interview by FIONA FROMMELT

Chris Olsen first rose to prominence after joining TikTok in 2020 and quickly became one of the most celebrated voices on the platform through his video series Coffee Run and Therapy Talks. In 2024, after noticing growing online hate, he created Club Chris on TikTok and Instagram to foster a more intimate and safe space, allowing his supporters to build a community that uplifts and celebrates each other in a place that can sometimes feel lonely and filled with negative comments. Following the success of opening for Meghan Trainor’s recent tour, Live Nation invited Chris to embark on his first headlining tour, Club Cris, which began in the US on the 6th of March.

Chris, you joined TikTok in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. A lot has changed since then. What inspired you to post, and how has your approach to content creation shifted over time?

When the pandemic hit, I was a junior at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and TikTok was just starting to build a larger audience. Due to my isolation, I had a lot of pent-up energy and unused creativity. So, I figured, why not post a video as an outlet? I started it for myself – to have some fun. Back then, it felt more carefree than it does now. These days, you need to be much more intentional with your content, which isn’t a bad thing. However, the market is so inundated with content creators that you continuously have to evolve your content to stand out and retain viewership. It always needs to look and feel newer, fresher, and just different from your older content.

How do you feel the view on creators evolved in the last five years?

The platform (TikTok) really shaped the way we consume content, but it also changed how we view creators. Five years ago, consistently posting on TikTok was still seen as “cringy,” but that has changed. Social media is now seen as a more central part of the entertainment industry and has been legitimised as a job, which just wasn’t the case back then.

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Your content ranges from entertaining and relatable to deeply personal, and often, it feels like watching a brother I never had. What is your secret to remaining so genuine?

I appreciate that sentiment, as I often doubt if I’m doing anything “right” on social media – it is so easy to compare yourself with peers. I think having gone through rehab and getting sober at 19 taught me that being vulnerable is the only way to be authentic.

When you open up about topics such as sobriety and mental health, you become quite vulnerable, especially considering you are sharing them on social media. Do you feel a sense of duty towards your audience?

Yes, I do. I feel a responsibility to share, so that anyone dealing with similar things doesn’t feel alone. Getting sober so early isn’t super common, and I remember older people in my rehab talking about how they wished they’d had someone sober in their lives to show them what was possible. That’s what I hope to inspire audiences with my content – that possibility. I have that responsibility, which I honour and take great pride in.

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What would you consider the most central aspect of your work then?

When I first started, I didn’t set out to make social media my job. I just wanted to make videos that people liked and simultaneously gave me a sense of creative fulfillment. As my platform has grown, however, having a positive impact on my audience has become the most important.

You created Club Chris to create a safe space for your community and combat hate comments by filtering your audience by yourself. How would you like the respective platforms to handle hate speech and online bullying?

I can really only speak to this from an interpersonal perspective. But I believe that we all could benefit from being a little bit less online and, when we are, remembering that everyone we interact with is not an abstract idea or a piece of content; they are real human beings with real feelings.

Audiences also have to understand that if you comment on something you don’t like, you’re just asking the algorithms to share more content around that. These platforms don’t know you’re engaging or commenting because you don’t like it. While it starts with the user, the algorithms all these platforms use are just as effective at delivering tailored content as they are at creating rifts and divisions amongst people.

Until social media companies recognise their incredible responsibility to society and stop treating users as resources, I believe that we will continue to see many of the same issues perpetuated.

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Having built a wholesome and supportive community, what do you appreciate most about your audience and your interactions with them?

The fact that they continue to show up for me – it truly amazes me. I am so incredibly grateful to have these people in my corner. This is why I am always thinking of ways to show appreciation, and (as gift giving is my love language) I was able to have an extra special holiday season this year by giving back to our Club Chris community, and it truly was special. At this point, it feels like we’ve grown up together, and I’m excited to see what comes next for our community as we continue to grow together!

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What excites you the most about your upcoming tour?

Seeing my CC community! We’ve been separated by a screen for so long, and the part I loved most about this opportunity was to meet in real life. It was important to me when working on this tour to be in cities that I know I’d be able to see as many people in our community as possible and make it accessible for anyone who wanted to come!

You now have a big following on multiple platforms. Where do you see yourself and your content evolving?

Lately, my big adventure has been long-form content. It’s still in a bit of an experimental phase, but I’m in the process of reinventing many aspects of my content. YouTube is definitely the area I’m most excited to explore because it offers so many possibilities for creating rich, meaningful, and artistically produced content. So that’s where a lot of my attention will be going.

So what do you look forward to this year?

Opening for Meghan Trainor last summer and performing on the Club Chris Tour has really reignited my passion for being on stage. I graduated with a degree in musical theater and have always loved performing. So I’m eager to keep doing that in whatever shape or form it evolves into. Aside from that, I’m looking at 2025 as a moment for personal growth. I’m still in my 20s and figuring out what I want and, more importantly, what I don’t want. The past few years have been a whirlwind, and I have barely been able to process what my life has become. I think I have changed in so many ways that I haven’t even yet discovered, and I would like to get in touch with those parts of myself.

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TEAM CREDITS:

talent CHRIS OLSEN
photography DYLAN PERLOT for EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS
styling CANDICE LAMBERT for THE ONLY AGENCY
hair MR SARAH for THE WALL GROUP
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial direction JANA LETONJA
interview FIONA FROMMELT

IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS OLSEN

IN CONVERSATION WITH ARIANNE PHILLIPS

IN CONVERSATION WITH GUGU MBATHA-RAW