Girls Know Nothing - S1 Ep2: Behind the TIKTOK Sensation GKBARRY, Going into the big brother house and how she built her tiktok career

Episode Date: August 11, 2022

GKBarry has 2.3 million tiktok followers, host of number 1 podcast Saving Grace and has gone on to be a presenter for Prime.  How did she get to be one of the biggest content creators in the UK? Will we see her on Big Brother?  

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right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com slash kids and family. Just go to indeed.com slash kids and family right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Welcome to another episode of Girls Know Nothing. For those of you that are watching the podcast instead of listening, I'm sure you will recognize this guest needs no introduction um big GK Barry. Barry in the house. I thought you said Barry in

the house. Oh my god okay um do you know what actually I put on the girls know nothing Instagram about um who they think my next guest will be and you were the number one guest. I love that I'm in demand. Love it. You actually are. And I'm really excited to have you for this episode. My legs are spread. I don't know why that just came out my mouth.

Apologies because this room is really hot and I'm sweating out of every pore of my body. I feel like I'm losing weight while I speak. Okay, good. Well, it's businesswoman on the go. Yeah, you know. I'm trying to keep it lighthearted because I know you're feeling nervous about a really businessy, serious conversation.

This is not me. Well, I felt the same when I was doing your podcast, to be fair. So I was like, oh no, like, what can, like, because I don't care about saying certain things in a private room, but when there's a camera and... It's stressful. Number one podcast in the UK, you're just like very aware that people are listening yeah it does happen but I bloody hope so so like let's start off obviously um GK Barry 2.2 million on TikTok 2.3 since yesterday my deepest apologies it's fine so I want to go back to the beginning of how Gk barry kind of began so i did a bit of

googling on you um that was my little uh porn for the week um so obviously well yeah multiple times anyway let's move on um when i googled you yeah um found out that gk barry obviously i've always known you as what gk but gk is your initials yeah barry is your friend's surname yeah and i saw that it's because you didn't want people to find your tiktok the irony and also like all companies that i work with just call me grace barry none of them know my name literally none of them so why did you not want people to find your tiktok um i just i knew my stuff was going to be really embarrassing and I'd put everything I do, I always think I'm going to look back at what I'm doing right now in a year and really cringe. So I was like, I'd rather cringe by myself. So I thought if no one

can find it, that will be fine. No one from my area, because people from my area, I'm not going to lie, can be knobheads. So I thought I'm not getting bullied 2.0. So yeah. But now you get to cringe with 2.3 million people. Yeah, now I just get reminded of how embarrassing I am every day. So how did you go from not wanting anyone to know about your TikTok channel to then all of a sudden being like one of the biggest names in British TikTok and then commercialising it?

I feel like when I got to a certain point, I'm trying to think of what follower count that I got to where I was a bit like, I don't care anymore, like, maybe 100k. I remember I started in March, lockdown 20. So what was that 2020? Yeah. And then I hit 100k in August. And then I literally was like, you know what, I don't care. And then I was just like, I'll just grow it from here. But I never really took it seriously until I quit my job in that December. Was it that December?

Yeah, that December I quit my job and started doing it full time. But I only had 200K. Ballsy move. Don't know what I was doing there. Only? 200K is a lot. No, but like when it comes to TikTok and like money making,

that was literally piss all. Like I was not, I wouldn't have been making money. So I don't know why I did that. But it paid off because it meant I put all my time into TikTok. Well, yeah, I mean, so when I was Googling you as well, your name came up in Forbes, which I think is pretty big. So random. Even though you didn't know what Forbes was originally. I was like, Forbes. Cool. Then Hannah was like, no, no, no, that's really cool was originally I was like Forbes cool then Hannah was like no no that's really cool and I was like cool like I think you were the only British name to come up in Forbes in that article I think so yeah yeah and I wasn't sure it was you that made that comment to be honest it sounded so serious but no I so I did that interview um I think it was something about how

TikTok's now a career like and how time time to change, whatever TikTok's career. And I answered some questions, but they definitely were, they put it a lot more formal than I answered it. 100%. Do you think that maybe because you're like, do you find that because you're a TikTok comedian and you're like funny all of the time on TikTok

that maybe people don't take you seriously in a sense of a businesswoman. Yeah, 100%. I feel like, I feel like, so first of all, if you say you're a TikToker to anyone, I think they just assume that you dance

and that's fine if you do, but that is not me. So I think people just assume you're probably like thick or whatever so I think it's a bit difficult especially like now I'm kind of getting my name out there but to start with I don't think people really wanted to work with me especially as I was so crude like my stuff at the beginning was so out of pocket that people were just like you were not brand safe because I think I remember the first TikTok I've seen of yours

was how many shots would it take to go through the England squad? Not many as well, actually, which is really embarrassing. I would just do it under one shot. But no, yeah, that was, oh my gosh, yeah, I forgot about that. That was, when was that? During the World Cup or Euros or something. The Euros, last year, yeah. Yeah, that was, I didn't even watch it, so I don't know why I did that.

But, yeah. I mean, so like, because I know a lot of your followers will know that you're at uni because you make a lot of TikToks that are associated to university. I'm always hungover. Student life. You might as well spend that nine grand very well. Exactly.

But obviously, I mean, I didn't know. And I think I struggled to find what you actually studied at at uni and it wasn't until I asked like people in management like what you study um and obviously it was media isn't it so I started off with my undergrad doing film filmmaking which really because I did like film and tv or whatever because originally I wanted to go into like film production or like being behind the camera on TV. And then Corona hit just as I was in my third year. And I was like, I can't leave yet. I'm not ready.

I need to drink a bit more. So I decided to do a master's in digital marking. And I do not know what I thought a master's would be like. But it was not that. It was so difficult. Because I remember like reading about you again, you were saying that, you know, you kind of put your eggs in one basket

in terms of TikTok and probably didn't focus as much in your third year as you could or should have done. So then it's like, how come you decided that going to a master's would be the right thing if you felt like your TikTok career was taking off enough for you to not focus?

Do you know what's weird? I got I'm getting better results this year in my master's than I was in my undergrad, but I'm busier now. So I don't know how that works. I don't know what the science is behind it. But I think it's just because with the undergrad, I just think I was like, I wasn't really taking it very seriously. and I was just kind of there to like party or whatever but I think for my master's I was a bit more like because I just thought having a degree in filmmaking is not going to get me anywhere realistically like I didn't really feel like it was going to get me anywhere so I thought I needed a master's to like really secure that deal and then I just really blew up on TikTok so I was just like right so I know one of the things that you've spoken about is a bit of a fear because you're you can be quite crude and

it's how you put it was not not brand safe yeah I'm talking about cancel culture and the fear of being canceled because when you are a creator yeah you are putting all your eggs into the basket of your followers and the brands that commercially support you yeah so if you're cancelled kind of your whole life feels like it's going down the pan it's a big one because I know one day it's going to happen to me like I'm not stupid it happens to everyone I know it's going to happen whether it's something like that actually I deserve to be cancelled over or something people have really taken out of context or whatever. I know it's going to happen. It's happened to my friends. But it is so stressful.

That's the only thing I ever worry about, genuinely, because it's like intense. Like my friend Max got, he won't mind me saying this, but when he was getting stuff on Twitter, there was just thousands of tweets of people being really horrible about him. And I could not deal with that. I'd set myself on fire. It's very extreme. Yeah. So how would, obviously with your content, because it is quite crude and quite out there, does that ever make you want to change the direction in which your content goes in?

So the only thing that's changed is when I first joined my management our management can I say that our management um I they were like there's a few things that you need to um maybe just just hold back on a little bit don't go as extreme um but that's it like I'm definitely just more aware of what I say but I wouldn't say I've changed my content. I used to do skits and stuff, but I kind of stopped that just because I was too busy to do it, not because they were controversial, even though they were. But yeah, I'd say my content stayed pretty much the same.

So I know, I always thought that maybe your content was branching away a little bit because you are doing more deals. I did see um thing with Amazon and James May and cheese yeah my favorite yeah um I don't know if it's branching away I just feel like it's more when I first started I didn't really know what I wanted to do like I remember just kind of doing so I did like random beauty stuff or I do skits or I do like story times then I found my story times would do well and then I just sort of I just sort of thought I feel like I could do presenting so I kind of did a few more of my um like TikToks to go towards presenting but it kind

of helped in my favor that now companies are looking to TikTokers over YouTubers to like do certain stuff because I think they want to branch out to a bigger audience so it's just lucky that I had a certain amount of following where I think maybe um they reached out to me I think it just purely is luck but I like I enjoy it but I don't know if it's all I to me. One thing that people really underestimate about social media, especially TikTokers, they think it's really easy. Yeah. And that, you know, you just, like, it's like what people used to think about people that did Instagram.

You just post a pretty picture or you just post, like, a really quick video. Get me fucking started on this. Get me started on this. This pisses me off. And why, can I out him? I'll do it. My boyfriend fucking says this as well. He goes, oh, what?

You just post a few videos a day. And I was just like, I, like people have a job. You work nine to five and you, as soon as you finish at five, you finish at five. We don't finish at a certain time. Like, sorry, I can't say your name, can I? I know. I just, it's like word vomit.

Hannah will like randomly message me at certain points or like I'll get things done where it's like, you need to do this today. You need to do it ASAP. You need blah, blah. And you're constantly having to keep up with what's going on and like to do a video on it because I know that will go viral.

Constantly stressing about the amount of followers or like whatever. It's just hell in there. I think there's a lot of numbers involved in it as well, isn't it? You have to look at your trends, what's done well, what's not done well. And I think people don't really, like being creative, I think is harder. Like now I've left what I used to do and do the like social media. It's harder to come up. People just think like, it's just again, like when people say, oh, blah, blah. But it's like, I have to think of something new to post that I haven't posted

in the two years that I've been on this app. There's only so much shit that I can talk about until I'm like, what else? I'm constantly having to think of new things to come up with,

blah, blah. And it's just, the creative bones, it's very stressful. They're creaking. It's very stressful. Do you ever get worried that you're going to run out of content

or are you just going to keep doing stupid shit? I know I'm going to dry up at some point. And when that day comes, I hope I've married my boyfriend and I hope we've won the lottery so we can just retire because... I don't know your boyfriend's name, but no pressure there.

Yeah, no. You keep buying those lotto millions. So talking about creative juices flowing saving grace congratulations 100 100 000 subscribers as of i'm gonna say today but it's probably a long time ago you got your plaque from youtube got my plaque um how did that saving grace come about um so first of all my management this is like a management plug but it's like they kept saying you really need a podcast and I was like oh I don't know if like I'm made for that really I don't know if that will really do anything and then I went on the fellas podcast and they just

basically I think I was so vulgar they were like you just need your own can we they wanted to basically take me on underneath the fellow studios. So they built my set. I made it clear that I wanted to drink on it. I wanted to be vulgar. I wanted to just basically have it be my own. They were fine with it. Create the headlines.

Create the headlines. Get myself a blue tick. Still doesn't happen, by the way. So... Not even on TikTok? Sort of. TikTok's the hardest one to get one for. Yeah. But I literally... Ever since this headline stuff, so not even on TikTok sort that out TikTok's the hardest one to get one for yeah

but I literally I ever since this headline stuff I've been sending it to people being like blue tick quick and they still haven't done it

I love that you've got the number one podcast in the UK but the priority right now is the blue tick it's the blue tick I'm sick of it but yeah

that's how the podcast happened like how does it feel to know that your your podcast is number one not even just in comedy but like number one in the uk i am the worst person to ask this to because i never actually realized like what it means like the other day i only just i was in wembley and i was like

fucking hell there's loads of people in here what's like three million in here and they were like no it's literally 25 000 or something like that and in my head I was like oh my god that's a lot of people and I've got like two million so like imagine all of those people in a room I can never think about does this make sense I can never think about what that means in my head does that make sense as if you were standing in a room with that many I can never rationalize it until I see it so when someone was like you've got the number one podcast I was just kind of like okay and then I went to the podcast awards and then I saw all of these podcast people and I was like oh like these are ops and I've beat them so I kind of was like okay that kind of makes it kind of puts it into perspective this is gonna like I feel like I'm really old now and I'm like

what the hell is ops? Like, friend of an op is an op. Like, um... Because that's really helped, thank you. Like, they're like competition, they're an op. Okay. Wow, I really showed my age there.

We're ops. Are we? Kind of. Friendly ops. When we get our boxing match, maybe. I've been training, I'm going to let you know that. I heard Alex Wasabi pulled out of the KSI fight, maybe we should get in. We should, yeah, been training I'm gonna let you know that um I heard Alex Wasabi pulled

out of the KSI fight maybe we should get in we should yeah yeah I'm ready so when you rationalize the amount of people that follow you or the amount of listeners you have on Saving Grace do you ever wonder what you would be doing if you didn't have the platform you've got um I think I would still be a cost star and I would not know what to have done after uni because I'm the type of person in my life I have never ever known what I wanted to do and I was really bad at school like I got like no GCSEs um I got English and drama so what the fuck's that gonna do for me um and then I went to sixth form I went to like a reject college literally got like I kind of worked my way up so I could get into uni but

again I wouldn't have known where I would have gone so I think this is kind of a blessing I'm glad it happened because genuine it's what it's like anyone I feel like does anyone know what they want to do at 22 when they leave uni realistically unless you are one of those people that know yeah really now yeah yeah unless you're like a paramedic then you're like i know i want to be a paramedic the thing is even though you claim that you know you went to a reject college came to reject college big up you know actually when I have had serious conversations with you, they are far and few in between. When I have had them,

it's, I actually think probably out of a lot of people that I've met in this industry, you probably are one of the most, like, business savvy people out there. You've openly, like, said to me, you know, you don't, you're not very flashy. You don't spend money on outrageous things. I saved that shit.

Yeah, but then that's a very like you know people might underestimate you in that sense because tiktokers do make good money especially with the deals you've been getting but like and you don't spend your flashy money so like do you have plans about what you're gonna do I just think I'm very aware that social media is something that could so easily go or like people have a sell by date like I've seen people that were so big when I was growing up now no one really gives a shit about so it's like I feel like I've got to make all my money now and invest it and then like because I was thinking well if I get all this money save it because now I'm out of uni I can like properly

save so I'm not spending it on stupid shit um save it like buy a house rent it out like after I've done it up and then go from there because at least I've got my finger in a pie whereas like if I'm just on TikTok like well I've probably got a lifespan of maybe a year, two more years, I'd say, in TikTok. No, I do think that. No, I don't. I know everyone shakes their head, but I do think I've got a lifespan of about two years. No, because then you would just move on to, like, the next thing, surely. If TikTok goes, like, I don't think you'd be dried up.

I think you would just move on to the next thing. Like, I could see you having, like, your own talk show on, like, Amazon or something like that. Yeah, true. I'd like a little Alan Carr. A little Alan Carr sector, do you know what I mean? With the dogs? Yeah, like, chatty man, but... More vulgar.

Fat pussy woman. Like, I could do that. I could do that. But, I don't know, I think I'm too vulgar for TV. That's my only issue. I don't think so. We've let Piers Morgan onto TV. I mean, yeah, that fucking man could be on there, so can I. Well's not dried up i think you'd be all right to be honest but then like i'll live

forever fine i'll run these streets sorry with all those savings you can buy all the botox you're gonna need just freeze you so then you're the same person for the rest of your life but like you know so if like genuinely what would you want to do if If TikTok was to die tomorrow, what do you think you would want to go on to do? I love my podcast. I definitely still carry on doing that. But I think I'd love to do some sort of presenting. Like I've always had like a dream of having my own show doing like GK Barry and just does loads of shit I'm scared of doing because I know that I'd make great TV because I'm a massive pussy

I don't know I just want to do something TV wise I just want to move on to that Have you ever thought about Big Brother's coming up? I'm fucking on it Have you sent your application in? I'm going to get Hannah to do that now I swear to god

If I do not get on I know I would thrive on that show I was born for Big Brother I'm telling you that's my only I'll die after that because you can be vulgar

on Big Brother yeah you can I mean for god's sake you can have sex in a bath on Big Brother I wouldn't do that not because your boyfriend's watching

yeah unless he's in the house with me no but like you can do I just feel like it's but the thing is now with shows you you can do i just feel like it's an but the thing is now with shows you can't do anything because like off-com and shit so you can't even smoke yeah you would know i would know can't even smoke what's the point i don't even

smoke but if i want a fag after a stressful day i'll have one i feel like i've touched a nerve yeah like don't smoke but i really want to. I've got foundation on the mic. I hope so. Well, to be fair, do you know what I think you would be really good at, really ironically? Tell me. Antiques Roadshow are doing a celebrity version.

Are you on crack? I think it'd be fucking hilarious. I think I've watched that show once when I was off school ill. It must have been a really slow day. So I don't... I don't know what you actually have to do on that show. I'll do it, though.

I've got a few old rings. No, you don actually have to do on that show. I'll do it though. I've got a few old rings. No, you don't have to bring your own shit. I've got some Reeboks from a few years ago. I'll be alright. No, you go and buy shit. Oh. And then you take it to auction, don't you? Love that.

Yeah. Oh, I didn't know that. Celebrity Antiques Roadshow. GK Bazaar edition. I'm on it. That and Celeb Bake Off. Get me on. See, why are you worried about TikTok running out?

You've got loads of options. I make a bang in Vicky Spange. I don't. I've never made one in my life. I can't imagine you cooking. I'm not going that and Celeb Bake Off get me on see why are you worried about TikTok running out you've got loads of options I make a banging Vicky sponge I don't I've never made one in my life I can't imagine you cooking I'm not gonna lie I can't hot noodles sick

stay away from me I really regret having you as a guest now I'm getting dopey we'll leave the cooking to Faye yeah but I did 9 to 5

and uni and I found that ridiculously stressful and obviously now knowing what this industry is like and how like you know I'm in the bath at 6am and I found that ridiculously stressful and obviously now knowing what this industry is like and how like, you know, I'm in the bath at 6am

and I'm thinking, I'm not in the bath, I'm in the shower at 6am. Yeah, you get up well early. What is wrong with you? I don't have enough hours in the day. There's only 24. I like,

will start voice noting people at 5 in the morning, sorry Hannah, in the shower. So like, I don't even like, I can't even comprehend being able to do a job

that's 24-7 plus actually being at uni full time like I don't even like I can't even comprehend being able to do a job that's 24 7 plus actually being at uni full times I wasn't so I'd miss like an occasional day or two of lessons um and they'd be like work is not an excuse you can't miss uni and I'd explain I'm like this isn't like a part-time job like this is actually like my career like this this is the fucking side hustle do you know what I mean and they'd be still be like it's unacceptable blah blah and I'd literally I I um I think I got marked down in a module because I missed two lessons like a full marked down and I was like what the fuck god Nottingham Trent fix up Nottingham Trent literally my ass no I had

a great time I had a great time wait till you get your masters before you tell them i'm sorry yeah wait till december but no it was straight it was actually very stressful doing that i can imagine do you feel like maybe your lectures treated you differently as well because of what you were doing most of them didn't know until i would never bring this up right it would always be someone like one of on my table that like this guy on my table once went well grace grace is an influencer so she can tell you about because I do digital marketing obviously so a lot of it would um kind of be what I was doing um but I don't think so but a lot of them wouldn't even I don't think see me differently they just expect me to get on with it like and I think maybe if in my

opinion I feel like maybe they'd look at me worse in a way, because it's more like, all right, you're still doing the course, though. I don't know. I feel like that's in my mind. But I don't know. No one ever treated me differently, apart from some teachers were proper assholes. But it was just stressful. Like, I was having to be in London, especially now. I'm in London a lot.

And then I'd have to go home, like, on the train to be in London, especially now. I'm in London a lot. And then I'd have to go home, like on the train home at like 10pm, writing like a 4,000 word report. After how many glasses of Prosecco? Always after glasses of Prosecco. I am shocked I've passed this course. I am shocked. Do you ever feel like Kim Kardashian

when she went back to law school? Yeah, I feel like Kim Kardashian, but like, I look like if she'd had an addiction somewhere along the line. Oh, good. It's really great. So yeah, but I'm still here for it. But like, so as well as managing TikTok fame,

like this is something that I know people have experienced off the back of leaving Love Island. Like if you are single, trying to, like, as you know, you were how old when you started TikTok? Like I'm going to say nine, no, 20. 20. are single trying to like as you know you were how old when you started tiktok like i'm gonna say nine no 20 20 20 so you know trying to find relationships and love and trying to like navigate through that when you're famous or online famous or whatever you want to call it thing because i had like once i started getting well known I had ex-boyfriends trying to come back to me. Oh, no.

Yeah, yeah. Your fucking time is gone, my love. Ex-boyfriends come up to me, or on a few occasions where I'd be in the club, and listen, I'm at uni, like, obviously, I'm kissing people, whatever. Like, after a few vodka cranberries, I'll do it. But then they'd be...

Once I got with this guy, and I was like, oh, he's really nice, really likes me, whatever. Then I heard him show his phone to his mates and he went she's got loads of fucking followers and I've had people

I've slept with in first year use me as like their pick up line like do you know GK Barry slept with her to get girls that's such a weird

pick up line if I was a girl and somebody used that I'd be like what am I you can't all use it people are going to start thinking you're lying do you know what I mean or they're gonna start thinking worse about you

yeah great point sharon great point i'm sorry um but it's just it's very weird i'm lucky like now i've he didn't know who i was before i met him so i was like that was a good thing but yeah i don't but then sometimes you think would you rather date someone in the public eye no because it's i think i feel like i don't know if you can relate but it's like sometimes worse if they're in the public eye as well because there's so much more pressure pressure and distraction yeah like especially in this industry there's all these girls that they would that know about them and it's just I don't know very toxic vibes So do you find it like hard to manage all of your professional commitments, your university commitments, and then your partner and your family?

Luckily, now I finished uni, that's fine. I think if I was still full time at uni, definitely. Because I'm always in London. Luckily, he lives in London. So it kind of goes hand in hand. So is that hotel bill? cheers thank you um but I think yeah I definitely it's difficult because you want to see your family all the time but it's also like you're busy but it's like my parents are gonna die soon oh god okay touch wood maybe not no but not in that way they're not gonna

be here forever I need to spend time with them do you like what do your family feel about like your career because I you know from my perspective my dad was stood in my garden yelling at me going what the hell are you doing with your life because you've worked so hard for however many years like what do your parents think do your parents like wish oh grace I wish you'd grow up and get nine to five like well so when I first started my parents did not understand they were literally like what like they did not understand it they did not have a clue what I was doing they were like this isn't going to make you money um and then I started making money and then I quit my job and they were like you better hope so much money comes in to make it worth the fact that you quit your job they thought it was an awful idea when I quit they were like, you better hope so much money comes in to make it worth the fact that you quit your job.

They thought it was an awful idea when I quit. They were like, this isn't good, blah, blah, questioning everything. And then they started seeing me kind of like, they'd be scrolling through stuff and they'd just see me pop up. Or like they'd, I don't know, I'd just appear randomly. Or people would go up to my mum being like, oh my God, your mother Barry. And I think it sunk into them a little bit when I started making money that this was like a normal thing and now they love it like I think they're really they're really supportive of what I do

my mum is a bit too supportive like she will literally tell everyone she's going shopping they're scanning bags and she's going you had a Gk barry you got tiktok get that up quick i'll do it before you finish scanning or like my granddad died the police came around uh obviously apparently suspicious death he was 95 work that out um and the police were like uh doing all the you know reports and stuff yeah and she went shall we put on my daughter's podcast it's saving grace by the way you can watch it on apple spotify and maybe we should get mama barry a t-shirt saying my daughter is gk barry my mom literally fucking loves it i mean i guess you can find humor and everything yeah may he rest i don't know if that's a trauma response but you know well um we'll move on but it's um it's weird it's one of those things i feel like even when you get into serious situations do you always worry that people just think of you as GK Barry yeah and I found that a lot with

friends now like I'm very wary of it's more I never notice it I'm sometimes I was literally having this conversation like about an hour ago um you never know if people are trying to be friends with you for the right reasons like if they're trying to be friends with you because they like you or if they can benefit or if they can get tea out of you um like especially at uni my because I lived in a house of six um so we'd get invited to parties and if I wasn't there people would go up to my flatmates be really rude to them and be like where's Grace where's and clearly the invite was there because of me but yeah but, how would you know that? It was just, I don't know, people would just be really rude. Like they'd shove my friends away to come and speak to me.

And I'd be like, this is just not the normal way to act. Like, this is not how to become friends with me. If you want to become friends with me, be nice to my friends. Do you ever feel isolated or lonely because of something like that? There was a weird time during this year year I feel like it had to have been February or March or something where there was a point where I was getting recognized like a lot in Nottingham because obviously everyone knows I go to Nottingham uni so I was quite like a bait person at that uni um but it got to a point when I'd leave like people would be really weird like

they'd shout my name but like they wouldn't come up to me. It wouldn't be like a night. Like I would never mind if people come up to me. They'd like shout at me on the street or like be like, oh my God, that's GK Barrett. Or like just say really kind of rude comments. And there was a time where I was literally like, I don't even want to go.

I don't even want to leave the house. Like I went to a house party, which is something like every uni student does. And I went there and someone put my tiktoks on the speaker in front of everyone i remember hearing yeah yeah i was literally fucking mortified like i was so embarrassed i was like what a muggy thing to do and i think that's another thing that people don't realize that comes with like online success and like fame if that's what you want to call it um that, you know, you have all of these people watching you on your platform,

but then also, you know, you don't know who to trust in the real world. But then, you know, you feel like you have all these people, but then you feel isolated when you're talking to people in real life. And all these people think they know you because obviously they watch me on my TikTok and I talk about everything pretty much on there.

But GK Barry is very much like a character. Not character, it's like an emphasised, is that the right word? Emphasised version of me. It's like a lot of TikTokers, if you're in a room with us, just us, we're not like that. We're actually, believe it or not,

we're actually very calm and normal. So it's always played up to the cameras a bit. And I think when people come up to me, they expect me to be this like massive, like you fucking cockney guy. And I'm just not. But it just emphasizes the story times a bit. Yeah, because I mean, this is the thing with social media.

It's, you know, TikTok only goes to about three minutes. And not 20, I don't even know how old you are. 23 years? Spot on. spot on good guess on Friday I'm disgusted by the fact you're a 99 baby

you're closer to 2000 90s baby I'm clinging on by a friend literally hanging by a thread because I mean I'm already going to get

judged being old now because I've already asked you what an op is an op yeah no it's true you're showing your age now as if I need any more people I didn't need to give anybody a reason to call me a Tory being old now because I've already asked you what an op is. An op, yeah, no, it's true. You're showing your age now. As if I need any more people.

I don't need to give anybody a reason to call me a Tory. No, she's not a Tory. I can vouch for this. I keep rubbing my chin on this. Yeah, I've put my mouth on this, like, literally on this microphone so many times.

You can tell it's been a while. So, I know when you were talking about your followers and people automatically assuming when they meet you in the street that you're going to be like and people automatically assuming when they meet you in the street that you're going to be like this caricature version of yourself. You know, after we did our episode of Saving Grace

and we got the train back into central London, you know, you got stopped by a fan. Yeah. Which was like really nice to see. But then I kind of felt like you'd change from Grace to GK Barry as soon as you met someone. And do you feel like you have to do that when you meet a fan?

Yeah, because I feel like, well, there's been a few occasions. When I'm drunk as well, I go really posh. I don't know what my problem is, but I go really posh. Yeah, you are. But like, I don't know what it is. Drink just makes me go like Joanna Lumley.

And then on nights out when people meet me, they're like, oh, GK Barry, and I'll speak to them. And they're like, you're a fraud. Or like, I've looked on Tatl before. Fuck you, Tatl, by the way. I've looked on Tatl, and it's like, I'm a commoner. I'm working class.

And she's fake. She's doing it for views. She's doing it for money. And I'm literally like, what? Like, I just feel like sometimes a bit of pressure to prove that I am actually working class. And like, what? Like, I just feel like sometimes a bit of pressure to prove that I am actually working class and like normal, like it's not actually a front. It's weird you to bring tattle up

because obviously everybody that's in the public eye is probably on tattle. Literally suck my dick. And it's the worst place to ever be. Like you should never ever look yourself up on it. But it's hard not to. I have managed so long so far not to because I can it but it's hard not to it's i i've managed so long so far not to because i can imagine what it's going to be like but actually i looked on feet

and i didn't look for you on tattle when i googled you tattle did come up but you know actually i didn't see any negative stuff about you it was just people saying they don't like you but that's just normal i've only had literally within the past two months have i had a title page made about me but in my eyes that's how i know i've made it so i'm like fine uh but it's more like i get called catfish by the daily mail yeah fuck you daily man as well um can i put that in yeah it's done now um yeah they piss me off again it's like newspapers like that it's just like you have nothing better to write about other than girls tits or wearing a flashy dress but that's the thing about being a woman right is that they will write these articles about you because how many of your male tiktoker friends you know have similar articles written about them nothing um you know i've never seen

an article about a male love islander calling them a catfish yeah never or like i feel like the girls get worse stick although the only people i would say got pretty bad stick is like normal looking men because they're quite like they're not this is what compared to like say jay jay looks like a fucking chiseled god and like there's just normal people in there as well so obviously they'd get more stick not there's anything wrong with that but they would just in general get more stick but then I feel like women just get a whole lot worse like we get our not just our bodies but like our face everything our asses god forbid I've all I've been there and also it's about how many men find you attractive even if

you don't necessarily swing that way or part of that it's just so fucking boring most of you don't brush your teeth don't wash your balls don't wash the bottoms of your legs but you have the cheek bottoms of your legs yeah they don't wash their legs and if they don't use a loafer a loafer shoe a loafer a puff i call it a loafer loafer loafer yeah loafers a shoe listen all right i'm not helping this business podcast they do you know what i mean like the cheek of some of these people to judge us when they are probably missing teeth as well fuck you do you? Actually, I think that's one of the things that I found the hardest. And I don't know if you can relate to that as well.

It's that people always magically assume because you get rejected or certain people don't find you desirable, you must be clapped. But actually, what if you don't want them? And I feel like that's a female problem as opposed to like a societal problem but it's also like beauty standards change so much so like i just feel like you can never be

upset this is what i think about because i remember when i was when i was younger i am young but when i was at school um the trend was to be stick fin thigh thigh gap, no arse. No boobs. Yeah, yeah, no boobs. I was in my fucking element at school. That was me at school. And then it changed to like BBLs, slim thick. And it's like, oh, you know,

it just, there's so many beauty things that it's like, you're going to feel shit at some point and you're going to be told you're ugly at some point. But in the next 10 years, I'll probably be seen as fit again. That's how I think of it. I mean, at least you know your time is coming. My time is coming.

Whereas my time's already run out. But it's been great. It's been really good. How, like, so in that sense, how do you find, because obviously, you know, we've all had times in our teenage years where a boy

has called us ugly obviously when you're in the public eye it's amplified it's done in a public setting for everyone to see how does that make you feel oh my god there was a stage i actually don't really get touch fucking wood is there any wood in there i um not even would i used to um i don't really get hate that much anymore yeah and i know i've jinxed that i'm just whatever now but um i when i first started used to get so much stick about my nose and just my face being ugly and like me having a flat ass and it got to the point where i was literally like i'm gonna get this done to my face i'm gonna get this done to my face i'm gonna get a fucking bbl um and then i literally had to sit down with my manager and she was literally like do not get any filler do not get anything because the reason people like you is because you're just natural and like yeah like you're

and i think it's true because when i go to these events, a lot of the people there, and this isn't like a dig, like they're all stunning, but a lot of them all look the same and like all look very similar. And it's just, but it can be very toxic because you go there and you think this is what I should look like because this is what pretty is because all these girls are Instagram girls. But then do you know what? A lot of them have personalities like a dry sock

so I will fucking stick with my big nose because I feel like people need that. If I was younger, I wish I had someone who was just normal. Yeah, because no one was really normal. I always think maybe people look the same because do you know what? I found this

and I don't know if you've had this as well. I get at least one email a week if not more from a Turkish plastic surgeon offering free teeth free bbls oh yeah yeah and then maybe like you've had the same and then you're tempted because you're getting trolled yeah for a certain thing and you're like well because you're getting trolled for a certain thing and someone's offering it to you on a plate. Yeah, and it's when you become like a creator or whatever, you get all this stuff for free. I even got a message this morning of this girl being like, if you want any fillers, whatever, I can do it for free.

And it's just so tempting because it's like, well, if it's free, why not? But it's also like, but I come from a family that's very like, my parents would kill me if I ever got anything done anyway so but I also feel like I've got my mum's nose

so I kind of want to you know I don't think I mean I don't think there's anything wrong with your nose but you know I get that

because obviously I've done the whole 360 like filler not filler thing and first of all if anyone's actually if we haven't cut this bit out um free filler is stupid idea never do it you can't complain because it's free but then yeah

then there's there's just so much wrong with that like you're not allowed to advertise specific things on instagram so then why all of a sudden you're giving it out for free yeah um and also like people some people's prices are ridiculous like how are you even like my friend couldn't even buy the product for that price. And they're dishing it out like Skittles. That's mental. And do you know what? Actually, I think when you're more comfortable with yourself in the public eye

and how you look, no one can say anything to hurt you. Yeah. So, like, I remember coming out of Love Island and people saying, oh, your lips, you're this, you're that. And I got more and more insecure because I'd had these things tweaked because I was insecure and now I've had them all removed yeah if you said that to me I'd be like well suck your mum but that's what that's the thing as well with Love Island it's very like I think people think that they can say anything

because they don't think you'll see it do you think that with TikTok though because you've got more followers on TikToks then you're less likely to see it i do actually genuinely do you know what's weird i do think people think i will never see what they say but i have a weird thing where i go through all my comments yeah i will spend hours just being like but i sometimes if a video is going really viral i make the conscious effort not to um go through the comments especially if it's like a stitch with a guy because straight men on twitter are fucking knobheads so yeah andrew tate army yeah fuck off andrew tate he's really doing my nut in these he's raising these little goblins do you know i want to know andrew tate how does it feel for my podcast if you're ahead of yours

and i'm not paying you 80 of of any of the money I make? Yeah, Andrew Tate. How does that feel? What colour is your Bugatti now? No, I'm joking. Suck me nips. I don't know. I just don't see it.

No, you don't want to. His brother's fit though. I'll take him. They are the same person. Oh, never mind. He's just a better looking version. I'll take it. But, you know, actually,

one thing that I found really helpful on TikTok is word filter. I've heard about this. Do you use this? this no but my friends did they were getting cancelled um she filtered loads of words and it really helped but the thing is i'm very i'm just this person that i should not look but i will i like to see i don't like to see it because it upsets me but i have to see it you have to know yeah yeah it's like when people go about tattle don't like to see it because it upsets me, but I have to see it. Because you have to know. Yeah. It's like when people go about tattle, don't look. And automatically I'm like, I have to look. Like I literally have to.

Daily Mail, that Daily Mail article, I was like, do you know what? The worst thing you could do right now is go through the comments. And I just went straight there and I was like, I'm an ugly ogre. And then I was like, his name is Brexit123. So... Says it all. Yeah, I was like, never mind. But like, no, I think that ugly ogre. And then I was like, his name is Brexit123. So...

Says it all. Yeah, I was like, never mind. But like, no, I think that's the thing is that you're constantly told not to read the comments. But sometimes it's just impossible. No, I'm sorry.

Anyone would. I'm sorry. Anyone would. And you can all say, just don't read the comments. Until you're in this position, you can't say that because you want to know.

Obviously, sometimes I need humbling, so I will look at my hate comments I don't think you need humbling when I'm getting too big for my boots I'm like someone call me an ugly bitch and I'm like okay fine

I mean earlier you did say two grand for a card holder so I'm thinking Jesus Christ I don't know what this girl is spending her money on I don't know what she's doing I didn't buy it by the way now I feel like

when I'm going to ask a politician if they know what a loaf of bread costs yeah but I won't do that thank you because I don like when I'm going to ask a politician if they know what a loaf of bread costs. Yeah. But I won't do that. Thank you. Because I don't think I know, actually. I don't think I know, yeah. But obviously, we've spoken about how you're very careful.

You count your pennies. You obviously don't buy anything flashy because you thought a card holder would be two grand. Yeah. And it makes me want to know how you carry your shit around. But I just have never bought anything designer. card holder be two grand yeah um and makes me want to know how you carry your shit around but i just have never bought anything designer but i'm so i had no clue so then what are your plans financially like this is a i feel like this is a very like personal question but like you know

now you finished uni move into london yeah so do you know what it is also that bag's fake just to clarify that that I can tell because of the colour difference to mine oh my god it's so true it's my mum's as well it's been worn I'm in London constantly now and do you know what

I was one of those people I was like I'll never move to London it's a fucking waste of money here I am I feel like it's a rite of passage it's true if you earn the right to be here I'm here

so fuck it but I'm gonna move to london definitely i don't know where i don't want to rent though that's my only thing i don't want to rent because i genuinely feel like that is like wiping my ass with my hard-earned money and then flushing it down the toilet so i'm just gonna i've saved so much money and then I'm just gonna buy I've never heard anyone refer to the housing market as wiping their own arms

and I think that's a good analogy have you ever considered cancelling your Netflix subscription my dad pays for it maybe your dad should cancel your Netflix subscription no honestly but it's a hard I was thinking of getting rid of my car anyway because you don't need a car in London.

I feel like, do you know what it is? I've noticed a lot of people, this is what I've noticed in this industry, a lot of people like to make it look like they have money. The people that look like they have the most money have the least money. Yeah. If you're seeing someone with like a Lamborghini,

I'm not talking about HS Tiki Dua, I don't know how much money he has, but like if you see someone with a Lamborghini like Prada bags through and through like blah blah they usually have excuse me

do you have a Prada bag and a Lamborghini? no I don't have a Lamborghini you do? no I don't have a Lamborghini oh my god I was like shit sorry Sharon put salt in my wounds

so I don't do gross but like if they have loads of flashy shit their Instagram's just flashy shit I guarantee you they don't do gross. But like, if they have loads of flashy shit, if their Instagram's just flashy shit, I guarantee you, they don't have as much money as you think. And it's that quote,

rich people stay rich by not spending their money. That famous saying. I think I butch that. You can never tell rich persons... It's like Adam Sandler. Is it? Wealth whispers. Money talks.

Yeah, that sounds a lot better so adam sandler wears the same fucking like long baggy shorts and gross t-shirts but he literally has so much money you'd never guess it that's true actually like and i think that's one thing that people don't really understand about this industry is that people are just flashy for the likes and stuff and i think it's so unnecessary because you know like i've i did all right for myself before any social media and i'd be fine tomorrow if it disappeared but i constantly get asked what's the biggest thing you've spent you've bought since you've left love island and i sat there for ages and i don't actually think i've bought anything yeah

i can't think either. I think it's more I'd like to do something with my money that actually like, like more maybe for my parents, so cliche, but I would like to do like a lot for my parents because they've had to spend so much money on me. Like I'd at least like to be able to pay off their mortgage or like buy them a little holiday home that they can go to or something like that.

Or just like nice things. Like my mum the other day she was like oh I like this I was like get it for you oh nice yeah do you know what I mean it's like a nice child no I've got three siblings okay I was just thinking if you're Asian a lot of there'll be a lot of pressure on you right now yeah no I haven't really got that much pressure on me because my mum looks at my like stuff and I'm proud to have her she likes it. She'll be like, I really like this. And she'll be trying to walk out the house with it. I'm like, come back here. Excuse me, I'm not rich yet.

That's why all of my designer bags are fake. She can have them. Cheers. So the final question that I'm going to ask you, and then you can stop sweating out of every pore of your body. I appreciate it. Basically, I'm going to ask this to every future guest, but I want to know what you would say

to somebody who doubts you and your future success because you are a woman. I would say, and I've always said this, like, do you remember boys at school would be like, girls aren't funny. You're not funny because you're a girl. Like, it was just a thing that girls weren't funny. And I just say, like, look at the women

that have paved this way already. Like, all of the comedians, like, even Miranda, Joanna Lumley, absolutely fabulous, like, shows like that. Amelia Dims, even, is like a modern, like, person. There's been so many women to pave the way for female comedians and it's only going to continue. If anything, it's going to get more as well.

So I would say women are funny. You're not funny. Your balls stink. Focus on yourself. Can I put that in? Mic drop? Yeah. They're attached to the table.

Thank you. Me and Joanna Lumley walking off into the sunset together as funny women. can i put that in mic drop yeah they're attached to the table but thank you i think that's me and joanna lumley walking off into the sunset together as funny women if not you could always um send them screenshots of the stats of your mid podcast yeah yeah and then i'll be like what podcast is your on what what is your podcast on i've had so much prosecco now i don't know what i'm talking about i haven't had two glasses she's got I'm chatting shit. We'll leave it there before you do say something that will cancel you because I don't want to be in charge of that.

God bless. No, thank you so much for being on my podcast. I would cheers you but I've got really bad pit stains because it's so hot in here. I will just cheers. Cheers.

Yeah, thank you so much for being on my podcast. It's been a pleasure. It's not been so scary to have a serious conversation for once. No, I might try it more often. No, don't do that. I won't do that.