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Influencer Lisa Perese-Cullen reveals who she owes her success to

She shares her amazing journey in just a few years/
Lady with make-up and a greenn shirt, standing in a forrestPhotography by Robert Trathen. Hair & make-up by Claudia Rodrigues.

She has more than 600,000 TikTok followers and last November, she took home the New Zealand TikTok Creator of the Year award at a glitzy ceremony in Sydney. But Lisa Perese-Cullen is a far cry from the shiny, glamorous social media star you might expect.

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The Māori-Samoan mother won the prestigious award for her hilarious depiction of life at home. Along with her husband and kids on their South Auckland lifestyle block.

Her videos of the washing machine leaking everywhere, sharing her favourite mug as her kids argue in the background. And her husband getting into DIY have earned her a devoted following.

But Lisa says it happened by accident, after she figured she’d better learn how to use the platform so she could promote her underwear brand, Harper James.

“It started in March 2022,” tells Lisa, 34, who is married to Brandon, 34, and has two daughters, aged 10 and five, whom she prefers not to name. “I was launching my business and knew it was important to get onto social media for that.”

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Doing what she loves has paid off for the award-winner.

Despite not being tech-savvy, she started putting together blogs for friends and family. Including one of her wedding at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.

“Brandon and I had been together 10 years and were in the process of building a house. So spending $30,000 on a wedding just didn’t seem worth it. So we eloped with a few family and friends, and streamed it online,” she tells.

From there, she continued posting about what she thought were exciting moments in her life, including doing a bungee jump. But the video that went viral wasn’t the one she expected. “I was cleaning my house!” she laughs. All I did was voice the internal monologue that goes on in my head and it just took off. I was like – really? I do all this fun stuff and nobody cares, but when I clean my house, everyone jumps on board!”

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Going from being followed by a few mates to becoming a public figure happened almost overnight. “One minute, I was posting to about 50 people, then I woke up one morning and there were 5000, then 10,000. In the span of six months, I hit 100,000.”

family sitting on a beach while the sun is setting
Fans can’t get enough of Lisa’s family life.

Lisa’s videos are refreshingly down to earth. With many of her extended family making regular appearances, including her mum Karen Perese, 59. “She lives very close to me – too close!” laughs Lisa. “We’re on the same property and she has a key to my house – she comes and goes as she pleases.”

Lisa keeps her content funny and relatable but sets boundaries around what she shares online.

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“That’s been one of the biggest lessons,” she reflects. “There are days Brandon doesn’t want to be on camera and that’s fine. There are days I don’t want to either. And I always ask my daughters if they’re okay to be on there. I’m very conscious of not putting anything up that’s negative or might embarrass them in the future.”

Despite her success, Lisa says she doesn’t take her online world too seriously. “It’s just me being myself – I want to help people have a smile, have a laugh.”

But unfortunately, part of being a successful content creator means copping online abuse. “I’ve never been in the public realm before, so that was an interesting struggle,” she admits. “Now I’ve realised no matter what you do or how positive you try to be, people will always form their own opinions. At first, I used to correct people and stand up for myself, but now I just ignore the noise.”

Lady with make-up and a greenn shirt, standing in a forrest
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Lisa learned a lot, so she doesn’t let her kids access social media. “My 10-year-old doesn’t have anything – Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, nothing,” Lisa says. “I’m not sure when the right time will be, but it’s not yet.”

But despite the downsides, Lisa loves TikTok. “There have been some amazing moments,” she enthuses.

“One day, I was stopped in the street by a young mum who thanked me for being a voice for her when she needed it. Being a new mum can be very isolating and I guess she felt she could relate to what I was saying. My underwear business is my primary focus, but content creation is a close second – it’s my fun, creative outlet. If I get to a point where I don’t enjoy it, I’ll stop, but at the moment, it’s my positive space.”

And she’s not the only one enjoying it. “I have a big family who are part of it,” she says. “I wouldn’t be nearly as funny without my family. It’s brought more opportunity into our lives and allows me to bring in an income while being a stay-at-home mum.”

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Follow Lisa on TikTok at @LisaPerese_, on Instagram at @lisaperesecullen and check out her underwear brand Harper James.

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