We were lucky to catch up with Alec Merlino recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alec, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I had just come off of a traveling stint. 3 months in South East Asia, 2 months in Indonesia, a few months in Europe, and then 2 months in Fiji where I was a contestant on the reality TV show CBS Survivor. I was trying to figure out life at this point. I always knew deep down I was meant to forge my own path in this life and start something myself so I tried starting a clothing brand. Things went well but I failed, took it on the chin and moved on. Perhaps there was a loss of passion there as I wasn’t really sure what I was doing in the clothing space. I figured, getting a corporate sales job was the next logical step. I was a bit lost so I interviewed and went through an 8 week recruiting program. The people were great, the atmosphere was a traditional sales floor, and my mindset was on the money. However, after only a few months, I started to ask myself why I was there. And then it dawned on me when a co-worker walked up to my at my desk and said, “Alec, you do not belong here dude, you’re meant to do something else.”

This is when I knew I needed to revisit the idea of doing my own thing. What that was, I wasn’t entirely sure. I just knew that my lust for life and energy was slowly fading being in an office space 10 hours a day.

Alec, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into the YouTube space early on when I was traveling during 2016-2018. After returning however, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue creating videos as I wasn’t sure what to talk about.

But then something changed. In 2020 I decided to give myself a running challenge of 5K a day for 30 consecutive days. The running reinvigorated my sense of self and I slowly but surely became myself again. I ended up leaving that sales job and said, “to hell with it, I’m going to figure this shit out.”

I started sharing my journey on Instagram and began making YouTube videos again talking about fitness (running, biking, swimming, lifting, diet, etc).

My main focus now is Triathlon. I continue to push myself by taking on challenges, the most recent being the calendar club challenge where I ran 541 miles in a single month and raised money for Operation Underground Railroad. I am able to work with companies (sponsors) and create content for them (ads mostly) and get paid on a monthly basis.

Additionally, I am starting my own nutrition company:)

How did you build your audience on social media?

I was lucky I’d say because after being on Survivor I had a decent amount of exposure. However, the following has continued to grow on IG and I have had to grind relentlessly on building my following on other platforms such as YouTUbe (long form content) and TikTok.

The main thing people need to understand is that it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort. It sucks a lot of times when you’re trying to make a living on social media. I remember someone saying, “it only takes on piece of content.” Meaning, as long as you’re consistent, it only takes one piece of content to change the course of your career. Something blows up and puts you on the map. On YouTube, I am still sort of waiting for this to happen. I post two videos weekly and I’ll be the first to say, it can be discouraging when you’re putting in hours upon hours working on videos to then post it and only get a few hundred views.

My biggest thing right now is consistency. I heard a quote that tuck with me which is, “it’s better to be consistently good than it is to be occasionally great.” You need to continue putting yourself out there no matter what. You need to be consistently good in all aspects of life.

Volume of content is another big thing for me right now that I noticed works! Meaning, posting YouTube shorts, multiple times on TikTok, and IG Reels. If you’ve filmed something for a long form oiece of content, break it up and use it for short form as well. Engage your audience and make them feel like they’re a part of your journey. Inspire your audience and make them feel included.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I’d say the most rewarding part is being able to choose when I work. I am in full control of how I allocate my time. Most importantly, my job, my brand, and everything surrounding my work is about pushing myself and being outside. I am able to work with amazing people and have built an amazing network of friends from this career.

The fact that I create my own destiny. I am the one who creates, films, edits, all videos (short and long form). I am the one who has to wake up at 5:30am and grind it out every day. I am the one who has to run, bike, and swim all the miles. No one can do the work for you.

This is why it’s so satisfying when I have small wins.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alec.merlino/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/alecmerlino
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@alec.merlino?lang=en

Image Credits
@johnonelio