Before Bridey Drake was one of Australia’s biggest content creators, she was a 19-year-old girl running a pyjama business from her bedroom in her family’s Woy Woy home. At school, her marks were, by her own admission, ‘pure average’.
But as her new Stan documentary series, Bridey Drake: Pure Average, proves, there’s nothing particularly average about where she ended up.
Encouraged by her family, she had her sight set on being a business owner. Throughout her school years, she tried all sorts of business ideas, but in 2019, everything seemed to click into place. She’d already launched her pyjama brand Night Sweet Thing, but everything changed when the first-ever video she posted online went viral.
“I started social media when I was 19 and the first video I posted went viral,” she explains.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to see if I can keep this going’. I just kept posting and posting and posting and before I knew it, I had 100,000 followers.”
For Bridey, the online success came as a bit of a surprise. Throughout her life, she’d always felt like she wasn’t good enough but online, young people from around the world resonated with her authenticity. And sitting down with Bridey in the TV WEEK office, it’s clear that what you see is what you get
“I’ve always wanted to be on TV and have my own show,” Bridey admits.
“I was told years ago that I was too shy and awkward to be on TV by a casting director. So, then I was like, I’m going to take this in my stride and fully fund my own show and get myself on TV.”
Now, as she launches her very own documentary series, Bridey Drake: Pure Average, on Stan, Bridey is excited to let her fans see a new side to her, and introduce them to her nearest and dearest. Along with her parents, Casey and Lisa, and her brothers Jesse and Michael, Pure Average brings us into her closest friendships with fellow creators Jiny Maeng, Yulina Collins, Soraya Duggan and Jimmy Horton — all of whom she’s known for years.
Together, they have more than 15 million followers between them.
Bridey had always been committed to making her dreams a reality, but she says the opportunity for the six-part series simply fell into her lap.
“One day I was at a conference and I was sitting next to a director but I didn’t know it at the time. I was just having a conversation with her and next thing you know, we were making a show together.”
As a result, over the last two years, a professional camera crew has followed Bridey, her friends and family around to capture the highs and the lows that come with owning a business and navigating the wild west of online content creation.
At just 24 years old, Bridey has already achieved a lot. She’s bought and renovated multiple houses with her dad, won Creator of the Year at the 2024 TikTok Awards and boasts a combined following of more than 9.5 million.
So, what’s next for the online golden gal who has never been afraid to dream big? She’s got her sights set on Dancing With The Stars — ideally, the American series.
“My next big, impossible dream has got to be Dancing With The Stars in America. I’d love to be the token Aussie,” she says.
“I don’t know what that ones going to happen but I can dream. Maybe the Australian one could be a good stepping stone!”
You can stream Bridey Drake: Pure Average now on Stan.
