The Swiftie Who Made Being a Fan Her Full-Time Job

This week, I'm sitting down with Olivia Levin — the woman behind what is widely considered the number one Taylor Swift fan account in the world, Swifties for Eternity. Olivia started on Tumblr at 13, got followed by Taylor herself, was invited to a secret session at the Holiday House at 17, and somehow turned all of that into a full-time career complete with brand deals, a ticket business, and a book deal with Simon & Schuster. We get into everything in this one — what it was actually like inside Taylor's house the night of the Reputation Secret Session, the moment Taylor made eye contact with her across the room, and what they talked about one-on-one. We also go deep on the business side: how Olivia monetized a fan account, the legalities of building a brand around a celebrity, and the online backlash she faced for charging $3 a month to help fans get face-value Eras Tour tickets. But honestly, the conversation that stuck with me most was about what it means to build your entire career on the back of another person and whether that's really all that different from any of us. We talk about parasocial relationships, the difference between obsession and admiration, the 13 lessons Olivia took from Taylor's career into her own life, and what she'd say to anyone who has a niche passion they can't figure out how to monetize. Olivia also just released her book, The Story of Us: How the Taylor Swift Fandom Changed Our Lives. You can purchase it here: https://amzn.to/4uNCfgS  Sponsors: Spindrift: Visit https://www.drinkspindrift.com and use code lucie for 15% off. Blissy: Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep. Use code LUCIE for an extra 30% off at https://www.blissy.com/LUCIE Labcorp: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Magnetic Me: New customers get 15% off sitewide at https://www.magneticme.com Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX  To apply to be a guest on the show, visit https://www.luciefink.com/apply and send us your story.  I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone.  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod  Find Lucie here:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/  Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices