With 1.3 million online followers and having won “Personality of the Year” at this year’s New Zealand TV Awards, social media sensation Nicola “Nix” Adams, 34, is the first to admit she’s an anomaly. She’s a former methamphetamine addict and sex worker who has been to prison and grew up in a gang environment. She initially posted her journey of recovery on social media to regain the trust of her children and family and show them she had quit drugs and turned her life around. How could someone like Nix, with an extensive criminal past, appeal to a massive following and become one of the most popular and successful social media influencers in Aotearoa?
Nix reckons it’s because she’s straight up, authentic and likes to swear.
“I have no filter,” she says. “I’ll talk about shit on my online platforms that you would only talk to your close mates about. I say what people think but won’t say. A lot of people worry about what others will think of them and so they find it hard to be their true authentic selves and won’t talk about rude shit or other things that might pop into their fuckin’ heads. I don’t give a fuck. If I want to say it, I’ll just fuckin’ say it.
“When I first started on social media, I was raw. I had no teeth, I looked like I was still high on meth. I had nobody to impress. I was at my lowest point,
