This week on Hooked, we sit down with Anna Greene, PlayKit’s Head Strategist, crochet YouTuber with nearly 100K subscribers, and the Gen Z marketer behind hundreds of millions of TikTok views.

Anna’s journey is anything but traditional: she went from being a teenage photographer working with brands like Vogue, to running a viral crochet channel in high school, to studying computer engineering (before realizing she hated it), to finally leaning into social media and marketing. This path that’s now made her one of the sharpest strategists in UGC.

In this episode, Anna shares what it’s like to build authority as a Gen Z creator, how she battles imposter syndrome, why “just post” is lazy advice, and why authentic content always beats perfect aesthetics.

If you’re a founder, marketer, or young creative looking to break into content, this conversation is your blueprint.

Highlights

00:00 – Intro banter & Anna’s first podcast appearance

01:00 – Favorite podcasts & crocheting while listening to true crime

02:00 – Anna’s role at PlayKit and viral strategy background

06:30 – Starting a crochet channel during COVID & going viral on YouTube

08:30 – Monetizing crochet tutorials vs. patterns vs. ad revenue

10:30 – Why crochet (and “grandma hobbies”) became cool again

12:00 – The power of evergreen tutorial content

13:30 – Switching from computer engineering to marketing

16:00 – Teenage photography business, Vogue features, and early brand work

20:00 – First sponsorship deal with Locket & entering the UGC world

22:30 – How Julia’s cold DM got Anna onboarded to PlayKit

26:00 – Building confidence as a young strategist & battling imposter syndrome

31:00 – Why “just do it” is the cure for perfectionism and paralysis

33:00 – Being Gen Z as a superpower for marketing

38:00 – Why “just post” isn’t enough & the importance of authenticity

39:30 – The death of aspirational influencers and rise of relatability

42:30 – Why content creators are salespeople (and what that means)

44:30 – The “bangs TikTok” story & how the internet reshapes self-image

50:00 – The dark side of influence: overinflated presence & mental health risks

57:00 – The fleeting nature of influencer fame & burnout cycles

01:01:00 – UGC vs. influencer: how to monetize without the downsides

01:04:00 – Why UGC works better than polished brand ads

01:08:00 – Where content formats are headed & staying ahead of consumer fatigue

01:14:00 – How to turn being “chronically online” into a career skill

01:18:00 – Anna’s live breakdown of how she’d market a hypothetical app

01:30:00 – Relationships, self-belief, and why support systems matter

01:34:00 – Anna’s growth after leaving a relationship that held her back

01:35:00 – Closing reflections & where to find Anna online