Bobbi Althoff on exactly how she got rich—and how rich, exactly
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This week, Katie Drummond speaks to Bobbi Althoff for WIRED Start. Delving in where her journey began on Mommy TikTok, that Drake interview, and beyond. The podcast host is proof you can brute-force your way to online fame.
Althoff, who’s 27 years old, just has it, that indescribable presence, that gravitational pull. A person who makes sense as somebody that everybody knows. And a lot more people know Althoff now than they did a few years ago: In 2021, her relentless attempts at taking off on TikTok finally stuck, and she established herself as a viral, albeit subversive, member of Mommy TikTok. That’s also where Althoff honed the awkwardly funny, deadpan persona that became her calling card and led to The Really Good Podcast, which is now in its third season.
When it launched in April 2023, the show, which sees Althoff interviewing a grab bag of mostly non-A-list celebrities—everyone from Saweetie and Meghan Trainor to Bobby Flay and Mark Cuban—quickly took off and turned Althoff into an online lightning rod even before she spent an hour in bed with Drake. That July 2023 interview drew over 10 million views on Althoff’s YouTube channel.
Somewhere in that frenzied ascent, there’s also been a shift: In more recent episodes of The Really Good Podcast, the disinterested, deadpan Bobbi has faded away, and a new Bobbi—who is both consistently interested and convincingly sincere—has taken her place. “The character was a way of me leaning into how uncomfortable I was,” Althoff tells Drummond. “As I’ve become more confident in what I’m doing, it’s easier for me to be comfortable.”
In addition to her podcast, Althoff recently inked a development deal to produce, write, and star in a TV comedy, which she describes as “a cross between Dave and The Office,” based loosely on her own rise to fame. She has stopped reading nasty comments from Reddit trolls and says she has found a supportive community among LA industry types who can relate to life in the online spotlight. Not to mention that Althoff has finally realized the singular goal she’s been chasing since childhood, one that’s given her the freedom to chart a course on her own terms: Make money. A lot of money.
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Storyteller, digital marketer, writer, editor, lecturer, author, avid investor. Contributor for Forbes, ESPN, Rolling Stone. Oh, and I like sports too.
1 个月Now Wired will do a Wired and start referring to her now as a “visionary” and “thought leader” just like they have with every two-bit dot com founder since 1995.
Lead UX Researcher and Strategist | 12+ years of experience in Innovation Insights
1 个月I don't know how she's this successful. It's all about her and how "ugly" she is. No focus on the people (who are highly accomplished) she's interviewing. Inane questions like asking Bobby Flay if he's had work done...who cares?
Product Manager | Delivery Manager | Innovator
1 个月Neat. I believe any success, online fame included, is a three-legged stool with legs of: skill, hard work, and luck. This interview tracks. Skill: "Althoff, who’s 27 years old, just has it, that indescribable presence, that gravitational pull." Hard work: "I’ve been a hard worker for my whole life." Luck: "So then I started a thing where I’d be like, 'If you comment [on a celebrity’s account] and that leads to them being on my show, I’ll give you $300.'" And pertinent to online fame seekers: "with the switch of an algorithm, all of a sudden you’re not relevant anymore"