Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each creator has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments here.
When Ryan Lu graduated college, he resigned himself to getting “a big girl job.”
He’d reluctantly gotten a big-girl degree in psychology, but entering the workforce, he knew he didn’t want to work a regular job. “I was kicking and screaming about that. I used to pray before bed every night, be on my knees, and I’d be like, ‘God, please, please, please save me. I don’t want to work a nine-to-five, I don’t want to work an office job. I really want to entertain,'” he says.
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But at the same time, he worried he couldn’t cut it in entertainment: “I remember writing in my journals, ‘I’m too old for this. I can’t compete with the teenyboppers, and I don’t know if I should just give up and get a job or something.'”
In a twist of fate (which Lu is a big believer in), he’d graduated in 2020, and jobs were scarce. He decided he’d give himself one opportunity to see if he could cut it in digital content. TikTok, he thought, “she’s going to be the one that saves me.”
And he was right.
“I started posting videos in August of 2020. I just posted whatever was relevant to my life, whatever I believed in, whatever I felt like I wanted to share. Nothing did anything for a couple of months,” he says. “I quit my job, and then I just really invested in TikTok. It started working for me a couple of months later. I’ve been doing that ever since. I’m really grateful for that.”
Check out our chat with him below.
@e.mo.tions im a Virgo ♍️ #virgo #virgoszn #april2021 #spiritualtok #astrologytok #zodiacsigns #spiritualhumor #manifestationmethods #taurusszn ♬ Backyard Boy – Claire Rosinkranz
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tubefilter: Just to give you our standard intro, Tubefilter is the company that runs the Streamy Awards, and we also do weekly creator profile columns. I’m interviewing you for Millionaires, where we celebrate people who have recently hit a million subscribers or a million followers across various platforms. And, since you just hit a million on TikTok…
Ryan Lu: Oh my gosh, thank you. That’s so sweet. They’re the best. I’m so excited to chat. I was actually reading a little bit of the other Millionaires, ones prior to this.
Tubefilter: Oh, so you know!
Ryan Lu: A little bit! They were all generally different. I don’t think they all followed a very specific, this question, this question, this question. It seems really fun.
Tubefilter: Yes! Every interview’s different. I try to ask at least some different questions for everyone, and I feel people really get to show their personalities.
Ryan Lu: Yes, no, for sure. You can have a genuine conversation, too. I’ve been loving reading the interviews too. I’m so excited. That’s so exciting that you’re having me be a part of that.
Tubefilter: Of course! Okay, for anyone who’s not familiar with you, I’d love to get some background from you and your journey up until when you started making videos.
Ryan Lu: I originally started my TikTok account back in 2020. I had just recently graduated college at the time. I really didn’t want to go to college. My parents were really pushing for me to go to college, but I really, really didn’t want to go to college, and then four years later, I graduated. I was like, “Okay, this is it.”
Tubefilter: What was your major?
Ryan Lu: I majored in psychology. I graduated in 2020, and at that point, it was time to get a big girl job. I was kicking and screaming about that. I used to pray before bed every night, be on my knees, and I’d be like, “God, please, please, please save me. I don’t want to work a nine-to-five, I don’t want to work an office job. I really want to entertain.” That’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I felt like I was aging out of the age to be able to do that. Because in 2020, I was 23, turning 24.
I remember writing in my journal, and I still have those journal entries that I read them back all the time, they’re crazy. I remember writing in my journals, “I’m too old for this. I can’t compete with the teenyboppers, and I don’t know if I should just give up and get a job or something.” With the quarantine, everything was shut down. It was really difficult to get a job, I just graduated, and I was like, “This is my literal last chance. I’m going to give myself this last opportunity to try to do something that I want to do before I completely give up.” I wrote in my journal, I was like, “TikTok is the one, she’s going to be the one that saves me, and I’m going to be able to do something with that.”
I started posting videos in August of 2020. I just posted whatever was relevant to my life, whatever I believed in, whatever I felt like I wanted to share. Nothing did anything for a couple of months. I quit my job because I was like, “I need to make TikToks.” At the time, I was working at an elementary school as a paraeducator, but I was like, “I’m too exhausted from work to come home and make TikTok, so that I just go to bed.” I was like, “I just need to fully commit to this.” I quit my job, and then I just really invested in TikTok. It started working for me a couple of months later. I’ve been doing that ever since. I’m really grateful for that.
@e.mo.tions♬ Dreamy – Elijah Lee
Tubefilter: You quit your job before it started working for you?
Ryan Lu: Yes. It was the ballsiest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m so grateful for that. At the time, I needed to get a big boy job. I had a career counselor because I just finished college, and the college gave me a career counselor, and they were like, “Let’s look into jobs you could do with psychology.” There wasn’t really that many options for me, and there wasn’t anything I wanted to do. Had a meeting with the career counselor in October, and I remember she was like, “Oh, have you been looking for jobs? How’s that been going?”
I was like, “Honestly, I haven’t been looking for jobs.” She was like, “Oh, why not?” I was like, “In one month from now, I’m going to make it, I’m going to blow up. Something’s going to change in my life, and if that doesn’t happen, we’ll schedule another call, and we’ll look for jobs together. I’m going to give myself one month.” She was like, “I believe in you.” I was like, “I believe in me too.” I never saw her again because my TikTok took off within that next month, which was super crazy.
Tubefilter: That’s amazing.
Ryan Lu: I know. It was the biggest leap of faith I’ve ever taken, and I’m so happy I did.
Tubefilter: It paid off.
Ryan Lu: It did. Oh my gosh, it did.
Tubefilter: Do you remember, was there a specific video that took off that prompted your channel growth?
Ryan Lu: It was just back-to-back little videos before one video really, really took off. I posted a video, I was really into manifesting, I’m still very into manifesting, and I posted a video about how in my manifestation journal, everything I write in it manifests. I just asked TikTok, I was like, “Hey, does anyone want me to write anything in my journal for them?” This person asked me to write that they would find housing. I did. I made a video reply, and I wrote that for them.
The next day they commented, “Oh my god, it worked. I got a home,” or something like that. They found housing the next day. I made a video reply, and I was super excited about it. That did well. From there, every video I did following up continued to grow and grow. I did a video where I just read what I was writing in my journal, what I was manifesting. That really, really, really took off. From there, it’s been nonstop. It’s been incredible.
Tubefilter: To be in that situation, where you weren’t sure if you were going to make this a job, must have been terrifying.
Ryan Lu: It was so terrifying. I was really scared. I literally did not know what I was going to do. I was praying a lot, and I was like, “I really, really, really need this to work.” Like I said, I was feeling unsure if I could compete with the teenyboppers. At the time, it was like Charli and Dixie and Noah Beck and Addison Rae, who are all still so massive, but I was like, “These young kids are really killing it. I don’t know how I can compete with that.”
Tubefilter: You’re not that old.
Ryan Lu: I mean compared to them! At 24, when they were like what, 15, 16? I was like, “I can’t compete with them, they have 10 years on me and they’re already killing it.”
Tubefilter: I’m 30, you’re making me feel ancient here.
Ryan Lu: No, no, in this field! In this field! You’re not old. I was like, “What am I going to do? A little TikTok dance? They’re going to drag me, and be like, ‘Okay Grandma, get off TikTok.'” Thankfully, I didn’t have to do that. I did actually do a bunch of TikTok dances originally and was like whatever it takes. None of that went anywhere, thank god, actually.
Tubefilter: How did you find the kinds of videos you want to make?
Ryan Lu: My content just continued to evolve from there. I originally began just making videos about manifesting and about how I manifested and giving people tips on how to manifest, and then I started incorporating astrology into it which I’m also really, really into and was a big part of my life. It still is, of course. At the time, I was like, “How am I manifesting? I’m manifesting by paying attention to what’s going on with astrology.”
I started making more videos about that, and then I started getting really, really comfortable with just the routine of it, what you could expect from me, and what I can give back to them. My content just continued to evolve into what it is now. Right now, I would say my content is mainly based on astrology, using astrology, manifesting with astrology, and just paying attention to the astrological transits in general and how it affects your life.
@e.mo.tions♬ Dreamy – Elijah Lee
Tubefilter: How did you originally get into astrology?
Ryan Lu: I just needed answers. I really needed answers. I’ve always been spiritual, and I had a hand in religion and different religions, but I just found getting answers from stars not only made sense to me, but I felt like it was something I could see in real-time that applied to my life. The more I studied it, the more I understood it, the more it started benefiting my life and then how it could apply to my life and then having other people understand.
It’s just so comforting just to blame it on a planet or something. It’s like, “Oh, you’re having a bad day.” It’s like, “Oh, because this was happening.” It’s easy to accept. When you have that acceptance that’s like, “Oh, okay, it’s not my fault, you just feel more peaceful with it.” I needed answers, and that’s how I got into astrology. I started applying it more and more in my life, and it’s really changed my life.
Tubefilter: How has it affected you in general? Give me some positives that it’s been able to help you with.
Ryan Lu: Just like paying attention to what’s going on, understanding how I’m feeling is not just me, it’s the collective. Everyone is probably going through something similar or they’re likely to feel something similar just because of what’s going on in the stars and what you’re believing is happening. It makes me feel less isolated, it makes me feel like there’s a genuine community here. Whether someone believes in astrology or not, generally, we as people go through similar human experiences, and when we’re able to quantify that and categorize it in a way that makes us understand it, that’s when we reach true connection, is what I believe. It’s helped me connect so much better on a deeper level with people.
Tubefilter: Got it. I never really understood astrology, but then I will say there was one summer I was having the worst summer of my life, and then somebody was like, “Oh, yes, Mercury is in retrograde.”
Ryan Lu: Oh my gosh.
Tubefilter: I bounced back, but…
Ryan Lu: Of course, we always do. A lot of people feel that way, and a lot of people will experience that exact thing that you just described, so you’re not alone with it. A lot of people are really worried about retrogrades for that exact reason, so you’re not alone for sure. Maybe ignorance is bliss. I wouldn’t pay attention to when a retrograde is happening, so you don’t expect it.
Tubefilter: Deal. What’s your current approach to making content? Do you have a specific number of videos you’re aiming to put out at specific times? How does it work for you?
Ryan Lu: I’m a Virgo through and through, and I’ve been doing a very disciplined content schedule since 2020 since I began. Basically, I write all my videos, and I’ll try to sit down and write my videos and then I’ll try to film them in one sitting or I’ll try to film them sporadically throughout my day or whatever. I try to have my content ready to go at least a week ahead of time so I can just post them on my scheduled times. I aim to post two to three videos a day. I just really like pushing it out there, trying to make sure that people feel seen, understood, heard, and what they can expect of what’s going on.
I really love my community and being able to connect with them. I feel like that’s just a really, really strong way to show them that like, “Hey, I’m really committed to this and I’m really committed to you so you can see me every day.” I take it super seriously. I try to put everything ahead of time with it too. Because it’s astrology, I can look into the next month and be like, “This is happening on this day, and this is happening on this day, and this is going to happen while this is happening.”
That helps me go ahead and write it ahead of time. It really helps me schedule everything. I have a little notes app on my notes, and it’s like my content posting schedule, and I’m like, “This day is getting this video, this day’s getting this video, this day’s getting this video, this video needs to come before this video because it’s going to get everyone ready for this next video.” I’m really, really, really on top of it. I have to be, and it’s because I’m a Virgo too. I’m very organized and meticulous.
@e.mo.tionsswifties, rise! 🎃✨♬ Blade Runner 2049 – Synthwave Goose
Tubefilter: So that’s how many videos per day?
Ryan Lu: I aim for two to three a day. It also really depends. Right now, I’m trying to cut any filler video. I used to post whatever I can just because I was like, “Let me just get content out.” Now, I’m like,” I really want to post things that make a difference, make someone feel a type of way, et cetera.”
Tubefilter: I feel like it’s really difficult to post that often and have non-filler. That takes skill.
Ryan Lu: Oh my gosh, it is hard. I think the lucky thing about me and my content is because I’m able to schedule it so far ahead of time. I can really put the puzzle pieces together where I’m like, “Okay, Thursday needs an extra video. What can I think about? What’s going on on Thursday? What can I put in that’s still going to help, even if it’s not necessarily relevant to Thursday?”
Tubefilter: Do you have anybody working with you behind the scenes? An editor or anything?
Ryan Lu: No. I do all this alone. It’s all me. I work with my agency, and they help me with the backend things of being a creator, but as far as my content goes and contriving ideas, writing it, editing it, filming it, all of it, it literally all falls on me. I love that for sure.
Tubefilter: I was going to say, somehow that doesn’t surprise me.
Ryan Lu: [laughs] It’s all me. Luckily for me, my content is, I always think about this. I look at my other content creative friends, and they have these whole productions and they have to spend a week editing a single TikTok. I’m lucky in the way where I can literally just speak to my camera, relay information quickly, edit it super quickly, and put it in the drafts, and I’m ready to go into the next one. I’m able to mass produce the videos quickly because they’re not super high production values. I used to think that I needed a high production value, but then I realized, I was like, “What’s more relatable and more comfortable is seeing someone just really quickly blurb at you at their camera.” It’s all me.
I will say I just signed with Viral Nation, and they have been so incredible and life-changing for me. They’ve taken so much of the workload off of me on the backend thing because when I initially began as a creator, I was like, “Okay, this is it. I’ve made it. Everything’s good.” There’s so many things that happen behind the scenes that just was creative, I don’t necessarily care too much for. They handle all of it. It’s been super incredible and life-changing. I work with the most incredible team. Shout out to Micah, Maddie, Isabella, Jake.
Tubefilter: I’m glad! Was that a tarot deck I saw you shuffling?
Ryan Lu: Oh yes. I also read tarot. Yes. What I love about tarot is just, one, it’s malleable, anyone could do anything they want with their lives. I think tarot is a great energy update. It’s a lot of life lessons that sometimes we are resistant to hear, but when we hear it from divination, I feel like we’re more keen to be like, “Oh, okay. I receive that. I understand what I need to do now.” It’s a little bit more of a wake-up call, and that’s what I really love about tarot, it’s universal, it’s its own language. Same thing with astrology. Just all of this is just another way to connect.
For me, all I’ve ever wanted was to connect. I really wanted to connect with people. I really wanted people to feel a type of way. I wanted to be a cheerleader for them. The way I believed in myself and my own dreams, I believe in everyone dreams tenfold. I just love seeing it happen. Astrology and tarot, they’re another tool for me to be able to connect.
Tubefilter: Perfect. Very cool. Do you have any plans or goals over the next year or so you’re hoping to hit? Anything that you want to do? Any projects you’re working on?
Ryan Lu: Career-wise, I’m just settling in with Viral right now, and I want to continue to build just myself, my branding, my personal brand here. I want to continue to honor my community, my followers. I want to continue to put out amazing content and just really give back to them. I feel like everything I’ve ever done and accomplished, and even with Viral supporting me and pushing me even further, everything I want to do, I want to be able to honor my followers. I want to be able to do it for them. I want to show them that they can do it. If I can do it, literally, they can do anything. That’s what I have intentions of right now. I just got to LA.
I really want to be able to meet people and integrate into this world because it’s all so new for me. It was completely different. I feel like when I was in New York, I was in my own little bubble making my content, and now that I’m in LA, everything is like, “This is happening, this person’s here, we’re doing this, you’re going there.” It’s amazing, and I love it, and it’s a different world. It’s a lot of adjusting for me, I just moved here and I guess continuing to build what this is and build this community.
