Brett Neustrom Took Over TikTok — Now He’s Coming For TV

Growing up, Brett Neustrom always knew he’d end up in Hollywood. But that was a long way from his home in Des Moines, Iowa. “I really wanted to be that 18-year-old who's like, ‘I didn't go to college. I moved right to LA.’ But my parents were like, ‘No, you have to go to college,’” the social media star says. He’s Zooming me from his LA home, so you’d think his dreams came true — but there’s still something off.

“I have a stye right now,” the 27-year-old says, pointing to a lump near his eye. “But I still had to film four brand deals yesterday. I'm like, OK, nobody say anything about the huge sunglasses I’m wearing in this video.”

This stye may have completely derailed a younger Neustrom, but after several years in LA, he’s now learned how to deal with the city’s little punishments. “If I moved to LA at 18 like I wanted, I would've lasted three weeks and been like, ‘I'm so scared, I need to go home.’”

He made the big move at 22, intent on pursuing his acting dreams at long last. But life had another plan for how he’d find fame. Instead of getting cast to play parts on the big screen, Neustrom brought his characters to TikTok, garnering millions of views on his videos about charismatic retail employees and celebrity ad spoofs. He has nearly 600,000 followers now — but there is a drawback to his observational skits.

I was like, ‘I made it. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. This is Hollywood.’

“People around me assume certain videos I make are about them,” Neustrom says. “Like, I made one about your friend who's mean to the waiter, and randomly five of my friends thought it was about them. And it wasn’t about any of them. I constantly have to say, ‘No, don't worry. It's not about you. You're fine.’ I'm not talking sh*t about them through my videos.”

Neustrom stumbled his way into the TikTok world after a rough start in Los Angeles. “I was so sad for a year when I first moved here,” he recalls. “I was just alone in my apartment doing Instacart for a passive income. I would look at every casting website, and if it said, ‘We need the back of someone's calf,’ I was submitting myself. It would be like, we're paying you $98 for a 12-hour shoot, and it's also three hours away. I was like, ‘I made it. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. This is Hollywood.’”

It was a chance encounter with a well-known influencer that got him to shift his focus to social media. “I ran into Emma Chamberlain in the Philz Coffee parking lot, and I took a video doing the Renegade with her,” Neustrom says.

He posted that as his first TikTok video in early 2020, and began to get more popular during the pandemic. “I did one in my parents' basement where I was someone who got arrested, and I didn’t want them using my side profile for the mugshot, and it did really well,” Neustrom says. “It’s hard to watch back now because I don’t think it’s very funny, but I remember being in my friend's car like, ‘Oh my God, I just got 2,000 likes. It's 3,000 likes now.’ Freaking out, calling my mom.”

It definitely took a lot to learn my value is not in my likes.

The initial success was exciting, but becoming a viral sensation also forced Neustrom to learn some difficult lessons. “It took me a long time to not care what the public thought about me,” he says. “I feel like I'm at a good place right now where I don't really take any comments to heart. I don't take my video not performing to heart. But it definitely took a lot to learn my value is not in my likes.”

In 2025, Neustrom’s videos have blown up more than ever, and he’s expanded his online footprint with his new podcast Dialing In. He’s found the podcasting world to be tricky to navigate so far. “I assumed my social media following would transfer over more to listeners. But I think it is just a completely different beast,” Neustrom says. “It's very hard to stand out when you're starting a new project. But I love doing the podcast so much. It's honestly not doing as well as I initially hoped, but I just feel so much closer with the people who do listen.”

Surprised by how critical he is of his own work, I remind Neustrom that the podcast is still very new (having launched in July), and still has a lot of time to grow a larger audience. “Yeah, I need to stop talking like that,” he says. “I feel like I've been building this one following for so long, and this is the first time I’m starting over from ground zero. When I started posting online, it was just throwing sh*t out there. With the podcast, I’m really honing in on the vibe I want, and that has been a lot of fun.”

While podcasting has been a refreshing challenge, Neustrom’s core focus remains on pursuing his true dream. “Acting has always been my main goal,” he says. “It’s so hard to break into, but that's why I'm fortunate for social media, because it's given me a way to be creative and show off my voice online.”

He just shot a miniseries that he wrote, which he’s hoping will get picked up by a network. He feels especially heartened by the recent TV successes of fellow social media stars like Rachel Sennott and Benito Skinner. “I think we're at a really interesting place in the industry right now where people are recognizing digital creators in the more traditional space, which is really cool,” Neustrom says. “Obviously, there are a lot of digital creators who just are like, ‘Wait, now I want to act. Wait, I want to be a pop star.’ But there are also so many people with real talent who have a digital background, it’s exciting that the industry is recognizing their worth now.”

Now, Neustrom is putting all his energy into getting that big break. “God willing, I book a role here shortly,” he says. “God willing, I book the biggest role in Hollywood and you all can't look away without seeing my face.”