Creator Unplugged

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At 26, Valeria Lipovetsky was a self-described gray mouse: a mom of two in the suburbs of Toronto who felt the world was too big for her. So she adopted a five-word rule: I do whatever scares me, and pressed post. Ten years later, she runs a media company built around her story, with brand partnerships that have lasted longer than most careers in this industry.

Jun and Valeria get into the roots of it all: her north star (her mother) who immigrated 3 times without the language and rebuilt every time, and the father she knew from a single photograph cut in half, until she flew to Russia at 26 to meet him and ended up posting the video that changed how she shows up online.

Then she gets into the operator side, why she chose to shut down a profitable business, how she fostered long-term brand deals with brands like Dior and David Yurman, and why she hired a CEO for her personal brand back when nobody understood what that even meant.

This episode is for the creator hiding behind polished content, the professional who thinks their life is too ordinary to post about, and anyone still staring at a video they’re too scared to publish.

Chapters:

• 02:34 “I do whatever scares me”
• 04:46 The gray mouse syndrome
• 06:31 The paycheck that made her husband a believer
• 09:45 The mother who immigrated 3 times
• 12:20 Making people feel less alone
• 16:12 Filming the trip to meet her biological father
• 18:48 Hate comments as a guiding light
• 21:22 Vulnerability isn’t crying online
• 26:56 Shutting down a profitable brand
• 30:07 Creatives need systems
• 35:22 Why she rarely does one-off brand deals
• 38:03 Virality isn’t a business
• 44:45 Everybody is interesting, zoom in
• 46:53 Charisma is a game of repetition
• 51:55 The next fear she’s tackling

Stay connected:

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• Jun on Instagram

📥 Content is the dream job. ManyChat is the system behind it. Try Manychat PRO free for a month at https://get.manychat.com/real-job with code CREATOR.

🗓️ Learn the art of storytelling by signing up for our final FREE live webinar of the year on November 18-22: https://creatorcollege.com/c/free-live-webinar2

📧 Bookings/Partnerships: [email protected]

Jessica Carter ran the numbers on her waitlist and decided that if her mini-editing course made $10,000, the work would be worth it. It went on to do around $700,000. This is the story of how a mom who spent 10 years posting with almost nothing to show for it, freebies nobody downloaded, videos that went nowhere, finally cracked it.

Jun and Jessica trace the whole arc from the beginning: the basic editing tutorial that felt too silly to post until it went viral, the DM that changed her perspective on selling, and how she built (and confirmed) demand for her course.

Then she gets into the launch itself, with none of the polish you’d expect. No funnel, selling through stories, her sisters jumping in to help with DMs, income reports twice a day because the audience demanded them, and more. Plus the husband-reaction reel that pulled 12 million views and took her page from 70K to over 220K, the hate that came with it, and her faith that kept every scary step steady.

This episode is for the creator who’s years in with nothing to show for it yet, the mom who wants to build an income without pretending to be a guru, and anyone sitting on an idea waiting to feel like an expert first.

Chapters:

• 02:44 The editing video that felt too silly to post
• 03:33 “You’re not a professor, you’re a tutor”
• 07:02 A decade of reps that went nowhere
• 12:07 How she scripts and practices every video
• 17:13 When content stopped being about ego
• 18:54 The video that converted 1 in 2 profile visits
• 22:21 Testing demand before building anything
• 28:01 The DMs that turned a launch into a duty
• 29:02 The messy behind-the-scenes
• 32:42 Her pricing strategy
• 38:36 Teaching for free without losing the sale
• 41:23 Why she opens and closes doors in seasons
• 42:34 The 12M view reel that blew up her page
• 46:39 Income reports
• 49:59 The faith underneath all of it

Stay connected:

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• Jun on Instagram

📥 Content is the dream job. ManyChat is the system behind it. Try Manychat PRO free for a month at https://get.manychat.com/real-job with code CREATOR.

📧 Bookings/Partnerships: [email protected]

Hannah Wilson had no idea how to run an Instagram page when she walked into the Insta360 office and demanded a job. After 3 months of persistence they gave in, and her job description became two words: go viral. In a country where she didn’t speak the language, she figured it out, and she’s been figuring it out ever since, building a multi-six-figure business from her phone, out of one suitcase, across more countries than most people visit in a lifetime.

Jun and Hannah unpack the system underneath it all: reverse engineering every piece of content from a concrete objective, the 3 buckets of content she posts weekly, why she stopped taking small brand deals to go premium, and the paid community she shut down and refunded within a month because it didn’t feel aligned.

She then opens up about being more tired of being seen than she’s ever been, and why that feeling is the signal to evolve, not quit. Her next era is already taking shape behind the camera where she’s being paid for how she thinks. She says creators are the most underutilized strategic resource in business, and the smart ones will start getting paid in equity, not just cash.

This episode is for the creator stuck on the hamster wheel posting the same thing every day, the expert who knows they’re worth more than a one-off brand deal, and anyone who needs proof you can start with zero followers and zero clout.

Chapters:

• 03:01 Change before you feel ready
• 05:09 Exposure therapy for an extraordinary life
• 07:56 300 followers and a job to go viral
• 09:10 Reverse engineering virality
• 12:44 The three kinds of content she makes weekly
• 16:27 Evolving without losing your audience
• 19:53 The wrong KPIs beginners chase
• 21:32 A content creator vs. someone creating content
• 23:54 “Tired of being seen”
• 29:31 Her mother as her inspiration
• 36:11 From one keynote to $70K in speaking
• 39:46 The paid community she refunded in a month
• 42:33 Brands need to act like creators
• 49:06 Why creators should be paid in equity
• 55:44 Angel investing without the fantasy
• 1:00:05 How she splits her money
• 1:02:49 “The woman that can do it all”

Stay connected:

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• Jun on Instagram

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Vivian Tu made $625,000 in her final year at BuzzFeed. She walked away anyway, terrified, with $100,000 set aside and a plan. Today, she's the creator behind Your Rich BFF, author of two New York Times bestsellers, podcast host, and the founder of Ask Dolly, a personal finance and AI companion app.

This conversation is about the money side of content that almost nobody talks about: Why she saved a year of runway before quitting, how creator income actually works, the sponsors she turns down no matter the number, and the brand deal playbook every creator needs before they sign their next deal.

She then gets into the parts that decide whether any of it lasts and how she’s already building her next reinvention before this one runs out, so that you can build something that outlives the algorithm too.

This episode is for the creator who treats content like a business (or knows they need to start), the expert afraid that showing their life will cost them credibility, and anyone who wants their success to outlast their relevance window.

Chapters:

• 01:47 Why your personal life is your superpower
• 02:23 Every expert is replaceable
• 05:55 "I don't actually like making content"
• 10:24 The two-day content week
• 14:08 Walking away from $625K
• 16:31 WME, a podcast, and a book deal in 8 months
• 21:07 Use your 9-to-5 to fund your 5-to-9
• 24:49 What brands actually grade you on
• 28:18 Funnel content: awareness to conversion
• 35:54 How hundreds of DMs a day became an app
• 39:42 Why she refused to raise VC money
• 46:53 A creator's shelf life is 5 to 10 years
• 50:55 "Build a life YOU are proud of, not just your parents"

Stay connected:

• Creator Unplugged on Instagram
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• Jun on Instagram

🎙️ With Riverside, launching your own podcast has never been easier. Go to https://creators.riverside.com/CreatorUnplugged and use code JunYuh for one month for FREE on the Pro or Glow Plan.

Bookings/Partnerships: [email protected]

Adley Kinsman spent four years making videos that couldn’t crack 5,000 views. Then the unlock happened. Her company Viralish now pulls in a billion views a month, she’s Meta’s most viewed female creator, and with over 80 billion organic views she can explain exactly why one video dies at 10,000 views while its twin clears 100,000.

Adley explains exactly how Viralish engineers attention, the 90% rule for hooks, why tension equals retention, why niching down keeps experts invisible, and the frameworks her team runs on: simple, repeatable, scalable. Jun and Adley also dig deeper and talk about overcoming imposter syndrome, why passion fades the moment you stop winning (and how to avoid it), and the question that rewires anxious creators: are you making content about yourself, or for the people you serve?

This episode is for the expert whose content is useful but invisible, the business owner who’s been told to niche down, and anyone who wants people to actually watch the content they creator.

Chapters:

• 02:35 The 10K vs. 100K video breakdown
• 04:49 The retention numbers Viralish aims for
• 10:21 Stop calling out your avatar
• 13:53 What people say they watch vs. what they actually watch
• 16:18 Selling to clients with money vs. without
• 18:41 Imposter syndrome never goes away
• 23:44 Entertaining doesn’t mean silly
• 26:56 Entertain the masses, educate the interested, sell to the committed
• 32:24 Cultural vs. contextual relevance
• 34:10 Finding your story: go to the pain
• 41:25 Conversion content frameworks
• 45:20 Her best-performing ad is one sentence
• 47:06 Making the ordinary extraordinary
• 50:57 Service media, not social media
• 52:25 “Passion is BS”
• 54:36 When your why outgrows you

Stay connected:

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• Jun on Instagram

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Brock Johnson has taught Instagram strategy for almost a decade and built an audience of a million followers doing it. Jun and Brock get into the system that made him one of the most consistent creators in the game from the story bank he’s kept since his early days to the task-batching workflow that films a month of reels in one sitting.

They also break down what’s working on Instagram right now, the two kinds of content that will win over the next few years, the number one rule that keeps videos feeling real, and a trial reels playbook that gets one video three separate rounds of reach.

Then Brock opens up the business side: the funnel behind his audience, why he runs one offer instead of many, and the reason every creator needs an email list.

This episode is for creators tired of overthinking their content, the expert whose page is all value and no story, and anyone who’s ready to own more of what they’ve built.

Chapters:

• 02:48 How Jun and Brock met
• 03:31 Breaking the “only share value” rule
• 09:11 Weaving your life into your content
• 10:46 Build a story bank
• 15:58 Brock's upbringing in an entrepreneurial household
• 20:25 How to practice discipline
• 25:43 Work-life balance as priority number one
• 30:10 Batching 30 reels in one sitting
• 32:31 Hiring, leadership and who's on Brock’s team today
• 43:39 Realness comes from speed
• 51:21 The trial reels playbook
• 58:02 Inside Brock’s funnel
• 1:09:18 What still matters in 5 years

Stay connected:

• Creator Unplugged on Instagram
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• Jun on Instagram

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Partnerships/Inquiries: [email protected]

Vishen Lakhiani built Mindvalley into a nine-figure company on blogs and email, and avoided the camera until age 40. Jun talks with Vishen about why founders who stay invisible are shooting themselves in the foot, and how showing up on camera helped take Mindvalley from $30M to $140M.

Vishen unpacks the childhood programming that makes being seen feel unsafe, and traces his own back being bullied in school, plus the healing practice that finally freed him to post.

Then comes the masterclass: his full storytelling framework with real examples, the science of why stories are 22x more memorable than facts, why confident voices beat qualified ones online, and the trick for creators who think they have no original ideas.

At the end, Vishen flips the interview, pulling Jun's real story out of him layer by layer, and ends with a warning that everyone needs to hear.

This is an episode you don't want to miss.

Chapters:

• 02:36 The limiting beliefs Vishen started with
• 04:20 "Is it too late for me?" and starting at 40
• 06:10 The video that took on Nestlé
• 08:07 How storytelling took Mindvalley from $30M to $140M
• 10:49 Visibility wounding, explained
• 15:24 The inner child & the meaning-making machine
• 22:40 The practice for healing your fear of being seen
• 25:04 The HSTSS storytelling framework
• 25:46 The hook
• 32:28 The stakes
• 33:21 The turn
• 38:45 The scene
• 45:09 Vishen flips the interview on Jun
• 55:05 Why Vishen won't stop until a million lives change

Stay connected:

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Jordan Schwarzenberger is the co-founder of Arcade, the entertainment company behind some of the biggest names in the creator world, and he has news for you: you're probably not as entertaining as you think you are.

At 29, Jordan runs multiple companies, leads a 22-person agency, hosts his own podcast, and is raising 5 kids. Jun starts where most interviews don't: how he holds it all together.

Jordan's answer runs through faith, why pride is at the root of most professional self-sabotage, and the ordering of his life that makes everything else work.

Then it gets tactical: why the future belongs to "content engineers," what makes people care enough to follow you, why delivery beats hooks, and how to stop sounding like a presenter.

And for those of you interested in expanding to live events, Jordan breaks down his fool-proof formula for his live-events business.

This is for anyone who wants to stop guessing at content and start engineering it, and for the ambitious ones trying to build big without losing themselves in the process.

Chapters:

• 02:20 What anchors Jordan
• 11:35 Pride, humility & checking yourself
• 17:26 How he manages it all
• 19:35 Detachment: the skill nobody talks about
• 25:28 Why experts won't own their story
• 28:41 Content is engineering, not talent
• 34:17 How to actually sound natural
• 39:48 Why full-time creator shouldn't be the goal
• 42:30 The economics of live events
• 52:14 The trust crisis on social platforms
• 53:23 Instagram's big mistake
• 55:49 Scarcity & spontaneity always win
• 57:47 What he wants to be remembered for

Stay connected:

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• Jun’s Instagram

📌 Ditch all the social planning tools for Rella. Go to getrella.com and use code “CREATOR" for 10% off your first three months or annual plan.

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Partnerships/Inquiries: [email protected]

When something feels off with your health, you probably don't open Google anymore, you open TikTok, Instagram, Reddit... And for millions of people, the voice they land on is Dr. Karan Rajan, the surgeon who made the internet comfortable talking about the things it was too embarrassed to ask a doctor.

Jun talks with Karan about what it means to be a trusted voice at scale, how to spot a fake expert (the red flags are more subtle than you think), and how he protects his credibility while building his supplement company Loam.

They also get into the content strategy behind it all - reaction-video formats, vocalizing contrarian takes, scripting, and so much more.

This episode is for professionals who think their field is too technical and boring for social media.

Chapters

• 01:49 The patient who was too embarrassed to speak up
• 03:28 Making taboo topics watchable
• 04:46 Why informed patients are better patients
• 06:33 Red flags of a fake health expert
• 08:52 Building Loam for the skeptics
• 10:27 How he engineers his content
• 14:11 Inside the reaction-video format
• 18:14 The "secret sauce" AI can't replicate
• 22:10 How he sources what to react to
• 25:19 What entrepreneurship taught him
• 30:31 Brute-forcing your way past embarrassment
• 32:13 How content transformed his communication
• 36:26 Why he canceled his Oura ring subscription
• 39:15 Real health is resilience
• 45:46 Leaving surgery with zero regrets

Stay connected:

• Creator Unplugged on Instagram
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• Jun on Instagram

📌 Ditch all the social planning tools for Rella. Go to getrella.com and use code “CREATOR" for 10% off your first three months or annual plan.

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Partnerships/Inquiries: [email protected]

Maddie Borge has spent more than half her life on the internet. She started at 12, filming videos in her bedroom in Norway because she dreamed of living like the YouTubers she idolized. Today, she has an audience that literally grew up alongside her, and a travel brand that sold out its restock in 67 minutes.

Jun talks with Maddie about what over a decade online really builds: Why she never felt split between her online self and her real one, the money habits she formed to set her up for success, long-form vs. short-form, and how all those years of trust turned into Pastael, her viral packing-cube brand.

Then, they tackle the operator side of things when it comes to bootstrapping a physical product, six-figure stock orders, months of sellouts, hiring, and everything in between.

Chapters:

• 01:55 Starting YouTube at 12
• 06:14 Identity online and offline
• 09:35 The followers who grew up with her
• 12:59 Why she diversified her income
• 15:11 The idea for Pastel
• 17:55 The real cost of physical products
• 20:01 Building in public without knowing it
• 22:41 Learning to be an operator
• 25:46 What she's learned about hiring
• 27:21 Long form vs. short form strategy
• 32:28 Her "I made it" moment
• 33:37 What makes a pop-up actually work
• 39:30 Building community
• 42:01 What she'd tell her 12-year-old self

Stay connected:

• Creator Unplugged on Instagram
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• Jun’s Instagram

📌 Ditch all the social planning tools for Rella. Go to getrella.com and use code “CREATOR" for 10% off your first three months or annual plan.

Learn how to attract the right audience, turn them into paying clients and build a real business off the back of your content. Sign up for the FREE 5 day Masterclass: creatorcollege.com/c/live-webinar-organic

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Mia McGrath's first setup was an iPhone taped to her bedroom window. No mic, bad lighting, edited her videos on TikTok. Today, she’s making multiple six-figures from her content, signed a book deal, and started a cultural movement called “Frugal Chic.”

Jun talks with Mia about money the way nobody in finance talks about it: through psychology. They get into how she became the representation she never saw growing up, how "strategic people pleasing" became her content superpower, why she deliberately pays herself less than she could, and the tension she felt from sharing her income online.

They also break down the four-part framework behind every one of her talking videos and how to feel more natural speaking on camera.

This episode is for anyone building online who wants the honest math behind the highlight reel.

Chapters:

• 01:45 Money as psychology, not accounting
• 02:55 Becoming the representation she never had
• 04:41 The accidental first viral video
• 06:03 Strategic people pleasing
• 10:08 Journey POV vs. expert POV

• 12:16 Her 4-part video framework

• 15:39 From social anxiety to on-camera confidence
• 18:55 What watching yourself back teaches you
• 20:27 Leaving the 9-to-5 (and the 60-hour weeks)
• 21:38 Where the money actually goes now
• 24:34 The income transparency dilemma
• 26:48 How to share a win without losing people

• 29:28 The mistake that costs creators 50% of their income
• 32:14 Landing her first book deal
• 33:57 Income splits & the product she wants to build
• 36:46 What she'd tell her 15-year-old self

Stay connected:

• Creator Unplugged on Instagram
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• Jun’s Instagram

Ditch all the social planning tools for Rella! Go to getrella.com and use code “CREATOR" for 10% off your first three months or annual plan.

Learn how to attract the right audience, turn them into paying clients and build a real business off the back of your content. Sign up for the FREE 5 day Masterclass: creatorcollege.com/c/live-webinar-organic

Make sure you follow the show wherever you're listening right now! It takes 2 seconds and ensures you never miss any of our upcoming episodes.

Partnerships/Inquiries: [email protected]

Erin McGoff spent 30 minutes making a video about the world's most annoying interview question, went to sleep, and woke up to 20 million views. Then she deleted the account. She was an award-winning filmmaker with her sights on Sundance, and "influencer" was the last thing she wanted to be.

Jun talks with Erin about what changed her mind, how her work as a filmmaker assisted her creator career, the impact of her work on other people’s lives, and her "seeding vs. harvesting" seasons for avoiding burnout.

They break down her content strategy, operations, and systems that led her to scaling her platform to millions and launching her career-focused app “StupidFish.”

This episode is for the creators who want to be taken seriously and the professionals scared a personal brand will cost them that.

Chapters:

• 02:06 Where the drive to serve comes from
• 04:27 Letting go of the Sundance dream
• 08:24 The viral video she ran away from
• 12:05 Inside her lean operation
• 14:12 Why she still edits everything herself
• 18:20 Treat content like a job
• 20:02 Be your own CFO
• 26:09 The one question that makes decisions easy
• 27:54 Dream life vs. dream job
• 32:45 Build StupidFish
• 38:29 What hiring taught her about leadership
• 43:22 The 25,000-person waitlist
• 44:24 How she stays in tune with her audience
• 47:41 For anyone afraid to be seen

Stay connected:

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Noah Anderson turned down the corporate path his degree was built for, and started posting YouTube videos that nobody watched at first, but he kept going anyway. Now he's a full-time creator with several viral series, a self-produced Ironman documentary, and a video about quitting vaping that reached 18+ million people.

Jun talks with Noah about becoming the proof of your own potential, posting through the long stretch when zero people were watching, how he builds content around big events instead of a finish line, and the power of experimenting and vulnerability.

This is a masterclass in long-form storytelling: why YouTube rewards depth over hooks, how to turn your life into content people watch, and why most people quit two attempts too early.

If you thought your stories were too ordinary to share, tune in and take notes.

Chapters:

• 02:03 Proving yourself right
• 03:42 Turning down the corporate path
• 07:40 Posting when nobody watched
• 09:19 His self-produced documentary
• 10:55 Three tries at the ice bath series & how his strategy changed
• 15:38 Talk to one person, not an audience
• 17:10 Where his video ideas come from
• 21:10 The stranger who believed in him
• 23:58 Content as self-improvement
• 29:12 Full-time job, training & YouTube at once
• 31:32 Why YouTube and long-form is the priority
• 35:58 What's next (& how he decides)
• 38:41 What he'd tell 12-year-old Noah

Stay connected:

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• Jun’s Instagram

Turn “I don’t know what to post” into a daily habit that grows your audience. Join the Storytelling Challenge ⁠HERE⁠.

Inquiries/Partnerships: [email protected]

Tyler Chou is the attorney behind some of the biggest deals in the creator industry. She's in the middle of brokering a $100 million exit for one of her clients right now. And she'll tell you most creators are building their entire livelihood on rented land.

Jun sits down with Tyler to talk about what it actually takes to turn a following into a business you can own and one day sell. They get into the first product every creator needs to build, the channels that are literally worthless to buyers, the contract clauses that unintentionally rob you, and the exact AI prompt to protect yourself before you sign anything.

If you’re a creator with a dream of building a business (and not continuing to chase brand deals), this episode is for you.

Chapters:

• 02:53 From Hollywood lawyer to creator attorney
• 06:37 The power of a personal brand (and being job-proof)
• 08:37 Owning assets vs. the brand-deal hamster wheel
• 11:59 What buyers actually want
• 12:32 When you should NOT sell your business
• 18:00 Your first product: ask your audience
• 20:28 The channels no one will ever buy
• 25:36 The biggest contract mistakes creators make
• 28:49 Partnerships, trademarks & when to hire a lawyer
• 34:44 Burnout & the boundaries she set after
• 39:33 The psychology of a creator who can exit for $100M
• 42:06 The lawsuits big creators might face & how to avoid them

Don't forget to follow to the podcast! It takes 2 seconds and makes sure you never miss any of our upcoming episodes.

Stay connected:

• ⁠⁠⁠Creator Unplugged on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Creator Unplugged on TikTok⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Jun’s Instagram

Turn “I don’t know what to post” into a daily habit that grows your audience. Join the Storytelling Challenge HERE.

Inquiries/Partnerships: [email protected]

Dr. Sasha Haddad became one of the internet's first doctor-creators almost by accident, filming lighthearted skits in her scrubs between shifts while the world was stuck at home during the pandemic. What started as a study break turned into a personal brand with millions of followers, even though nearly everyone around her told her it was a waste of time.

Jun talks with Sasha about what it takes for a professional to put themselves online, the time she was told to choose between her platform and a job offer, and why she treated her following as an advantage to her career rather than a red flag, even when her mentors saw it the other way.

This one's for those who’ve been told a personal brand isn't for someone like them, and experts who are sitting on knowledge they can't figure out how to share.

Chapters:

• 01:24 Getting shunned by immigrant parents
• 03:06 The billboard test for what to post
• 07:00 Posting through med school
• 08:11 Why pressure made her most creative
• 12:55 The post-residency creative roadblock
• 16:19 "Once Upon a Doctor" & growing with your audience
• 18:20 Evolve or get left behind
• 21:56 Overcoming the cringe-factor of being a professional online
• 30:32 When she was told to choose between her platform and the job
• 36:06 How to stop overthinking getting started
• 42:02 How to package expertise into short form content
• 47:10 How platforms have changed
• 54:16 The mindset that kills the fear of posting

Don't forget to follow to the podcast! It takes 2 seconds and makes sure you never miss any of our upcoming episodes.

Stay connected:

• ⁠⁠Creator Unplugged on Instagram ⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Creator Unplugged on TikTok⁠⁠
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Learn how to shape, tell, and share your story. Sign up for Jun's 3-day FREE live storytelling webinar ⁠HERE⁠

Join the Storytelling Content Challenge⁠ and be the first to know when it launches ⁠HERE⁠

Inquiries/Partnerships: [email protected]

After creating content for nearly a decade, Molly McAdam decided to reinvent her online presence completely, pivoting from fashion and lifestyle content to what she now calls "the science of well-being." She has mastered the art of the pivot, and she's got the receipts.

Jun talks with Molly about how to evolve your content without losing yourself, why every serious creator has to pivot eventually (plus why it's terrifying every time), and why losing followers can actually be a sign you're building the right audience.

Then, they get into the nitty-gritty: Her full research-to-edit workflow, why perfecting yapping to camera means you can master anything, the brand-deal contract that still haunts her, and how she uses AI to pressure-test her own blind spots.

This episode is for anyone who’s exploring switching up their content, be it a novice or a pro!

Chapters:

• 01:56 The art of the pivot
• 03:54 The three layers of well-being
• 05:27 The fear behind every pivot
• 07:48 The weekly list of things that scare you
• 09:14 Losing followers to gain the right audience
• 12:22 Well-being beyond the screen
• 14:59 Inside Molly's content workflow
• 19:45 The optimal number of friends
• 20:54 Setting boundaries with social media
• 22:26 How she uses AI (research, not scripts)
• 24:07 Getting comfortable talking to camera
• 28:07 Brand-deal mistakes & the contract that still haunts her
• 30:18 Owning your income: Substack, email & digital products
• 31:35 Using AI to price yourself
• 34:31 Why scripted brand deals don't work
• 36:41 The first step & the regret of inaction
• 39:47 Burnout & why she stopped filming her whole life
• 46:00 The carousel comeback & "why would someone save this?"
• 49:29 What's next
• 51:29 What she wants to be known for

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Mark Manson has been creating content for 16 years, which makes him one of the last people standing from the early internet.

Jun talks with Mark, author, podcast host, and founder, about what it actually takes to last, when the "suck" is worth pushing through, why "I am the niche" should be your mantra, and how chasing virality is a recipe for disaster.

Then it gets tactical: They get into how Mark surveys his audience, why equity and distribution are becoming the biggest plays in the creator industry, and how he uses AI to benefit his business (and where it's still useless).

Chapters:

• 02:02 The sacrifices behind being a creator
• 04:56 The moral weight of influence
• 08:00 How he knows his audience
• 12:50 "You are the niche"
• 18:28 AI & hope for the next generation
• 21:25 Why live audiences matter now
• 23:36 Trust is your only real currency
• 27:15 How he uses AI in his workflow
• 30:52 Building & structuring a team around platforms
• 42:07 Online identity, how to pivot & avoiding burnout
• 51:50 Why he built the Purpose app
• 58:10 Distribution is the new moat
• 1:00:47 Longevity advice for the next 10 years

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For years, Travis Mills hated opening Instagram. Every time he did, he felt like a failure - watching his likes fall from 150,000 to 2,000 and tying his self-worth to metrics.

Then he started telling the truth. In the span of about 50 days of posting vulnerable, honest stories, his following grew for the first time in six years, and his DMs filled with people saying he'd changed their lives.

Jun talks with Travis - rapper, singer and Apple Music podcast host - about the shift that changed everything, and why the stories he was most afraid to share, like addiction, sobriety, and mental health, became the ones that connected the deepest.

If you’re struggling to connect with your “why” and having a hard time telling stories from your lived experiences, tune in and take notes.

Chapters:

• 02:42 What posting content daily has done for him
• 06:56 Getting sick of labels & his "ego death"
• 14:32 Finding his "why" & the power of vulnerability in content
• 19:02 Comparison is the thief of joy
• 23:01 "Be a creator, not a perfectionist"
• 27:11 Silent-film storytelling & reframing the past
• 29:11 Why storytelling feels like meditation
• 35:52 Your "mundane" life matters
• 42:00 What he'd tell his 19-year-old self

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This episode touches on addiction and mental health. If you need emotional support, please call or text 988.

Aileen Xu has been a creator for 12 years, which is long enough to try just about every way there is to make money online - and to learn which ones are actually worth it.

In this episode, Aileen, the creator behind Lavendaire, goes through everything she’s tried: brand deals, affiliates, digital products, courses, a membership, a physical workbook she's run for 10 years, and now a meditation app called Resonance.

She breaks down the pros and cons of each, what she’s prioritized and scaled vs. what she’s let go of, and the mindset shift that changed everything for her: creating for impact and joy instead of validation.

If you’re curious about what it takes to build true longevity as a creator-operator, you’re going to want to tune into this episode.

Chapters:

• 01:11 Starting with an affirmation
• 03:32 How to reset a stuck mind
• 07:41 What her schedule looks like & beating burnout by flowing with your energy
• 11:41 Her healing journey & the slowdown
• 14:05 Significance vs. impact
• 18:40 Building in public without being salesy
• 23:02 Trying every way to make money
• 26:11 Why she built the Resonance app
• 31:29 The pain of physical products
• 32:40 The pros and cons of building an app
• 34:38 Turning followers into paying users
• 39:25 A mantra for creators

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You may have seen Senada Greca's workouts on your feed. What you might not know is that behind them is an MBA and the founder of We Rise. And she built it all by doing the opposite of what most creators do: for a full year, she posted free workouts every single day and never asked her audience for a thing.

Jun talks with Senada about the long game that made it work. They touch on why discipline is something you build, how she thinks like a creator-operator, and why she left millions on the table in brand deals to protect the trust she'd spent years earning.

Then they get into where her content ideas come from, why listening to your audience beats your own good ideas, how fitness reshaped her life, and how she made friends with the imposter syndrome that still shows up daily.

If you feel behind, unqualified, or convinced you have no story worth sharing, this episode will definitely change your perspective.

Chapters:

• 01:41 What drives her
• 06:55 Growing up in Albania and overcoming struggle
• 12:50 Earning her MBA in a year
• 14:30 How fitness improved her mental health
• 21:20 Where her content ideas come from
• 24:10 Listening to your audience to inform content and business decisions
• 29:50 Advice for new creator-founders
• 36:14 Long-term partnerships over quick money
• 40:31 Imposter syndrome as a companion
• 47:15 What she'd tell her younger self

The next episode drops on Monday. Make sure you’re following the show so you don’t miss it. See you then!

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Gabriel DeSanti got arrested filming inside an abandoned building. He'll tell you it's the best thing that ever happened to him.

Because getting locked up made him miss a trip, which left him free to be in New York the next day for the opportunity that changed his entire life.

In this episode, Jun and Gabriel trace the unlikely path that led him to becoming the creator building “the world's longest resume" and now founder of Staj. They talk about the grit, grind and work ethic it takes to becoming a creator, how Gabriel engineers a two-minute video from three hours of raw footage, the story arc he uses to make people actually feel something, and a first-ever Creator Unplugged exclusive: exactly how much he makes (and where it comes from).

This episode is for builders, creators and anyone who's ever been told they'd never make it.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:33 How building the “world’s longest resume” was a total accident
• 06:11 The DM that changed his life
• 08:59 Starting Youtube at 13
• 14:51 The coworker who showed him a future he didn't want
• 18:44 Working for free & commuting 4 hours a day
• 22:58 What others saw in him
• 28:42 Inside the production & the art of the interview
• 32:46 The story arc that makes people feel something
• 34:30 How much he actually makes
• 37:53 Building Staj
• 49:09 What he'd tell anyone scared to start

Make sure you follow the show wherever you're listening right now so you never miss an episode. The next one drops this Thursday. See you then.

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Maggie Sellers Reum was the number one BDR at Salesforce when her boss pulled her into a room and told her she was "smarter than she looks," and that she'd need to change the sound of her own voice to get ahead. That moment set her on her mission.

Jun sits down with Maggie - founder of Hot Smart Rich, investor, startup advisor, and creator - to talk about turning rejection into fuel, why she teaches women to never settle, and why she refuses to niche down with her content. She also gets tactical about what makes a business sellable and why ownership beats the brand-deal hamster wheel.

Jun and Maggie then get into hiring, delegating, and how they both use AI every single day to optimize their workflows.

This conversation is for builders, creators, and anyone who’s curious about turning their content into equity.

Chapters:

• 01:53 The moment that led her to where she is today
• 05:28 What investing taught her about ownership
• 08:52 The viral TikTok video she was forced to take down
• 14:43 How she uses Claude every day
• 24:10 How Hot Smart Rich came to be & why she refuses to niche down
• 31:44 Ownership vs. the brand-deal hamster wheel
• 36:35 The biggest mistakes founders make
• 39:40 Learning to delegate & finding your opposite
• 50:50 How she defines confidence

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Everyone told you the safe path was a degree, a steady job, and a pension. Scott Clary thinks that's now the riskiest bet you can make.

Jun sits down with Scott - founder and host of the Success Story Podcast - to flip the whole risk vs. safe conversation on its head. They talk about why betting on yourself, building a personal brand, and continuously developing new skills have become essential forms of security in a world shaped by layoffs, AI, and rapidly changing career paths.

Scott then shares his hacks to longevity as a podcaster and entrepreneur, beating imposter syndrome, and how you can also build a future that is more resilient, intentional, and self-directed.

If you're building something right now, or even thinking about how to start, this episode's for you.

Chapters:

• 01:27 What's actually risky now
• 04:46 Escaping the golden handcuffs
• 11:06 The story you tell yourself
• 16:38 Building a personal brand from zero
• 24:42 The biggest podcasting mistakes
• 32:12 Treating social media like a funnel & Jun's content system
• 40:28 Why your story is your superpower
• 48:17 How to overcome imposter syndrome
• 1:01:09 Finding joy vs. pushing through

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Inquiries/Partnerships: [email protected]

Natalie Ellis built Bossbabe into a movement that reached millions. From the outside, she'd made it. Then one day, she sat on a Zoom call and said five words she'd never planned, "I quit. Buy me out."

In this episode, Natalie shares why financial freedom never felt like enough, how growing up in chaos activated her nervous system, and how she had to rewire that to build differently. Jun and Natalie also get into the messiness of being a founder, hitting rock bottom and navigating uncertainty, and rebuilding Bossbabe brick by brick until it made $2.2M in the 12 weeks Natalie was offline. Don’t worry, she breaks down how she got there too.

Whether you’re a founder or someone trying to build something and don’t know where to start, don’t miss this episode.

Chapters:

• 01:39 How her definition of freedom changed
• 04:22 External success vs. internal chaos
• 07:42 Why she hid the struggle
• 12:31 How Bossbabe started as a membership
• 16:32 Retention, churn & thinking in CAC/LTV
• 20:15 The green card saga that wiped out her savings
• 25:35 Buying out her partner & burning it all down
• 28:06 "Saying no is a deeper yes"
• 33:45 Growing up in chaos & rewiring her nervous system
• 42:46 Becoming her family's breadwinner & money-mindset
• 55:58 What a freedom-based business really is
• 1:05:58 How she uses AI (and what she won't give it)
• 1:11:33 What she'd tell her daughter not to do

New episode drops on Monday! Make sure you're following the show so you don’t miss it. See you then.

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Leana Deeb built an audience of 10M followers in 14 months. Then, she made the kind of pivot most creators are terrified of: she deleted everything.

In this episode, Leana - creator, podcast host, and entrepreneur - talks about why she walked away from the identity everyone knew her for, how starting with a blank slate was the greatest thing that has ever happened to her career, and how staying true to her faith grew her audience instead of shrinking it.

Jun and Leana also get into the parts people don’t see: watching your numbers drop, mastering detachment, staying disciplined when life gets heavy, becoming “the niche”, and the pressure of becoming successful young while taking care of your family.

This one is for the creators who know they’re ready for a shift but are too scared of what they might lose.

Chapters:

• 01:29 What alignment means to her
• 03:03 Journaling, meditation & prayer
• 05:15 The content pivot that risked everything
• 11:55 Building the Gymshark modest line
• 15:29 What drives her
• 18:02 From 8M likes to 20K & detaching from the numbers
• 26:25 Is discipline born or built?
• 33:04 Identity & the creator vision
• 41:17 Everyone has a story
• 44:29 Becoming the provider for your family
• 49:26 Relationship with money
• 51:46 What she'd tell her younger self

Follow Creator Unplugged wherever you’re listening to this and subscribe on YouTube to watch the whole thing.

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Step one to building a personal brand? Go see a therapist. That's where Chris Do starts: the inner work.

Jun sits down with Chris - designer, teacher, the one who's been building in the personal branding space for over a decade - and they go deep. They riff about why most personal branding advice is just a sales pitch in disguise, why Chris stopped creating for his audience and they showed up anyway, and how caring less about what other people thought made him more respected.

Then, Chris runs a personal branding masterclass, starting with how to find your origin story, breaking everything you know into 5 pillars, never running out of content, and his take on pricing that'll change how you charge.

Whether you’re years into building a personal brand or don’t even know where to start, you don’t want to skip this episode.

Chapters:

• 01:45 The key to building a personal brand
• 05:54 Three prompts to find your story
• 09:50 Self-expression vs. performance
• 11:47 Stop creating for your audience
• 14:45 How to pivot
• 19:53 Turn your expertise into a year of content
• 27:42 Personal brand vs. business
• 31:42 Jun's first product
• 33:42 Burnout, a sabbatical, and teaching
• 40:42 Identity & breaking stereotypes
• 50:14 Chris’s lowest point
• 56:46 Pricing and charging for value, not time
• 1:04:06 Buying an art school & fixing higher-education
• 1:08:48 Don't believe your own hype

The next episode drops later this week. Make sure you follow Creator Unplugged so you don’t miss it. See you soon!

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In the first episode of Creator Unplugged, Jun sits down with Cat Goetze (aka AskCatGPT) to pick her brain about building in public and using AI for both content and business.

Here's the thing: most creators are using AI wrong. Cat uses it to find her blind spots, poke holes in her own thinking, and tell her why she's wrong - and she explains how you can do the same.

She also gets into the messy behind-the-scenes of building her business "Physical Phones", the systems holding the content and the operation together, and how that first launch did $120K in pre-sales in 3 days. She then gets really tactical on her content strategy: Where her ideas come from, how she scripts and films, and why she only sells products that look good on camera.

Jun and Cat also talk about how they each use Claude as creator-operators, and the parts of their work they’d never hand over to AI.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:00 What building in public really means
• 04:05 Where Physical Phones came from
• 08:57 The pressure behind a $100K launch
• 14:03 Sourcing, 3PLs & the first hires
• 18:45 Separating the brand from the business
• 23:40 Customer trust, weekly "cat calls" & email updates
• 28:41 Ideating content that converts
• 33:38 Starting on camera at age 13
• 40:01 Taking intentional phone breaks
• 48:04 Using AI to expose your blind spots
• 56:43 AI on the operations side
• 1:05:07 How creating changed her personally

If you’re looking to level-up your AI game in your content or business, this episode is for you.

Episode 2 drops next week. Follow Creator Unplugged wherever you’re listening to this!

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• Jun’s TikTok
• Cat’s Instagram
• Cat’s TikTok
  

Creator Unplugged is a space for honest conversations with creators, founders, and operators about what it takes to build a meaningful career and business in front of an audience.

Join Jun Yuh and his guests as they go beyond the polished version of success to unpack the parts people rarely talk about.

The first episode drops June 18th! Follow Creator Unplugged on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and subscribe on YouTube so you do not miss it.