Here's The Real Neekolul You Never Knew
In 2017, Neekolul — who also goes by Nicole – began her streaming career on Twitch. She started with Fortnite at first, but eventually branched out to other titles such as League of Legends and Dead by Daylight. Unfortunately, her shift from Fortnite-exclusive content to a more diverse lineup of games came at a cost: her viewership.
Neekolul ultimately caught her big break outside of Twitch. A video of her lip-synching and dancing to the Senzawa song "Oki Doki Boomer" while clad in a Bernie 2020 shirt became an instant viral sensation on Twitter and TikTok. With her newfound meme status, Neekolul became the talking point of the internet, and suddenly found herself streaming on Twitch to thousands of viewers at a time.
When interviewed by Kotaku about her sudden success, Neekolul surmised,"[...] I think without really realizing it, I hit this sweet spot. I want to say the gaming community, but really just the internet likes [a mix of] cute but also cringe." But there's more to the "OK, Boomer" girl than just TikTok videos and Twitter memes. Here's the real Neekolul you never knew.
Bigger platforms mean bigger problems
After her "Oki Doki Boomer" video went viral, Neekolul saw an explosion of viewership. Suddenly, the streamer accumulated a massive amount of attention on Twitch as well as other social platforms. However, while the newfound attention certainly had its positive aspects, her sudden fame brought some new complications.
When discussing her growing popularity on the Scuffed Podcast, Neekolul explained that her viral fame changed everything. Before the now-infamous TikTok video, Neekolul was able to post content on a somewhat flexible schedule. With so many new, expectant viewers watching her content, there is now much more pressure on Neekolul to be consistent.
Regarding this new pressure, she said she "wanted attention" at first, but soon realized having it meant more people might try to "twist" her words or "oversexualize" her.
Neekolul never wanted to be a big Twitch streamer
Though Neekolul posts content on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, her primary platform is Twitch. Before her TikTok went viral and garnered her internet fame, Neekolul had been streaming for three years. Even though she made her start on Twitch, she never actually set out to be a big-name Twitch streamer.
On the Scuffed Podcast, Neekolul revealed that she initially wanted to be a YouTuber, but life had gotten in the way. When she first started streaming, Neekolul was in college pursuing a STEM major. According to the streamer, "It was a lot of very material, lecture heavy stuff. So I didn't have time." This meant she got "stuck with streaming."
While Neekolul may have unintentionally locked herself into Twitch, the creator assured fans that she still loves streaming because she considers herself to be a very social person. However, she doesn't have aspirations of being a streamer full-time as a life goal. She noted that streaming four to twelve hours at a time is draining, especially because she likes to be social and outside. Neekolul said on the podcast, "I feel like I could show people more of myself and what I have to offer rather than sitting in front of a computer for twelve hours."
Neekolul considers herself the anti-Pokimane
After the explosion of her TikTok dancing to "Okie Dokie Boomer," people flocked to Neekolul's Twitch channel. This influx of viewers also led to a massive increase in her number of followers. Though her channel sports just 189,000 followers, people across the internet began making comparisons between Neekolul and Imane Anys, better known as Pokimane, the most popular female streamer on Twitch with 5.3 million followers.
But Neekolul isn't so sure that these comparisons hold any weight. According to Dexerto, she said on a since-removed stream, "I get a lot of people comparing me to Poki, but I'm going to be honest with you. If I were to be Poki, I'd be literally anti-Poki."
While the streamer didn't talk about what she meant by that comment on stream, she did address it in an interview with Kotaku. According to Neeko, this wasn't some inflammatory remark about how she's an edgier version of Pokimane. She said, "Maybe I didn't word it properly, but saying I'm the opposite of Poki was more in reference to her being a big deal, with brand sponsors and tons of fans. I'm just a small streamer who no one really knew about a month ago."
Neekolul signed with the media agency Night Media
Night Media already had several large content creators in its roster of talent — for example, MrBeast. Other notable content creators signed on by the agency include video game YouTuber Preston and the art YouTuber ZHC. In April 2020, Neekolul joined these popular content creators as one of Night Media's clients.
Night Media is helping Neekolul expand her career and develop some behind-the-scene projects like a potential new product line. The agency has also been instrumental in assisting Neekolul with counteracting false copyright claims on social media. After her "Oki Doki Boomer" video received a copyright strike on Twitter, it was taken off the platform. Luckily for Neeko, Night Media was there to save the day. She told TubeFilter, "Without Night Media, I wouldn't have been able to get my Twitter account back. I definitely wouldn't have gotten my 'OK, Boomer' TikTok back on Twitter."
Neekolul's manager Nick Brotman notes that Neekolul is a unique client. He said to TubeFilter in an interview, "We see lots of crossover where people come into her stream and they're just like, 'Hey, I found you on TikTok.' And for me that's a new thing," he explained. Brotman's clients usually have audiences coming from Twitter or another YouTube channel. With Neeko, the situation is different. Brotman says that with Neeko, "it's a lot of inbound viewers from TikTok, which is super interesting."
Neekolul streams in English and Spanish
Aside from her TikTok fame, an aspect that sets Neekolul apart from other streamers is that she is a bilingual streamer. Neekolul streams in both English and Spanish, which has helped bring in a broad international audience. Usually, this takes the form of Neekolul making a statement or asking a question in one language, then repeating herself in the other language.
When discussing what made Neekolul unique from his other clients at Night Media, her manager Nick Brotman told Tubefilter it was Neekolul's international audience. "Our third biggest demo for her is actually Mexico City," he said. "We have a lot of fans who are native Spanish speakers."
While Neekolul's bilingual streams certainly help to draw a bigger crowd, her decision to stream in both English and Spanish isn't rooted in a desire for more views. In a tweet, Neekolul explained that she first started doing bilingual streams because of the lack of representation for Latin American women in the gaming arena.
Fans lost their minds when Neekolul mentioned her boyfriend
Unsurprisingly, Neekolul's Twitch chats are full of fans desperately vying for her attention. Many of these fans have pressed the streamer for information regarding her relationship status. After Neekolul officially revealed that she does have a boyfriend, this resulted in some inappropriate behavior from some of her followers.
While some outlets and YouTubers imply that Neekolul's follower count dropped overnight as a direct result of her relationship status, Neekolul disputes the validity of these claims. When asked about her loss of followers on the Scuffed Podcast, she explained, "The whole losing followers is not true. Everyone in every YouTube video they're like 'yeah, she just lost 100,000 followers overnight.' That's not true." At that time, she had received a copyright strike and had her account suspended. She attributed the apparent loss of followers to a glitchy suspension system, "When you get your account suspended and unsuspended, it just like glitches, so it looks like you lost all these followers, but you actually didn't."
However, some strange things did happen following the announcement. Neekolul's boyfriend gained a slew of weird comments from some jealous fans. In an interview with Know Your Meme, Neekolul revealed that "There's been a lot of mixed comments on social media about him, but he actually thinks it's pretty funny. For example, people have flooded his Instagram comments challenging him to fight to win me over — he thinks this is hilarious."
Neekolul is a member of 100 Thieves
On July 10, 2020, 100 Thieves announced that Neekolul would be joining its ranks as a content creator. The gaming organization hosts a variety of other popular creators like Twitch streamers CouRageJD and Valkyrae.
Following the announcement of Neekolul's addition to 100 Thieves, Neekolul said in a statement quoted by The Hollywood Reporter that she is excited to work alongside other female creators in the organization. She explained, "I've been a big fan of 100 Thieves and the content they've been creating for a while now, especially from strong female voices such as Valkyrae and BrookeAB." Neekolul also expressed her gratitude for the organization, stating, "Signing with 100 Thieves has been a dream, and I'm really excited to have found an organization that wants to support me and help me turn my passion into a career."
100 Thieves founder and CEO Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag was also quoted in The Hollywood Reporter noting his admiration for Neekolul, "We were all personal fans of Neekolul's streams and videos, and we have been continuously impressed by her success on social media, which is why we're so excited to welcome her to 100 Thieves." He continued, "I know she is going to fit in perfectly at 100 Thieves, and we're looking forward to seeing her grow more as a content creator with us."