We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Forst a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

When people hear the term “influencer” or “content creator,” they often think of thin women taking selfies in the middle of the sidewalk, showing off their new Burkin. “Influencer” has gained such a negative stereotype over the years, usually synonymous with pushing consumerism, a lack of self-awareness and their surroundings, and the word “cancelled.”

At least for me, that couldn’t be farther from truth. Because of these negative connotations that surround influencers, I prefer to be called a content creator, but yes… I admit… I’m an influencer. But not in the way you think. What do I “influence” people to do? I help them learn to love themselves, become their best self, and normalize discussions around mental health. I also post the occasional vlog.

I am extremely aware of my surroundings and always ask permission to film in businesses. My friends are normally okay with my filming but I also try my best to ask their permission if they want to be included in my content. I don’t make my content my whole personality (or at least I try not to) and expect everyone to “worship” me just because of some digital number (a number that I am proud of and have worked extremely hard for).

Do I get some cool perks? Yeah. Is it “easier” than my 9-5? Yes. But is it still work? ABSOLUTELY. People often think all influencers do is post a video and that’s their work. Sure, if you want to sum it up into one sentence then that’s correct but there is so much more to it than that. Not only do you need some technical skills, like video editing and understanding best content shoot practices, you really need to understand the mental aspects of it. This industry takes an immense toll on you mentally.

It can be extremely discouraging to spend two hours editing a one minute video, just for it to flop. You’ll sit there trying to understand why it didn’t perform well and what you could have changed. Was it the hook? Posting time? Content format? You also need to understand some psychology and work to build a target audience. You then have to know how to continuously cater to them, trends, world events, and brand needs.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always struggled with loneliness and feeling isolated in my experiences. I’ve had a life full of trauma, but the internet always felt like my safe space. With building my platform, I also want to build my little corner of the internet that is safe and helps others feel less alone. I want to share my experiences to help others who have gone through similar and to give them hope that it gets better.

I help others feel less alone and help them dive into their self-development journey in a no BS, straight to the point, type of way. I’ve overcome so much trauma in my life, and have struggled with my mental health for as long as I can remember. I am finally in a place of healing that I love life and the human experience. I’ve pulled myself out of the darkness and I want to experience this same intense joy I feel everyday now – I want others to live a life they love and to love living because I remember when I so badly didn’t.

I’ve been creating content off and on since I was eight years old, but it didn’t really start to take off until seven months. I gained my following from sharing my authentic, vulnerable, experience of overcoming an extremely traumatic breakup. I documented my healing journey every single day, including all the tears, the laughs, the losses, and the wins. My followers have been cheering me on every step of the way and often comment how hopeful and inspired they are from my content.

I’m grateful for all the people I’ve met on this journey and all the friends I’ve been able to help. I really feel like my followers are my friends and I’m just their long distance bestie. I’m most proud of turning a traumatic situation into the thing that finally propels me forward and is making my dreams finally come true.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My biggest goal is taking my content creation full time one day. I remember when I was eight and Youtube launched. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to do that – make videos to be consumed online. I’m happiest when I’m doing content work; ideating, filming, editing, scheduling, posting, engaging with my community – the whole process. I would love nothing more than to do this all day everyday, while knowing I’m not just showing my expensive designer bags that nobody can afford, but I’m actually helping the world become a little kinder to one another.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing my ideas come to life. As cliché as that sounds, I think any creative can agree. I love when I have a video for an idea, and I execute on it and click post. It’s even more rewarding when that video performs well, which affirms this idea was one my audience wants more of.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/ashleynikkolex
• Youtube: ashleynikkolex
• Other: tiktok: tiktok.com/ashleynikkolex

Image Credits
Tiare Bowman (https://www.instagram.com/tiarebowmanphoto/)