A Million Followers. An empty room
October 14, 2026
Why creators are going offline as AI makes content limitless.
Welcome to this week’s Takumi AI Brief.
A creator can have a million followers, thousands of comments and impressive engagement.
Ask them to fill a room on a Thursday evening, and their influence can look very different.
That’s why some creators are taking their communities offline.
And as AI floods the internet with content, they may be onto something.
01 · The Trend That Matters
Maya Raichoora built a following of more than 600,000 around mental fitness and became Nike’s first mental fitness trainer.
Now she hosts monthly gatherings for her community, and she’s said that the future is going to be in real life.
She isn’t alone.
Dude Perfect drew more than 200,000 fans to its US stadium tours in 2025.
Research from MKTG Sports + Entertainment EMEA , reported by Digiday, found 45% of sports fans say that as digital and AI content grows, they crave more physical experiences.
The numbers are interesting.
The behaviour is more revealing.
People who spend hours watching someone online increasingly want to experience something together offline.
02 · An Audience Isn’t a Community
We’ve confused followers with community.
Following someone takes almost no commitment. Showing up takes time, effort and a real wish to connect.
An audience watches you. A community wants to be part of something with you.
Call it the Room Test. Can this person get a hundred strangers to turn up, and will most of them come back?
A creator might rally followers around a live podcast, a padel night, a beauty workshop or a community dinner.
But attendance alone isn’t enough.
The real test is whether people return, build relationships and feel part of something larger.
03 · The Antidote to Infinite Content
AI can now generate images, videos, characters and whole personalities at extraordinary speed.
It can’t manufacture genuine participation.
You can generate a video of a thousand people cheering.
Getting a thousand real people to turn up and care is a different job.
That’s why experiences, clubs and communities are becoming more valuable. Nike’s community runs, Lululemon’s local events and Sephora’s beauty classes all turn affinity into participation.
A fitness creator might run a training session. A food creator could start a supper club. A gaming creator might build a recurring tournament.
These aren’t just content opportunities.
They’re tests of trust.
Brands are already partnering with creators across gaming, sport, fashion, food, music and wellness. But there’s a risk.
If every gathering becomes a branded activation, we commercialise the very thing people came for.
The best brands will add to the experience without taking it over.
04 · If I Were in the CMO Chair
IAI can now generate images, videos, characters and whole personalities at extraordinary speed.
It can’t manufacture genuine participation.
You can generate a video of a thousand people cheering.
Getting a thousand real people to turn up and care is a different job.
That’s why experiences, clubs and communities are becoming more valuable. Nike’s community runs, Lululemon’s local events and Sephora’s beauty classes all turn affinity into participation.
A fitness creator might run a training session. A food creator could start a supper club. A gaming creator might build a recurring tournament.
These aren’t just content opportunities.
They’re tests of trust.
Brands are already partnering with creators across gaming, sport, fashion, food, music and wellness. But there’s a risk.
If every gathering becomes a branded activation, we commercialise the very thing people came for.
The best brands will add to the experience without taking it over.
The CMO Takeaway
For years, we’ve measured influence through screens. Views, likes and shares.
Those metrics still matter.
But as AI makes content easier to produce and harder to tell apart, physical participation may become a stronger signal of influence.
The brands best placed to benefit won’t just sponsor events. They’ll help build spaces where people have a reason to return, connect and take part.
The internet helps people find one another.
The next opportunity for brands may be helping them meet.
A million people watching is impressive.
Getting people to show up says something else entirely.
Mohit Lodha, Founder, Takumi AI