A Versatile talent in entertainment and culture

In one of her videos, a red-haired mermaid, Ariel, tells her therapist that the sea witch Ursula has promised to give her legs in exchange for her voice.

“In which election?” the therapist asks.

The audience laughs—that’s exactly the point.

Over the years, Johanna Borman, who moved to Uusikaupunki a couple of years ago, has uploaded hundreds of humorous videos to her YouTube channel. Some of the oldest ones are already of legal age, while the newest were posted just last year.

“For me, the channel is like a time capsule. I admire the energy of my younger self—how we had fun with friends and just went for it,” Johanna says.

Her channel, JossuTossu, features everything from comedy sketches to music videos, short films, and parodies. The most popular videos have nearly a million views, but Johanna remains humble about her success.

“Of course, it’s nice to get comments and views—it has encouraged me to create more content. But you shouldn’t get too caught up in the numbers,” she reflects. “The best thing has been hearing that my videos have helped people through tough times and made them feel that it’s okay to be different.”

Johanna was most active on YouTube over a decade ago when the platform was at its peak. Since then, many once-prolific creators have expanded their content across multiple social media platforms. Johanna’s most active YouTube years are behind her as well.

“I love acting and creating different characters. When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming an actress, and in a way, YouTube has allowed me to fulfill that dream. I’ve been able to do all kinds of things I wanted and reached a decent audience. I don’t feel like I need much more than that.”

However, Johanna hasn’t completely abandoned video-making. In December, she launched a new channel dedicated to ASMR videos, designed to create relaxing sensory experiences. Characters remain at the heart of these new videos, too.

“I still have a wardrobe full of wigs and props,” she laughs.

A career that merges creativity and literature

For the past couple of years, Johanna has worked at the Uusikaupunki Library, specifically in the children’s and youth department. Her job allows her to channel both her natural creativity and the skills she once honed for YouTube. Beyond book recommendations and storytimes, she brings her creative energy into organizing events and managing the library’s social media presence.

“I love that my job is so diverse. There’s no risk of getting bored when there’s such a variety of tasks,” Johanna says. “Right now, I’m especially looking forward to moving back into the main library this spring. I already have plenty of ideas for things we can organize there.”

Johanna’s creativity isn’t limited to entertaining videos. She has also written a novel, Terapiaa, as a sequel to one of her short films, as well as a poetry collection, Suhteeton, published during Finland’s centennial celebrations.

She also makes music. Her early YouTube “silly hit” videos featured humorously clumsy Finnish translations of global hits, but over time, her approach to translation has evolved.

“Nowadays, I try to make my translations as accurate as possible. My producer friend, Janne Kiuru, handles the sound production. I record my vocals… in my closet,” Johanna reveals.

In addition to translated covers, she has also released original music in collaboration with her producer. Her latest pop single, Vaikeaa, came out last year.

With such a broad creative portfolio, does Johanna have any future dreams she’d like to fulfill?

“I’d love to publish another poetry collection,” she says. “And I’d really like to make a proper romantic Christmas movie.”