Christina Roki recently starred in Sony’s Venom movie and Formula 1 collaboration, breaking TikTok’s all-time commenting record with over 21 million comments. 

Before showcasing venomized F1 cars for Hollywood blockbusters, she was a college engineering student repairing her family’s only vehicle. “I didn’t grow up in a very financially stable home,” Christina recalls. “I used those [constraints] as a challenge to explore my creativity.”

While studying engineering and participating in First Robotics and STEM programs, Christina’s family relied on a single car that needed frequent repairs. She applied her engineering knowledge to learn auto repair, eliminating expensive mechanic visits.

This practical necessity transformed into an opportunity to share knowledge. “Instead of me just hosting programs that could only teach a limited number of girls, I can share it to the world, and it can introduce it to millions of people and inspire so many others,” Christina explains.

“It sure did. That’s where it started from real humble beginnings. And it’s where it is now, getting to work with many cool people, many of my dream brands, doing a lot of cool creative concepts, and bringing them to life.”

Building a Following Through Automotive Content

Christina began creating content when COVID-19 sent her home from college. Her initial videos documented car repairs and transformations, including renovating her family’s vehicle. 

“I decided to start a 10-20-part series on giving it a complete 360 transformation and, at the very end, surprising my mom with it,” she shares. “People were interested in it and engaged with it because they are interested in family stuff. It’s very wholesome, truthful, and relatable. The quantity and quality of cars and content got better. When I started doing this full time, I would do holiday-based automotive or fashion content and started incorporating trends.”

She highlights her unique approaches: “For example, the Advent calendar is trendy during Christmas. I decided to take that, put my twist on it, and build a huge advent calendar for a car series. And every day, I unbox one box until Christmas, when the car is fully finished.”

Success in an Industry Traditionally Dominated by Men

Christina faced unique challenges as a woman creating automotive content. 

“In the beginning, as a girl trying to teach others about cars, some didn’t want to learn, and I  remember getting criticized for certain things I was doing,” Christina reflects but shares that she now has an almost perfect 50-50 male-female audience.

Her family provided essential support through these hurdles. “Sometimes with my sisters and my family, they would help me and say, ‘It’s okay, it’s the Internet, this is how social media happens. Everyone has a right to their opinion.'”

Her STEM education background prepared her for these obstacles. 

“Even before social media, because I was entering a field that was so male-dominated, computer science and mechanical engineering, I would purposely host these programs and create these programs for women,” she says. “These would be solely female-based programs and STEM camps. Because I saw and recognized that it was such a male-dominated field, this was a way to boost our confidence together.”

“Just because you’re a female doesn’t mean you know any less and don’t bring anything else to the table. If more, you honestly have a different perspective that brings even more value to whatever you’re working on,” Christina points out. “Knowing my purpose and value also helped me continue to face and brush over these challenges.”

Strategic Approach to Content Creation

Christina develops content with careful planning and purpose. “I sit and brainstorm. I have papers, and I’m running around my office trying to figure out what would make the most sense,” she explains. “I like to put stories behind things. I don’t like posting content for its own sake. I like my audience to swipe out of the video and say they learned something.”

According to her, this approach maintains viewer engagement “because people aren’t just watching the video and being entertained solely by it; they want to come back for more, and they want to learn more.” Additionally, Christina found success with her signature multi-part series concept of creating content within the automotive industry, highlighting her hashtag stats as proof.

Her content planning considers seasonal opportunities. “If holidays are coming around, such as Halloween or Christmas, I like to strategize around that. When brands approach me, we like to talk about creative concepts where we can incorporate holiday-based stuff or trends and make them relatable. People love family, and people love wholesome content. And behind all these screens, my family means everything to me.”

When asked about her favorite part of the creation process, Christina quickly answered: “Brainstorming is the top of my list. Once you get the foundation, filming is such a breeze. When you’re filming and don’t know what angle you’ll take, you can film for hours and probably use 20 seconds of the footage.”

Setting TikTok Records with Venom

Christina was recently featured in a major collaboration with Sony for “Venom: The Last Dance.” The campaign featured the creator with a venomized Formula 1 car during the Austin Grand Prix, garnering over 21 million comments.

The project aligned with the F1’s United States Grand Prix. “I’m a huge F1 fan,” Christina explains. “When they reached out and said this was going on, this was secretive at the time. No one knew this was going on. And I think one of the biggest challenges is being so excited about certain campaigns, but you can’t talk about it for weeks, sometimes even months.”

The creative development involved extensive collaboration. “We hopped on multiple calls, we discussed creative concepts, and again, it’s cool they let me create the ideas and take the lead on what we should film,” she shares. “We rented a theater, and I took all my audience through the behind-the-scenes.”

Christina vividly remembers watching the comments accumulate, waking up her sisters,  FaceTiming her boyfriend, and screaming, “I broke the record! I was freaking out in bed and couldn’t go back to sleep.” The campaign gained momentum through organic recognition. 

Christina believes the collaboration’s success stemmed from its unique cross-genre approach. “They do something that I also do in my content — take something that isn’t normally a part of the category, put a twist, and combine it,” she notes.

Future Projects

Christina maintains her focus on creating educational and inspiring content. 

“There are so many more movie campaigns upcoming. I’m super excited about that we might break another world record. Who knows?” she shares. “I’m also looking forward to my Car Christmas Advent calendar series, working with actors and many cool people, and meshing it all into my content.”

For aspiring creators, Christina emphasizes persistence: “Don’t let one ‘no’ discourage you. It may take 100 ‘no’s’ to get one ‘yes.’ Sometimes, you must take back the criticism, whatever was good, and use it to improve your content.”

“Don’t put yourself in a box. You’re creative. The creative aspect is so important; it’s what makes you. Let that shine through your content. Let your story shine through your content. You don’t have to clean-cut box and make yourself look like the next content creator out there.”