Social media influencer Nicola 'Nix' Adams recently starred on Māori Television's Terei Tonight with Pio Terei, which aired for the first time last Tuesday, taking her from phone content to television.
The pilot also featured the undisputed middle-weight UFC champion Israel Adesanya, one of the speakers at Auckland's #BlackLivesMatter protest.
Nix, however, is no stranger to the spotlight - she has partnered with radio hosts, brands and other social media icons as a result of her authenticity and brutal humour, based on her life story.
Most recently she entertained New Zealand with her Jacinda Ardern press conference impersonations on TikTok, which dominated social media during Alert Level 4 lockdown, with hundreds of thousands of views and shares.
Terei Tonight was a different environment for Adams after having spent years creating visual content from her phone but she says she felt support from the audience anyway.
“I’m in front of my camera every day so I can’t see all these eyes,” Adams said.
A large number of the audience showed up wearing her merchandise and she said that “it was like my whānau was in the audience.”
The inspiration behind 'Cooked Whānau Korero with Nix'
Cooked Whānau Korero with Nix originally started as a Facebook page to document Adams' journey to recovery from drug addiction. She wanted to prove that she deserved another chance to see her children, which eventually happened.
"My main objective was to get my children's father's attention," Adams told Tapatahi.
“I needed to show him I was sober.”
The tale of her struggle resonated with thousands of Kiwis and many responded, offering her aroha.
“At the end of the day we all go through anxiety, depression, challenges, and struggles,” she says.
“But it’s not all dark and gloomy - there’s a lot of humour as well.”
Adams says one day she will be ready for her own television programme and hopes to learn the ropes from Terei.
“I’m not ready - yet,” she says.
“I’ve got a few ideas lined up but I need Pio to teach me a little more first.”
For now, Adams has a "side hustle" producing her own cosmetics and says she's partnered with D-Lish Perfumes founder Maria Hill.
Adams wants to empower other people through her content and has a strong message for all her followers, “You can get off the drugs and you can make a strong 'hearty' comeback.”
Adams’ kids and the future generation after them are her main inspiration for her social media content.
“Hopefully, some of my wisdom will rub off onto them.”