16:47That's my goal in 10 years.
16:49From D-list to A-list.
16:50Yes.
16:51The Bobbi Althoff story.
16:5210 years, that's achievable.
16:5310 years is forever.
16:54Thank you so much for being here.
16:56Thank you, that was a good note to end on.
16:58Really lovely.
16:59It was.
17:00Thank you for joining us on The Big Interview.
17:01Thank you for having me.
17:02Anytime.
17:03The really big interview.
17:04Yes.
17:05I love it.