She’s the everyday Kiwi mum-of-two whose dry, droll and hilarious videos of her daily life have wormed their way into the hearts of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders – and now she’s officially New Zealand’s best TikToker! Lisa Perese-Cullen was crowned Queen of Aotearoa-Tok at a glitzy ceremony in Sydney last week, but the star content creator says she’s come back down to earth swiftly – with piles of laundry, a fancy dress to return and a husband to resume “gently bullying”. Her vlogs, featuring her cleaning, swigging a glass of wine or simply going about her day are always accompanied by her dry humour that often takes a dig at her husband, kids or herself in a way that just makes you stand up from the couch and scream, ‘me too!’.
We chatted to Lisa a few days after her incredible win – which she’s proud to say she celebrated with a KFC Zinger Burger (with cheese of course!)
Capsule: Thank you for taking the time, and oh my God, congratulations. Last week must have been an absolute whirlwind for you.
Lisa: Yeah, absolutely, still kind of coming down from it now and resettling back into normal life at home.
Is it quite a contrast? Like, being all dressed up in the most incredible dress, winning this amazing award in Australia, then you come home and it’s like, “Oh yeah, nothing has changed?”
[Laughs] Pretty much, and I’ve got to send the dress back.
Oh yeah, the other side of the glamorous TikTok life!
Yeah!
So how was the experience? What does it feel like to be New Zealand TikToker of the Year? That’s such an epic achievement.
It’s still very surreal, to be honest. It’s still sinking in. I’m just buzzing a little bit. I think what I noticed is that I was in such a big category with some of my peers, people who have been doing this for years and who have genuinely paved the way as well. So it was great, but it was very humbling. You can tell by my face when they announced my name! But yeah, no, it’s been really amazing to have the recognition.
I read that you didn’t actually intend for TikTok to be your thing when you started. It was for Harper James, your lingerie brand, right?
Yeah, that’s right – as any good business owner knows, you’ve got to jump on social media. So I thought, let me just start a personal account and see what happens. I had no idea how to use TikTok at first – it was so bloody hard compared to Instagram where you just post a picture, right?
YES I find this too – it’s really confusing. I’m not really on it because I don’t understand how it works… God I couldn’t be more millennial.
Oh I was the same, it took me a few attempts, but again, I had zero social presence. I didn’t feel the pressure to make everything perfect before I posted. I was just mucking around. Then probably what really took off was that I was just vlogging from home, showing my normal everyday stuff, but I decided to muck around with the commentary a bit, and then it just snowballed. Like, really snowballed. I think one day I woke up, and I had 5,000 followers. The next day, 10,000. A week later, 20,000, and then, within six months, I was at 250,000. News outlets started reaching out in New Zealand. So yeah, the growth at the start happened so fast that I didn’t have time to really understand what was happening. But once the dust settled and I found my rhythm, I was like, “I could actually lean into all these opportunities. Why not?”
Your account is so relatable and down-to-earth. I know you’ve probably heard the word ‘relatable’ a lot, but it is, especially for a New Zealand woman to see herself reflected back on social media in such a raw and honest way, especially because a lot of TikTok is international. Is it nice to get that recognition for just literally being yourself?
Yeah, I was reflecting on it just recently, and I thought, I’m 35, and this is probably the first time in my life where I’m so comfortable just being myself. When it first started happening, everyone was saying, “Oh, you’re so relatable.” And I didn’t quite get it because I was like, “What do you mean? What else am I supposed to be?” I don’t live a glamorous life or anything out of the ordinary, so I just kind of fell into that naturally.
Has your approach changed since you started? How long has it been now?
Just over two years now, and yeah it has. You have to be hyper-aware of where the internet can take you. As my platform grew bigger, I started vlogging more about my life, but early on, I made sure to set boundaries about what I was going to share and what I wasn’t. Because with social media, it’s so easy to hit “post”, but once it’s out there, it’s in the world. I always encourage people who are starting to create content to think ahead about how their post will be received – what will the commentary be? So, yeah, I’ll always show up raw and authentically, but I also have to check myself and my family. I’m not going to show everything, so being mindful of that was the biggest skill I learned.
We’re the same age – look at us peak millennials – and man, you really notice the difference of the generations when you’re on TikTok, right? It’s fascinating how different things are now for Gen Z – cocial media really changes the game. But also, congrats for being a millennial absolutely nailing TikTok.
[Laughs] Thanks! I know, and it’s funny, I find myself catching myself saying the same things my parents would – “back in my day” etc – but you do find yourself kind of in that position. For me, I think that’s a cool thing about social media, is that there’s no barrier to entry, so anyone can do it. And that’s what I really found at the TikTok awards. I met people of all different ages, all different categories, different niches. It also means that you can control your own narrative – but yeah, I am a millennial through and through. So I have no problem repping that at all!
But I think you also have to be mindful of what you take in. Content is so easy to post now, and everyone wants to have a voice, which is great, but it can get overwhelming. As a parent, I’m aware of how much information is out there. Parents have an opinion on everything – especially on TikTok. I’m really mindful about what I post regarding my kids and parenting. It’s so different to how our parents grew up – they had the news, magazines, newspapers, and that was it. Now, the world is so much more exposed, and we’re aware of so much more. It’s a double-edged sword.
Do you feel like social media has changed how we parent?
Definitely. You can see the shift with things like gentle parenting which is… you know, obviously great stuff… [laughs]. But we’re influenced by the things we see and learn online, and I think that changes how we approach things.
Have you had any blowback on social media? I mean I know the answer to this but…
Yeah of course – I’m fortunate in that I don’t tend to get overly controversial, and my content is more about making people laugh and smile. But of course, people will form opinions about you, whether you do right or wrong. And I’ve learned that if I spent all day correcting assumptions about me, I’d have no time left. You just get to the point where you block out the noise and keep going. The opinions still come though.
Do you find that the posts you think will get no attention are the ones that somehow become the most controversial?
Yes! It’s always the posts you think won’t get much attention that end up blowing up. I posted a blog once where we were just car shopping, and we popped into Toyota. I thought nothing of it. Then people started turning it into a “why are you not looking at electric cars” thing, and then a climate change debate, and suddenly it became this huge thing. It’s like, “Is this really what you’re focusing on?”
Oh my god, that’s insane?!
Yeah, it’s funny because sometimes my cleaning videos end up on the wrong side of TikTok – men will comment, “yes, she should be doing this.” This isn’t for you, mate! Then sometimes it ends up on the feminist side, and they’ll say, “Why are you cleaning? Where’s your husband?” It’s just like, “Oh my God, guys, relax.”
Man, social media really is wild. I have to say I love when your mum pops up in your videos!
Yeah, it really is, and I mean it’s such a relatable dynamic. We’re not always best friends – sometimes she annoys me – but at the end of the day, she’s my number one babysitter, so I can’t be mad at her for too long!
This award must give you some inspiration to keep going. Do you feel renewed motivation to push on?
Yeah, it’s definitely a confidence booster. For the longest time, I doubted myself, so winning that award was like, “Okay, I am on the right path. I must be doing something right.” It’s not so much about pushing further, but more about feeling grateful for where I am. Even if I didn’t get another follower tomorrow, I’d be happy with the community I’ve built. The bigger you get, the scarier it gets.
I use Instagram too – in a kind of opposite way around than they’re thought of, I use Instagram for my more raw and unfiltered stuff, and TikTok is my videos.
Have you celebrated yet?
Yes! By the end of the night, there was an afterparty at a club, but we were all a bit over it, so we went to KFC and had a wine at the hotel instead. It was perfect. The afterparty was at a club – like, da club. I’m 35, there was just no way.
But look I take this all with a grain of salt, it’s all a popularity contenst and I just think it’s quite funny. I’ve never been popular in my life! I was so shy and quiet at school, so I have people I went to high school with DM’ing me being like, ‘what has happened!?’ High school me would be VERY surprised at me now.
Ha! Also there was so much Māori representation at the awards, which is really cool. It’s amazing to see how Māori and Pacific Island creators – like How to Dad (Jordan Watson) and Nix Adams – are making their mark.
Yeah, we talked about that at the table. It was a huge moment because, as I said, social media has opened the doors for Māori and Pacific Island creators to showcase our humour, our culture, and just our unique personalities. It’s been such an incredible opportunity. We were all so supportive of each other, especially the Kiwis at the table. We got on like a house on fire. We were the loudest ones there, cheering each other on. It was great. I’m pretty our table was the only one drinking!
And you’re still balancing the needs of your business?
It’s always going to be my first priority – content is like is a very, very close second. But, you know, building something like Harper James, my dream is that to be it’s going to create that longevity for me, because I’m fully aware that social media has got its time limits and I might get to a point with social media that I don’t enjoy it anymore. Then I’d probably stop it all together. The whole ethos of our brand is just being able to create something for all the woman in my family, the woman that I grew up with, you know, they’re not your standard size eight models, and they’ve got big personalities. And I just think that that’s such a cool thing to showcase about women, is that we’re more than just being pretty or just your body. Hopefully that resonates in my content as well, because I think people are still very shocked when they hear a woman being funny,
Still?!
Yeah, I still get comments from people who are surprised a woman is funny!
Do your kids at least thing you’re cool?
Nah I’m stll working on that one. Although they have taken the trophy to school today to show their friends, so I’ll take it !
And as you head into the rest of the year, how are you feeling?
Exhausted, to be honest! But I’m ticking things off my list so I can sign off for the holidays and have some downtime. It’s been a huge year, so I’m looking forward to taking a break!