“I started YouTube simply to be myself authentically somewhere.”
When Nigerian-American content creator Courtney Adanna started her first YouTube channel in the eighth grade, she had a rough start, getting barely any views or engagement for eight years. Now, a more seasoned influencer, Courtney has found her footing, amassing 5 million YouTube subscribers, 1.6 million TikTok followers, and a loyal fanbase she calls her Reezys. She gradually built her brand by posting funny reaction videos and unfiltered commentary, referring to herself as your “online bestfriend.” Growing up, the Texas native always knew that social media was her passion, even when those around her didn’t understand it at the time, including her family.
Although she started her social media career in 2012, it wasn’t until years later, in 2020, that Courtney had her viral moment, and everything changed. Following her breakthrough, Courtney has continued to grow as an influencer. Officially in her yes-year era, Courtney has set her sights on conquering all her goals. The influencer recently dropped her clothing brand, Reeze, named after her community, attended the Grammys for the first time in 2025, produced her unreleased YouTube segment “Court in Session,” and is preparing to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming an actress.
Courtney spoke with Her Agenda about her rise as an influencer, what’s next for her career, and what motivated her to play the long game with content creation.
Her Agenda: What got you interested in content creation?
Courtney Adanna: I’ve been into social media since I was a kid. If I wasn’t on YouTube, I was on Tumblr or Twitter. I was just always on social media, and one thing I really loved was YouTube and how I could just log in after school and watch my favorite creators talk about anything and do anything. I had a lot of inspiration growing up, but when I watched them, I honestly couldn’t envision myself doing the same thing. I just tried it, so that’s kind of what started it. My friend and I made a YouTube channel together, and that was the beginning. That’s when I realized, oh, wait, I actually really do enjoy this. I eventually ventured out and created my own channel, Courtreezy. That’s how I started.
Her Agenda: How does your background and your heritage influence your content?
Courtney Adanna: I’m Nigerian American, first gen. I think even starting to create content was very hard because my parents did not understand the whole thing. They didn’t understand YouTube videos and doing it for a living. I guess it kind of impacts how I make my content, and the fact that I still sprinkle my Nigerian heritage into everything I do. I also feel like my videos kind of help other Nigerian Americans, or anyone who’s foreign, and maybe their parents don’t understand social media. I guess it kind of inspires them to also do it as well.
Her Agenda: How do your parents feel about [content creation] now?
Courtney Adanna: They’re my biggest supporters. They’re sharing my videos. Anytime somebody comes to the house, they’re playing my videos on the TV, which I hate, but they love it. They just didn’t understand at the beginning.
Her Agenda: What type of content do you like to produce, and how has your fan base grown over the years?
Courtney Adanna: I started off doing mostly reaction and commentary videos, which I still do. That’s like the big bulk of my channel. I also sprinkle in some gaming videos and vlogs randomly. I just really try to do it all because I consider my channel like a variety channel. I just want it to seem like you’re hanging out with your best friend. If you send me a YouTube video, we can watch it together. If you want to play a game together, we can do that too. Over the years, I think my channel has evolved to represent me and my interests. That’s the same with my audience. I think they’re growing up with me.
Her Agenda:What would you say is the most rewarding part of your journey so far in social media and content creation?
Courtney Adanna: Curating the community. The Reezys are literally everything because I started YouTube simply to be myself authentically somewhere. I grew up very to myself. I was outgoing with my family and my friends. I felt like that’s who I could be myself with 100%. When I went to school, I felt like people sometimes saw a different version of myself. Making YouTube videos lets me be 100% free. Knowing that there were people who really liked me for me, that was just everything. I’ve been able to gain up to almost 5 million subscribers who just like me, for me, and it’s just so rewarding. It’s just everything to me.
Her Agenda: What do you think is a common misconception people have about influencers?
Courtney Adanna: I think the biggest misconception is that it’s easy. I think the hardest thing about being a content creator is the mental battle you face every single day to keep posting and making videos, even when no one’s watching. I’ve been doing YouTube. I think the very first YouTube channel I made was in 2012, and I didn’t start getting a large number of subscribers until 2020. That’s a lot of years, and the mental battle of still posting videos even when no one was watching was the biggest issue I had to deal with. The biggest misconception is that it’s easy and that you can start making videos and go viral. You could, some people are lucky, but I think for most people, you really have to like it. You have to love making content and just seeing the zero views.
Her Agenda: Is that what really drove you to keep making content, even though it took you a while to get started?
Courtney Adanna: I think what kept me going was my community. It felt like I had a place to go to and just be myself. That’s really what drove it. It wasn’t even the money. I didn’t start seeing money until 2020. I didn’t see anything. I think my audience really just drove me, and I just felt like I had a place to belong.
Her Agenda: You launched your clothing brand, Reeze, which is named after your fan base. How did that come to be, and what items are in this drop?
Courtney Adanna: I dropped Reeze on April 28th, releasing two baby tees and a sweatsuit. It’s amazing. I think it really reflects my personality and current fashion sense. I released merch for the first time many years ago, and it was great, but I don’t think it really represented who I was. I think this merch really does that. It’s colorful, it’s girly, and I really wanted to represent just looking your best at all times. I want you to wear the material and feel like you’re the baddest in the room.
Her Agenda: What has the reception been like so far?
Courtney Adanna: People have loved it. I think they’re also very shocked that I was giving what I was giving. After all, with the launch of the photos and even the website, they were seeing a different side of me that I don’t think they usually see. With my videos, I’m just sitting at my computer talking to them. With Reeze, I feel like it really just shows the confidence and who I am today. They’ve been really loving it. A lot of people love the baby tees, especially the sweats, which I think is the most popular one that I’ve been seeing people talk about. It’s been great.
Her Agenda: Is Reeze something you want to expand in the future?
Courtney Adanna: Yes, I want to expand. I want to do so many more designs and colors. The colorway for this drop was yellow, pink, and baby blue. I love it, it really gives spring and summer, but I want to evolve into even more colors and even more designs and types of materials.
Her Agenda: You currently have multiple major production deals in the works. Can you tell me about that and how it feels, starting in content creation, and now also adding actress to your resume?
Courtney Adanna: It’s actually so amazing because I think this is the year that I told myself, “you’re just going to say yes to all the opportunities that you’ve been wanting and dreaming about.” I started a new series that hasn’t launched yet. It’s called Court in Session, and that’s super exciting. It’s going to be produced by me on my YouTube channel. Also, with acting, I’ve wanted to be an actress since I was a child. It’s been a dream, and I think this is the year where I told myself, you need to stop letting it just be a dream and somehow make it a reality. That’s why I just really focused on getting into it. I’m just really excited, and I’m happy to see what the future holds.
Her Agenda: What type of roles would you like to see yourself in?
Courtney Adanna: I definitely would love to be in a sitcom. I feel like that would make sense, especially with my channel; it would be perfect. I really love comedy, and I would also really love a drama. I love a drama, especially a sad drama. That’d be amazing. I love sad movies.
Her Agenda: What is your advice for someone who wants to pursue content creation but isn’t sure how to go about it?
Courtney Adanna: I think you literally just have to start. I don’t think you’ll ever know how to go about anything until you begin. A lot of people, when they ask me, “How do I start a YouTube channel? What do I do?” Honestly, the first thing is just making the YouTube video. You don’t even have to have the YouTube channel made. Try to make a video and see how you like it, and just post it. Don’t care too much about the views. Don’t focus on that. Focus on just bringing your message out into the world, and try not to care about others’ judgment, because there will always be people judging you. Focus on the community that you’ll build by just making videos every single time, genuinely just try and start. Stop thinking so much, I’m even telling myself this. Start doing.
Her Agenda: Is there any advice that somebody gave you throughout your career that stuck with you?
Courtney Adanna: I feel like there are so many random pieces of advice that I’ve heard, but I’m trying to think of what really hit me the most. ‘No one will ever see your vision as much as you will.’ That helps me a lot, asking too many people for opinions on things that I want to do, because the vision that I have in my head is so detailed. Even if I explain it to somebody, they’re not going to understand. Just focus, focus on that, keep on going. That’s the best advice I’ve gotten because it’s so true. There’s nothing I’ve envisioned, even with YouTube. When I was growing up, I told my parents that I wanted to do that as a career. They didn’t understand, but now… They see what happened, and they’re my biggest supporters. I just focus on doing. That’s really it.
Her Agenda: You spend a lot of time in front of the camera, but how do you decompress, you know, off camera?
Courtney Adanna: I love spending time with my friends and family. I’m very family-oriented, and I love having my loved ones around me. Most of the time, I just hang out. I go downstairs. I mean, I live with my family right now, so I just go downstairs and hang out with my mom. I just really like hanging out with my friends and family, and it really helps me decompress a lot. Sometimes it’s the phones; it’s just too much. I’m tired of scrolling. I’m tired of doing all of that. I just need a real in-person connection.
Her Agenda: How intentional are you with the things you show on camera as opposed to the stuff that you keep for yourself?
Courtney Adanna: I would say I’m very intentional, just because things that matter to me, I just don’t want to reveal them to anybody, because I don’t want to hear those opinions. If it comes to my family and my friends, or, let’s say, big accomplishments I hit that don’t have to do with YouTube, I don’t want any opinions. I just keep it to myself. I wasn’t always like that growing up, because obviously, I would see my audience as my people. That’s my community. I definitely learned that there are some things that I just want to keep to myself. So I’m pretty intentional with pretty much everything that I reveal.
[Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
