Nowadays when girls are having a beauty emergency they turn to YouTube as their one-stop-shop, but who would’ve guessed that a YouTube hair guru walks the hills of this very campus?
Adrianna Thomas, a third-year criminology and public administration student from Orlando, started her YouTube channel by what she says, “Was an accident.” Today, this accident has accumulated more than 486 videos, 75,511 subscribers and a total of 15,560,596 views, and counting.
In 2008 while in high school, Thomas was instructed to go on YouTube to view a video for a class project. While searching,
Thomas came across a video of a woman showing viewers how to do their hair and make-up. Thomas was intrigued and saw this as an opportunity to showcase her knowledge of hair and beauty tips, so she began creating videos using her laptop’s webcam.
Thomas’ YouTube channel, “thomasadrianna,” covers topic such as hair, beauty and fashion, but because of a wide variety of topics she begin to cover, Thomas resorted to making two channels.
“StraightADRInoCHASER” is more personal; it is focused on relationship advice, stories about college life, and her personal opinions.
With such a high demand of video request and questions, Thomas has managed to balance being a student and making “the best hair bloggers list” by Blackvoices.com. “YouTube is a like a job, so I have to force myself to set times so that it fits in my schedule.” There are many channels like Thomas’, but according to her, it’s her uncut and personal approach that makes her relatable and attracts many faithful viewers.
“I try my best to answer all of my subscribers’ questions and make videos based on what they want to see,” said Thomas.
Her wide range of video topics is what keeps, third-year psychology student Chekeil Simmons subscribed to the channel.
Once Thomas had a high number of followers, companies began to send her free products asking her to review them on her channel. The problems began when some companies were sending her a higher quality product but once she bought the product herself, she realized it wasn’t as good. “I’m as honest as possible with my viewers and sometimes that’s a problem, well with the companies,” she said.
Thomas said she vows to maintain her credibility and if a product isn’t good, she will not recommend it. She also plans to return it even if it’s free.
“I respect the fact that Adrianna is so honest with her viewers, even if it means exposing a company,” said Jasmine Haynes, a third-year health management student.
It’s a simple idea of using what she knows to help others that she tries to convey in her videos.
“Everyone is in competition, and that’s the problem,” Thomas said. “Just use what you know to help someone else.”