Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiger Borgia.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Yes, of course! Hi! I’m Tiger, I’m 26 years old, and I’m a full-time gaming content creator based in Austin, Texas. I create cozy videos primarily focused on Animal Crossing.
I actually originally started making videos when I was just in elementary school. I would go on YouTube using my parents laptop or my grandma’s home computer, and I would share videos of my stuffed animals, called Webkinz. I would make skits, music videos, and vlogs where I just talked about my favorite Webkinz and even shared stories from my life. I was from a small town in Texas, and I struggled to connect with other students where I lived. No one really had the same interests as me, so I found community online. I was always a lot more comfortable expressing myself creatively through online avatars and virtual worlds than I was in person growing up.
Throughout middle school and high school, I went on to create several social media accounts about my many niche interests. And I explored several creative outlets, like portrait photography and brand design. But in 2020, when my university let out for Spring Break and we didn’t return again until much later due to COVID-19, I found myself playing Animal Crossing’s newly released Nintendo Switch game: New Horizons.
Being me, of course I had to make an Instagram account dedicated to sharing my Animal Crossing screenshots and experiences. My account started to grow and eventually I decided to make a YouTube channel where I posted daily long-form videos of me playing Animal Crossing. This is when my online presence really started to take off. I reached 100,000 subscribers, was recognized by YouTube as a Woman on the Rise, and got to work with so many big brands. This past year, I’ve even got to work directly with Nintendo themselves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road! In 2021 and 2022, I experienced multiple major losses in my life and ended up stepping away from my online platform to grieve privately. During this hiatus, I still grew my content-creating skills by helping indie game studios with their social media and community management. I learned so much from these experiences, like how to be way more organized, how to set quality standards, and how to navigate online communities from a professional perspective I never had before.
In 2024, I returned to my Animal Crossing channels with more confidence than ever, and a new strategy: daily short form content. A huge turning point for me was leaning into series-based content and letting my personality show a lot more in my videos. My community especially connected with my ongoing Animal Crossing island series called “Meowopolis,” which follows the progress of my cat-themed island where I play without cheats or time travel, which is something not many creators in the community do. Seeing people become emotionally invested in the island has been really special. The island actually just turned a year old a few weeks ago.
Now content creation is my full-time career again, which still feels surreal sometimes. I was so nervous that returning back to my channels after such a long break with no real explanation would be seen negatively, or that my community would not be interested in what I was doing anymore. I feel very lucky that that wasn’t the case. In fact, now my community has grown so much more in ways that I don’t think it could have if I never stepped away and took a break. My brand has expanded from Instagram and YouTube to now TikTok and Facebook as well, and it’s just been so awesome to see.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For people unfamiliar with my content, I would describe it as very community-focused, comforting, and personality-driven. Even though the videos are centered around the game Animal Crossing, I think a lot of viewers connect more with the ongoing stories, humor, and sense of familiarity that comes with watching consistent content from me. I don’t post daily anymore, but I do share videos and host livestreams multiple times a week across all major platforms, so my viewers probably see a lot of me on every app.
A lot of my videos follow recurring island series, long-running “storylines,” or sometimes just tips and tricks for the game. My community gets attached to the islands and characters, which is honestly one of my favorite parts of what I do. People will remember tiny details from videos I posted months earlier, and it creates this really fun shared experience between me and my audience. Sometimes I feel like my community remembers more about my island than I do!
I also think my videos appeal to people because I try my hardest to be authentic and genuine with my content. I’m definitely someone who marches to the beat of my own drum, and while I find inspiration from other creators, I always try to pave my own path and come up with ideas that people haven’t seen before, or at least add my own twist to make things feel fresh. I’ve always used online spaces and games as a form of self-expression, even through small details like giving my in-game character bright pink hair.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Definitely authenticity. I think people can tell when someone genuinely loves what they create, and I’ve always tried to make content that feels true to myself instead of chasing every trend or copying what works for other big creators in the Nintendo niche.
One of my previous YouTube partner managers once told me something that has really stuck with me over the years: being a creator is like being on a boat in wavy waters. When your niche is trending, there are huge waves pushing you forward, but your core audience is always on the boat with you, keeping you steady through everything. I think that’s why authenticity matters so much online. Trends and algorithms constantly change, but building a genuine connection with your audience is what gives a creator longevity.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newhurizons
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newhurizons/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@newhurizons
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@newhurizons
