Ever-loquacious, Tyreak Told You is a content creator who talks about any and everything with a Brooklyn-cut candidness and creativity that leaves you rapt. Fearless, blunt, unapologetic, and absolutely hilarious, he’s amassed over 100K followers on TikTok and nearly 90K followers on Instagram. He talks about any and everything: pop culture mess, birthday cake etiquette, the weather, a chicken sandwich (6.7 million views, and he’s talking about a chicken sandwich. The power that that has). If Tyreak is telling you about it, you’re going to listen. And now, he’s taking his raw insight to the anime community. I caught up with him for an interview and talked about anime, viral fame, villainy, audacity, and confidence — him dropping gems along the way that'll leave you sipping tea and reflecting. So your response to the Twitter question, “Whose bob ate more: Android 17’s or Android 18’s?” went viral. (For the record, Android 17 won the Battle of the Bobs). Tyreak : Yeah, that was a huge surprise for me. So a little background: I just started this content creation stuff in like January. I had 300 followers at the beginning of the year, so it blew up really, really quickly for me. And like, my page had nothing to do with anime, manga, or any of that. I basically just talk about things that interest me or catch my attention. So I was scrolling Twitter one day and saw the bob comparison with Android 17 and 18, and I’m like, "You know what? I have way more thoughts about this than I can actually tweet, so why not just make a TikTok video about it?" And that thing just blew up immediately. It shocked me. And I said, "OK, I might as well keep this going." So, that’s how we’re here. [laughs] RELATED: Hiroyuki SAWANO Shares Career Inspirations in New Crunchyroll Anime Awards Spotify Playlist What was it like realizing your take really resonated with a community you hadn’t initially set out to connect with? Tyreak : It felt good. Again, there was nothing anime-related on my page, and I didn’t think I could really reach that kind of audience on TikTok doing what I was doing. And I was wrong. Not to brag, but I feel like there are a ton of anime creators out there, but I think I have a little, maybe a unique type of flair to it. It boosted my confidence a lot because there were a lot of things I maybe wanted to do, but I’d think, "Oh, they won’t like that" or "Oh, that’s not for me." I realized I could just talk about whatever I actually like, and people respond well to it. And like, I’ve loved anime since I was six years old. So you’ve loved anime since you were six years old — how did you get into anime? What’s your anime origin story? Tyreak : When I was growing up, anime wasn’t super mainstream. I remember on Saturday mornings when I was a kid — maybe six years old — on WB, they would have Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon , and for some reason, these two cartoons just stood out to me. I didn’t know they were anime. I just knew they were different, but I didn’t know why. Like, this is not like Dexter’s Laboratory or Johnny Bravo . There’s something edgy about it that I liked, so I kept watching them. Fast forward to when I was maybe nine or ten, and this is when Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim started airing anime on weeknights. I still didn’t know anime was anime yet. The first show I watched was Yu Yu Hakusho , and I noticed Funimation in the credits. Since Funimation also did Dragon Ball Z , I thought, "Oh, wait a minute, this might have something in common with that other show I like." Maybe in another year or so, I’m watching The Bernie Mac Show , and I remember the son, Jordan, was a huge nerd. Bernie’s going off on him for watching Japanese cartoons. “Japanimation,” he calls it. "Japanimation?” I’m like "Wait, I’ve seen Japanese words in these shows that I like.” That’s when I realized these shows were from Japan. Then, in sixth grade, on a field trip to Little Tokyo, my friend Sasha and I saw New Type Magazine , a popular anime magazine. That was the first time I ever saw the word anime written out, and I’m like, "Oh, this stuff is called anime. OK, I’m a pretty big anime fan then, so imma just dive deeper and deeper into it." And that’s my origin story. What do you think gives your anime content its unique flair? What sets you apart from other anime content creators? Tyreak : Well you know, I’m from Brooklyn or whateva. So, you know, it’s a little kind of hood a lil bit, not too much, a healthy amount. I think I have a very different perspective on a lot of things. Like who looks at Sesshomaru and sees a 40” bussdown? And you said Jinx is the Kanto Region Baddie! Tyreak : Because she is. Is that off the cuff, or do you sit down, brainstorm, and think, “That’s funny, I’m writing that down”? Tyreak : I just talk and whatever comes out comes out. That can be a bad thing sometimes [laughs], but for the most part it’s just me talking. You even compared someone to Keisha Cole. Tyreak : It was Yugi Muto. You know, blonde in the front, red in the back. In your Anime Fashions series, I noticed you favor the villain's looks. Villains always seem to have the better fit, better hair, better everything. Why do you think that is? Tyreak : I think it’s just a writing trope in general. The villain wants to entice you to evil, so they have to make it look appealing, make it marketable, make it trendy. So the villain is going to have on, like, the latest Chanel collection because that’s what you’re going to be attracted to, right? And the good guy is usually broke, doesn’t have too much going on for them. You know, you gotta watch their journey to get to where they’re going. And I know for me, I’d rather see the person who’s already there than watch you maybe get there, because, you know, with anime, main characters die. I don’t want to get invested in somebody who may not make it. My favorite villain might kill your favorite hero, so I’d just rather bet on black, if that makes sense. [laughs] Who’s your favorite villain of all time? Tyreak : Of all time? That is a good question. I gotta think. There’s so many. It’s probably Perfect Cell from Dragon Ball Z . What about Perfect Cell makes them your favorite? Tyreak : Well, he's perfect. [Laughs]. He had this attitude, like he knew he was that guy, and he was so confident in himself that he said, "I’m going to give you guys ten days to prepare for this World Martial Arts Tournament, and when I win, I’m going to blow up the whole planet." And not for nothing, he was this close to winning, but, you know, Gohan had plot armor and came back. It was nerve. The audacity. That’s the kind of stuff I want to see when I’m watching a TV show. He could back up everything he was saying. RELATED: Flying Lotus on His New Film Ash and His Love of Satoshi Kon You also have a series rating the "legendaryness" of Legendary Pokémon and another debating the hypothetical tastiness of grilling Pokémon. I’m sure the idea of a Pokébuffet has some fans clutching their pearls. Has audience reaction ever influenced how you approach content on social media? Tyreak : No, but it’s because for the most part my comments are very, very positive. I had to go out of my way to see a negative comment. And even then, for every one negative comment, there are literally 100 positive ones. That’s pretty rare, especially for a Black anime content creator. How did you manage to cultivate such a positive community? Tyreak : Just being a positive person, I guess. [Laughs]. Like, if you lead with negativity, that’s what you’re going to get. There are trolls out there, of course, but you know, I guess I’m grown too. I’m in my 30s, so I don’t care about stuff like that. What advice would you give to content creators who struggle with staying authentic because they’re too focused on pleasing their audience or avoiding criticism? Tyreak : Everybody is not going to like you — that’s just a part of life. Everybody’s not going to like what you do. Everybody is not going to like what you say. Deal with it. Focus on the people who do like you. And then with me, I say what I mean, and I mean what I say, so regardless of how you feel about it, I said what I said, I meant what I said, I’m not sorry for saying it, I don’t feel bad about saying it, and I’ll probably say it again. So if I want to go eat a Pokémon, that just is what it is — it’s not a debate, you know. [Laughs]. Walk around with that attitude, and you’ll get pretty far. It’s giving Perfect Cell — the nerve, the audacity! Tyreak : You see what I gravitate toward, right? I had to hatch my evil scheme, maybe take over the world, do a little evil. But you know, a healthy amount — not too much. A good villain knows when to stop. Where did your “I say what I mean, and I mean what I say” mentality come from? Tyreak : I feel like I was always just raised with a lot of love — like, I got a lot of positive reinforcement from my family. I have super, super supportive friends, so, you know, I never felt like I was just alone out in the world, if that makes sense. I feel it’s only a matter of time before you’re invited to conventions and hosting panels. Is that something you’d want to do? Tyreak : If they ask me, I’d say yes. This year, I’ve stopped saying no to things. An opportunity comes up? Sure, I’m available. RELATED: Spite's Ben Bamford on How He Fell Hard For Anime Do you think that attitude is helping you manifest a lot of success? Tyreak : I never thought of it that way, but you could be on to something. That could be it. It seems like you don’t struggle with self-doubt. Tyreak : You’re right, but there’s a reason behind that too. That’s why I’m smiling when you said that. Oh? Well now I’m curious. Tyreak : I’m learning to not live life with regrets. I feel like you make mistakes — that’s part of life, right? But when you make the mistake, learn from it and don’t make it again. And, you know, let’s say I get an opportunity and completely bomb and ruin it. Yeah, it’ll be embarrassing in that moment, but I can look back and say, “OK, I probably should have done this differently. I shouldn’t have done that. I probably shouldn’t have drunk that,” you know? And then, when the next one comes, you just do better. Right now, I’m the culmination of every mistake I’ve ever made in the past. Some things you gotta learn the hard way, but as long as you learn, that’s all that matters. And it gives me a good story to tell, and people like hearing me tell stories. So, hey, it’s content at that point! [laughs] Do you think watching shonen anime as a kid, with its themes of perseverance and growth, had an impact on how you approach life’s many challenges? Tyreak : Watching so much of these shonen tropes over the years, it had to have rubbed off on me, right? You see people struggling; you see them keep trying. They try different strategies, like Naruto when he tried to learn the Rasengan. He couldn’t get the chakra to swirl in his hand properly, so he made Shadow Clones, did the little scratch thing, and it worked. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. He was fighting Kabuto and Orochimaru and ended up winning. So, good for him. Just keep trying. Tweak things, try something different, and most importantly, find out what works for you. What works for you won’t work for the next person, and vice versa. Who is the most inspiring anime character that comes to mind? Tyreak : Joey Wheeler from Yu-Gi-Oh! . Joey came into Yu-Gi-Oh! knowing nothing about Duel Monsters; his deck was horrible. All he had was a good friend in Yugi who taught him how to play the game. And he just went to, what was it, Duelist Kingdom, as a complete amateur, and ended up in second place by the end of it. You know, he learned about himself. He learned some new strategies, got some better cards, and just kept getting better and better and better. And he has an awesome sneaker collection, and I’m a huge sneakerhead, so shout out to Joey Wheeler from Yu-Gi-Oh! . RELATED: Ankor on Learning Music Through Anime Openings and Endings Who’s the baddest b*tch in villainy? Tyreak : Sesshomaru from InuYasha . He has this sense of superiority; he knew he was the baddest demon in the whole demon world. Sesshomaru doesn’t have to do too much. Even when he’s fighting, he’s winning, but he’s just flowing around. He’s got a little wind going; he’s not really putting that much effort into it because he doesn’t have to, and I like stuff like that. InuYasha was raised by a single mom. You know, the neighborhood kids didn’t like him because he had dog ears, and he had to really struggle; he had to get out of the mud, if you will. Sesshomaru is very much silver spoon, golden plate. Yes! He got that blue-blood demon lineage. Tyreak : Generational demon wealth. Demon royalty. He was born into it. Unlike Naraku. Tyreak : I hate Naraku. Naraku never resonated with me that much because I feel like he wasn’t established enough as a villain. Like you could see that he was still working toward a goal, kind of similar to what a protagonist would do, and that lack of security was why he never really clicked with me. It’s like, you’re not that person you’re pretending to be — and I’m glad that you know you’re not. You a half demon just like InuYasha, so act like it [laughs]. With Sesshomaru, it’s clear as day. I’ve noticed that how we connect with fictional characters often reflects where we are in our own development. While some seek inspiration from underdog protagonists like Naruto or Deku to build their confidence, your environment already instilled this confidence in you. Rather than “work in progress” protagonists who are gradually growing into themselves, you’re drawn to characters who, like you, are already self-actualized — characters who own their power fully. It’s no surprise that you resonate with villains; they embody the same self-assurance you already have. Tyreak : Did you just psychoanalyse me? [laughs]. You might be spot on with that one, I had to think about it for a second. I just learned something about myself. I’m like naturally drawn to other confident people. RELATED: Emily Marshall on Conducting Naruto: The Symphonic Experience The way you relate to these anime characters reflects how you see yourself and how you move through the world. Tyreak : You really just, like, unlocked something in my brain. Another one of my favorite characters is Neji Hyuga, because, again, very confident, very talented, self-assured, with a very clear mindset. His philosophy was a little flawed, but he stuck to it, you know? And he was just a cool character, too. So I think there might be something there. I like confident people. You get inspired by confident people. I love that you brought up Neji’s flawed philosophy. Whether we’re talking about villains or heroes, everyone deserves some nuance. Tyreak : I think shonen anime does this very well. Their villains might have valid reasons for their actions, but maybe there’s a ruthlessness or lack of humanity that makes them morally wrong. It is a gray area. Even heroes, despite their good intentions, can act in ways that are bad or morally questionable, and they’ll have to confront and learn from their mistakes in a separate arc. I just think that those bits of humanity are what draw me in. I feel like certain anime villains, in their audacity, believe they’re simply above it all. There’s power in being unapologetically yourself in a world that demands constant labor and self-improvement. When you stop apologizing for who you are, you trust your instincts, take risks, and assert your needs. Just unapologetic, unbothered — the epitome of “I say what I mean and mean what I say.” If they offend you, they don’t care. Tyreak : And they dare you do something about it too. Where can we find you? Tyreak : I can be found on Instagram , TikTok , YouTube , and I also have a podcast (Tyreak Told You Podcast) available on Apple and Spotify .
