Karly Polkosnik isn’t your typical social media influencer. Billing herself as “ur internet bestie,” the 26-year-old Canadian regularly dishes on everything from her finances to her dating adventures.
“People think that I share my whole life on the internet, and I think that’s because I share about things that other people don’t,” Polkosnik tells Tagg. That willingness to share clearly connects—Across TikTok, Instagram, and her podcast, Hey Bitches, Polkosnik boasts an audience of 550,000 individuals.
Polkosnick’s content empowers viewers with body positivity, business savvy, and financial know-how. Her feeds encourage viewers to love their bodies and normalize “taboo” discussions around money. “Finance and salary [talk] help to bring more transparency, which can help to bridge a lot of wage gap stuff,” she says.
Polkosnik understands firsthand the importance of equality and representation. While she provides important visibility to Black, gay, and plus-size communities, the small number of similar creators can make the job a little lonely. When TikTok wasn’t showing content from people with larger bodies, it was alienating to know that others couldn’t relate. “It was like, ‘I can have all the thin, white influencer friends in the world and they’ll never experience that,’” she says.
The supportive nature of Polkosnik’s content aligns with who she is as a person. “I always say I’m the same bitch offline as I am online,” she explains. That authenticity helps her foster meaningful connections with her audience. “I don’t really see the people who follow me as ‘followers,’” Polkosnik says. “We’re all just people.” In fact, Polkosnik’s met up with members of her audience IRL, strengthening those connections.
Having achieved her goal of making content creation her full-time job, Polkosnik encourages her audience to follow their dreams, too. “My hope is that people follow me and look at the person I am, what I do, and what I built and it instills that hope and drive for them to go out and build their best lives,” she says.
