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

Ary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

Honestly I couldn’t believe it when I received the email. After months of working on my portfolio (and still some of those portfolio videos are absolutely terrible!) and countless of emails, I finally heard a response back from one of my favorite brands, NYX cosmetics. I worked with them a couple times in free campaigns, and always tried my absolute hardest to make the best content that catered to their brand and their aesthetic. I studied their instagram, who they worked with, their most recent events, etc, to make the best work in both their and my eyes! It’s kind of like studying for a big job you’ve always wanted! You’ll look so much better when you do your research, and it always shows when it counts! My work eventually paid off when one day, I received an email in my inbox asking for my prices for extra videos! It was a dream come true, and it really just proved to me that the right offers will come in time, as long as you know you did your best!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Of course! My name is Andrea Sanchez, but I mainly go by Ary. I am a Venezuelan and Italian model who took a jump into content creation about a year ago. I am mainly on Instagram (@andrea.chez22), and I’d say I’m a good intermediate in both fields. I’ve landed some of my pictures in a few magazines, like Lybell and Dreamy to name a few, and I’ve worked for over 30+ brands since creating content.

I’ve always wanted to make a name for myself. Like any young girl, you see those beautiful models on the tv or on magazines and think, “I’m gonna be just like her when I grow up!” Coming from a rather large family with not so much money, I had to improvise in order to make a name for myself. I didn’t have the money to sign up for a modeling agency or beauty pageants (I wish I did, I missed out on so many opportunities!), so I built everything I stand on to this day with my own hands.

I first started taking modeling seriously when I just began college. I always wanted to model but never knew how to start, and felt I wasn’t “pretty enough” to ever be one. Until one day a photographer reached out to me asking to be his model for a photoshoot. I had absolutely no clue who this guy was, and in this day and age kidnappings are way too real, but I decided to take the leap anyways, along with bringing my trusty 6’3” boyfriend for intimidating points since I’m only 5’4”, and drove down to meet up with who would soon end up to be one of my best friends and business partners. (Shoutout to @walker_photographyy on IG!)

Since then, I realized then and there that I either was going to attempt to make my dream come true, or it wasn’t going to happen at all. I reached out to neighboring photographers, convinced my boyfriend to practice photography himself, and slowly grew in my niche! After working with countless different photographers and showcasing all their different and unique styles, many of which I’m still good friends with now, I decided to take another leap: submitting my photos into magazines and auditioning for runway shows in my local area. Over the course of a year, I’ve worked my tail off to walk in more than 5 different runway shows in my state, and I’ve had over 10 photos along many different magazines. I used my resources around me, such as building connections with people who knew others, made friends with models so they could invite me to events, and tried my best in every audition I showed up for. Thankfully my university has a fashion design major, so I joined every modeling club they had! Once you get the ball rolling, (and keep it rolling) the opportunities keep coming!

I decided halfway through my modeling that I wanted to broaden my niche, so I decided to take user generated content seriously as well! I did my research again and started small, signing up for apps and websites that helped micro influencers get products in exchange for content. After building my portfolio using the piles and piles of free products I received, (I literally accepted every campaign they threw at me!) I did more research and decided that I would start to set my prices! I’ve worked for over 30 brands since then, from David Beckham perfume to NYX cosmetics, and have more campaigns coming up to this day!

My biggest take away from this, besides chasing your dreams, is to love what you do. I genuinely love making content for my instagram, both modeling and UGC, and I’ve learned some valuable skills and techniques that can help me in the long run! I’ve learned how to market myself as a brand, and even though I’m usually introverted, I can snap to extrovert in a heartbeat, especially in front of a camera! I’ve learned to embrace my mistakes, and my biggest motto is “In order to get love, give love!” I pride in that motto a lot, and is my main source of inspiration for when I get on instagram every day! I own a group chat on instagram for photographers, models, user generated content creators, and more to support one another and share their own posts, and I give them tips and tricks and websites I use to help them grow in their own journey, whatever that may be!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the biggest thing that non-creatives struggle to understand is that some people that make content on their socials do it because it is their only source of income. In some cases, it can be annoying to scroll through and have six ads pop up over the course of eight videos, and I completely understand where they are coming from for the frustration. But it is so hateful to take it out on a content creator by leaving a hateful comment or just immediately scrolling past. Even just letting the video run a few times can help the creator on Instagram find someone who would be interested in their content! Even if someone’s niche isn’t similar to my own, I always leave a like just to help them out, and I feel like everyone could learn to give just a little bit more love to the world.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish more than anything that someone had told me that you don’t have to pay to find resources that can help you achieve your goals. All of the programs that I collaborate with are free and I don’t pay anything out of pocket to get paid to make videos for others. Even knowing people can help you so much better than paying for a course that might not help you learn anything. Of course, Money does help you get more opportunities faster, but money shouldn’t be the driving force of whether you can or cannot do something. Some of my favorite apps and websites I use for content creation is Influenster, HerCampus, and Creator.co

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Andrea.chez22

Image Credits

Jacob Walker
Jose Davalos