Inside the Swell Effect: Why Amanda Golka’s Word Moves a Generation

By Kyra Greene

Amanda Golka has become one of the internet’s most trusted cultural translators—not because she chases virality, but because she interrogates it. Through Swell Entertainment, her blend of curiosity, sarcasm, boundary-setting, and field reporting has turned everything from paranormal conventions to MLM exposés into a new form of digital anthropology. She isn’t a journalist by trade, but she has become a voice millions rely on: the creator who walks into a chaotic event alone, asks the questions no one else thinks to ask, and emerges with a story that feels both incisive and deeply human. In an online world ruled by algorithms and attention economies, Amanda has built something far more rare: a lens that audiences actually trust.

Your reviews toe the line between commentary and culture journalism—when did you realize your voice had become a trusted lens for Gen Z and millennial audiences?

Well first I want to make the distinction that I am not a journalist. I like to say I am professionally nosey, perpetually curious. Honestly it was probably around 2022 when I reviewed this viral cooking pan. I didn’t like it for the price tag mainly; I thought it was impractical. The amount of messages I got saying they appreciated my review because
even though there were things I didn’t like about it, my review answered all their questions about it and they were going to make the order. I think that’s a good indicator, that even if it’s clear I don’t like a product or an event, I’m giving a well-rounded review that will answer all questions I can think of.

You’ve covered everything from pop-up events to MLMs—what draws you to dissect certain cultural phenomena, and what makes you say, “Thisdeserves a video”?

Usually it stems from my own curiosity to start. Something hits myfeed or my inbox that makes me go “what’s this?” and push my glassesup my nose. When it actually comes to a video it’s usually that I feel
I have something to add or I feel very attached to a topic, even thesillier ones. Sometimes it’s something I have been thinking about forawhile, like my recent convention slop video, which stemmed from me
seeing a growing trend at conventions and makers markets in the lastyear, then seeing a new dash of videos of creators noticing the same trend.

There’s a unique empathy and sarcasm balance in your tone—how did you find your voice in a space saturated with snark?

My rule is I never say anything online I wouldn’t say in person. I would never criticize someone’s appearance but I would one hundred percent ask them why they felt it was a good idea to scam their audiences in a crypto rug pull. It’s served me well when people have confronted me in person about my videos and expect me to backtrack and instead I’m like “well no let’s have a conversation about how your event was unsafe.” I also am just a naturally sarcastic person, which is where the “swell” in Swell Entertainment came from, me being an overly sarcastic teenager.

With Swell Entertainment growing steadily, do you ever feel boxed in by the “commentary YouTuber” label—or do you wear it like armor?

It’s funny because I don’t really introduce myself with that. I say I am a creator who makes commentary videos and reviews of products, videos, and events. If anything, I am known as the event reviewer since no one else really does the variety or number of events that I do. I like to say I am a storytelling youtuber more than anything. Regardless of what the video is, a TikTok trend breakdown or a Bigfoot researcher conference, I am telling you a story of my experience with it, which gives me flexibility in my content. I get to talk about whatever I want really, it’s freeing.

Your exposés and reviews often feature unpaid labor, chaotic logistics, and questionable ethics—what’s the most shocking behind-the-scenes thing you’ve learned from an event or brand?

I was really bothered by the amount of food waste I saw at a pizza expo earlier this year. I guess it’s not shocking, but when pairing it with the knowledge of how many homeless people were in the area the expo was being held, it was a disturbing amount of food waste. There had to be a way to deliver the still good pasta and pizza from the event to the community. The number of events that see security as an afterthought is also consistently crazy to me.

You’ve tackled fan culture, creator burnout, and the toxic side ofinfluencer industries. What do you think is the biggest myth people still believe about internet fame?

That people don’t try to take advantage of creators. For work, for money, for attention, I could go on. I will never forget when I was first blowing up in 2020 and I took every call from managers, agents, and multi-channel networks, I could find out what they thought was valuable about my content. I had someone straight up ask me if I had a business degree because “well usually we offer creators money and they say yes” about signing over a sizable portion of my Google AdSense. The creator economy is always changing, but some things don’t change and if there is anything aspiring or growing creators take from me it’s that you have to advocate for yourself.

You’ve shown up to events solo, sometimes even as a one-woman production team. What’s the most chaotic or “I can’t believe this is happening” moment you’ve experienced while filming?

Oh I’m alone ninety percent of the time. If anything, I prefer it because I can lock in and focus. And god… how much time do you have? There was the time when I went to the Raid on Area 51 and a guy invited me back to his van or another guy stripped naked because he was convinced I was following him. There was this time I took a photo with a viewer and he then admitted he had been asking for feet pictures in my DMs. At an alien convention I sat in on an experiencer support group and they went around trying to convince me I had experienced alien abduction. There was a time I saw a back hallway negotiation about a Transformers collectable that matched a drug deal in tone. At that same event I saw a random attendee insert himself into a panel and take a microphone from another panelist. I’ve seen a person being chased out of a furry convention
for illegally trying to sell a fur suit. I could keep going!

If your content was adapted into a Netflix docuseries, what would the title be—and which episode would be the wildest?

I really want to do something with the title I Probably Shouldn’t Be Here, because so many of the events I go to I have no business being at or I’m not part of the subculture. The paranormal events are usually fascinating, the furry events are usually really well organized but people judge them too much to see the event itself. I would definitely want to explore more international events if I had a bigger budget from say Netflix. I am obviously limited by my own YouTube budget currently.

You frequently discuss the blurred line between entertainment and exploitation. How do you personally navigate that tension in your own platform growth? 

I am pretty strict about my own posting even if it doesn’t seem like it. My team knows at the end of the day I won’t post anything I am not personally comfortable with. For my event reviews I avoid filming children, if it can’t be helped (say an event like Ace Fest where there were a lot of children) I ask my editor to blur their faces. I avoid filming individuals without asking unless something is happening and I need to film for safety, but even then, that footage doesn’t make it to the edit.

Your audience trusts you because you’re willing to say what others won’t. Has there ever been a moment where you second-guessed uploading a video?

Oh I have anxiety so regularly I get stressed before uploading. If I am truly stressed about a topic or event you will see me being very factual, not much riffing. It’s usually very clear when I am uncomfortable or upset with a topic, and those stress me out to post
because I worry people won’t take me seriously or that they will accuse me of being hysterical. But I still post. And then I make myself take my dog for a walk or go meet with friends who I know will yell at me if I obsessively check my comments.

What responsibility do you think longform creators have now that traditional journalism is losing influence in pop culture coverage?

Again I am not a journalist, I’m a nosey chick on the internet. And I think that’s my responsibility in this space is to make that distinction for people. If I talk about an article I link it. My goal with all of my content at the very least is to get my audience to get in the habit of asking their own questions, even from the digital creators they watch. With creators I think it’s imperative for us to disclose our biases on a topic we are covering. Even if it’s something simple like me saying I don’t typically like music festivals when reviewing Warped Tour.

From theme park investigations to creator conference exposés, your content often functions as digital anthropology. Is that intentional—or just a byproduct of curiosity?

Definitely a byproduct of curiosity. I go into every event with some interest, either in the topic or in the possibility of mess, but I walk in that door day one with the goal of having a good time. Heck, even if the event is a mess I might have a grand old time because I know I’m going to get to make a good video on it. I might meet cool people, discover new things, or get inspired. I’ve actually given real thought about going back to school to get a degree in anthropology because I’ve always known I would go back to school at some point, butI am not pursuing it yet.

What’s a piece of content you’ve always wanted to make, but haven’tyet—either due to scale, access, or timing?

I have wanted to do a series shadowing people in their jobs for a while now. An F1 driver during a race weekend, a singer on tour from one stop to another, a model during fashion week, a director in one week of shooting, etc. Show viewers a different side to their lives in a more laid-back way with the YouTube format. I think with the rise of need to use social media for marketing many professionals’ personal accounts have become so polished and high quality that you lose a bit of the reality of their jobs, and I think that would be really cool to
shadow and show people.

As a woman in the commentary space, have you encountered different standards or criticisms than your male counterparts—and how do you push back?

On occasion but it’s pretty rare now. There have definitely been times where something happens and I think “wow they can survive this but Idefinitely could not have” with say a sponsor scandal but that’s more a size thing than me being a woman thing.

Finally, what does “Swell Entertainment” really mean to you today—and how has your definition of ‘entertainment’ evolved since you started?

Swell Entertainment is kind of like a tree that you planted from an apple core as a teenager for funsies, but you keep watering and tending it because it’s fun, and then one day it’s giving you shade and fruit and so much fruit you can even set up a little stand to sell your fruit. A silly metaphor but I mean it. I started it as a teenager to try and be famous but it has given me so much fulfillment and creative freedom and completely changed my life. I don’t know if entertainment has changed to me because of Swell Entertainment, but ithas definitely changed to me because of the growing use of AI. I hate
AI, it has no place in my entertainment or in my content. If anything, my definition of entertainment has become stronger as things have changed.

In a landscape where entertainment and exploitation often blur, Amanda Golka has carved out a lane that is unmistakably her own—honest, curious, empathetic, and unbothered by the conventions of traditional media. Swell Entertainment has grown into a space where audiences feel informed rather than manipulated, entertained rather than exhausted. And while Amanda insists she’s “just a nosey chick on the internet,” her work has become something bigger: a reminder that asking better questions—about creators, industries, trends, and ourselves—will always be the most powerful form of storytelling. As the digital world continues to shift, her voice remains a rare constant: sharp, self-aware, and unafraid to say what others won’t.

Photographer: Ben Cope @ben_cope

Stylist: Anna Schilling @anna_schilling

Hair/Makeup: Blondie