Life & Work with Hannah Neuman of Colorado Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Neuman

Hi Hannah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I graduated from the University of Denver, I was so eager to start my Master’s in publishing at NYU that I forwent walking at graduation and instead finished my finals (quite literally) on a plane headed straight to New York City. My first job was an assistant at Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, and from there, I landed a position at Condé Nast within their “Lifestyle Division.” That included magazines like Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, and Architectural Digest, although my role eventually evolved, and the titles that I worked under expanded to include Vogue, W, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and more.

I quickly found that while working at these huge monolithic titles that lorded over the pop culture spaces — dictating nearly every trend in fashion, entertainment, social media, and more — that I was drawn to the creative work we were doing with celebrities the most. As someone who grew up reading Seventeen Magazine and Cosmopolitan specifically for the celebrity photoshoots, paparazzi walkabouts, and especially the gossip, that’s maybe not exactly surprising. I was at my happiest during the months leading up to our famed September Issues, and I couldn’t get enough of the work I got to be involved in for our fashion week parties that brought celebrities from all over the world to our doorstep. Especially during my time at Interview Magazine, a brand that is well known for having one celebrity interview another (instead of a journalist or staff writer), something that makes their brand an authority and innovator in celebrity storytelling. Andy Warhol spearheaded this idea of “looking behind the curtain” at a celebrity’s life and work, and I quickly found that that was not only a fascination of mine, but something I was naturally good at participating in as well.

Unfortunately, in 2019, my mother was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. I decided to move home to Colorado in order to be closer to her, and the pandemic happened to coincide with my move at that time. Like many others, I took to TikTok as a creative outlet during lockdown. I began posting stories of celebrities I had worked with personally during my time in NYC, and from there I was able to build a platform with a community of people that wanted the inside scoop on Hollywood’s elite. My channel has since evolved to be a place where gossip isn’t a dirty word. Instead, my viewers come to me as a source of well researched, long form “deep dives” that discuss things like celebrities’ past scandals, current entertainment news, pop culture moments, drama, and even politics and current world events. It’s pretty safe to say that 12-year-old me would be pretty impressed with the idea that we were somehow able to make gossiping with friends about celebrities, movies, tv shows and more into a full-time job.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Throughout my life and career, I have often felt like a rather unlucky person (just take a look at my username). There always seemed to be a discrepancy between myself and my peers who appeared to be able to grow and evolve more rapidly and with what seemed like less effort. And as a woman of color, especially in the corporate world where I first started my career, we simply are not offered the same opportunities our often white and/or male counterparts are. However, because of this, it has made me an even harder working person who can now appreciate having persistence, endurance, and durability. I’m not entirely sure I would otherwise recognize that moving forward, even slowly, is still moving forwards and not backwards, and any growth in the right direction should be celebrated!

This is also a profession that can come with burn out, toxic comparisons to others, creative dips and drop offs (that we creative people often internalize), and your mental and physical health can really suffer — whether that be from online bullying or a poor work life balance given the pace and competition of social media these days. However, I’m someone who welcomes the hate comments because it pushes me to be a more genuine version of myself. I believe that confidence and true strength derives from being comfortable with being judged as a person that is my most authentic self, and I will forever be grateful to this career for teaching me to not be afraid of being truly seen. I will always be beyond grateful for the opportunities I have been given along the way, and maybe even more so for the ones I wasn’t. It was only in finding my voice, my creative expression, and my willingness to be vulnerable enough to show millions of people my authentic self that I have been so fulfilled in continuing to pursue this as a full-time career. THANK YOU to my followers that have allowed me to wake up every day getting to do my dream job — your support will always mean the world to me.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What does it mean to be an “influencer” — especially if you’re not the typical beauty guru, hawking Sephora’s latest line, or a lifestyle creator promoting Amazon products to your audience?

For me, my job consists of monetizing gossip. You read that correctly! Gossip. My absolute favorite word, and not something that should be looked down upon, despite its negative connotations. As a pop culture content creator, I produce videos for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. I originally established myself in the pop culture space as a direct point of contact on the ground floor with celebrities and people who work in the entertainment industry. My audience comes to me specifically for my personal opinions and unique takes on pop culture events and moments, as well as to learn things only someone that works “in the business” might know. I often find myself an educator of sorts in the space, whether that be on a topic like an old celebrity scandal that has been wiped from the internet, insider information on who the worst celebrities to work with are, and even discussing current and political events in depth — I have become a trusted source for my followers to engage with in a fun and entertaining way that still provides a deep analytical look into the nuances of Hollywood’s elite and the power and privilege they wield in this world. My goal is always to welcome each viewer into the conversation instead of talking at them. I want my platform to not only be a safe and fun space for everyone with every background, but to also feel like we’re two best friends FaceTiming about our latest celebrity crush, what shows we’re currently binging, and what scandal is rocking our timelines right now.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I rely quite heavily on other pop culture creators to help me with my own content! TikTok and YouTube are invaluable to my work, not only for image and video sourcing, but also to understand trends and see what I can add to the conversation as well. If I’m not listening to a podcast like Significant Lovers or WhoWeekly, I’m scrolling the apps just like everyone else for content ideas, research, and more. I’m really lucky that pop culture creators online are a pretty tight knit community full of people who are supportive and kind to one another, and the feeling of collaboration on real-time topics makes it much more fun to both create and consume.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahlneuman?igsh=YmY4d2o0aDAyOG5k&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@unluckyp1ckle?si=NWJeu3ixoBhY717p
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@unluckyp1ckle?_t=8qm5YHrJkeg&_r=1

Image Credits
We Are Family (Pop Culture Game Show), TrendingUp (Creator Event), Jack Antonoff (Celebrity)