We recently connected with Alessandra Mayr and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alessandra, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I graduated college in May 2020. Well, technically, because I never actually had a graduation. And as you can imagine, it was extremely difficult to find a job because of the pandemic. So after months of applying to companies that would ghost me and that I knew I’d be miserable in anyway, I decided to take matters into my own hands and monetize my socials. At the time, I was lucky to have built a small following on Instagram (~15k) throughout the years, almost effortlessly. And since I’d dabbled in paid partnerships 2 or 3 times in college, I thought to myself: “Why not take this full-time? It’s not like I don’t have free time.” And so I completely immersed myself in the digital world. I started posting consistently on Instagram and opened a TikTok account, which eventually became another platform I could monetize. And even though I finally found a job that I love, my social media continues to be my primary source of income.

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 background and context?

I’m Ale (short for Alessandra), a 24-year-old content creator from Honduras living in Austin, Texas. My content on Instagram and TikTok focuses primarily on travel, as I make it a point to go on at least 1 trip per month. My goal is not only to give travel recommendations but to make people realize they don’t have to go far to experience the beauty this world has to offer. Nature and beauty are everywhere, and even in Austin, there’s a whole world of restaurants, bars, hiking trails, groups, and activities to discover.

I believe there are 2 phases of life: the growing phase and the giving phase. In the former, you’re growing into the person you’re meant to be (physically and figuratively). You’re finding yourself and losing yourself over and over. You’re discovering who you are (or at least trying to), and attempting to evolve into the highest version of yourself. It’s the phase when you can be selfish, focus on yourself, and be proud of what you do for YOURSELF.

The latter phase is the one where you’re giving, whether it’s to your friends, your family, a partner, children, or your community. It’s the phase when you become sure of who you are, which makes you ready to share that with other people. It’s the phase when you’re proud of you you do for OTHERS.

Currently, I am in my growing phase. I am proud of my own personal achievements, like having left my small town of Tegucigalpa to chase my dreams in the US. Like having bought my first car with my bartending money. Like having found a job I truly love that pays me my worth and lets me be who I want to be. Like having my dream apartment in Downtown Austin. Like being able to finally live as the most authentic version of myself.

But one cannot exist without the other. To stay truly happy, you have to be constantly growing AND giving. So the next phase of my life involves sharing my knowledge of social media with others to help them succeed, too.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think a lot of people, especially older generations, struggle to understand that content creation is a job. The word “influencer” has become so tarnished that people see them as superficial people just looking to make money off other people’s pockets. But aside from that being untrue, there’s also a lot more to the job. A content creator is the definition of a multitasker. You’re the writer, creative director, makeup artist, stylist, photographer/videographer, and editor behind every photo and video out there — it takes a lot more work than posting a selfie. Luckily, though, people are starting to realize that social media really can change lives (just look at the D’amelios), so content creators are starting to get the recognition they deserve.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

I’m gonna be completely honest: my initial goal was money. I was fresh out of college, jobless, and living with my mom off unemployment stipends. So of course my goal was to make as much money as possible, fast, so that I could get my own apartment and become my own person. But now that I, well, am making money, I realize that it’s not as satisfying as I thought it would be (hello, hedonic adaptation). So money is no longer my goal. My goal now, is to help other content creators who are struggling with mental health issues because of social media. I personally have broken down in front of a ring light one too many times, and the need to be constantly connected has put so much pressure on me that has, on several occasions, triggered migraines, anxiety attacks, feelings of self-doubt and insecurity… the list goes on. And in all of those instances, I so desperately wanted to have a “social media therapist” to talk me through my struggles. Little did I know there is no such thing. So, I want to be people’s social media therapist. I want to teach them that they CAN have an online presence, that they CAN be a social media personality, without it being at the detriment of their mental health. I am currently working on creating a group for this project. It will be called: The Like-Minded Club.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alemayr.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alemayr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlessandraCMayr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandra-mayr-941a2a138/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alessandracmayr