We were lucky to catch up with Casey Cromwell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Casey, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease as a senior in high school and started a blog on a whim, I never expected to still be spreading celiac awareness online over 11 years later. But starting a blog and social media channels to raise celiac awareness and help other gluten free eaters in college and beyond has been one of the most rewarding projects of my life. Celiac disease can be very isolating since so many social events are related to food and it can be tough to find other gluten free people in your area. So the online gluten free community has been a huge blessing for me as I initially learned how to navigate eating gluten free in college and living with celiac disease in general. But in the 11 years I’ve been advocating online, I’ve been fortunate to connect with hundreds to thousands of other gluten free eaters who have shared how much my online accounts have helped them feel less alone and find new gluten free options. And besides the feeling of purpose my online work has given me, it also paved the way for me to learn valuable skills that have helped me throughout my career journey, from networking to video editing to social media marketing strategy. I am so grateful to have discovered a passion that not only enhances my own skills and life but can give back to others at the same time.

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?

At 17, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease where ingesting gluten causes your body to attack itself and destroy its own intestinal villi. When undiagnosed, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, 200+ symptoms and even death. I was diagnosed just a few months before starting college and as I frantically researched how to eat gluten free in college, I realized there were only one or two websites about the experience. So I decided to start own blog and social media pages about celiac disease. 11 years later, I reach millions of social media users every week through viral gluten free memes, educational celiac posts, gluten free product reviews & round ups and more.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think the reason my social media pages and online content has been so successful is because I have always had the goal of being the person I would’ve benefited from knowing when I was newly diagnosed. I know first-hand how paralyzing and isolating it can feel to try to grocery shop or even make dinner as a newly diagnosed celiac. And I keep in mind the struggles I faced early on and still do now every time I decide what to share.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My biggest advice for anyone trying to grow their social media presence is to find the overlap between the content they enjoy making and the content that seems to resonate most with their growing audience. Experiment with lots of different forms and types of content, and share often so that you’re constantly testing new content. Pay attention to what you enjoy creating and what content is performing best, and shape your social media strategy with those two data points.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.glutenfreewithcasey.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collegeceliackc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caseythecollegeceliac
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@collegeceliackc

Image Credits

N/an all taken by me or my boyfriend.