‘Be seen, be you’

A trip to Paris flying business class was the last thing Kylee De Thier might have imagined when he started creating online content. The 21-year-old talks to kaupapa Māori reporter Matai O’Connor about his journey, which is just beginning . .

If I cared about what people thought when I would film myself in class painting my nails, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

That’s a philosophy which has served Kylee De Thier, 21, well. He has been creating content online since he was a young teen.

He has changed his name to Kylee De Thier from Kylee Fleek, which was a play on the term “eyebrows on fleek”. But with age comes wisdom, so he changed his name to better reflect who he is now.

Kylee is of Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga a Māhaki whakapapa and grew up in Gisborne. He has returned after completing a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing at Auckland University.

He went to school at Gisborne Boys’ High.

Being back in Gisborne is a part of his plan to rediscover what he wants to do with his content creation.

He has over 460,000 followers on TikTok, 137,000 on Instagram, and over 8000 subscribers on YouTube. Some of his TikToks have 9.6 million views.

“I really started to see how I could take this seriosuly when I started on TikTok in 2020. I posted and within the first week I went from 10,000 followers to around 480,000.”

Kylee understands how influencers are perceived and he admits they are “ad machines” that create advertistments, in the form of social media posts, to help the brand sell products.

He does this, but he always makes sure he is creating the content. Coming up with a concept, producing it, lighting, music production, admin, website creation  — he does it all.

“I am a one-man band — I can’t afford anyone to do anything for me. If you want to get anywhere in entertainment, it has to be good quality.”

Not all of his social media posts are paid promotions — he genuinely loves social media and interacting with people.

The internet was a place where he could find a community as a young gay Māori in Gisborne, he said.

“There’s not much of a gay scene in Gisborne, and there was never any opportunity to connect to people like yourself, in person. So it felt isolating. But then to be online, I could be myself. I could share what I wanted and I found a community for me. I have hung onto that community ever since I first started.

“The internet opened me up to the world. Whatever niche you’re into, you can find a community online.”

He was also aware that putting himself “out there” online could be a way for others in Gisborne to realise and believe that “If he can do it, so can I”.

Things really took off for Kylee after going on TikTok. Following that he got a brand deal with L’Oreal and from there got a partnership with La Roche-Posay which started off with a trip to Paris, France to do mahi for the brand.

He flew over 30 hours both ways in business class which he had never experienced before and as a Māori boy from Gisborne, never thought would happen.

But it wasn’t just for fun, it was to work.

He had a full itinerary, going to speaking events, posting certain things at certain times, promoting the brand and showing the experience.

“It was full-on. The only spare time you get was better spent having a moment by yourself rather than going out and about,” he said.

“You have to be able to handle being alone a lot of the time working on your content, and then there’s the other side. The side full of PR, events and the glitz and glam; going from being in your room alone, to being fully done up with your face on having to network with people at glitzy events.”

When creating content, he said there was not really a clear process; sometimes it could be hours worked on a 30 second clip.

But with the introduction of short videos like TikToks, Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, Kylee admits he’s not exactly sure what is next for him but he has some plans to do long-form content — videos that are much longer than 30 seconds.

He has plans to start his own YouTube show where he talks about whatever he wants.

His social media isn’t just him doing make-up tutorials; he often posts news or information about LGBTQIA+ rights and issues, along with New Zealand politics and more recently about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“The least I can do is use my platform to share information and news people should see.”

He has some advice for anyone who is contemplating getting into the world of content creation.

“You need to let go of caring about what other people think of you.

“At the end of the day, you know your values, you know who you are and all you need to do is let go of caring about what other people think or say about you. I know it can be hard but you can get through it all. Your struggles build your character and make you who you are.

“Be seen, be you.”