The world is made up of two kinds of people. Either you’ve never heard of Brittany Broski or you’re a proud member of Broski Nation, a completely made-up nation-state where the social media sensation is referred to, affectionately, as their supreme leader. Even if you aren’t familiar with Broski (a humorous moniker—her real last name is Tomlinson), you probably are familiar with her “Kombucha Girl” meme, born from a viral 2019 TikTok she posted of herself trying the fermented beverage for the first time. Yes, she’s that girl.
The world is also made up of two other kinds of people—those who gladly fade into obscurity after 15 minutes of sudden Internet fame, or those who decide to go all in and milk it. Brittany Broski is someone who grabbed that unexpected opportunity by the horns. Through her natural likability, she’s launched an entire career—one that includes a beloved YouTube channel of diverse content, a rabidly followed podcast covering even more diverse topics, and now, a somewhat surprising foray into music as she proves that she can sing on top of everything else.
COAT Kilian Kerner, EARRINGS & BRACELET Alexis Bittar
MIA KIM: Hey, Brittany, you’re currently based in L.A.?
Brittany Broski: Yeah, I’ve been here for five years. I moved in December 2019, right before everything shut down, and I don’t know pre-pandemic L.A. It’s kind of sad because it’s so different, everyone tells me… I used to think of it like a necessary evil and now I’m like, I kind of love living here.
MK: But you must like the city—you’re still there! Did you make the move for work?
BB:It was a “jump off the cliff and hope you know how to fly” sort of move. The stars aligned—my lease was up in Texas and if there ever was a period in my life to move to Los Angeles, it was then. The end of 2019 was just a different time. TikTok was finally being legitimized and creators were being taken seriously. It was the start of the creator economy and brand deals. Feels like 100 years ago now, though.
MK: It does. Have to ask: Was there any part of you that expected the kombucha reaction video to go viral?
BB: No, it was entirely by accident and honestly, it cost me my job. I used to work at a bank and I was humiliated, very embarrassed. I had to call my dad crying on the way home from being fired for dicking around online. It wasn’t cool. My dad was like, “You’ll figure it out.” And then, the blessing that is TikTok happened. I got my first brand deal when a kombucha company reached out, then I got signed to UTA, and then everything just happened. I was at this crossroads—either tell myself I don’t deserve this or tell myself I can take advantage of an opportunity, and that’s what I did.
MK: You mentioned living in Texas, but I don’t hear an accent!
BB: Get a few drinks in me, it’ll come out. For real.
MK: Is that where you grew up?
BB: I’m a military brat, so my dad moved us around a bunch. I’ve probably lived in ten different states. I’ve lived in South Korea. But my mom’s side of the family has been in Houston forever.
SHIRT & TOP Uncuffed, EARRINGS Budahood
MK: What’s something about your upbringing that’s informed who you are today?
BB: I would say the Southern roots run very deep. My dad’s extended family is from Tennessee and my mom’s family is entirely from Texas. You can trace them back five generations—they were Irish immigrants, so it’s really neat to be able to trace that. But also, there’s a lot of things about having that Southern influence, from music and food to sense of humor and community.
MK: I noticed your necklace [a Texas-shaped charm hanging from a chain], too.
BB: Yeah, can’t get away. I went to college in Texas and consider myself a Texan, but that’s complicated. Your identity being tied up into where you’re physically from gets complex because some days, I’m not really proud to say I’m from there. It’s not safe for women or any minority, and it’s just getting worse. As much as I’d like to move back to Austin one day, you can recognize that it’s not the same Texas I grew up in. Or rather, it is—I’m just a different person now. I have different convictions and beliefs and moral guideposts. Sometimes I’m like, I can’t believe that this is the place I call home. It’s a very complex relationship.
MK: It’s totally okay to have those mixed feelings
BB: It is. And you don’t want to only cherry-pick the positive parts from your background. You have to acknowledge the hard things. I wasn’t really raised with the best political views, but I escaped and came over to the left. It’s stuff like that, where it becomes a point of division between you and your family. I believe in human rights and equality and all these things that are considered radical in the South. So I don’t know. It’s complex.
MK: Props to you for forming your own opinions outside of what you were raised to believe.
BB: I honestly credit college for that. I studied communications and have a minor in Spanish. When you speak someone else’s native tongue, it opens your mind to how the world doesn’t revolve around you and your thoughts. It’s such a gateway into human connection that I feel a lot of Americans don’t ever expose themselves to because it’s this, and we’re really getting into it here, this idea of American exceptionalism. I don’t want to be a part of that.
CAPE Kilian Kerner, EARRINGS Dior
JACKET Kilian Kerner, TOP Uncuffed, PANTS D&G, EARRINGS Budahood
MK: Understandable. In terms of what you do want to be a part of, can you talk about this new step into the music industry?
BB: It’s another side of me that I want to keep showing people. You are not just one thing. Humans are so complex and hypocritical and paradoxical. I want to show that, especially as a woman and all of the complicated joy of everything I do. With the music, it feels a bit more intimate and honestly very spiritual—a means to express how I handle life. It’s really not that different than me coming on the podcast every week and being like, “Get a load of this bullshit that I’ve been dealing with.” Music is just another medium.
The thing that really intrigues me about the position I find myself in, and what I’m now understanding my audience loves, is this concept of a Renaissance woman. I’m talking about how complicated yet divine womanhood is, and my career online has showcased that, I think. It’s such joy and sorrow, it’s funny and it’s not. I go on the podcast and I talk about culture and art and stupid shit, but also stuff that really means a lot to me—how I’m struggling or how I’m winning, that’s the story. So bleeding that into the music, it’s really not that far of a jump. It’s poetry to melody. It’s even funny now to look back on the two songs that have been released and be like, These are good, but I can do better.
MK: Is singing something you always had interest or experience in?
BB: Yeah, but it was singing in church and doing theater. I was always cast as the dad or the grandma—they made me dress in drag or as an old woman.
MK: Okay, so you’ve always had this creative side to you.
BB: There are videos from when I was 5 or 6 years old, just entertaining my family. My parents would film me tweaking and it was a positive affirmation of how [if] I make myself laugh, I make everyone laugh—I’m the center of attention, in a good way.
MK: I wonder if you would have ended up in entertainment anyway, even if you never posted that TikTok…
BB: I never really allowed myself to think what life could look like if I chased that. I turned 18, went to college, graduated college, got a real job. I was an insurance agent. Meanwhile all this other stuff is in my head. I remember thinking when I was 16, I’m going to audition for SNL when I’m 18. I didn’t really chase it because it’s not realistic and because above all else, I wanted stability.
As we know, being a creative does not offer stability. But I just asked myself, Do I go for it? And in my case with the TikTok, I was pushed in a direction that I would be an idiot not to follow. The only reason I let myself do it was because at the time, I was a licensed insurance agent, I worked at a bank, I had corporate connections. If all this goes to shit, I still have a plan B.
MK: The first song you released was the cover of “Adore You” by Harry Styles. Why that song?
BB: Because it had to be, it had to be. The first few releases are proof of talent, especially being online where people hate women for fun. And I think it was a way to say, This isn’t auto-tuned, I’m really doing this. So you take me seriously first, then when I introduce my art, it’ll be appreciated for the project that it is, versus the drama of influencer turned singer.
MK: It must be a bit more challenging for you to have to prove yourself in a completely new capacity.
BB: Right. Or try to introduce a different artistic persona when people know me as being myself. It’s this interesting challenge. The music has to be a through line to everything else that I do, because I’m not sacrificing the podcast now that I’m a musician. Usually it’s like, they become a singer and they abandon everything that got them to that point. I have no intention of doing that. All my influences and inspirations are breathing life into this concept album, but at the same time, I’m on the podcast and interviewing whomever.
MK: You’re definitely booked and busy.
BB: Everything I do is for my fan base. All they want is to be connected and have a community. It’s a scary trade-off, giving so much of myself away. What’s left for me? But it’s a challenge…
MK: Can you distinguish that, what’s for your fans versus what’s for you?
BB: Yes, it’s getting easier. But there was a moment where I was like, I’m sharing what I ate that day, my bowel movements, how big, what color…Like, ma’am, you don’t need to share everything. I think I’ve struck a sort of healthy balance, but it’s difficult, because you want to give people stuff and you probably shouldn’t sometimes.
EARRINGS Justine Clenquet, TOP & PANT Kilian Kerner
MK: So what’s your actual life like? Your on days versus your days off.
BB: We try to keep it as structured as we can, but ultimately we fail because of the nature of the job. Especially having a show that’s guest-dependent, I’m at the mercy of the guest. But sticking with a podcast schedule is the most rigid structure I have, because you’ve got to do one a week. It’s also meetings, shoots, brand deals, future projects.
Sometimes I have to schedule in time to be bored, because to think about all this, the whole reason I made the kombucha video was because I was fucking bored after work. That same sentiment has carried me through this whole career. The best creativity comes from being bored out of your mind. If I don’t have time to be bored and if I’m constantly stressed and ragged to the bone, this job no longer becomes fun. And this is the funnest job in the world. When I feel myself approaching that, it’s like, Leave me alone for a week, let me reset, give me time to find a new hobby. For a second it was air-dry clay, now I’m building miniatures.
MK: So that’s what you’re doing with your spare time!
BB: It gets me off my phone, dude. I need to be doing something with my hands or I’ll go crazy.
MK: It’s refreshing to hear that from you, someone who is usually very much online. Aside from miniatures, what do you see for your future? World domination?
BB: I don’t really care about the mass success. I care about making things that I’m proud of and people like. I’m very fortunate to have a fan base where I could fart into the microphone and they’d be like, “This is Grammy Award–winning.” Some of my favorite artists didn’t have mass success until 15 years into their career, and it’s because they believed in their art and their fans found the art. If I can make something that impacts people to the point where they feel seen or they feel like it’s innovative, fun, escapism, whimsical…that’s what I want, that’s really all I care about. ❤
STORY CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHY JJ Geiger, WORDS Mia Kim, STYLIST Anna Schilling, HAIR Steven Mason for Exclusive Artists using Oribe, MAKEUP Francesca Martin, PRODUCER Masha Spaic, CASTING DIRECTOR Muzam Agha, PHOTO ASSISTANT Samuel Keamy-Minor, STYLIST ASSISTANT Chase VanDerPol
HERO IMAGE CREDITS
CAPE Kilian Kerner, EARRINGS Dior
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