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“I definitely have a big understanding now of the platform that I have and the change that I can make with that. That’s why I always tried to give back or promote small brands. I think that’s very important to uplift other people with my platform.”

Alix Earle is a brand, but she’s also a regular girl from New Jersey who happens to have millions of TikTok followers. It’s a distinction Earle herself sometimes finds blurry. She’s constantly thinking about how to define and grow that brand, which is a testament to her recent marketing degree from the University of Miami, but, like everything Earle does, that process is thoughtful and self-aware without being overly calculated. It makes complete sense when she explains that the Alix Earle brand is about “being authentically yourself.”

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“That’s what I try to preach and show,” says Earle, speaking over Zoom from her childhood bedroom while visiting her family. “I definitely think of it as a brand. But that’s also a weird dynamic because it’s also me as a person. It’s been weird to rationalize in my mind, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job at it.”

Earle acknowledges that it takes a real feat of inner strength to willingly share yourself with the world. It can be scary at times. She’s not immune to criticism or backlash or hateful comments, and she’s made a few missteps. But like anyone, she’s always learning. And the upside of being honest online is greater than any downside. “You feel like if something fails that you’re failing, because I am the brand,” she admits. “But there’s so much reward to it.” 

“I thought no one was ever going to talk to me again,” Earle says. “It sounds stupid, but your skin can take such a mental toll on you and I had been at such a mentally low place. And for me to post that online was very, very scary. But immediately the response I was getting was girls saying Thank you for this or This is helping me so much or This is so nice to see real skin… That was really a catapult for me to realizing how important it is to share everything about you and not just only the good, highlighted, perfect parts.”

In the months that followed, Earle captivated more and more people with her honest admissions and off-the-cuff storytelling, including in her popular “Get Ready With Me” series. After graduating in May of 2023, Alix partnered with Alexandra Cooper’s The Unwell Network to launch a podcast, Hot Mess with Alix Earle. As of this writing, she has 6.7 million TikTok followers and 3.6 million Instagram followers—something Earle doesn’t take for granted, even if it still sometimes feels surreal.

“I definitely have a big understanding now of the platform that I have and the change that I can make with that,” she says. “That’s why I always tried to give back or promote small brands. I think that’s very important to uplift other people with my platform.”

“Doing it yourself you get something different out of it and appreciate the work that goes into it,” she says. “I could work—and I do work—24/7 on all that I’m doing because I’m passionate about it.”

It was an emotional experience, but one that exemplifies why Earle continues to open herself up online. “As scared as I was to share that, I have girls come up to me and they’re also in tears telling me how much that has changed something for them or motivated them or helped one of their friends,” she says. “And I think that’s what makes it all worth it.”

Although her camera is always rolling, Earle has recently taught herself to “dial that back in certain moments.” “I still do want to live and be present in the moment,” she says. “I’ve really learned how to balance that. When I am capturing a moment that I still want to be present in, I have figured out a way where I can take the clips of the moment or get it done, but then the rest of the night my phone is off and I’m present in the moment and present with the people that I’m around.”

“I definitely think people have misconceptions about me,” says Earle. “There’s millions of people online who get it wrong all the time. And I think my audience has a good understanding of who I am and why I post what I post. People who have a misunderstanding about me don’t really engage in all of my content and see everything that I do. It’s easy to say that I’m too crazy or I’m going out too much or whatever it is. But I’m young and I’m having fun, and I also work very hard. The people who actually follow me know that and understand that. The people who get that wrong are outside not actually paying attention to everything I do in depth.”

If it sounds like Earle is busy, she is. She’s rarely home in Miami and she rarely does anything that’s not work-related. Although her videos appear effortless, the amount of work and complexity involved is almost shocking. But Earle is nothing but enthusiastic and joyful about her chosen career, which is perhaps why the line between person and brand is so hazy.

“People assume they’re seeing everything just from a little video. [But] there’s so much more to a person or to a story than a one-minute video you’re seeing online.”

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By Emily Zemler

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