Contact

Stories

June 9, 2024

SHARE:

In today’s digital age, the online world is filled with countless content creators and influencers, all trying to make their mark. Yet, only a few manage to create real impact, and Zoe is one of them.

With over 3 million YouTube subscribers under the name “zoeunlimited,” Zoe has built a dedicated community through her insightful content on fitness, fashion, dating, and navigating the complexities of girlhood. Her work has even caught the attention of celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, who stated that she watches Zoe’s videos all the time. In just 14 days, Zoe doubled her subscribers from 1 million to 2 million, when she was creating videos as a hobby outside her 9-to-5 job.

Read through as we learn more about Zoe’s secrets to success as she shares it in detail with Asian Hustle Network.

ABOUT ZOE

I am a multiformat creator navigating girlhood with my Gen Z and Millennial community. My goal is to encourage women to tap into their unlimited potential by thinking critically via my pop culture video essays about beauty, fashion, and confidence.

I grew up in China and Canada and came to LA initially to study Business Economics at UCLA. The different cultural environments I grew up in gave me broader perspectives on the various pop culture topics I’m interested in and inspired me to share that vision with the unlimited community to learn and grow together.

ZOE’S JOURNEY AS A CONTENT CREATOR

Growing up, I’ve always been artistically driven and drawn to creative mediums like fashion, film, and fine arts. Scared of becoming a “starving artist,” I didn’t pursue fashion and studied Business Economics instead, but I always felt like something was missing.

I was very fortunate to discover YouTube as a creative outlet after college and began documenting my life in video format. I always make videos on what I’m interested in at the moment, which was a lot of fitness, college, and even CPA content at the very beginning. Throughout time, I discovered that the central theme of all my content revolves around growth – in becoming fitter, healthier, more confident, more reflective, and so on. My community of mostly women feels like a precious friend group to me and I realized through interacting with them, that many of us are going through similar challenges in our girlhood and there’s much more to share and discuss than just my personal journey.

With that, I began creating my video essay series that served as a discussion ground to think critically about topics many could relate to, including beauty standards, dating, and fashion. Girlhood is such an intriguing and confusing experience in the modern setting, and I just hope to create a community where women feel seen, heard, and not alone when encountering the ever-changing concept of how to be a modern woman. I don’t have the answers but I hope to create a safe space for all of us to explore and reflect!

RAPID GROWTH AND STRATEGIC SUCCESS

Although part of the growth (growing subscriber count from 1M to 2M in 14 days) was extremely rapid, the story before the lift-off was a consistent grind of weekly uploads for 3 years as a pure hobby. The tipping point always feels exciting and amazing, but what truly felt rewarding was 3 years of building something I love.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND CELEBRATING MILESTONES

I’d say one of the biggest challenges was the lack of initial support and understanding from my family. It was painful for me to see something I love doing creating a chasm in my relationship with the people I love, but I’m grateful that we have cleared past misunderstandings and grown close again. I’m so grateful for the community that stuck with me as well as my closest friends who believed in me even when I had a lot of self-doubt, especially during the years I felt judged and not understood.

BALANCING AUTHENTICITY AND PRIVACY

I love and respect the people closest to me and want to protect their privacy as much as possible online. When it comes to my own journey, I believe my community comes with a good heart, and I see them as good friends I can confide in. So even when it comes to moments that aren’t the most glamorous and the failures I’m not extremely proud of, I do want to share that experience if I know someone can benefit from it by feeling less alone or could simply learn from the mistakes I’ve made.

That’s the goal with my Healing Diaries series, where I share some of my biggest struggles including my health, mental health, and dating. I hope to normalize talking about uncomfortable topics and reduce any shame or guilt for anyone going through a similar experience.

BUILDING “UNLIMITED THOUGHTS” AND A COMMUNITY

The most rewarding moments are the ones when I get to meet my followers in person and learn about their journeys and goals. I’m beyond grateful for a community of kind and driven women who have allowed me to tag along with them on their growth journeys. Some are in college, some just landed their third job, some are going through heartbreaks, and some are creating amazing art and inspiring many people including me.

It was really sweet when a subscriber told me how one of my videos in the “Unlimited Thoughts” series inspired her to write a final paper that got her an A. That brought me way more joy than hitting my personal milestones. The love and passion for turning ideas into something that others can enjoy watching and perhaps benefit from, make all the blocks and times of doubt worth it.

WINNING A SIX-FIGURE INVESTMENT FROM CREATORDAO

I had a major imposter syndrome moment because I entered the contest without expecting to win.

It was a huge encouragement to be more confident in myself as a creator and a wake-up call to think bigger. An advice I’d share with other creators is to trust that you are way more capable than you think. Do not limit yourself.

LOOKING AHEAD

I wish to continue improving my storytelling and critical thinking as a creator to bring hope and joy that people can feel and pass on.  

Whether it comes to future content projects or a brand that I launch, I wish to uplift my community and support them in building their self-confidence and identity. I’m excited to explore many more unfamiliar areas in content I haven’t tapped into yet, including podcasting, to challenge and expand my own limits.

A MESSAGE OF REPRESENTATION AND EMPOWERMENT

When I first began making videos about pop culture, I felt a little out of place given the limited AAPI representation in beauty, fashion, and entertainment. It is exactly for this reason that I must show up more in this space to bring my unique narrative shaped by my multicultural experience of growing up in China and Canada. 

Authentic self-expression cannot occur without bringing forward the full self, and that includes our beautiful heritage, no matter what that is for each individual. As Lucy Liu said at the Gold Gala “You never know how far just a little bit of support can carry you.”

It resonated with me so much because I cannot imagine how far I’d come without that initial bit of support. I hope to be that supporter for my community and help them break out of their previous limiting beliefs.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It warms my heart to see more and more women and members of the AAPI community daring to dream big, not just in content creation, but in all facets of entrepreneurship. I hope to use my platforms to further support these creators and entrepreneurs, who are sharing the spirit of breaking limits and redefining what’s possible.

CONNECT WITH ZOE

YouTube: zoeunlimited

Instagram: @zoeunlimited

TikTok: @zoeunlimited

LinkedIn: @zoeunlimited

Related Articles

Image Source: Getty Images

News

Famed Manga Series ‘My Hero Academia’ Adaptation Is Now Available On Netflix

More than a year after its announcement, the eagerly awaited live-action film adaptation of “My Hero Academia,” produced by Mary Parent and Alex Garcia of Legendary Entertainment, has finally disembarked at Netflix.

Shinsuke Sato, who directed Alice in Borderland, is the film’s director and executive producer marking her first-ever English-language feature.

The film was written by veteran Joby Harold who is known for “Obi Wan Kenobi,” “Army of the Dead,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” “The Flash,” “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” “Robin Hood,” the upcoming Netflix film “Atlas”  and 2023’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”

With over 65 million copies in print worldwide, including digital editions, Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is one of the most well-known manga series in the world.

The protagonist of the narrative is the superhero enthusiast Izuku Midoriya (also known as Deku), who gave up on his dream of attending the University of Arizona since he was born without a “quirk”, a kind of “special skill” that 80% of people on Earth have developed. 

The unusual power hindered him from going to U. A. High School, the most reputable center for hero training, and becoming the next “All Might,” or the greatest hero the world has ever known.

Midoriya, however, promises to work as hard as he can to become a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope for the world after having a chance encounter with All Might himself.

Both the manga and the ongoing anime series by Bones Inc. & TOHO Animation are regarded as some of the greatest of the 2010s. The award-winning series has been a part of publisher Shueisha’s Weekly Shnen Jump since 2014.

  • 2 min read
Image Source: Chinese Parade / Mark Andrew Boyer / KQED

News

Rich Ting Leads First San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade After Pandemic

Chinese American actor Rich Ting will serve as the grand marshal of San Francisco’s Chinese New Year parade in 2023.

The 42-year-old was reared by an athletic family, was born in Torrance, California, and spent time growing up in both Southern and Northern California.

Not only did he focus on being an athlete growing up, but also trained to be a Hollywood actor just what he always dreamed of. He made this goal come true by appearing in several films and TV shows, including Chicago P.D., NCIS: Los Angeles,  and Salt.

Succeeding Daniel Wu in leading the city’s Chinese New Year’s Year of The Rabbit parade, Rich stated “I am beyond words to express my gratitude for including me in such an iconic cultural celebration” in The San Francisco Standard.

The Chinatown exhibition will be celebrated for the first time since the pandemic with Harlan Wong serving as the parade’s director. Harlan Wong revealed that several rabbit sculptures will be placed throughout the city as part of the festivities and then sold at auction to benefit charities.

Michelle Yeoh, Jon Chu, and Mayor London Breed were hailed as grand marshals in prior years.

The Lunar New Year will be celebrated on January 22 at events hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, although festivities will get underway at Chinatown’s Flower Market on January 14.

On February 3, the Miss Chinatown Pageant will take place the day before the parade.

  • 2 min read
Image Source: Strait Times

Stories

What Motivated A Cleaner To Become Singapore’s Primech Services & Engineering CEO

Starting out poor and being dumped by a girl because she saw no better life with a cleaner is truly a successful and inspirational story for a man who now makes fortune.

Instead of getting frustrated, Vernon Kwek used his heartbreak and the discrimination he went through from his girlfriend who chose a university guy over him as a motivation of working hard and striving further in life.

The 48-year-old is now Singapore’s Primech Services & Engineering CEO who owns a 10% share in the company.

Simultaneously, Vernon also runs A&P Maintenance Services and Maint-Kleen, two other cleaning companies handling some of the biggest companies in Singapore, including Changi Airport Group, with over 3,000 employees under his power.

Vernon was born to a humble family. When he was barely 13 years old, he helped his father find a new job after losing the latter’s job as a salesman.

After his father was accepted as a cleaning supervisor, Vernon manifested his hard work and family-orientedness by helping his father in cleaning toilets and offices during the weekends.

A year after, he gave up school just to work as a full-time cleaner to help his family. Being a responsible teenager, he was shortly promoted to cleaning supervisor at the age of 14.

“I asked the manager if he was sure. My dad became a supervisor only when he was 40. I was only 14. But he said: ‘Don’t worry. You have your dad’s genes. He has leadership qualities, you should have the same too,’” Vernon shared in Strait Times

Later on, he was again promoted to a higher position as a senior supervisor until he finally became the company’s CEO.

Nevertheless, Vernon experienced many downfalls in his journey but never lost hope as he was determined to have a better life. Now, he is a successful family man with four kids.

  • 2 min read
Image Source: Weilyn Chong Linkedin

Stories

A College Freshman’s “Failure Class” Podcast Project Paved Her Way To Times Square

When Weilyn Chong’s name and photo appeared on a Times Square billboard from the Nasdaq Tower, it instantly went viral, inspiring many young Singaporeans to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

Weilyn acknowledges the value of entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia despite the fact that the majority of her work with founders is focused in the US.

Growing up, 20-year-old Weilyn Chong has lived from one place to another between Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands which made her immersed in varied cultures.

Weilyn’s global exposure enabled her to be more flexible in dealing with many kinds of people especially since their family annually joins in Singapore Global Network events.

Despite their frequent moves, Weilyn’s mother made sure to give them a strong sense of connection to their roots by taking them to see their grandparents, spending time with family, and eating Singaporean food. 

The Singaporean third-year economics student at Princeton University expressed how being among passionate individuals inspires her.

Weilyn started a podcast about women entrepreneurs with her failure project for “The Other ‘F’ Word” class when she was still a freshman, and she has since enjoyed it.

Together with her high school friend Ali Debow, she even converted it into a regular extracurricular activity by co-founding The Entrepre女ers Network, a podcasting startup that connects and promotes female entrepreneurs with topics including design, young changemakers, and Gen Z female founders.

Weilyn wants to increase the visibility of female business owners and give them connections opportunities. Her team has spoken with over 130 creators in a year and increased their listenership and social media reach to 30,000.

She said that they hope to get young females to dream of being an entrepreneur and understand that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to look a specific way.

Learning that bias happens between genders in the global arena as only 2% of total venture capital funding goes to women because they are women, she attended a conference put on by the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center (NEC) to address the complex issue of inequity in venture for entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs.

There, she met people from the Center and expressed her interest to get involved in the work they do in any capacity. 

She was asked to join the NEC board in order to represent Generation Z and put a spotlight on young entrepreneurship.

“I grew up thinking those two things are mutually exclusive – either you do charity work or you make money. But what we’re seeing is that you can raise a lot of money and make a positive impact on the world,” she said on CNBC.

  • 3 min read