Lauren Athalia
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@hunterpremo | Hunter Premo | 88.5k followers | Time online: Seven years
@hunterpremo
It’s not surprising Nashville native Premo became a fashion influencer. When your mom is one of Nashville’s most sought-after makeup artists and hair stylists (Carrie Underwood’s beautiful blonde, anyone?) looking good is in the blood! But Premo has found her own identity online—sharing her own vintage-inspired boho style with thousands of devoted followers. She’s also opened up her life to share her joys (husband Cameron and pups Puddles and Cooper among them) and tough times.
“As much as I love to share my latest finds and day-to-day life, I also always try to be as open as possible with the struggles I face,” she says. “I have talked openly about our miscarriage, past struggles with an eating disorder, and more. I always want my feed and platforms to be a place of positivity, but I also realize how important it is to share not just the highlights. It’s in those moments that I find the most true and lasting connections.”
And she loves when those connections translate in real life.
“I love when followers say hi! Those individual connections, conversations, and friendships are what fuel me to keep sharing and creating. I’ve met some of dearest friends through this crazy Instagram world.”
As for future influencers, Premo shares her advice for success.
“Ask yourself, ‘What sets you apart?’ If you focus on creating quality content and serving the audience you already have, you will inevitably attract the right people. Just be yourself.”
@malloryervin | Mallory Ervin | 230k followers | Time online: Five years
Lauren Athalia
@malloryervin
The Kentucky-born Ervin has never been camera shy. She competed in Miss America and on The Amazing Race (three times!), so becoming an influencer, YouTuber and podcast host was only natural. From motherhood to marriage, fashion and female empowerment, Ervin shares it all via her Instagram feed.
“My account is everything lifestyle,” she says. “I shine a light on all the things I'm loving. My account is all about living fully and enjoying all the things that make up life.”
And she says it didn’t take long after launching her blog to see the impact she was having.
“Right off the bat I started having people tell me how much they loved it. Literally the first week, which really encouraged me to keep it up. In Nashville we hardly go anywhere where we don't meet a loyal follower. It's really amazing. It's the best part of all of this.”
She also loves the ability to partner with brands she supports, and support the followers who come along for the journey.
“Every day in this space is exciting. The fact that I get to work with brands like Google, Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Xfinity, and all these huge, established brands on a daily basis is truly amazing,” she says. “Honestly though, the most exciting thing has been how I've been able to reach so many people on a deeper level lately with my more meaningful content and the new Live Fully brand. I think that's what makes influencers so special: It’s being attainable and relatable. That's something that's really important to me in my content.”
@itsdougthepug | Doug the Pug (and mom Leslie Mosier) | 3.8 million followers | Time online: Four years
@itsdougthepug
To raise an influencer takes a village. Look at Doug the Pug. Sure, his good looks and charm have gotten him to red carpet-level star status, but it’s his mom and manager Leslie who has helped him find his voice along the way.
“I began taking photos of Doug and dressing him up. As the account grew, we also grew as photographers and Doug’s personal stylists,” Mosier says of herself and now-husband Rob Chianelli.
And it didn’t take long for Doug to become a phenomenon.
“When Doug’s first video went viral and we had a pop-up meetup in Central Park, hundreds of people showed up and a lot of them knew facts about Doug and our personal lives.”
While there have been many surreal experiences for Mosier and Doug (who has his own line of toys available on Amazon), there are a few standout moments.
“Probably getting our products into Claire’s and Walmart. And the time that Shakira flew us out to Barcelona because she wanted to meet Doug. Or when the Mayor of Nashville declared Doug’s Birthday Doug The Pug day,” she says.
Luckily, Doug takes everything in (short) stride and enjoys every moment of his job. Especially, Mosier says, meeting his fans in person.
“Doug absolutely loves the attention.”
@nashvillefoodfan | Kate Davis | 91.3K followers | Time online: Five years
@nashvillefoodfan
Davis didn’t set out to build a foodie’s Instagram paradise, but that’s exactly what she did. Now she’s making us crave all the foods with her delectable, Nashville-obsessed feed. The account has been a labor of love for Davis, who wanted to find a way to spread the love for Nashville’s growing culinary scene.
“I hope it's like flipping through Zagat but for the modern age,” she says. “Hopefully people get inspired to try new places as they are scrolling, but I also hope people pull up the page when deciding where to eat or book a reservation.”
And as her culinary coverage expands, so is Davis’s family. The often attention- and camera-shy influencer recently got personal on her page, sharing her struggle to adopt with followers.
“I knew my followers were invested in my dining choices, but the overwhelming encouragement and support I received when I announced in January that I had started the process of domestic infant adoption as a single mother by choice was really amazing. My following is very, very strongly local so it felt really wonderful to be championed like that,” she says. “I'm really grateful to be here during such an exciting time in Nashville's growth and thankful that people are following along on my adventures be it food, family or otherwise. Cheesy as it sounds, the most exciting opportunity has been to meet so many people I might not have crossed paths with otherwise and that this side hobby led me to some of my closest friends.”
@nashvillecheesegal | Courtney LaCorte | 19.4k followers | Time online: One year
Jennefer Wilson
@nashvillecheesegal
Cortney LaCorte had no idea her love of making cheese and charcuterie boards would turn into a job—let alone a social media movement. But that it did, and in less than a year she’s become a Nashville culinary star, with boards requested by some of the biggest names in town. In fact, it was a casual snack that sparked the entire thing.
“My husband and I were sharing one of my cheese plates, and as I took a bite, I said, ‘I feel like people might pay for this?’ Fast forward seven months from that, I was presented with my first opportunity to make an artist’s pre-show cheese + charcuterie boards at the Ryman,” she says.
Soon enough, all of Nashville was catching on.
“I was at a birthday dinner for a friend, where I only knew a handful of people. I heard a conversation a few seats down, about a cheese account. I realized they were talking about me. I told them that I was the Nashville Cheese Gal, to which one of the girls exclaimed, ‘My mom and I talked about your account on the phone for a solid 15 minutes. We even printed out some of your pictures to hang in the kitchen.’ Best compliment ever!”
And though the word of mouth is exciting, she’s still getting used to her social media status offline.
“It feels a little strange,” she says of being recognized. “I have more instances where I overhear conversations about my account than I do people recognizing my face—probably because I don’t post many pictures of myself, it’s all about the cheese. Though, I have been recognized in the Whole Foods checkout line three times now. Maybe the cart full of cheese is the giveaway.”
With a massive following that’s still growing steadily, LaCorte says the best is yet to come.
“I’ve been given so many wonderful opportunities to make charcuterie boards for some of the biggest stars in town. A lot of whom have become my top clients,” she says. “The craziest pinch-me opportunity is coming [soon], but I can’t quite talk about it yet. Stay tuned for that.”