Bretman Rock Interview Highlights: Makeup, Comedy and Being Real

Bretman Rock’s makeup brought people in, but his comedy, his family and, lately, his chickens kept them watching. Across a decade of interviews he returns to one idea: post what you actually like, and don’t turn into someone else for the numbers.

This post is for creators who want to know how he built a personality-led audience and kept it through a change of niche, for marketers weighing creator partnerships in beauty and lifestyle, and for fans. It covers his start, his Filipino and Hawaiian roots, how he makes videos, why he left the beauty community, his advice, brands, TV and his work in 2026.

Some answers come from speeches that outlets reported; we say so where that applies.

Who is Bretman Rock?

Bretman Rock is a Filipino American content creator and comedian based in Hawaii who became famous as a teenager for makeup tutorials and comedy videos on Vine, YouTube and Instagram, and later starred in MTV’s reality series Following: Bretman Rock.

He was born Bretman Rock Sacayanan Laforga on July 31, 1998, in Sanchez-Mira, in the Philippine province of Cagayan, and his father, a wrestling fan, named him after Bret Hart and The Rock, according to Wikipedia. He moved to Hawaii as a child. There his mother worked multiple jobs while he and his sister, Princess Mae, looked after themselves, Teen Vogue reported in 2021. He ran track at Campbell High School.

Rock is non-binary and says he goes “by all the pronouns”, as he told the Zach Sang Show in 2023, according to PRIDE. This post uses he/him, as Wikipedia does.

How did Bretman Rock get started?

“My first YouTube video came out when I was in eighth grade. This was before the word influencer or I knew you could make money from YouTube. I started making YouTube videos with my mom’s old iPod.”

— Bretman Rock, The Daily Front Row, December 2020

He first wanted to be a fashion guru and filmed lookbooks, he told Creator Handbook in 2018. His audience came from comedy, though: Teen Vogue reported that he began by reposting Snapchat stories to Instagram, where his first 600 followers soon passed 10,000. Then two videos went viral, a 2014 clip built on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” and a 2016 dance to Beyoncé’s “7/11” in which he swats at his sister. He told The Daily Front Row the Beyoncé video took him from 800,000 followers to 2 million in two weeks.

He started his current YouTube channel in 2015, Creator Handbook reported, and signed with Adober Studios, a creator network owned by the Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN, in 2016, according to Wikipedia. He was still in high school.

“It’s hard to wrap your mind around it when you grow up on such a small island … How do you feel the eyes of 2.5 million [people] when you’re serving lunch at school, running track, and going to student council [meetings].”

— Bretman Rock, Teen Vogue, July 2021

His start wasn’t a plan, but his personality was in every clip, so the audience came for him, not for a format.

How does growing up Filipino in Hawaii shape Bretman Rock’s content?

“For the most part, I think my personality is just so, so, so Filipino … I’m just a Bakla at the end of the day.”

— Bretman Rock, at UC Santa Barbara, as reported by The Daily Nexus, November 2025

Bakla is a Tagalog term for a person assigned male at birth with a feminine gender expression, now often used as a celebratory word for being gay, as the campus paper explained.

Family is his recurring cast: his sister, her daughter Cleo and his cousin Keiffer appear often, according to Wikipedia. He told Elle in 2019 that, with no influencer friends in Hawaii, his family were the obvious co-stars, though he wanted to protect his young niece’s childhood.

“Because to be honest with you, I see how fame and money changes people, and that honestly scares me. It really legit scares me and I never want to change. Hawaii helps me keep the Bretman Rock magic that people see.”

— Bretman Rock, Elle, September 2019

Hawaii also inspired his 2018 Morphe highlighter palette. He told Creator Handbook his favorite shade was Mahu, a Hawaiian word for gay or the third gender that people used to call him growing up.

The lesson is specificity: your family, language and town are harder to copy than any trend.

How does Bretman Rock decide what to make next?

“I would be lying if I said all of them weren’t planned out. But I will say that my most successful videos, when it comes to going viral or getting the most likes or most traffic—are the ones that are out on a limb or just organically came to mind.”

— Bretman Rock, V Magazine, May 2020

He told Creator Handbook in 2018 that he avoids trends and often just calls his sister and films whatever he feels like doing that day. During the pandemic he started his “of the day” videos, which he says showed him how far his audience would follow.

“… I was kind of moving myself from the beauty community I started ‘of the day’ series and that’s when I realized that I could literally just post like, me reviewing cereal and y’all would watch it. I could review like coconut water and people would watch it.”

— Bretman Rock, at a Manila press conference, as reported by PhilSTAR L!fe, March 2023

Speaking to marketers at a 2021 forum, as ABS-CBN News reported, he explained why people watch at all: “I think that’s what the world is craving right now, that’s why I think that the world loves me because I’m a real person.”

If you feel boxed in by a niche, test it: an audience that follows your personality will often follow you into a new interest. Try a short series before changing everything.

How does Bretman Rock make a video?

“I just like to keep it spontaneous; I don’t really get blocked because I just think of the first thing that comes to mind and then I film it, and if it doesn’t work I’ll just delete it … [Making videos] is more of a trial and error process.”

— Bretman Rock, Creator Handbook, September 2018

He also said he hated editing because he couldn’t stand hearing his own voice, so he hired an editor; filming, especially with his family, is the part he enjoys.

Low production here is a choice, not a limit: each miss costs little, so he can try more ideas.

Why did Bretman Rock leave the beauty community?

Rock built his early audience on makeup, then stepped away from the beauty community in a 2021 livestream, Business Insider reported. In November 2020, promoting his eyewear line, he had told WWD:

“It’s not even about makeup anymore. It’s not even about beauty anymore. It’s about numbers. It’s about who has the most this, who got the most work done. I just don’t like how the beauty industry became so much about money and so much drama-driven.”

— Bretman Rock, to WWD, as quoted by Teen Vogue, November 2020

He also said “I will always be that beauty boy” and that he would keep wearing makeup. In a 2023 video interview with Them, looking back on that livestream, he stood by his view that white people had ruined the beauty community, saying it “just became a money industry” when “non-colored individuals were coming in”, Business Insider reported.

“We were all fighting about who [would get to] post the first review. It became very catty and competitive in that sense … It reminded me that sometimes, my interests are what make me interesting.”

— Bretman Rock, at UC Santa Barbara, as reported by The Daily Nexus, November 2025

He calls the exit a blessing. He told Elite Daily in 2023 that it “forced me to create content that actually made me happy”, and that lockdown showed him he could entertain people with whatever he was into at the time.

What mistakes does Bretman Rock say he made early on?

“At the beginning of my career, I wanted to follow trends because I thought that was what creativity was and what gets your name out there. Honestly, true creativity is really just swimming a different path than everybody else and really challenging what content creation is.”

— Bretman Rock, Hypebae, December 2021

Money was another lesson. He told Elite Daily in 2023 that he grew up very broke and that, when his first social media income arrived, “I was spending it left and right because I just didn’t know what to do with it”, until business managers taught him financial literacy.

The hardest lesson was about fame itself. Accepting an MTV award in 2021, he called growing up on the internet “probably the most traumatizing thing I’ve done in my whole, entire life,” Teen Vogue reported.

“I’ve met people who don’t know who they are, but only know who they are online … When I’m separating Bretman Rock and Bretman, it’s really just to help with my mental health. The internet is not real life.”

— Bretman Rock, Teen Vogue, July 2021

Three fixes cost little: don’t chase trends you don’t care about, get money advice when the first real income lands, and keep a life offline that your channel doesn’t own.

What advice does Bretman Rock give new creators?

“I feel that the biggest thing among the aspiring influencers is the hesitation to put out content … I know there are so many funny videos in your camera roll that are waiting for the world to see and I think that people’s insecurities eat them up, they just won’t post them.”

— Bretman Rock, at a Manila press conference, as reported by PhilSTAR L!fe, March 2023

He repeated it at UC Santa Barbara in 2025, the Daily Nexus reported: “You’ve got to just post it … Sometimes you’ve got to start the channel yourself.” In 2019 he told Elle: “Your originality is what makes you stand out.” He has also said posting has limits.

“Anyone who is struggling with their mental health, social media will not help that. Having fame will not fix your mental health. I would say sometimes it’s truly better to just not post. It’s okay to not post today.”

— Bretman Rock, at the DigiCon POP marketing forum, as reported by ABS-CBN News, October 2021

Post more, and take days off. Our Emma Chamberlain interview covers another creator who stepped back from a punishing schedule.

What does Bretman Rock say about working with brands?

“I didn’t know that creating makeup would take so long. I started that project when I was a junior in high school and it launched almost a year after I graduated … I’m one of the only influencers here in Hawaii, so I really wanted to represent where I’m from and where I grew up.”

— Bretman Rock, on his Morphe palette, Creator Handbook, September 2018

His deals since have mixed beauty, fashion and lifestyle: wet n wild makeup and Dime Optics sunglasses in 2020, Nike’s Pride-themed Be True and The Sims 4 campaigns in 2021, and Klarna in 2023. That year he also made an ice cream flavor with Wanderlust Creamery to benefit Golden Gays, a Manila nonprofit for older gay men, GMA News reported.

“It should never be really about that. People can see your intentions. If you join because of the perks then don’t.”

— Bretman Rock, on joining for the perks, at DigiCon POP, as reported by ABS-CBN News, October 2021

His Dime Optics line was “an organic thing”, he told The Daily Front Row: the brand had sent him sunglasses years earlier. Work with products you’d use anyway. If you’re a creator, disclose every paid post, as our guide to disclosing affiliate links and sponsorships explains, and check what to charge for a sponsored video before you quote a fee. For a beauty creator who built her own brand, see our Huda Kattan interview.

How did Bretman Rock move into TV?

“It’s MTV capturing the content creator life and how it is in the islands. We can watch only so many reality shows filmed in L.A. It gets boring and repetitive.”

— Bretman Rock, The Daily Front Row, December 2020

MTV’s Following: Bretman Rock premiered on MTV’s YouTube channel on February 8, 2021, with his sister, niece, mother and cousin in the cast, Rappler reported. That June, YouTube Originals released 30 Days With: Bretman Rock, a four-part series in which he tried to survive alone in the Hawaiian wilderness to connect with his late father, who died in 2019.

“The number one lesson I learned in the jungle was that everyone needs to be alone with their own thoughts for at least one point in their life, because I feel we are all scared to be alone with our own thoughts.”

— Bretman Rock, Variety, June 2021

30 Days With won show of the year at the 2021 Streamy Awards, Billboard reported. MTV also named him its 2021 Breakthrough Social Star, which he told CNN felt overdue: “I’ve been doing this for six years, what do you mean I’m a breakout star?” That October he became the first openly gay man on the cover of Playboy, CNN reported.

He framed TV as a bigger version of what already worked online: his family, his island and his voice. Our Lilly Singh interview covers a YouTube star who went further into network TV.

What is Bretman Rock working on now?

In 2026 he is still posting from his home in Hawaii and hosting DaBaddest Radio, the podcast he launched as a weekly show in July 2024, GMA News reported at the time. He told a UC Santa Barbara audience in 2025 that “now people will just watch [him] do anything,” the Daily Nexus reported.

In December 2025 he won video of the year at the first US TikTok Awards, Reuters reported. In July 2026 TIME named him to its TIME100 Creators list, citing videos about naming baby peacocks and putting false lashes on his chickens, Aloha State Daily reported. In August he appeared in Kate Spade New York’s fall campaign.

“Joy hiding in plain sight? That’s basically my whole personality … I show up, I’m confident and bold, I’ve got my chickens—and it works.”

— Bretman Rock, in a Kate Spade New York press release, August 2026

From contour tutorials to chickens, the constant is the person on camera.

What creators can learn from Bretman Rock

Sources

• Doing The Most: An Interview with Bretman Rock, Creator Handbook, September 2018
• Bretman Rock Is the Beauty Influencer You Want to Be Best Friends With, Elle, September 2019
• Bretman Rock Wants To Be The Most Famous Influencer, V Magazine, May 2020
• Bretman Rock Says He’s Done With the Beauty Community, Teen Vogue, November 2020
• Influencer Bretman Rock On His Upcoming TV Show: ‘This Is My Calling’, The Daily Front Row, December 2020
• Bretman Rock to star in own MTV show, Rappler, January 2021
• Bretman Rock Seeks Connection With His Late Father Through Solo Jungle Adventure in YouTube Series, Variety, June 2021
• Bretman Rock on Manifesting His Gay, Asian, Immigrant Success, Teen Vogue, July 2021
• Bretman Rock is Playboy’s first openly gay male cover star, CNN, October 2021
• Bretman Rock says authenticity rules in content creation, audience connection, ABS-CBN News, October 2021
• For Bretman Rock, Self-Discovery Is All About Faking It Until You Make It, Hypebae, December 2021
• MrBeast & Bretman Rock Win Top Awards at 2021 YouTube Streamy Awards, Billboard, December 2021
• Bretman Rock Speaks Out on Why He’s Done With the Beauty Industry, Business Insider, February 2023
• Bretman Rock Clarifies That He Goes By ‘All The Pronouns’, PRIDE, February 2023
• Bretman Rock talks about living his Pinoy life in Hawaii, PhilSTAR L!fe, March 2023
• Bretman Rock, Former Beauty Influencer, Is Now A Self-Care King, Elite Daily, June 2023
• Bretman Rock comes up with new ice cream flavor for Golden Gays’ benefit, GMA News, October 2023
• Bretman Rock launches ‘DaBaddest Radio’ podcast, GMA News, July 2024
• In conversation with Bretman Rock: exploring humor and identity, The Daily Nexus, November 2025
• From Labubu cannons to Ciara: Keith Lee crowned at first US TikTok Awards in Hollywood, Reuters via The Jerusalem Post, December 2025
• Hawai‘i’s Bretman Rock makes 2026 Time100 Creators list, Aloha State Daily, July 2026
• Kate Spade New York turns New York City into a spontaneous search for joy in the fall campaign featuring new global brand ambassador, Tyla, Kate Spade New York via PR Newswire, August 2026
• Bretman Rock, Wikipedia, October 2026

What to do next

If Rock’s point that audiences follow a person more than a topic changes how you judge creators, look at what their recent videos actually do, not just follower counts. Our methodology explains how we check that, and our list of top Instagram influencers puts it into practice.

For the same questions answered by other creators, see more creator interviews, including our NikkieTutorials interview, another beauty creator who launched a brand of her own.