#231- Rachel Marie Vining: Rae's WAY Overdoing It | Behind the Scenes with a Viral Content Creator

This week, I had a fun chat with Rachel Marie Vining, also known for her trademark “Rae’s WAY Overdoing It”! She’s a content creator who’s gained a following for her funny, relatable sketches, including Jojo Siwa impersonations and comedic takes on the homeschool experience.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Rachel's upbringing as a homeschooler and how it inspired her content.
• The dedication it takes to create short-form comedy, from writing scripts to filming.
• How she transitioned from something she loved but was discouraged from doing as a kid into a successful career as a full-time content creator.
• The challenges and rewards of supporting herself entirely independently through her platforms.

With 274K YouTube subscribers and 73K TikTok followers, Rae’s story is a great reminder of the power of passion and perseverance.

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Rae’s WAY Overdoing It | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

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Link to all things Not in a Huff Podcast: https://linktr.ee/notinahuffpodcast

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
In some way, I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin, but now I do because I do have a community where people love my ideas and I'm never overdoing it.

(00:09):
They always want more. They always want to see more. And that's what makes me happy about the life that I get to live.
Welcome to Not in a Huff with Jackson Huff, where we interview newsmakers, storytellers and all around interesting people.
Sit back, relax, unless you're driving, and enjoy the show.
Here's Jackson.

(00:30):
Hello, hello, hello. I am Jackson Huff. This is Not in a Huff. Thanks so much for joining me. As always, really appreciate it.
This week, speaking with Rachel Vining. Now, you may know her better as Rae's Way Overdoing It.
She is an internet personality. She's made content on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram, TikTok for many years.

(00:52):
She's really good at the short form comedy videos. Some of her biggest ones are ones where she imitates and does sketches as JoJo Siwa.
She grew up actually as a homeschooler. So she has a lot of sketches kind of as a homeschooler.
And you know, you know, you're a homeschooler when X and Y happens. Yeah, I really enjoyed this conversation.

(01:17):
I got to learn just about her passion behind being a content creator. I got to hear just how much goes into creating content.
You know, we've spoken to creators before, so it's no secret that a 30 second video may take hours to write the script for and even longer to actually film.

(01:38):
And she kind of goes into pretty good detail when it comes to that. I really appreciate her insights there.
She's a really fun person. You know, it takes somebody that's dedicated and passionate to do what she's doing.
It's really cool that she's been able to take something that she enjoyed doing.
You'll learn take something that she was kind of stopped and suppressed from doing as a kid and be able to to really make it a career at this point.

(02:05):
So I really, really enjoyed speaking with Rachel. I think you're really, really going to enjoy this too.
If you haven't already or this is your first time listening, go follow along with the podcast on Facebook, Nottingham for Jackson Huff, on Instagram and TikTok, Nottingham Podcast.
Go subscribe. Go follow along on Apple and Spotify. That helps a ton. But let's get right to the interview.

(02:28):
Here is Rachel Vining or a.k.a. Ray's way overdoing it. How are you, Ray?
Hey, I'm doing great. Really excited to be here.
I'm excited to have you. Just I'm going to let you do the heavy lifting right off the gate. Just introduce yourself if you would.
My name is Rachel Vining and my screen name persona is Ray's way overdoing it.
And I create comedy skits on all platforms.

(02:50):
My goal is to create original, relatable comedy skits.
And I was actually inspired by the sketch comedy show called Studio C, which is like a Mormon version of SNL.
And so that's how I got started.
Oh, that's really cool. I want to I want to kind of break down a good chunk of that.
And let's kind of start in the very beginning of your of your time online.

(03:12):
What made you, I guess, go down that path?
You said that you were inspired by Studio C, but what made you decide, hey, this is something I can I can do and I can make people laugh.
Well, I started off making a lot of different videos all over the place.
I knew I wanted to make videos. I knew that I wanted to be seen and just do something online.

(03:33):
But when I started making comedy skits, which takes in the process of thinking about something,
writing it, perfecting it, acting it, editing it, posting it, which is a lot more than just any other normal TikToks that I was trying to do before.
But when I did that, I noticed that I got the most reaction, the most views,
the most people that looked at me as someone who is creating original content instead of just somebody that was like doing a TikTok trend or something.

(03:59):
So my goal was always to make it original.
And it's basically it created its own success. So I just followed that.
I love I love that you we just talked about your it's raised way overdoing it.
So why the way? Why do we got that that qualifier that it's you're not just overdoing your way overdoing it?
No, it's really interesting. And I was just talking about that because I was talking to my friends about I said,

(04:26):
I'm really overcoming this this thing in myself where I always felt like I was too much.
I was told that I was too much growing up.
And I said, I said, I was told that so much that I even named myself, I'm way overdoing it because that comes from a place inside myself where I thought if I just define myself, maybe I will be accepted better.

(04:46):
And I was also raised, homeschooled and sheltered.
And I was I really had my life very dimmed for so much growing up that I felt like I was just too much.
And so I called it raised way overdoing it because I in some way I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin.
But now I do because I do have a community where people love my ideas and I'm never overdoing it.

(05:10):
They always want more. They always want to see more.
And that's what makes me happy about the life that I get to live.
I love that because I thought it's a way cooler story than what I thought it was going to be.
I thought it was just going to be well, somebody already had raised overdoing it.
So I had to be raised way overdoing it. But no, you're you you've got a great story for it.
And I want to kind of I want to I want to go into some of the the actual things that you do.

(05:34):
You know, we talked about that you create these sketches, but I want to kind of talk about some of the series that you do before we,
I guess, before we jump into an individual series, talk a little bit more.
You already touched on a little bit, but talk a little bit more about how you come up with these specific ideas.
So before we get into the series, how do you how do you come up with the ideas to begin with?

(05:56):
So it's really interesting question because a lot of them build on each other.
A lot of them might come up through what I'm thinking about throughout the day.
If you want to know what's on my mind, look at what I've been filming.
It's just the kind of stuff I think about experiences, the boomer skits.
I mean, you got to think about experiences with your family and the Jojo Siwa skits, just seeing what's on my TikTok feed.

(06:19):
But it is also interesting how they build and grow out of each other.
Like, for instance, with the Twenty One Pilots videos I was doing, I just randomly decided to do a video about Twenty One Pilots.
And I mentioned something in that video where I was like, of course, all of our listeners are homeschooled.
And that was the top commented thing about like, I'm homeschooled and I listen to Twenty One Pilots.

(06:40):
And then I was like, wait, what if I make a video about homeschoolers?
And then I made a video about homeschoolers.
And also in that, I refer back to like, we're homeschooled, of course, we listen to Twenty One Pilots.
And things just build on each other.
Like when I make videos about Billie Eilish, it even comes back to her being like, I actually invented my own genre of music.
Unlike Jojo Siwa, like it all builds together and it kind of just they make themselves and the audience in the comments.

(07:07):
That's what helps make them.
Yeah, I noticed that too, and I did a deep dive and watched a ton of your videos here the last few days.
And that was something that popped out because I was not homeschooled.
I had no idea about that. But I was like, is that is that a real thing?
Does does all the homeschoolers like Twenty One Pilots?
I guess that's the case. I guess so.

(07:29):
I mean, I heard it because I was in some homeschool groups, some little ones, because I was very unsocialized.
That's where I learned about it from. And I was like, if you relate to it, goodness knows there's a huge chance other people do.
Yeah. Well, let's let's talk a little bit more about those those individual series.
And I know the ones that you you wanted to kind of highlight, one was the Jojo Siwa series and one was the homeschool.

(07:52):
Let's start with the Jojo Siwa one.
First, I've got to say both her kind of as her her sparkly persona and the I guess the little darker, if you will.
You're very good. You're very you're very good at imitating her.
I like it a lot. You got the laugh down. You got the the rusty voice.
I you do you do a good job.

(08:14):
Well, so that I would say, yeah, just like she does.
That was that was so random that I even ended up doing that.
The first video that I did about her, I find so unbelievably cringy.
But apparently people like it.
And I say like the people decide what I'm going to feel more of because of a video gets over a million views.

(08:35):
I'm like, well, guess what I have to do again. I have to do it again.
But it was just I try to I try to fill a gap in people's minds because everybody was wondering
where does the young, fluffy Jojo come into play with the other darker, meaner, badder Jojo?

(08:56):
And I thought I will create a skit to show how this happened. And that's how that ended up in the
video with 10 million views on Instagram, my most viewed video.
And watch Miss Mojo, if you know that page, they ranked me as like the third best Jojo impression
with SNL being at the top. And I thought that that was so cool.

(09:18):
And Jojo Siro reacted to one of my videos. And that was just like crazy.
And it's pretty cool. And you sent me down a kind of a deep dive of Jojo Siro.
And I went to her page after watching those.
I don't know whether you keep up with with her, but she's she's literally and she said it in the video.
She's had a come to Jesus moment after the fires.

(09:40):
And she says she's not a bad girl anymore, but she never liked alcohol.
Did you did you see that video? I did. I kind of saw I was on her.
I was on her TikTok today. I was actually writing another video.
I think that that had to do with all the people on TikTok where they were like saying like,
oh, the band's happening. And so we're confessing all of our secrets.

(10:02):
I don't know if she was legit. Yeah, I it seemed I don't know.
You would know a lot more than me. You're you're more the expert on on Jojo Siro than I am.
But let's let's let's move into the homeschooling series.
I assume that you got a little bit of inspiration because it sounds like that's kind of your your childhood.

(10:22):
As well, right? It's crazy that the worst time in my life has become the most entertaining for people on the Internet.
I'm like the things that I have gone through have become what people are like.
I have got to see more of this. I want another day in the life.
Like, I want to see what else you went through.
I mean, God really has a plan for everything in our life.

(10:44):
And the thing with the boomer skits that also ties into my childhood.
The fact that the way that I was talked to is literally something that people find relatable, inspiring and entertaining is huge.
How do you I guess how does how does that make you feel?
I've talked to a ton of comedians and they have almost that same same reaction that some of the some of the roughest,

(11:07):
craziest things that have happened are the things that people love to laugh at about my life.
And they've they've come to terms with, hey, maybe that kind of stunk for me at that moment.
But, you know, it's it's benefiting me now.
I've been able to kind of turn the table and take ownership of the moment where I didn't feel like I was in control.
So I made that really, really kind of a deep question.

(11:27):
But how has that been for you? Has it has it been something that's, I guess, kind of allow you to regain that power or are you still uncomfortable with it all?
I mean, I wouldn't say that I'm uncomfortable with it because it's really interesting that I moved out and I got rid of all my skirts.
And now I need skirts on these videos.

(11:47):
I live with my grandparents right now and I borrow my grandmother's skirts.
And I'm like and lately she was just like she's like grandma.
Grandma was like, Rachel, just keep the skirt in your room.
I don't even wear it anyway.
So now it stays in my room with all my costumes.
And I also use my grandfather's clothes for my Billie Eilish skits because they're really big.

(12:09):
But it all works together.
But yeah, the homeschooler's skits, it's really interesting.
It's almost kind of healing when you don't have to be quiet about something like it is a bit over dramaticized.
I mean, I'll admit, not everything actually happened.
But I figured out the basis of what people find so almost tragically entertaining because they're all concerned about the day in the life of the homeschoolers.

(12:36):
Now, the walking, I call them the homeschooler walking ones.
Those are also interesting, but I love the way that the day in the life of a homeschooler's is this immersive experience to the point where even in the caption,
when I'm writing captions, I'll type something like, please let me go out into the real world again.
Please help.
Like just to mess with people's minds.
Yeah, I'm kind of shocked by something you said that most of the Billie Eilish costumes are your grandpa's clothes because I've watched those videos and think, dang, those outfits look just like her.

(13:07):
So apparently she dresses like a grandpa, right?
I don't know how to feel about that, but I guess that's the case.
If you put grandpa clothes on a on a female figure, it's Billie Eilish.
I just wrote another one, another Billie Eilish walking today.
I'm sitting in the coffee shop writing it.
And one of the lines is something like it's like I'm Billie Eilish.
Of course, my style looks like I read in my 300 fan uncle's closet or something.

(13:32):
Sounds like it for sure.
So before we, I guess, continue on on on the regular interview, I like to play a couple of games to get to know the guests better.
We've got I've got three games in the series.
We're going to play two of them.
This is the only time in the podcast that it it helps to have ever listened to the podcast before, because I'm going to tell you the names of the games, not tell anything else about them.

(13:56):
And you'll have to pick the two that you want.
All right. OK, I'm scared.
You shouldn't be there. Very, very, very, very easy.
So the first one, do you want to play podcast realities?
You want to play rapid fire? Generally no follow up.
Or do you want to play Bravo?
Your pictures being framed. Oh, well, the first one caught my attention because it said reality and I love reality TV.

(14:20):
And Joe just see one dance.
So that one caught my attention.
I will start with that one and it has nothing to do with reality TV.
So great. So the first one is just it's a segment.
On realizing that podcast, we know very, very little.
You know, when when we're listening to a podcast, no one's seeing this.

(14:42):
They don't know the people around. We don't know anything.
I can see you, but the people who are listening do not see you.
So I've talked to talk to people that have got their phone propped up on a box.
I've talked to people who got their cats running behind them.
So we're going to kind of break down what your podcast reality is right now.
So we're going to talk. We're going to give you five questions starting easy, getting slightly more hard about your surroundings.

(15:07):
OK. All right. So the first one is how are you joining me?
Are you on your computer? Are you on a laptop? Are you where we are?
I'm on my phone. So sometimes we talked before we start about, you know, whether it was going to be video or not.
So sometimes people get all dressed up. I've had clowns put on their clown makeup.

(15:27):
I've had people get in in their suits. How much effort did you put into getting ready for this?
Did you put did you put on crazy amounts of makeup?
Did you make sure you're wearing your best outfit from your grandma's closet?
What did you know? No, I was literally I was out of the coffee shop writing and I had on this shirt and I had on this and I was like rushing home.

(15:50):
And I was like, I want to look like I'm a little fun for the podcast.
And so I just popped on eyeliner in this blue stuff that I got.
So I have on black eyeliner and then I have for the people listening.
Da da da da. I have on little blue accents to match my turquoise sports jacket.
And then I did put lip liner on on top of the lip gloss that I was wearing.

(16:11):
So I'm really not I don't take a long time getting ready.
I used to as a child, but that was also when I was super insecure about literally everything and named my channel.
I'm way over doing it. But that's you know, that's how it was.
Well, it all works out just fine.
I want to I want to talk now about, you know, outside of our babbling, we've already talked quite a bit.

(16:32):
Is there any animals in the room that hasn't gotten their 15 minutes of fame?
Is it just you?
No, I shut the dog out because he's noisy, especially when he has a squeaky toy.
But it's just me.
And I don't have a dog in here.
Sometimes sometimes he sneaks in.
But you are already you are already I normally say this is the question I normally ask.
I say I leave it up to TMI to ask whether you wear pants.

(16:53):
We've already seen seen that.
I normally don't ask that question.
You've got pants. Oh, you're answering several questions here because it is.
Did you decide to wear shoes at the very least socks to the interview?
Yeah, I always wear Adidas slides, specifically the aqua slides with that nice arch support.

(17:13):
Love arch support.
We'll probably won't play.
We'll probably skip to the other one.
We won't play rapid fire because one of the questions there.
Rapid fire is all is all about asking you questions that I really have strong opinions about,
but I don't I don't say my opinion.
We just move on.
But you just showed me something to have a strong opinion about socks and sandals is not the look.

(17:37):
Are you a socks and sandals girl?
I am not a socks and sandals girl.
I am a very well thought out person.
I would not leave the house like this.
But obviously, I didn't think that my people would be making a debut on my first podcast interview ever.
But also, I'm transparent about what's going on down there.
So you wouldn't leave the house in socks and sandals?
Of course not. Never.

(18:00):
Oh, well, at least at least we've got that.
That the last question in this in this little game is again, I'm not going to ask for proof here.
But if we were to turn your camera around 360 degrees, are you are you all at all embarrassed of your room?
Is it is chaos around you?

(18:20):
Are we good?
No, I'm an absolute freak.
I just I did not know that that subway cup was right there.
That is kind of bothering me.
But other than that, I keep I cannot go to sleep until everything is clean.
And if I put something down, I immediately put it away.
You're you're better than me for sure.
So I that's awesome.
So end of end of the end of the first game.

(18:43):
All right. So let's let's get back to the actual questions.
We're going to go back to the second game here in a moment.
But I want to I want to talk a little bit more about what goes into to making your videos.
I know that it's a process, you know, a 30 second clip on TikTok.
I'm sure it takes slightly more time for you than 30 seconds to make.

(19:06):
So talk a little bit about that process.
Yeah, definitely.
So it's it always takes longer.
And my least favorite process is the writing process.
That's what I did today.
I tried to knock that out, typically the first day of the week.
So I don't hate myself and dread it later on.
But I typically take I literally have a whole day just designated to writing.

(19:30):
And yes, it can take a whole day of writing just to get three good skits.
Now, today I push myself to get six skits written, but two of them were half written.
And I like to batch the skits that I write sometimes, but pushing out three a week.
I will typically take one to two days to film them.
And it used to be I would take a day to edit them.

(19:52):
But I've hired an editor, which I highly recommend, because
that used to be the also a part of my week I did not look forward to.
But writing is what's fun about writing is coming up with,
oh, I want to make a video about this.
I want to make a video about this.
I want to make a video about this.
What isn't fun is going.
What's going to be the setting?
In what order are these things said in?

(20:14):
Like, how do we get from this point to this point?
What's the funniest part?
Do we put that at the end?
So a lot of people just think that a TikTok is comprised of just like,
oh, it'd be funny if I said this and then I did this and then I did this.
My TikToks, I'm just so highly thought out that every time I'm writing a skit,
I'm thinking about audience retention.

(20:36):
I'm thinking about what do they need to immediately see that is going to make
them want to watch further along in the video?
What's going to make them be like, what did she just say?
I have to comment about this.
Did she really just say that?
And what are they going to see at the end that says that was a good video?
I'm going to send that to my friends.
So all of those thoughts go into the writing process.
And it's not about what I want to see.

(20:57):
It's about what my audience wants to see.
So I'm always thinking about how to make it more either relatable,
engaging, or maybe even a rage bait.
But whatever I'm trying to accomplish, that's what goes into the writing process.
The acting process is, lately it's been really dependent on the daylight
because the daylight hours are shorter in winter.

(21:17):
But depending on like what kind of videos I have to do, some of them I can do in my
room on that wall with the green screen in Instagram, the day in the life of the
homeschoolers, I have to record the voiceover and then I do all the little scenes.
Sometimes I need my grandma to like throw something at me or like throw my
skirt in the fire or something.
And for the walking ones, I have to typically get a friend over to help film me.

(21:41):
And the Billie Eilish ones take so long to film because it's go outside, put on
an outfit, walk, go inside, change clothes, go outside.
It takes a long time, but that's typically what my week looks like creating content.
Yeah.
And I knew that there's a lot that goes into it.
And one telling way that I knew that you put a lot into it is I guess the ones

(22:02):
that you're you're embarrassed about and maybe you're embarrassed about this video
now, but I did a dive into your YouTube channel and you had an episode or you had
a video where you were watching clips that never actually made it online and how
embarrassed you were about those.
And I thought these are good.
So apparently nothing but the best for Ray's way of redoing it.

(22:24):
If these ones were on the chopping block, then she's got high standards.
It's funny.
It's really funny.
You should say that because that one where I'm like, Rachel reacts to her worst
videos ever, which I assume is what you're talking about.
It was a long form video.
So I would have posted those, but I wasn't allowed to.

(22:47):
And that goes back into with the homeschoolers.
I wasn't allowed to.
But were they cringy?
Yeah, but also you need to be cringy when you start out.
That's how you start.
I mean, you have to start and fail and figure out what works.
And that's why so many people don't start because they are cringy.
But yeah, I I would have posted those, but I was very restricted growing up.

(23:08):
And I really wonder what I what my life would look like now if I got to start
when I was 15, when I was 14, when I wanted to.
And it's crazy.
That's where all that comes into the homeschool.
You know, the whole the day to life of homeschooler.
You know what I see in her future?
She should decide that she wants to be a content grader.
I love that.
And if you've ever looked at any of my other videos, I have not videos, podcasts.

(23:31):
I do very different ones.
The fun ones like this and very, very serious ones.
And you keep on touching a little bit on the serious side because I've had a lot
of people on that have have been in some really, really crazy cults.
And then also some really interesting homeschooling environments where they

(23:53):
were in the same one as the Duggar family and that kind of stuff.
So I've had some huge, huge conversations that way.
I mean, you touched it so many times.
I guess what was your your life like growing up?
You were in a very, I guess, confined environment or what?
Share as much as you want.
But I don't want you.

(24:14):
I mean, you've mentioned I just don't want to gloss over it.
Yeah.
So, I mean, I guess it's fine talking about.
I already kind of air it on my videos.
Who knows what my family thinks about those?
I wish the best for my family.
But I was raised as one of those skirt girls.

(24:34):
And I got asked constantly, why do you wear skirts all the time?
Are you not allowed to wear pants?
Are you not allowed to wear eyeliner?
Are you not allowed to wear makeup?
Why don't you have a boyfriend?
Why don't you have a phone?
Why don't you have social media?
It was.
It was bad.
It was definitely a very controlled, very

(24:55):
constantly being watched, very no privacy environment that I was raised in.
And.
Do you want to talk about heavy stuff?
I was driving in the car today and I was thinking about, like, I feel happy.
And then I realized that I never felt happy when I was a child.
I was in a constant state of always chasing something that I thought would lead

(25:18):
to something that would be happiness or constantly chasing the affirmation of
maybe someone online or maybe my friends or maybe something that would make me
finally feel full and happy.
But I guess I was just really depressed
because I never got what I get to have now in the freedom of just being an adult
and being able to pursue what I'm passionate about.

(25:40):
And also, I've been to therapy now
and I really understand a lot about how to function as a normal person and how
the grace of God and what we can actually have in life and that we don't have to
always be stuck in a rat race and sometimes our brain is the rat race that
we are stuck in. But going back to my upbringing,

(26:01):
it was up until age 21 that I would have my phone checked.
I wasn't allowed to drive anywhere on my own yet.
No, 21, 20, 20, 21.
I've been moved out for a year and a half and it's been the longest year and a half
of my life. It's felt like five years.
I have learned so much, made so many mistakes and also become entirely

(26:26):
okay with making mistakes and asking questions.
And that is a huge step for me.
And I really learned the power of just utter and complete honesty and how it
actually opens you up for real connections.
Because as a homeschooler, when she says in those skits,
she's like, we don't want anybody to find out we're homeschooled.
And we think that we keep it a big secret, but literally everyone knows.

(26:47):
And it's not that homeschooling in itself is so bad, but my experience was bad.
And it was a lot of restrictions.
What I could wear, what I could film.
I would film a lot of videos and I'd be like, oh, can I post this?
No, you know, I don't like that.
No, you don't look good.
No, you have a zit on your face.

(27:07):
No, no, I don't like what you're saying,
how you're saying it, how you look when you're saying it, how you're acting.
That can really tear someone apart as a child.
And I am so happy to know that I have
finally reached a point where I am proud of myself.
I'm proud of the things that I have accomplished on my own.

(27:28):
And the fact that all of that is why I
accomplished it is that it really shows us why God puts us through the things
that we do. He has a plan for everything.
All of the hurt, all of the pain.
It's just it's it's massive looking back on it.
And it's it really makes me realize how
everything had a point, even the skirt girl who just wanted to wear a pair of jeans

(27:51):
and never could. And I mean, never.
And I mean, that was
I'm wearing pants right now and I love it.
You're wearing pants and you're wearing
socks and sandals, you're just rebelling completely, right?
So rebellious, so very rebellious.
No, that's that's I mean, that's obviously very, very deep stuff.

(28:12):
But I would tell you that, you know, like I said, I've talked to so many people
in in that world that grew up in in very repressive homes and repressive
societies, and it's I'm sure it's going to be a constant process.
As much as you don't you may not like it, that, you know, it takes time.
And it sounds like you're on the right path.
So I'm really happy to hear.

(28:33):
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Yeah, for sure.
So let's let's go back to your videos and more, I guess, more specifically
something you've already touched on a little bit, and that was managing your
your growth and being very intentional about the videos that you put out, how to
make sure that it gets eyes, talk a little bit about, I guess,

(28:57):
that world and why it's kind of so hard to to be successful.
It is hard and and you've kind of found at least a good chunk of success.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
So I was just telling my friends about this.
I said, have you ever gone to somebody's page after seeing one of their videos
and you thought, oh, my goodness, why do they keep making videos that are so

(29:21):
similar, do they really not have any unique ideas?
I remember thinking that I remember thinking,
why does this person make videos that are all so similar?
And I remember thinking, I don't want to do that.
I want to make all sorts of different kind of videos.
But if you see someone doing something, it's because it works for them.
And I've thought about that in so many areas.

(29:44):
And that's why I don't judge people anymore, because I've realized that I need
to continue giving people what they followed me for, or I will have an empty
following and an empty following is when you have 100,000 followers and you have
a thousand, ten thousand views on your videos and people look at that and then
they want to go, but you got bots like there are people that generally don't have

(30:06):
bots, they just don't know how to monetize their passion and give it to their audience
in a packaged way that gives the audience exactly what they want to see in a steady
feed of stream. So I've done that.
I don't always make videos on the exact same topics, but that's why I do the series.
And that's why I'm very intentional about the way I write the scripts, the way that

(30:26):
I act it, the amount of motion I use.
It's funny, even in the boomer skits,
I literally have noticed the way that I talk back to my mother
incites more conversation in the comments on Facebook.
All the people are saying, you're so
disrespectful to your mother because the audience is older.
On Instagram, people are saying, yeah, you nailed it.

(30:48):
Tell her. Like, so I've noticed things like that.
It's and you know, views are money and I want to be successful.
And I also want to make good products.
And being successful is the product of making a good product that people
consistently want to come back for.
And it's really interesting.
I noticed immediately after I post a video is that if it has Jojo Siwa in it in 10

(31:11):
minutes, it's going to have so many likes because people are like, yes, Rachel,
she does the Jojo Siwa.
There's her doing the Jojo Siwa again.
Like.
And I love that connection.
But if I went off the wall and every now and then I do something off the wall,
like, hey, I just got my wisdom teeth removal done.
That's not why people followed me.
So you can see that that has just 60,000 views because it's not why people

(31:35):
followed me. And that's why you don't want to confuse your followers.
You want to be like in your bio.
I make funny videos. You laugh. Deal.
I make funny videos.
And then when they see something, if somebody followed me for a boomer video,
I need to make sure that every week, every other week, they're getting another
boomer video or they're going to unfollow me because they might not even like Jojo
Siwa. They might not even like the bullying skits.

(31:58):
But that's how I get to tie in all my
audiences and just win their hearts over and make them come back to my page to see
my videos and to feel that connection and relatability with those pieces of content.
How do you manage that without feeling a bit constrained?
It's funny you mentioned the wisdom teeth,
because I talked to someone about three years ago that was a big influencer in the

(32:20):
fitness world that she had, I think, like 500,000 followers in the world of fitness.
You know, she was showing workouts, all that kind of stuff.
And she was struggling at that point because she was also about ready to start
dental school and she wanted to post some videos about her time in dental school
and the struggles of that.

(32:40):
And every time she'd post one of those videos, she'd lose a couple thousand
followers, you know, she'd post another one, lose a couple hundred thousand,
not hundred thousand, couple hundred more followers.
And it was like.
It was really challenging for her.
She's like, you know, all people want me to do is just crank out these one type of
video, I want to show them a little bit more of my world, expand a little bit.

(33:03):
And that is not working.
And it's kind of it was making her feel a little bit bad.
It was making her not have the passion as much anymore.
So how do you how do you make sure that you keep that passion while also
being a little bit constrained to what your followers will put up with?
Yeah.
So that's the part where the bit of delusion comes from the outside world
that they think, oh, you're just an influencer.

(33:25):
You get to get around on camera and people are like, oh, take my money.
And it's not like that because the thing about the dichotomy of being an influencer
is that it's not about me, it's about everyone else.
It is literally about my entire audience.
It's not about me.
It's about what do they want to see.
And that's why I'm not going throughout my day being like, OK, beginning of the day,

(33:48):
guys, here's my routine.
Here's what I'm wearing.
Here's me doing a comedy skit.
Here's me budgeting because that's not what they followed me for.
And of course, I've noticed all of those analytics about like,
I get no interaction when I post this because they're like, girl,
what the heck is this? I don't want this unfollow.
You're losing your trust in your followers.
That is the same reason why we are so

(34:10):
careful about how often we post sponsored content.
You'll be looking through somebody's TikToks and you'll be like,
what is that video right there that just has like 2000 views and you click on it?
And it's like, hi, guys, today I want to tell you about this product that
and that's when you stop watching the video that comes down to audience retention.
And I have a marketing degree

(34:31):
that my mother pushed me through college to get that I didn't want.
You know what? I learned zilch from that.
But what I did learn was from watching
YouTube videos about how to make good ads, how to hold people's attention and how
to be someone that companies want to work with and get huge views on your sponsored
collaborations. I've actually recently signed with a talent agency.

(34:52):
And I love that they prioritize incorporating their product into one of my skits
seamlessly to where it's the kind of ad that you're going to look at and you're
going to be like, oh, there's Rachel doing her homeschooler thing.
She's also using that product and she briefly mentions it.
But then she goes back to the homeschooler thing that I want to see.
And so that's how you get a dog to take a pill.

(35:14):
You put it in the yummiest food and then they're like, good food.
And it is really that simple.
That's well thought out for sure.
Congratulations on joining a talent agency.
That's awesome. Yeah.
Yeah. So let's take a quick break again.
We're going to go back to one of one of these games.
I said we were going to I was I already picked one, but you can do either one of

(35:38):
the last two rapid fire generally no follow up or Bravo.
Your picture is being framed.
Let's do the picture since you already said that we covered some of the rapid fire.
So all right.
All right. So this is this segment allows you to give your props and praise to
something that has happened to you recently, whether the Walmart door greeter

(35:58):
made you smile, whether your new brand of shampoo is changing your life.
Maybe you were finally accepted for that strange collection that you have.
Shout out someone or something
that you're just really, really happy about and kind of give me a little monologue
about it if you don't have something just readily available already.

(36:18):
I can I can give one, but I don't really like to hog the mic.
So it's up to you.
You got one or do you want me to you want me to you want me to talk?
I think I can I can give you a lot of little things.
I do.
I can give you one. Would you like me to give you a lot of little things?
Whatever you feel, whatever, whatever,
whoever needs that picture being framed on the wall as a student of the month.

(36:42):
So it's someone or something.
Correct.
OK, well, my friend Julia has been she's going to watch this now.
She's going to be like, yes,
my friend Julia has helped me through the toughest times in my life.
She has heard me on the phone call when I've been like absolutely spiraling crazy.

(37:03):
Lady, she has helped me through my wisdom teeth recovery process.
And she filmed that Billie Eilish video.
Not only that, but she hyped me up during the process.
And I was like, it is so easy filming with someone when they're excited to help you
instead of just being like, how much longer do we love?
She was so amazing.
And she also went to New York with me and we're going to Tennessee next week.

(37:26):
I don't have any more content planned to film because I actually learned that I
I'm doing better just to keep my content filming at home and not take it on vacation
because, again, giving people what they want to see.
They don't really want to see me go on vacation as much as much as they want to
see what I do normally, but she has been just an absolute blessing in literally
every way. And the more that I talk to her and the more the more engagements that I

(37:49):
have with her, I'm like, dang, this girl is emotionally mature,
thinks logically and highly organized, just like me.
And we get along great.
I love it. Well, bravo, Julia.
Your picture is being framed.
I love that for sure.
Love it.
Let's get right back to the videos and let's talk about something that

(38:10):
I guess has surprised you about being a content creator, surprised you about
the process of creating videos, whether it's good or bad.
What's the surprising detail of that world?
So something that came to mind first when you said that was
it's kind of a bummer, but it is that there is a stigma

(38:33):
that is always where people think that you are always trying to, oh, you're almost
famous now or, oh, so are you famous now?
So, like, I am comfortable wherever I'm at.
But I had one of my older family members
message me on Facebook when I said something about, like, oh,
like, I'm so grateful for 2024.

(38:54):
I just added it up and realized I had, like,
130 million views for the entire year.
Now, that was for the entire year.
But previously, when I had put on Facebook about, oh, my homeschool video got
two million views in 24 hours, he said, well, Rachel,

(39:15):
you're basically famous now or like you're almost famous now.
And I'm like,
thank you.
And it's the stigma about people thinking that we are always on the way to something.
And the thing is that we are in a weird place then, because do we say,
well, actually, I was just saying that that was cool.

(39:37):
I actually have a lot more.
Or do we say, like the dichotomy of are you doing well?
How much money do you make?
And then if you tell them, there's two ways that that can go.
It can be like, I thought you made more than that.
Or it can be like, oh, you make that much.
Like, okay, money bags.
It's like we can't win because if we're really doing well for ourselves,

(40:02):
then people are going to be feeling jealous and then it gets weird.
And if we say something and people are like, I thought this you'd be making more.
Then we feel devalued.
And as a woman, it's a really weird place to be in.
Yeah, I can only imagine that for sure.
I deal with that a little bit with my own podcast.

(40:24):
I work full time.
I work in a university in admissions in the administrative side of a university.
But of course, everyone's always like, oh, you have this podcast.
You interviews all these cool people.
Why do you still do?
Why do you still work at the university?
I'm like, what?
I don't feel you understand exactly how it all works.

(40:46):
So no, I'm with you.
I'm with you for sure.
And this is kind of a good, I guess, a good segue into dealing with trolls,
dealing with people who, I guess, kind of just try to get under your skin.
You know, when I wrote that question,
anybody who is present online is going to deal with trolls at some point.
Anyone who puts himself out there is going to have somebody that just wants to be

(41:10):
a keyboard warrior and knock you back down.
But you've kind of as bad as it sounds to say, you've kind of dealt with trolls
most of your life, it sounds like you've had a lot of people trying to tell you
what to do and how to do it.
So how have you dealt with trolls, both kind of actually?
How do you deal with them online?

(41:31):
And then also, how do you deal with it from a mental health aspect?
So as of right now, I really don't get trolls.
It's actually kind of crazy.
The only place that I've gotten trolls recently was not under this latest
Billie Eilish video that took off, but the one before that where I didn't actually

(41:52):
have the voice figured out as well, I didn't do as great of an I would say.
But it got like maybe 200,000 views on TikTok.
And it was because everyone was saying, like, like, oh, you hate Billie Eilish.
Like, like, and who are you?
Who's famous? Her, not you.
And I'm going, I love Billie Eilish.
Like, people on TikTok are crazy.

(42:13):
If you make any comment about any social
media person or singer, they think that you hate them.
I've gotten that a lot over when I commented on Taylor Swift.
I couldn't say anything about Taylor Swift.
Nothing, not even anything positive.
They'd be like, they'd be like, so you hate her.
And I'd be like, no, I'm just talking about her.
That's the closest thing I've gotten to trolls.

(42:34):
When I like maybe years ago, I'd get more hate comments from like,
I know some older man commented on some Facebook post or something, something like
this isn't really working out for you, your cringe and you need to get a real job.
And I was like, I actually responded.
I said, sir, would you like to see my bank account?
Yeah, yeah.

(42:55):
Did he respond back?
A lot of times people just don't say anything at that point.
I'm like, what do you older men want?
They cannot believe that a woman could be completely self-sufficient and doing amazing.
They don't want to believe it.
And if you tell them, then they just switch their argument around and be like,
well, you ugly anyways.
Yeah.

(43:16):
Yeah, well, that's I feel like there's two ways to deal with it,
whether it's ignore them and just not let it get to you or whether it is kind of
personified because I think a lot of people just hide behind their hide behind their
phones, hide behind their keyboards and don't think, hey, these are real people
that you're that you're trying to be mean to.
And it can affect people in real life.

(43:37):
So sometimes they they back down after that.
But I like to hear that you don't get a
ton of trolls. That's a good thing for sure.
And typically, a, I have so many comments that I don't have the time to read them,
unlike how I used to be.
But also, if I see anything, I don't respond because, A,
I already said, A, but B, they will actually engage more fighting amongst

(44:01):
themselves if I weigh in, they kind of stop.
And so I just leave it be.
And most people, they're not mad at me.
They're just mad about something in the video, whether it's relatable or not or
something, it's not typically about me.
Well, I mean, obviously I don't make short short form videos.
I don't do a ton on TikTok, but TikTok is a is a crazy place for comments.

(44:24):
Just like you said, I've said it before
in an interview, but one of my favorite comments that I ever got on TikTok,
just because it's like, where did you come up with this?
This is like, I don't know.
It's almost genius in the silliness of it.
They said they should make podcast microphones more expensive so people like

(44:46):
this cannot create a podcast like, wow, I almost like that.
That's like you didn't just say, hey,
you suck, you shouldn't have a podcast.
It's literally they should make all podcast microphones more expensive so
you're not able to buy it to have a podcast like, wow,
this one was like fifty dollars.

(45:08):
Exactly.
So I don't know.
I think it's hilarious.
I think that's like, where did you come up with something that crazy?
But I don't think you're going to do it.
He's a reply.
I'd be like, you're so funny.
I love you.
I didn't reply at all.
I normally just stick with not replying too much.
The only times that I reply,
obviously, this is a podcast where I interview a lot of people.

(45:31):
The only way if you want to start trolling me,
the only way that you normally get a response from me is if you kind of like,
I guess, kind of bad mouth the guest, you can say whatever you want about me.
But if I have a guest on, definitely people have like poured their hearts
and souls out and talked about redemption of something bad they've done.
And then somebody just comments, like that person's stupid or whatever.

(45:53):
So that's what gets me to comment back, kind of kind of stick up for the guest.
But yeah.
Well, if they told me I was stupid, I'd be like, well, I definitely act stupid
in my videos. That's why you all like them.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I want to talk about kind of going viral on different videos.
You've already talked about a few of your biggest ones.

(46:15):
But as we know, kind of going viral for whatever that means is a bit of a crap
shoot. Sometimes things you think are going to be awesome.
Don't do anything.
Sometimes you think something that's really silly blows up.
Tell me one on both ends, something that you were like, this is not that great.
But then everyone loved it.
And then something you are really, really proud of.

(46:37):
And it just didn't resonate.
So at first comes to my mind is the Jojo Siwa video.
You don't know how many times I was filming the very first one.
I honestly doubt that you've seen it.
It was a green screen one and it was just Jojo Siwa be like.
And it was the makeup was awful.
I used a filter for the eye color.

(46:58):
It was so bad.
And it ended up getting two million views.
But I was like, I was like this.
I was like, I was like, OK, so Jojo looks like this.
I'm doing the makeup and my grandma goes, oh, what are you wearing?
Oh, you look like a demon.
And I was like, grandma, just me.
I don't even know what I'm doing.

(47:18):
I get in front of the camera and I'm like, yeah,
OK, so she does like this.
And OK, like I got into it and I did the I did the thing in the whole time.
I'm just cringing so hard of myself.
I'm like, I know that some other people are doing videos kind of similar to this.
And it's like working for them.
And she's trendy right now.
And so I try it and I'm going, I'm going, I shouldn't post this.

(47:42):
I want to post it. I want to post it.
But I do it. And then I just don't look at it.
I don't look at it. I'm like, leave it right there.
I don't always do that.
I'm not scared to look at few counts anymore.
But at that point, stuff wasn't working, stuff wasn't taking off.
And I was just like, leave it there.
And I'm going, oh, my goodness, people actually like it.
I thought that I was going to get the comments being like, oh, you're so cringe.
What are you doing?

(48:04):
But that went off and that was crazy.
OK, you said a video that I thought would go off and didn't.
I think of the Nutter Butter video that I did.
I thought that it was a really cool idea.
Back when on TikTok, people were saying, like, what is up with the Nutter Butter
page and why are they posting all these weird horror shorts about like scary

(48:28):
cookies and stuff? And I came up with this idea where I was like,
this is what it was like in the Nutter Butter marketing meeting.
And it flopped.
It got like maybe 10,000, 20,000 views.
But I got peanut butter everywhere, all over my room, filming it.
And like my hands are all dirty.
And I thought it was a great idea, but it just didn't work.

(48:51):
But other things did.
So it's OK.
As long as other things did, that's that's all that mattered for sure.
And you talked about just having peanut butter all over your room.
You talked about raiding your grandma's closet.
What does we can leave your parents out of it?
Because it doesn't even matter.
It doesn't sound like.
But what does your grandparents think of?

(49:11):
Think of everything you do and all this.
All of it. I don't know if they're of a certain age,
they understand the tick tock or not, but how does how does how does your family
react to, I guess, you online?
So they're 80.
And I love it so much because when they have like a friend, an older friend over
or when they're on the phone with something, I'll hear my grandpa say like, oh,

(49:33):
Rachel, she does so great for herself.
She films these little funny videos and she does all these goofy things.
And and she bought us a refrigerator and she's doing so great.
And I'm like, I'm like, that's that's what it's all about, making them happy.
Like they I mean, they understand to a point.

(49:54):
And I also started financially supporting myself through my Amazon storefront.
If you know what that is.
So I also got all these products mailed to me and I film videos for them.
I get the products for free and I make
commissions on there so they get to enjoy all that benefits of like all the products
like like this and like all these things around my house.
I didn't buy it.
It's another great thing that being a creator, it just provides for itself.

(50:17):
But that's a great program to be in.
But they're 80 and they
I used to when I was insecure and I first moved here from my parents and I'd be like,
I'd be like, I don't want anybody to hear me filming.
I don't want to. I don't want anybody to watch.
I just want to be alone.
And I feel embarrassed.
I've gotten over all of that.
I'll just I'll just be like, hey, can you turn the TV down?

(50:39):
I need to like act like an angry mom for like 15 minutes.
I'm so comfortable now and they're, you know, they're used to it.
And every now and then I'm like, I'm like,
grandma, I know this sounds like really random, but can you can you hold the phone
up like this and say, I'll never make an apple pie again?

(50:59):
And she's like, OK, whatever.
And she does it and that went in the day in life of Taylor Swift,
where she said, I need my grandma to break my heart so I can write another good
heartbreak song.
She's like, whatever.
Well, she's she's game.
That's awesome for sure.
Well, I'm definitely not going to ask you anything about how much money you make.

(51:20):
But what we've got to say is you're making enough money.
You've got a refrigerator purchasing money.
That's pretty big.
I'm very blessed.
And I also I also like the fact that I was raised.
I was just telling I was just telling
something about this because they were saying like, oh, I'll give you this.
And I said, you know, that feels so weird

(51:41):
because I was raised always saying you'll never make it in the real world.
You're going to have to find a husband to provide for you.
And and you you don't know, like everything that I do for you as a parent.
I feed you. I put a roof over you'll never all these videos.
They're just they're just a distraction.
You need to go to college.
You need to get a degree so you can do so.

(52:03):
Where is it now?
Like I figured it out and I did it on my own and I didn't need.
I don't have anybody that needs to come to me and tell me how grateful I should be.
I am grateful to people and God and my
opportunities and the people that love me or my grandparents,
who I don't want to move out from right now, even though I could.
But for now, I want to be here with them.
And also, I've only been out for my parents for a year and a half.

(52:24):
But all these stupid videos that I made and all these stupid products that I made
have just loved on me and loved on me and brought everything that I want into
fruition, almost like a whole manifesting thing.
It's crazy.
And I like to think that my parents are proud of me.

(52:46):
But I think part of it burns them up inside.
And that's a weird position to be in.
But they certainly should be.
So whether they are or not, that's up to them.
But you've done some really amazing things and you're in a really, really awesome
place. So this is the only question I have that's like a job interview.

(53:07):
But where do you see things going in the next few years?
I talked earlier about how I had someone on that I spoke with four years ago.
So if we talk in another four years, where do you hope your platform is?
In four years, I would like to be someone who meets up with other creators in person.
More often, I am actually going to my first YouTube event in New Orleans on

(53:32):
like February 8th or something.
They don't normally happen down near me in the South.
But as a content creator in four years,
I probably would have liked to have bought my own house and have everything all
pristine and perfect and pretty to show up in the back of my videos.
And I would like to, like I said,
be able to travel and have more content creator friends and stuff and even get to

(53:54):
the point where I have more of a team behind me to where all I have to do
business wise and content creator wise is exactly what I do best.
So I can even cut down on the things that I'm not as excited to do just so I can live
more of that life where I get to do what I am best at, like the acting and stuff.

(54:14):
I've already outsourced editing and
outsourcing other things would be great because I have to preserve that creative
mental energy that makes the videos good, because when the mental energy is out
there, the videos are not there and they don't turn out good.
I'm with you 100 percent when it comes to getting an editor.

(54:35):
This changes changes your life.
I did that about a year ago and it's made the podcast better.
Not just not just for what people hear, but me personally, I don't have to edit it
anymore. I would be talking to people like right now.
I would be thinking, oh, man, this is almost an hour.
This is going to be really long for me to edit.
Oh, man, I don't really want.
Oh, man.

(54:55):
But now that I don't have to deal with that anymore, I just get to talk and have
fun and it's great. So I love that for you as well.
But yeah, I mean, there's a lot going on.
You post quite frequently and you've got big things in store.
So how can people follow?
You can come by following my socials.

(55:16):
You can follow my Facebook page.
You can follow my YouTube channel.
You can follow my Instagram on my TikTok.
They're all called Razeway over doing it and just finding out which series you like
the best and the ones that do the most, the most views and the most action and
the most traction I'll keep making more of.
And I just want people to help me know what they want to see so I can keep

(55:41):
bringing them new and exciting content every day.
Well, it's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
So that was Rachel Vining.
We learned a ton from her today.
We learned, Ray, I don't really think you are overdoing it.
I think you're doing an amazing job making people laugh and smile.
And I loved getting to talk to her.
So, yeah, thanks so much, Rachel, for being here.

(56:03):
Thank you for being here as a listener.
Rachel's an awesome person.
I urge you to check out her social media, whether it's her TikTok or Instagram
or Facebook, wherever you get your funny videos, she is sure to be there for sure.
We played several games with her, so I
appreciate her willingness to play along, even when I teased her a bit about

(56:25):
her choice of footwear, I guess.
But it was a pleasure speaking with her.
Thanks for being here.
Go check her out.
All the links to her information will be in the show notes.
If you first have listened to this podcast or you haven't already, go
leave a five star rating on Apple and Spotify helps a ton.
So comment, subscribe, follow along, all that kind of stuff on Apple and on Spotify.

(56:47):
Go follow along on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook, all those places.
Not enough podcast or not enough for Jackson.
How about if you do nothing else?
Catch us next week.
Take it away, Chris.
This has been Not in a Huff with Jackson Huff.
Thank you for listening.
Be sure to join us next time where we will interview another amazing guest who is
sure to make you laugh or make you think or hey, maybe even both.

(57:11):
But until then, keep being awesome.