Today we’d like to introduce you to Ty Gibson.
Hi Ty, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
It all started because of God. And I say that because starting, in 2013 – I was an aspiring YouNow live-streamer. I never was paid for it but always devoted my time, energy, and creativity daily as if I were paid to do this thing. Fast forward, that journey came to an end in 2015 because I felt that what I’ve contributed thus far over those 2 years should now be monetized.
And what’s crazy, the CEO of YouNow at the time would always randomly drop by and watch my streams from little as 15-30 minutes to sometimes most, if not all of my streams to see what I was producing. That made me think that I was getting closer to finally receiving my tip jar, as they called it. But unfortunately, I didn’t. And ended up not waiting much longer to find out if I would or not. I ended up leaving all the supporters I gained, the friends I made, and all the hard work behind me without having not one Plan B and C in sight.
This is how I know Jesus is working, watch this. As much as He probably didn’t want me to shift just yet – he still managed to have another path for me to incorporate the same entertainment I was giving live but now just in the format of vertical-form videos that you see everywhere now on your timelines from various platforms. A long-lost friend of mine who I thank God for, doesn’t realize how much she changed my life by informing me about this next phase of my life. She is one of the main reasons why I am where I am today. She introduced me to this platform formerly known as musical.ly (and now TikTok) before moving to Greensboro but it never dawned on me to take it seriously and make a name for myself.
With that being said, I took the advice she gave, downloaded it, and said I would try it out when I was ready. Moving forward, once my YouNow era came to a close, my Musical.ly one began. As I was letting my hair down to try this out, I began exploring my niches further and naturally began making my lanes through original comedy. Coming up, one of my good sisters’ named Kalia known as @kuhleeuh on all platforms pushed me to start doing more original comedy as she and I saw how much of an impact it was already making within the platform along with the impressions it was making on other people who came to my page and enjoyed what I was producing.
From that day forth, I went full throttle in every aspect possible. Created many different avenues for myself, and established many well-known characters that a lot of my supporters know today while remaining my unique and bubbly self that got me in the position that I’m in now. To this very moment, God has allowed me to reach over 10 million supporters across all platforms while 9.5 million of those supporters are on TikTok alone.
I’m still going hard, still growing strong. God isn’t finished with me yet and even though we’ve been doing this thing for 10 years+ total and 8 years+ in the world of entertainment through videos? We are only just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all! There have truly been bumps in my path and curveballs thrown but in that, it stretched me to grow, learn, and mature my potential. Starting off ripping, and comparing myself to someone else was one of the biggest struggles I couldn’t shake. I always had the idea in my head that, if I and someone else are in the same field of profession, doing similar things – why is everything great happening for them so fast while I’m progressively and slowly getting there?
That ain’t fair. This was my mentality for quite some time until God had to remind me of the path he uniquely made for me and not them. Once I understood that, I began to easily realign my eyes back to the path before me and not the ones beside me regardless of how quickly everyone else around me was moving or not. Don’t get me wrong, to this day – it still randomly bothers me from time to time but not for too long. I have now conditioned my mind to snap back on track as soon as those thoughts of negativity attempt to linger. Another obstacle I had to get a grip on was creating what was true to my character and being authentic while doing it.
I would take that comparison syndrome I previously mentioned and would try to implement what someone else was doing into my line of crafts. And 9 times out of 10? It never gave genuine nor did it perceive as authentically, Ty G. I only did those things because I saw it work for them so that meant it could work for me, right? I think they think not. Now, that’s sometimes the case when it comes to certain methods and or tactics used to get a certain outcome but when you’re trying to take the creativity of another person, swing it onto your court and try to call it your own – it then leaves you looking like a copy cat with no morals and I had to learn that at my leisure.
But as I found my avenues of creativity and saw how I’ve run into incidents where others have tried to copy my work – causing me to feel like they didn’t respect my work, it then made me understand how I probably made them feel when I tried to take what they made and call it my own just to get to the “finish line” faster. With that being said, know that your timing is your timing. When it happens, that’ll be the right timing. It’s not about how fast you get there, it’s about the journey you took to get there. Read that again. The genuineness and authenticity will be highly transparent to where you wouldn’t even stress about what you’re putting out because either way it goes, it’s true to you.
I would hope so at least. One last challenge I’ll mention that I believe humbled me even more even though I’ve always been humbled is having fun without expecting something in return. Content creation is done to exude what goes on in your mind that you think could shift the narratives and perspectives of society through whatever outlet truly speaks to you whether that’s through entertainment, comedy, fashion, acting, singing, etc. And one thing that could easily make you lose sight of that fun while doing what you do would be the expectancy of something.
That something could consist of clout, money, fame, fortune, virality. There are others but that’s to name a few. If you get so wrapped up in trying to obtain those things the “quick” way and not the genuine way, you’re not going to enjoy the journey and you will sell yourself short. Nor are you going to have that fun while trucking through your journey. And I learned that the tough way once I left YouNow solely because I was expecting something… and that something was compensation.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with being mindful of your worth because you should begin finding ways to profit off of your work the minute your brand/appearance becomes your business but at the same time, don’t shift your mind in gear to only do your “job” to gain that fame or fortune. Do it because your heart is in it and you know that there is a greater purpose tied to what you do that money, clout, or fame could never buy or grant you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a full-time Social Media influencer, Entertainer, and Content Creator. I post content on all the major platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. The various types of entertainment I specialize in are comedy, sketch comedy, dance, singing, and acting. I’m mainly known for my infamous characters such as Grandma Twerksalot, Sarah the Slavage, and Mama Swoop. Alongside that, I accidentally went viral for something I didn’t expect to even catch traction.
It became one of the worldwide known dance trends and a song entitled, “Kick Swivel” I created out of the boredom of waiting for my Mama to finish getting packed and ready to go out of town. And that alone is one of my most proudest moments. I would have never imagined little ol’ me would leave such an impression on the dance community while also planting the seed of my new music artistry by making a song that’s an extension of the dance and leaving that mark in the music world. God did though. Now speaking of music, I later went on to create a couple more songs entitled, “Intangible Love” and “Lada Dee Lada Dum” which is my most recent single of 2023.
Following that, some series I have been known for our “Ratchet Lullabies and Ratchet Lullabies’ shorts”, “Aunt Rona and Aunt Rona Returns”, “When Kids Roast Each Other”, “Dances with and without the Music”, “In the Womb” and many other things my uniquely, abnormal mind has allowed me to create and call my own. Even some jingles such as “Maaaan, Guess What I Want” which still relevant 4 years later from the initial time I made it which was during my sophomore year of college in 2019 when I was once again bored but this time while in my dorm room and while hungry.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting.
The first piece of advice I would give someone is to find themselves – meaning, what truly brings you the most joy when you partake in a particular activity? I also would reassure them from the beginning to use what they have til they can get what they need. You don’t need the fanciest camera to film your content. You don’t have to have that ring light to give you that great lighting we all aspire to have. It will come when it does, trust the process.
Starting, I only had my phone, period. Not even a tripod to hold my phone. For one, I didn’t realize how much of a necessity it was at the time because all my heart could focus on was what I was producing utilizing the God-given talents gifted to me. As I journeyed forward, these tools eventually came. So I say that to say, you don’t need everything from the beginning to make your dreams come true. There are ways to finesse it without stressing it. Let me tell you something, I still to this day will plant my phone up against something to bust out a video if my tripod isn’t present.
I’m not ashamed nor do I forget where I came from because once upon a time ago, I once didn’t have none of what I have now, you know? Another gem of pocket advice would be to make sure to be yourself at all times and not lose yourself to become relevant. You are enough as is. There’s no reason to come out of yourself to prove to the world that you qualify and or can be acceptable. If they can’t accept you for who you are, other people in this world naturally will.
And that is what matters, always. Those are the people who will gravitate towards you because of who you are and what you outwardly and inwardly represent. To add to that, please trust the process. It may not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow. Shoot, it may not happen til 5 years from now. Through the waiting, feed that grind constantly. You can’t get to the gold without going through the ups and downs in between. You have to be willing to understand that it will be hard. It won’t be easy. What you do will be time-consuming and it will sometimes drive you crazy.
That is okay. If the journey was so easy, everybody and their Mama would be doing it. Hence not a lot of people are capable of doing what I do because it takes a level-headed mind of determination and perseverance that some can’t handle. And that is okay, too. That’s why it’s super key for you to understand the “who” in your life which is figuring out who you are in what you aspire to create so you can then turn around and learn the “what” which is what it will take for you to get your dreams out to the world. Last but not least, never forget to have fun.
Your greatest moments of success will come from you simply having fun. Watch what I tell you. As cliché as all of this sounds, it has truly been the basic foundation of my growth, ongoing success, and all that I’ve achieved within all that I do by the Grace of God above. These are some self principles I wish I knew starting which is why I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to share them with you. Because if I did, I probably would be much further established in this life.
But guess what? SO WHAT. I’m so content where I am now. And that’s what matters most. Especially since I know that I am unstoppable because God made me that way. He never meant for me to be stagnant, only progressive – whether that’s fast or slow.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/yeahitstyg
- Facebook: facebook.com/yeahitstygofficial
- Youtube: youtube.com/yeahitstyg
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Yeahitstyg
Image Credits
Curtis and Cort Photography (@curtisandcort), Inside Monthly Magazine (@insidemonthly), and Getty Images – Leon Bennett
