Ryan Lu is manifesting his own destiny. The social media sensation is bringing mindful
goal-setting to the forefront of our feeds, reaching millions of fans across Instagram and TikTok.
Lu is the enigmatic host of “Delulu,” a podcast dedicated to the spiritual and mental practice of manifestation. With a rotating list of guests that gay fans are sure to recognize, Lu continues to demystify this growing trend, helping people move from believing to achieving.
It’s clear this online monarch of manifestation can turn any dream into a reality. We even made a wish together at 11:11.
Emitting a glowing positivity that radiates through the screen, Lu spoke with So.Gay about goals for future pop stardom, channeling the future you deserve, and much more.
So.Gay: Congratulations on the success of your podcast! It seems like the manifestation community is growing because of your posts.
Ryan Lu: That is so crazy. One, that is so incredibly sweet for you to say. I really appreciated that. I take my career a little too seriously. So to hear that really means a lot to me. Honestly, it feels kind of unreal to me. I’ve been manifesting pretty much everything in my career for my entire life. I continue to manifest. For everything to happen and to see the success of things really pleases me because, honestly, at the end of the day, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing at all. I’m kind of just going for it, seeing what works. If it works, even resonates, then I feel like I’m over the moon, truly. I’m really happy. I’m really happy about the success of “Delulu.” Long-form content is something I’ve never done until now. I’ve always made really quick one-minute or less videos for literally half a decade. Now I’ve been thrown into doing about an hour to an hour and a half show. It was a giant adjustment for me. But I’m really, really happy that it seems to be resonating with people.
So.Gay: How’d you begin your manifestation journey?
Ryan Lu: I feel like it started for me… I’ve always been into manifestation. It’s been a very casual way for me to express myself. It was very ‘girly pop’ where I’d be like, “I’m manifesting this” or “let’s manifest that.” It was very casual, like an afterthought. Then I really got into manifestation in 2020. It was during the pandemic, and we were in quarantine. Everything shut down, and I was at my rock bottom. I was 23, turning 24. I’ve always wanted to be an entertainer. I wanted to act, be in front of a camera, be on a stage, and do music. I wanted to do literally everything that Hollywood is. But it felt like I maybe aged out of it at that point because all the people I was competing with were teenyboppers. It was like Addison Rae and Noah Beck and Charlie D’Amelio, and more.
But everything had shut down in the world, and I was stuck in my house in my childhood bedroom. I was talking to a friend, and she told me that she manifested free Selena Gomez concert tickets by writing about them in her journal. And I was like, “Oh, okay. Well, fuck it. I have nothing to lose.” I went out and bought myself a manifestation journal, a little Navy Blue Journal with gold stars, and I started writing things down that I wanted to manifest. Pretty quickly, those things I was writing down were beginning to manifest and come true. And I was like, “Oh, shit, this might be real,” and a thing that I could do. At first, I thought it was a journal. I just bought a massive magic journal so that whatever I wrote in this journal would come true. And then the more I did it and the more I got into it, the more that happened in real life. I realized it was actually just me manifesting it and not even the journal. Like, I don’t know where that journal is anymore, but I’m so grateful for it. That’s kind of when I got really deep into it, I manifested blowing up on TikTok. Then that happened relatively quickly after I got the journal, too. And now we’re here.
So.Gay: In addition to journaling, were there any other ways that you manifested?
Ryan Lu: Oh my gosh, I was into other types of manifestation so heavily. I went into every manifestation method under the sun. I did everything that you could think of, anything that I saw on TikTok. I would do all of it. But the journal is where it started for me, and then it evolved for me into not even using any of those manifestation methods or tools anymore. I think they’re so powerful and great to help you pinpoint what you’re trying to manifest. But where I am now is the right mindset. I know it’s going to manifest no matter what. So I’m just going to live as is, which I just worked really deeply with the law of assumption, which is what my podcast “Delulu” is. Being delulu is just saying whatever you want. It’s when you are living in that delusion and just absolutely owning it. Then just treat it like a habit.
So.Gay: It’s great that you’re putting a positive spin on being delulu.
Ryan Lu: We actually need to reclaim “delulu”—make it so it’s no longer derogatory but instead a word of empowerment. You have the audacity to manifest your dream life, which all of us need to have and do. So we’re reclaiming “delulu” as a compliment now.
So.Gay: You’re also reclaiming social media as a more positive space. Do you have any advice against the dangers of doomscrolling?
Ryan Lu: It’s all about being very conscious of your mental diet, like the content you consume, the things you watch, the things that you’re embracing. Understand what the algorithm is feeding you, how it caters to you. But you also have a lot of control over what you can see. I imagine if I pop up on someone’s FYP, it’s just a little bit of a breather. You can feel good for about a minute. You can feel reassured and confident. The internet could be so crazy, dark, and insidious. But I think when you’re being conscious, and you’re choosing to watch things that make you feel empowered, make you feel good, give you a little bit of that serotonin boost, you take that power back. Curate your FYP, the algorithm, to be very specific to what you’re looking forward to. We consume and we doomscroll. It could be really easy to slip into a habit of that. We can be very, very picky about what we want to consume. As long as you’re being more conscious of it.
So.Gay: Can you share what your media diet is like?
Ryan Lu: Yeah, I don’t even watch any content at all because I feel like I’m so easily influenced and swayed. I don’t even look at anything; I kind of just post my content and go about my day unless it’s something important. I just don’t even want to watch anything… I have just been really mindful. I also used to compare myself all the time when I first started making content. Anytime I watched a new video, I wouldn’t care about the video itself. I’d be wondering how many followers they had, view counts, comments, and thinking about how I could be noticed. Then I realized this was so deeply unhealthy. I just told myself to stop watching. Wait, it’s 11:11—I’m just gonna make a wish real quick.
So.Gay: People are loving your podcast. How has the reception been?
Ryan Lu: It’s been amazing! I have been loving the guests so much because I feel like I learn a lot from them. I’m genuinely sitting there digesting everything they’re saying. I’ve been having a lot of pop artists come on. I’m actually releasing music next year. I’m listening to everything they’re saying. I’m really taking inspiration from their journeys. They’ve been in the game for so long. I will have myself go on record and say my favorite guests have been Sophie Powers, Ellise, Ryn Weaver, Bonnie McKee, gosh, so many. I love all of them. But those guests are standout episodes for me, they were just really fun and very inspiring.
So.Gay: Do you have a manifestation community out in LA?
Ryan Lu: Not really. I don’t even know the other manifestation content creators online. Maybe I should organize an event for all of us to meet up. I would love to continue building community out in LA, so honestly, that could be a project for me in 2026.
So.Gay: A manifestation meetup group sounds like a blast.
Ryan Lu: Doesn’t it? Yeah, I would love to connect with my followers more. I want more opportunities to see and meet them in person. I’ve done a few things over the years, and they’ve become like besties in my life. I value being able to interact and connect with people in real life. Seeing how my content may have impacted them or hearing their stories face-to-face is so priceless to me. So I’m really hoping next year is gonna have a lot more of that. I’ve been manifesting a tour for years now.
So.Gay: How should someone begin adding manifestation into their life?
Ryan Lu: Honestly, I would say start by finding any manifestation method that makes sense to you and just doing it. See if it works. I always recommend people start by manifesting small and then building on the belief. Building the belief is exactly what I did. Let’s say you’re manifesting free coffee, and it manifests. Then you think, “Let’s see how far we could push it,” and you start building that belief. It’s like going from the free coffee to a free ride somewhere, something slightly bigger. Then maybe getting a car, and then more, it continues to climb and build for me. I started by manifesting free coffees and then as I started building the belief, what made me really solidify believing in it was November 2020. I manifested Trump losing the election. I wrote that in my journal. When that happened, I realized “Oh my god, this shit’s real.” I just saved America! That’s literally how I felt, the belief starts there.
So.Gay: Thank you for your contribution in 2020. That was very nice of you
Ryan Lu: I should have gone a little harder last year, but you know what? It’s okay.
So.Gay: What are you manifesting next?
Ryan Lu: I have a lot of projects I’m working on right now. Next year is gonna be a really big year for me. I feel like I spent the last five years really focusing on content and being a digital creator. Now, I want to get into acting. I want to be on stage. I want to perform, and I’m gonna be releasing music in 2026. It’s such a passion project, but also something I’ve wanted my entire life. Being a pop star is my dream, I’m manifesting it, and that’s what I’m doing. The music has been so good and so deeply personal. As a new artist and someone developing a sonic identity, I already feel so strong in it. I’m excited to share that with the world. I want to tease my song “Glimpse” because I’m working on it right now, and I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever done.
