Kirstie Nicole on Building a Media Company Around Human Connection
Kirstie Nicole built her audience by sharing travel and authentic human stories. Now, as Founder and CEO of SCWB Media, she is using that audience to build an independent LGBTQ+ media company that she hopes will change the conversation about who gets heard.
Her personal social media following has passed 800,000, and her company’s YouTube channel reaches more than 22,000 subscribers. But she says the numbers are not the point.
The Audience Came First
Nicole began in travel, digital storytelling and content creation. Her early work centered on authentic human experiences, and it drew an international audience. Over time, she says, she recognized an opportunity to go beyond her own channels and build something with a broader cultural impact.
That became She Comes With Baggage, and then SCWB Media. The company produces original editorial features, interviews, entertainment coverage and the SCWB Podcast, which Nicole hosts. Its focus is amplifying underrepresented voices and sharing perspectives that challenge how people think.
A Different Kind of Media Company
SCWB Media is built on the idea that “we’re more alike than we are different.” Nicole says LGBTQ+ stories have long been left out of mainstream media or told through the same limited narratives. “Our lives are so much more than our identities or the challenges we’ve faced,” she says. “We’re artists, entrepreneurs, dreamers and everyday people with stories worth telling.”
Her team’s approach is to create space for stories that do more than make people feel represented. They want to help others understand experiences outside their own. “Visibility doesn’t just change the lives of the people being represented,” Nicole says. “It changes the minds of the people watching.”
The company’s work is for the LGBTQ+ community, she says, but also for anyone willing to listen, learn and get curious about the world.
Building Credibility Through Partnerships and Recognition
Nicole has collaborated with Google, National Geographic and Virgin Atlantic, along with partners in travel, lifestyle and entertainment. She was named WITS Creator of the Year in 2025 and received The Points Guy Trailblazer Award in 2023.
In 2026 she was invited by Focus Features to conduct red carpet interviews for SCWB Media at the Los Angeles premiere of Sense & Sensibility. She also spoke at the IGLTA Global Convention in Los Cabos, Mexico, about authentic LGBTQ+ representation and the importance of values-driven partnerships.
Beyond the company, she founded The Amistara, an international friendship-first community that brings people together across more than 17 countries.
An Independent Path
Building an independent company has meant working in an industry where access, resources and opportunities are not always distributed equally. Nicole says she did not follow a traditional path into media or entrepreneurship. She learned the industry as she went and built her own opportunities.
“Building something meaningful takes time, and the impact you make along the way matters just as much as the destination,” she says. “It’s easy to get caught up in numbers, milestones and what success is supposed to look like.”
The Next Chapter: London and the UK
SCWB Media plans to begin expanding internationally in 2027, starting with London and the United Kingdom. The company will bring new voices to its podcast and feature more artists, creatives and changemakers through its editorial platform. Nicole also wants to grow SCWB Media’s presence in arts and entertainment through original storytelling, talent interviews and coverage of cultural events.
Her long-term goal is to build the company into one of the most influential independent LGBTQ+ media companies in the world. “Human connection is universal,” she says, “and the stories that bring us together should be too.”
Stay Connected
“I’d love for you to follow along and be part of what we’re building,” Nicole says. Readers can find her on Instagram at @kirstienicole_ and TikTok at @kirstienicole__, follow @scwbmedia and @scwbpodcast, watch the SCWB Podcast on YouTube and visit scwbmedia.com.