Today we’d like to introduce you to Mimi Drabik.
Hi Mimi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m Mimi Drabik, and I’m a full-time social media content creator. I’ve been creating content since I was 13 years old.
I initially got involved with social media because of my love for acting. When I was around 10, I became really interested in pursuing on-screen roles, but auditions were few and far between.
Still, I had this side of me that was craving a creative outlet. That’s when I discovered YouTube and everything changed. I quickly found a community of YouTube channels with girls my age, making skit videos. I immediately felt inspired. I watched their videos every day and started creating my own.
YouTube opened my eyes to a whole new world where I could act, tell stories, and be creative without needing to be the one girl who landed the role. On top of that, there was already a built-in audience.
After months of watching these channels, they announced auditions for new members. I knew this was a huge opportunity, so I made the best audition video 12-year-old me could possibly manage.
A few weeks later, I got an email saying I’d been chosen. It felt like I had just won the lottery and looking back, I still think that analogy fits. For the next four years, I threw myself into writing, directing, filming, and editing my own skit videos every single week.
Over time, I developed skills like getting comfortable on camera, editing, acting, writing scripts, directing, and more. The channels were also growing in their own ways. We started hosting meet and greets, going on trips, and creating merch for the channels – it felt surreal. Eventually, with all this happening on YouTube, I decided to go all in on content creation and put acting in my back pocket.
After four years, I closed the chapter with that YouTube company and joined a different YouTube production company which was local to my area, but catered to a similar audience. I ended up taking a gap year after high school to intern with them full-time.
Working with the new company was the first time I got to work with a full production team instead of handling everything on my own. My love of this creative production world became more solidified through the experience. I continued working with them whenever I had time in college, but I also started pouring into my own brand on social media for the first time.
Before college, all my content had been tied to a production company, but now I had full creative control. During my senior year, I started focusing on my TikTok page and saw steady growth.
After graduating, I wasn’t sure what to do next. Most of my friends were taking traditional jobs. At first, I figured I’d go down a similar path and just search for a creative role in a corporate setting. However, the world had other plans. I wasn’t having any luck with the job hunt, but my social media was performing well.
Then one day, I got another rejection email after the final round of interviews. I took that rejection as a sign to stop searching for a 9-to-5 job and lean into what was working – content creation. So for the next few months, I got more serious about pursuing social media, than I ever had before. I had no idea where it would lead, but something in me felt like it was the right move.
I absolutely love creating content, but after solely pursuing social media for a few months, I realized content creation alone wasn’t enough to fully fuel me. I remembered why I started social media in the first place; acting. As soon as I made that connection, I knew it was time to lean back into acting.
This time it would be a reversal of what happened when I was 13. Instead of using social media to get into acting, I wanted to keep building my social platforms while pursuing acting opportunities.
So in recent months, I’ve come back to my acting roots. I’m taking classes again, submitting auditions, and continuing to work on my social media at the same time. I have been so fortunate in a million ways to have this be my story and I am endlessly grateful for all the people and opportunities life has given me. I cannot wait to see what my next chapter looks like!
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?
I truly can’t complain about my experiences. What began as a fun hobby for my 13-year-old self eventually turned into a job that opened doors and allowed me to pursue my passions. If I had to point to a more challenging part of the journey, I’d say it came with a level of sacrifice – especially when it came to my social life in high school. I spent most Friday nights editing videos, and I missed out on trips, celebrations, and typical high school events to stay consistent with YouTube.
But honestly, it felt like a fair trade-off. Looking back, I feel far more gratitude for the opportunities YouTube has given me than regret over the moments I missed.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For most of my time on social media, I specialized in kids’ content. I made skits, children’s music videos, and other videos in that space. However, since focusing on building my own brand, I’ve shifted toward more lifestyle-based content that aligns with my age and stage of life.
Through it all, storytelling has stayed prevalent through all of my content. Whether I’m filming a “Get Ready With Me” video while sharing a funny story or creating a morning routine montage with an early 2000s movie vibe, I aim for my videos to tell a story. I’m always changing and growing as a person, so my content reflects that, but the one constant in the entirety of my time online has always been storytelling.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve always leaned into a more untraditional lifestyle – taking a gap year, pursuing social media full time, etc. Someone once told me I live with a high-risk, high-reward mindset. Although I had never thought about it, once they said that, I agreed. When I’m passionate about something, there’s no question I’ll give it all to make it happen. I’ve always feared regret more than failure. Regret eats away at me, while failure has almost always led me to something better. There’s definitely a level of risk that comes with the career paths I’m pursuing due to the unstable nature of them, but I am so passionate about them I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mimi_drabik/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MimiiDrabik/videos
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mimiidrabik?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
