Victoria Wright, better known as Vickaboox on TikTok, is like the big sister a lot of young girls wish they had growing up—myself included. With almost 600,000 followers on TikTok, the 26-year old from Milton Keynes, England creates content that inspires and encourages young women to be the best version of themselves. Her bio reads, “Year of the bad b and not the sad b,” which is a direct reflection of the type of videos she makes.
Speaking candidly about taboo topics such as mental health and periods, as well as general life problems such as relationships and insecurities, Wright has created an online community of young girls that she empowers through her content.
@vickaboox Answer to @reeemaa.x hope this helps💜 #anxiety #mentalhealth #positivity #advice #relax ♬ original sound – Victoria
Like many people, Wright started her TikTok account during the first COVID-19 lockdown out of sheer boredom.
“I had just started a new job during lockdown, and there wasn’t much for me,” she told Passionfruit. “On my lunch breaks I would scroll through my For You page. I think for many of us, scrolling through TikTok gave us an escape from everything that was going on in the world.”
Her first video was a mini fashion haul, but the video that made her go viral was a prank video: “I messaged me friends a picture of a hideous dress I found online and told them I wanted to buy it and I filmed their responses.” It was a part of a trend at the time that captured the relatable dilemma of asking for your friends’ honest opinions.
@vickaboox NAHHH I’m recruiting new friends #viral #plt #tiktoktraditions #fyp #foryou #groupchatchallenge ♬ original sound – Victoria
When it comes to creating content, Wright says authenticity is key. She feels her happiest when she’s her candid self and wants to ensure all her content is a direct reflection of this.
“There are enough images and ideals in society telling young girls that we’re not good enough, and I don’t want to add to that load,” Wright said. “So yes, I’m going to do videos showing my messy room during a mental health breakdown, the importance of educating yourself on thrush, and my personal insecurities.”
Wright hopes to normalize the messy parts of young womanhood, stating there’s “nothing to be ashamed of.” She also wants to combat the pressures stemming from perfectly edited pictures on social media.
As it stands, Wright’s audience is 96.6% women, which she is touched by because she feels like she’s cultivated a “community of little sisters.” She gets many kind comments, but one comment she received from a dad of two daughters particularly stuck out to her.
“He told me that my videos on periods and self-love really helped him to understand more about his daughters,” she said. “I don’t know his circumstances, but it was lovely to hear that the videos I do in my room are having such an impact.”
Instagram is the go-to platform for many influencers, especially fashion and beauty influencers. However, Wright believes that Instagram puts pressure on young girls to appear perfect. Conversely, she says TikTok feels more authentic and gives the average working-class person the chance to break into content creation.
“I feel like TikTok is making the content creator/influencer industry more accessible,” she said. “You can literally pick up your phone, start recording videos from your bed and become a content creator. With TikTok you don’t feel pressured to have a certain aesthetic or a specific look.”
Wright admits that getting into content creation was never the plan she had for her life. She previously had a full-time job in engineering and had only joined TikTok for fun—to distract herself from work she hated.
“I just wanted a relief, something to distract me from my situation at the time,” she said “I was surprised at how quickly my account grew. When I noticed this, I started thinking about taking my platforms serious.”
“It was actually my followers who kept telling me to quit my job,” she added. “I would see comments under my video saying: Vick just do it, we got you.”
And judging by the numbers, they weren’t lying. Since quitting her job last February, Wright’s audience has continued to grow rapidly. She has now recently moved into a new office and acquired a management team that secured her a brand deal with British makeup brand W7. She launched her very own eyeshadow palette with the brand this February.
“I had been using W7 products for years, so having the chance to work with them was amazing,” she said. “I think this was one of the most surreal moments in my career so far. I know that as my platform grows I will have more opportunities to work with different brands, but I always want to make sure that the brands I work with are a suitable fit for me.”
For Wright, the rapid growth of her platform was completely organic. Wright said she had no specific content strategy in place. Instead, she focused on creating content she wanted and didn’t let the numbers or algorithm deter her from posting videos.
“I never really know what to say when people ask me how I grew my platform,” she said. “ I don’t have a strategic way of posting, I literally post what’s on my mind. If something is on my mind and I have my phone ready, I’ll record a video.”
Full-time content creators can feel pressured to be on social media 24/7. Checking views, likes, and comments all the time can have a detrimental impact on anyone’s mental health. Wright ensures that she maintains strict boundaries regarding how she interacts with her social media work.
“I don’t let the number of likes or engagement bother me,” she said. “When you start overthinking about numbers and being too strategic it takes all the fun out of it. If I post a video and it gets like 5 views, I don’t look at it as a bad thing. I just think to myself that this video has helped at least five people today. This is how I maintain a healthy relationship with my social media.”
Wright has now started her own podcast: Vickaboo – The Big Sis, where she shares some of the life lessons she’s learned from her twenties. Her advice for aspiring content creators? Be authentic and don’t overthink it:
“If you want to be a content creator, just do it,” she said. “Start creating the content! Stop overthinking it and post the video. Don’t pressure yourself to fit into a niche or a certain aesthetic, just be your authentic self. Do the kind of content that you enjoy.”
