We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendall Hughes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendall below.

Hi Kendall, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I always like to describe my parents as kids in love that never grew up. They got married at 19 and 21 years old, I don’t think they’ve aged a day since. My parents have been the best example of unconditional love I have ever experienced. They have sacrificed so much financially, physically and emotionally for my siblings and I to have the best life and opportunities possible. My mom would drive us 45 minutes to the closest private school possible every morning at 6am. My dad would come the second I called if I forgot something at home or if I was having a bad day.

My whole life I have been given the space to be unapologetically who I want to be. I remember a specific conversation my mom was having with my oldest sister saying that she would love any of us no matter what, it didn’t matter if we were gay, straight, came home pregnant, get ourselves into trouble. That she would always be there to support us or go up to bat for us. I knew that went without saying for both of my parents.

It was evident from a young age that I loved a spotlight and was going to pursue a life as a creative. I have always had a solid support system. When I voiced an interest in music they put me in private voice lessons at 8 years old and pushed me to chase my dreams. It was kind of weird as a kid because I was given this space to be who I wanted that I didn’t have anything to rebel against. Looking back, I shouldn’t have gotten so embarrassed to sing in front of them or when they were front and center at every show. I think it all worked out exactly how it was supposed to though. They still push me every day to do what I love, and as my dad says “He’s happy as long as I smile everyday”.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Kendall Hughes! I am 23 years old, originally from Hobe Sound, FL.

I am a full-time content creator, mostly on TikTok with a following of 172k+. My content is based on my every day life. I keep up with the trending videos and try to relate them to my platform. I don’t really see content creating as “work” because I really enjoy making videos! I also work with brands to promote products/services I feel relevant to my platform.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

At first, my audience came at random. I had been posting silly TikTok’s for a while that my friends would watch during quarantine. I had a couple that got some great engagement but nothing consistent.

I had one video in particular that got thousands of views in minutes, it was the first one where I referenced my sexuality. So I posted one after that and got the same results. It seemed that was the beginning of my niche. I kept up a steady consistency of posting and I would have one or two that would fall flat but for the most part I was getting great engagement and views, I’ve had 5 or 6 videos in the millions which is super cool to me.

I think the best advice I can give for someone trying to gain an audience is to keep posting even if you’re getting 500-1000 views. Find something that works for you and stick with that niche. Using trending sounds even if its turned all the way down in the video can help with engagement. Post what makes you happy, not what you think other people want to see. Pay attention to your followers, the people in your comments and interact with other creators!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about having a platform is getting to connect with followers. I have made a couple personal friendships with some of them and learned their stories. I am always looking through comments and my DM’s to see messages from my followers. They often come to me looking for advice and although I can only offer them personal experience and insight, I enjoy helping people or even just offering a listening ear.

I have a lot of young followers in the LGBTQ+ community and I really enjoy giving them a space to see that its possible to grow up and be exactly who you want to be. As I mentioned before, my parents did a great job at giving me the space to be who I am, so I like to showcase that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Kendall.not.jenner
• Other: TikTok: Kendall.not.jenner

Image Credits
Valeria Tkacik