Written by Louise Morris
Over the last few years, Instagram influencers have been at the heart of all of our social media platforms. You only have to scroll down your feed to see countless leggy, tanned, perfectly put together ‘models’ trying to sell you hair vitamins or teeth whitening kits, posing on the hillsides of their whitewashed luxury Mykonos villas. What once was an industry that few seemed to reign, it seems almost anyone can be an influencer these days. All you need is a phone and internet access and soon you’ll be posting your #ad and offering your followers a 10% discount code for those Beauty Works hair extensions you never knew you needed.
Recently, I’ve found myself unfollowing many of these ‘influencers’, as Instagram seems to have lost its authenticity. What was once a fun app to post instant pictures of what you were up to, is now a cleverly contrived marketing platform full of un-relatable, heavily edited photos, creating an unrealistic and unattainable lifestyle. So, who is challenging this stereotype of influencers?
Introducing Grace Beverley.
Grace Beverley is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. The Oxford University graduate, started out as a fitness model on Instagram who grew her following by posting pictures and videos of her workouts featuring her perfectly peachy posterior. From her university halls, she began to grow her brand, expanding to YouTube where she boasts over 500k subscribers .
Between juggling her university commitments and uploading ‘vlog’ style videos to YouTube, Grace shot to fame after launching her hugely successful GraceFitUK fitness accessory brand (now rebranded to B_ND). Over the last two years, Grace has founded two multimillion-dollar businesses all while being an undergraduate at Oxford University.
Grace leads a vegan lifestyle, and prides herself on creating her ethical and sustainable fitness accessories and gym wear at an affordable price. At the age of 22, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards named Grace as one of the ‘Top 20 Most Exciting Entrepreneurs to Watch Out For’ this year. Recently, B_ND, collaborated with model and influencer Jordyn Woods. Of the collaboration, Grace has said “this is such a huge deal for us, and with her [Jordyn’s] journey, it has been just such a perfect collaboration for both of us”.
Grace’s story is pretty phenomenal. She displays an unconventional approach to business, from starting out as a fitness model on Instagram, to creating multimillion-dollar businesses, all while attending one of the top universities in the world. She challenges the negative stereotype of influencers, proving that with a strong vision alongside hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything you want to – and that is very inspiring.
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