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Deep Dive with Ali AbdaalBuilding a 2.3 Million Follower Brand While Studying - Natacha Océane
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Why Take On an Ironman
Ali asks what possesses someone to do an Ironman. Natacha explains she enjoys setting challenges and refusing to put limits on herself, and how injuries from athletics led her to cross-training and then triathlon.
- •She likes challenges because she doesn't want to set limits on herself
- •Her family was very active while she was growing up
- •Shin splints from athletics pushed her into cycling and swimming cross-training
- •She decided at university to do an Ironman once her three-year degree was complete
- •Triathlon's variety and lower impact appealed to her
Balancing Training With a University Degree
Natacha describes her seasonal schedule of lab-heavy biochemistry days and training, and how she cut training back before exams to aim for a first. She talks about the social side of the university triathlon club and the coaching drama that made her final year lonelier.
- •Training was heavy in term time, reduced before exams, and intense over the summer
- •She prioritised a first as the first in her family to attend university
- •The triathlon club was social, but a rift with the coaches made her last year lonelier
- •Planned cycle sessions with hill sprints and power targets keep training from being boring
Competitiveness, Teamwork and Cycling Mishaps
Natacha reflects on being competitive yet conflict-averse, and why solo sports suited her better than team sports at the time. Ali shares a painful cycling story, which leads to talk of saddles and padding.
- •She was very competitive and not much of a team player at the time
- •Solo sports suited her because losing was only her own fault
- •She has since developed the self-awareness to work better in teams
- •A bad saddle or lack of padding can ruin cycling
Goals Within and Outside Your Control
Ali asks about outcome goals versus controllable goals, especially in YouTube and Instagram. Natacha says she gets fulfilment from what she controls rather than luck-dependent results like KPIs. A Brilliant sponsor read follows.
- •Natacha was shocked to come second in her Ironman; her goal was only to finish
- •Hitting a KPI can involve luck, so she doesn't take fulfilment from it
- •She doesn't let things outside her control affect her
The Ironman Experience and Mental Resilience
Natacha recalls her first Ironman in Barcelona, with a budget bike and a skateboard helmet, and a crowd that kept her going. She explains how she breaks races into stages and says quitting never crosses her mind, and that this resilience carries into the rest of life.
- •Her bike was assembled from donated parts and a £250 eBay frame
- •The crowd and organisation made the day enjoyable
- •She breaks races into stages such as swim, bike, run and laps
- •Training for long distances makes shorter ones feel shorter
- •Doing things like a backflip, which took two years, builds resilience for other areas
Quitting the PhD After the Banff Film Festival
Ali brings up a quitting framework and asks about her PhD. Natacha describes how the Banff Film Festival made her question whether she was happy, and how she realised she was doing the PhD for the reputation. Specialising narrowly and feeling depressed led her to leave academia.
- •She says she quit her PhD because she didn't want the reward at the end
- •The Banff Film Festival prompted her to ask if she enjoyed what she was doing
- •She disliked becoming a specialist in one experiment and forgetting her broader biochemistry
- •She felt low, tired and unmotivated, which made the feeling of it being wrong strong
- •She didn't see it as closing a door and didn't worry about others' opinions
Spotting the Fitness Misinformation Gap
Natacha explains that her own experience with misinformation on social media, and her training in critically analysing papers, made her see a gap for science-based fitness content. She also talks about how early specialisation in education doesn't suit a changing world.
- •Fitness content on YouTube was anecdotal rather than science-backed
- •She had developed unhealthy relationships with food and exercise from social media
- •Her university trained her to critique papers' methodology
- •She felt education forces specialisation too early, at 14
Early YouTube Days and Overcoming Camera Shyness
Natacha describes her cringe-worthy first videos, including a Halloween fitness skit, and her camera shyness. She explains that her mission to share scientific content mattered more than her discomfort.
- •Her first video was a Halloween fitness skit filmed at midnight
- •She was camera shy for about a year and a half, favouring voiceless What I Eat in a Day videos
- •The mission to help others avoid her traps outweighed discomfort
- •She frames the worst case as dying of cringe, not actual harm
Slow Growth, Motivation and Going Full-Time
Natacha describes gradual growth, helped by a cheat day challenge video that brought her first 10K, and her mission-driven motivation. Ali contrasts it with his marketing-driven start, and she explains going full-time after around 150K subscribers and teaching herself editing and design.
- •A cheat day challenge video grew her first 10K subscribers
- •Gradual growth let her get to know her audience and reply to comments
- •She wants to empower people to understand the fundamentals, not give cookie-cutter plans
- •Ali started YouTube to market his med school courses and planned a weekly video
- •She went full-time around 150K subscribers, teaching herself editing and design
Brand Longevity and Resisting Sexualised Content
Ali asks about the long-term future of a personal brand. Natacha says depth gives her content longevity and that she deliberately avoids sexualising herself because it is a short-term game.
- •She still has plenty of content ideas and would step back if she ran out
- •Depth in content gives it more longevity
- •She sometimes sees skin-focused content do well but isn't tempted
- •She says she always plays the long game
Advice for Aspiring Creators
Natacha advises people who want to become creators to be passionate, start without worrying about others' opinions, and expect it to take a long time. She stresses not being too hard on yourself and creating an environment where you can be creative.
- •Passion for something comes through in the content
- •Early videos are bad for everyone and rarely get seen
- •Overnight success stories are outliers; it takes a long time
- •Whether the algorithm picks you up isn't in your control
- •Be self-aware about the environment you need to be creative
Self-Awareness, Balance and Social Media
Natacha defines self-awareness as impartially observing your own behaviour in the moment, distinct from self-reflection. She explains how she learned it, how it helps her manage balance, and why she limits her time on social media.
- •Self-awareness means observing yourself impartially in the moment, as a third person
- •She first practised it with a life coach while arguing with her mother
- •Balance happens over weeks or months, and she books holidays to recover from overwork
- •She avoids social media because it doesn't make her feel good and clouds her content judgment
Content Ideas, Niche Tension and Happiness
Ali asks how she finds ideas and how she handles the tension between niching down and wide interests. Natacha describes drawing on life events and papers, and says she is happy now, thanks to self-awareness, activity, the outdoors and good sleep.
- •Ideas come from life events like her back injury and from new research
- •She avoids putting herself in a fitness-only box
- •She sometimes frames vlogs carefully so they don't feel like too big a change
- •She is happy now and credits self-awareness
- •Being active, spending time outdoors and sleeping well keep her balanced
Rapid Fire: Advice, Influences and Working Smart
In rapid-fire questions, Natacha says she'd tell her younger self to practise self-awareness and credits Mario as her biggest influence. She discusses success and sacrifice with Ali, working smart, and her daily routine.
- •She'd tell her younger self to start practising self-awareness straight away
- •Mario is her manager and biggest influence
- •Success requires sacrifice, but she also stresses working smart and seasonality
- •Her first hour is emails and her last hour is pottering around
Rapid Fire: Favourite Things, Books, Mantras and Sign-Off
Natacha and Ali share must-have items, book recommendations, and mantras. They discuss journey versus destination and the shared habit of not celebrating wins, then close with where to find her.
- •Natacha picks her diary; Ali picks a door stop
- •She recommends The One Thing, Mastery and Quiet
- •Her mantra is an Eleanor Roosevelt quote about worrying less about what others think
- •Journey versus destination: the journey teaches a lot
- •She can be found on YouTube and Instagram
