The ULTIMATE
Multihyphenate
HOW THE MOTHER OF THREE REMAINS AUTHENTICALLY… HERSELF
Getting a full track-and-field scholarship might not be the first thing you think of when you scroll through TyLynn Nguyen’s feed. But after just one conversation with the model/digital content creator, it most definitely checks out. “I’m an athlete 100% in the way that my mind works,” she says of stumbling through what she calls the “big fairy tale” that is balance. It’s her competitive nature with herself and her innate desire to succeed that the mother of three credits when it comes to her ability to simply “keep going.”
“I’ve been on such a journey to get to where I am now,” TyLynn remembers of her early days as a fresh-faced 17-year-old model. After a move to Los Angeles, a marriage, a lingerie company (that closed after seven years, a casualty of the pandemic), “I chose my family over my business,” she states firmly. A whole stream of lust-worthy content-creation later, and TyLynn emerged as a person the internet could use more of.
The world you create online should reflect the one you live in real life. At the end of the day, my family comes first. Plus, people don’t understand the pressure that’s put on you as a content creator to entertain. You’re the magazine… you just have to take care of your brain.
“The world you create online should reflect the one you live in real life,” the entrepreneur tells LVR, describing her quest to merge the two. But don’t be fooled—TyLynn is not here to cross any boundaries. “At the end of the day, my family comes first. Plus, people don’t understand the pressure that’s put on you as a content creator to entertain. You’re the magazine… you just have to take care of your brain.”
Citing women’s rights, the ocean and mental health as her “big 3” causes she discusses on her blooming platform, the influencer hopes her audience can see themselves reflected throughout her journey. “I hope the biggest takeaway is that, as a woman, you can do whatever you want.”
Moreover, she reminds us that while this country tends to place an enormous emphasis on equating our worth to our work, there’s still space for all of us. “When I struggle to accept the success that’s flowing into my life, my husband reminds me that I have my own mountain to climb and my friends, and everyone else, also have their own,” she says. “You’re carving your own path and there won’t necessarily be anyone to look up to, so you just have to trust yourself.”
And with a look of endearment, she ends with this: “Every time you get to your goal, you’re going to morph and have new goals,” she smiles. “You’re going to have to ride that journey.”
I hope the biggest takeaway is that, as a woman, you can do whatever you want.
The Personal Touch
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF “IN REAL LIFE”
“Everyone thinks you’re in this really incredible industry, when in reality, you’re just a hanger.” So says Rocky Barnes, reminiscing about her modeling days. After signing with an agency right out of college, the model-turned-influencer-turned entrepreneur struggled to express her creativity in a world that often tries to silence it. “I always felt a bit stifled in the modeling world—everyone else is being creative except for you,” she remembers, “so when I started my Instagram, I got to take control and be a creative director in my own right… It was really exciting.”
I always felt a bit stifled in the modeling world—everyone else is being creative except for you, so when I started my Instagram, I got to take control and be a creative director in my own right… It was really exciting.
Initially launching her Instagram account as a way to cultivate her own portfolio filled with images she hand-picked, styled and directed, the multihyphenate has stayed consistent in her support for the social platform. “People have been telling me Instagram is going to be over for the past 10 years. They love to hate it and they love to hate the girls who are successful at it,” she quips honestly.
It’s no surprise that a female-dominated industry and those who occupy it have had to continuously prove their worth, not to mention the enormous amount they contribute to the economy. As for the current climate across the digital landscape, “I think we’re getting more respect these days,” the content creator opines.
People have been telling me Instagram is going to be over for the past 10 years. They love to hate it and they love to hate the girls who are successful at it.
In an online world where growth potential is exponential, Rocky reminds us what really matters. “Don’t forget that just because it’s an online platform, your best connections are still made in real life. People forget how far an in-person connection can go,” she adds. “I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve gotten just by going to events.”
Don’t forget that just because it’s an online platform, your best connections are still made in real life. People forget how far an in-person connection can go.
These days, she’s reveling in her most recent title, mother. “It’s amazing,” she says of life with her son Jones, almost two. When it comes to what the future holds for Rocky and her brand, The Bright Side, launched in 2020, it’s simply “growing the line.” And while juggling her endless array of titles, the influencer always stays grounded in her beginnings. “[Influencing] took me from a place in my career where I should’ve been fading out,” she says, reflecting on being a 25-year-old model, “but it really gave my career a whole new life. And now, it’s bigger and better than it’s ever been” .
The DISCO DAYDREAM
THIS INFLUENCER WANTS YOU TO DO YOU
Lauren Johnson, or as she’s known on Instagram, @discodaydream, wants you to set boundaries. “You might never get it right, but it’s something that’s impacted me so positively lately,” she says calmly, sipping coffee on the set of this LVR shoot. After opening up about her own personal mental-health struggles across her well-followed Instagram account (over 300K, to be exact), Lauren noticed the need for more open and honest conversations. “There have been times when I’m vulnerable and open up and it’s overwhelming just how many other people are also struggling with similar things,” she observes.
There have been times when I’m vulnerable and open up and it’s overwhelming just how many other people are also struggling with similar things.
There’s never going to be such a thing as market saturation as long as you stay unique to yourself. No one else is doing you.
After launching her social profile in 2014, a few years into the influencer “boom,” carving out her own niche was never a problem. “There’s never going to be such a thing as market saturation as long as you stay unique to yourself,” she states plainly. “No one else is doing you.” Focusing on a constant mix of both high and low with a healthy helping of vintage mixed in, Lauren’s curated aesthetic has become an inspiration for her community of followers.
Inspired by childhood days spent thrift-shopping around San Diego with her mom, Lauren also pulls inspiration from her previous life as a buyer. “Everything has just been a natural progression,” she says of her transition to influencer. “I’ve always been interested in fashion and photography, so it’s really just been an evolution of what I was doing anyway.”
She launched her first collection last year, and going forward, “I’m really hoping to just get my hands on more designing,” she says, smiling. “Fingers crossed.”
The Poet
A YOUNG AUTHOR CREATES SPACE FOR THE DREAMERS, THE LOVERS AND THE BROKEN-HEARTED
There’s really only one person who can so modestly say she’s published two books before the age of 25—her first at 19 and second at 24—and yet remain convinced that those two are still not enough. Meet Orion Carloto, the 25-year-old poet shaking the world around her. What started as a school assignment flourished into an ever-growing career as an established and admired poet. “I always had very little access to [poetry],” she tells LVR, “plus, I thought this was only a world for scholars… and I was nowhere near that.”
I always had very little access to [poetry], plus, I thought this was only a world for scholars… and I was nowhere near that.
Growing up in a small town in Georgia, Orion, who was born to a Honduran mother and Portuguese father, craved the need to assimilate while tearing away from her Latinx roots. “I was always embarrassed by it,” she admits. “Everyone around me was white. Now, I couldn’t be more proud of [my heritage].” Her last book, she recalls, “barely scratched the surface” of her experience being Latinx in America—a concept she’s hoping to explore more in her future work.
When thinking back on how she came to be the mysterious internet poet with an enviable wardrobe, Orion claims, “It really started as a visual diary online. I just created this world for myself and it just blossomed.” Her humility and ease are not lost as we maneuver through a conversation that feels more like a telling dance than the history of her career.
I never look at writing as a paycheck, and I want to keep it that way. I just have so much to say and I can’t keep it in.
“This is quarter-life-crisis material,” the young poet jokes of the pressures she places on herself to publish more of her work. With a third book (hopefully) and an exciting jewelry collaboration on the horizon, Orion explains she’s just here for the vulnerability of it all. “I never look at writing as a paycheck, and I want to keep it that way. I just have so much to say and I can’t keep it in.” Well, one thing’s for sure, we’ll be here waiting.
The Phoenix Soul
HOW THIS MUSE-TURNED-MODEL IS INSPIRING A GENERATION OF TASTEMAKERS BY SIMPLY BEING HERSELF
“I was a muse first,” claims model Lyric Mariah. After starting her career modeling for an ex-boyfriend photographer in Chicago, the young one-to-watch is here to pave her own path. “After we broke up, I thought, I can’t go into this with someone else’s vision… I just need to be me,” she says of her ascension into the social media world.
Crafting her own personalized portfolio on her double-take-worthy Instagram page, Lyric is here to stay. Catching the eye of tastemakers like Rihanna—cue Lyric’s spot in the 2020 Savage X Fenty Vol. 2 show, which streamed on Amazon Prime—everything the 25-year-old has accomplished seems to be a powerful combo of manifestation and a whole lot of hard work. “I can’t even say that the Savage show was something I’d dreamed of because I never thought Rihanna would have a runway show… what I did know was that I loved Rihanna and I knew I wanted to be on a runway.”
It’s precisely this can-do attitude that has landed Lyric in the spot she inhabits today. “I always knew I could be a superstar,” she jokes.
But this main-character-energy has not always shown so bright.
When you’re a kid, people don’t like your dreams. Sometimes I let my confidence crumble. That’s the only way I know how to pick it back up, when I see all the pieces laid in front of me.
Adversity is not something she’s unaccustomed to, though. Born with limb differences, Lyric has often struggled to get people to see her as just Lyric, the individual. Fitting into boxes, she explains, is something else society has tried to force on her. “It’s never been my plan to represent only one specific community and will never be my plan, because I myself fall under so many different ones. While I’d love to be everything for someone,” she says, “I can barely be everything for myself.”
It’s never been my plan to represent only one specific community and will never be my plan, because I myself fall under so many different ones. While I’d love to be everything for someone, I can barely be everything for myself.
This, however, has not slowed her down. “I chose myself that day,” she says, recounting her confidence over everything when going off to college. It’s this exact confidence that seeps out of her, leaving a captivating trail wherever she goes. Lyric’s ability to unapologetically be who she is allows her, intentionally or not, to be a glowing representation of what it means to be a human, differences and all.
“I just hope when people come to my page they say, ‘I don’t know who this girl is, I don’t know what she’s going to do, but I know she’s going to do it.’ That’s the energy I think we should all live by.”
I just hope when people come to my page they say, ‘I don’t know who this girl is, I don’t know what she’s going to do, but I know she’s going to do it.’ That’s the energy I think we should all live by.
The MODERN Editor
ALYSSA COSCARELLI URGES US TO REVEL IN THE MULTITUDE OF OUR CAPABILITIES
“Some days, I wish I could just say I’m a writer,” jokes Alyssa Coscarelli of her editor-turned-influencer-turned-entrepreneur career shifts. After moving to New York from Atlanta, the young trendsetter lived out her very own American version of Emily in Paris. Cue “Alyssa in the City,” the Instagram account she launched upon her Big Apple arrival. While documenting the very real hustle of NYC life, Alyssa landed a coveted intern spot at Refinery29, where she worked her way up to the site’s senior fashion market editor, a position she held for five years. “It was digital bootcamp,” she quips, “Refinery was my blog.”
You have a lot of power as an influencer. Who you want to give that power to is up to you— and for me, it’s small businesses.
Claiming her spot as one of the earliest influencer/editors of her generation, Alyssa was forced to make up the rules as she went—a sentiment others in her position know all too well. In an industry dominated by magazines, “influencing” was simply not seen as an option. Ultimately, Alyssa explains, “It got to the point where I could be making more money [creating content]. This realization, at which so many others eventually arrived, led to her leaving her 9-5 for good and curating a future for herself, one step at a time.
“The first year of being an influencer full-time, I was really just saying yes to everything,” she admits. Now, when it comes to what she promotes, she’s strategic and intentional. “You have a lot of power as an influencer. Who you want to give that power to is up to you— and for me, it’s small businesses.” As for where else Alyssa’s placing her energy these days, all eyes can turn toward EMCEE, a tech startup in which she has part ownership that turns influencers into retailers.
So while some may think juggling an editorial background, a consulting business, a career as an influencer, and now a tech startup investment may seem confusing, Alyssa’s words of wisdom ring true: “Be OK not boxing yourself in,” she suggests. “The past five to 10 years, I haven’t known where I’m heading. But at the end of the day, I just had to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to box myself into a title just to satisfy someone else… and neither should you.”
The past five to 10 years, I haven’t known where I’m heading. But at the end of the day, I just had to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to box myself into a title just to satisfy someone else… and neither should you.
The Forever Creative
WHY JEN AZOULAY WANTS US TO KNOW HER ONLINE PERSONA IS JUST FOR INSPIRATION
To say that Jen Azoulay oozes chic would be a tremendous understatement. Effortlessly combining the classic je ne sais quoi, undone French aesthetic with a decidedly elevated-cool-girl vibe, the creative director and content creator has nailed her signature look. Her secret formula? Fun. “In Paris, there’s a certain style that everyone knows and everyone likes and they just don’t really think outside the box. Here in LA, everyone is so much more free and fun with the way they dress.”
Making her way to the U.S. at the age of 21, Jen was already armed with years of coveted fashion experience. “I was in art school and got a call from a friend who said they had a job for me assisting on a big editorial shoot for Elle,” she says, “so I took the job and left school.” Almost two decades and two children later, Jen has solidified her perch in the fashion world.
In Paris, there’s a certain style that everyone knows and everyone likes and they just don’t really think outside the box. Here in LA, everyone is so much more free and fun with the way they dress.
After trying her hand at celebrity styling to then shifting to merchandising at Dior, Instagram, she thought, wouldn’t be more than just a platform. “It was just a way for me to showcase my work and get new clients,” she admits. “It was never supposed to be this voyeuristic thing,” a sentiment she’s stayed true to by being one of the few who doesn’t indulge her audience with personal tidbits about her life or family. To this day, she confirms, the social platform still remains just that. “For me, it’s always been a jumping-off point where I, with my little name, can create other things.”
It was just a way for me to showcase my work and get new clients. It was never supposed to be this voyeuristic thing.
One of the many projects that came from her climb to the top was an eponymous clothing brand, to which she now hopes to dedicate more time, post-pandemic. “I’m excited to work more on the brand as well as on the new product I’m creating.” And while she confirms this new secret venture has lots to do with what she already does best, “it has nothing to do with clothes.” Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
The GO-GETTER
THIS ENTREPRENEUR LOOKS WITHIN HER OWN COMMUNITY FOR HER SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Hearing digital content creator Jenny Tsang talk about her previous life as an art director makes her eye for curation all the more intriguing. “We looked at each other and said ‘OK, maybe we should do this full-time,’” she reveals when recounting the conversation she had with her boyfriend—whom she met, by the way, while in high school in Sacramento. “I just couldn’t imagine myself working 9 to 9 for the rest of my life, so we gave ourselves five years and then we’d go from there.” Those five years quickly snuck up on the duo, who have been taking the content-creation world by storm with their knack for photography and design—and they’re only getting better with time.
I pay closer attention to what Asian girls like, especially to Korean trends. Korean dramas are just so on top of it, they’re really the ones willing to wear all of these designers first.
Deeming her style to be “contemporary and minimal,” Jenny credits much of her inspiration to her Asian culture. Born in Hong Kong and raised in California has led to a style evolution uniquely her own. “I pay closer attention to what Asian girls like, especially to Korean trends,” she notes, citing Korean dramas as an everlasting stream of style innovation. “Korean dramas are just so on top of it, they’re really the ones willing to wear all of these designers first.”
I really just have such a love for outerwear because layering is honestly one of my passions… it really adds movement to any outfit.
When unpacking what’s next in the cards, the LA transplant points to her line of outerwear— but unfortunately, she had to put it on pause owing to the pandemic. “We’re really excited to get back into it,” she tells LVR. “I really just have such a love for outerwear because layering is honestly one of my passions… it really adds movement to any outfit.” As for when this new collection will grace fashion-lovers’ newsfeeds, Jenny explains that her factory is based in Hong Kong, but notes a meeting is most definitely in the books. Plus, she happily reveals a potential move back to Hong Kong. “We really want to do this for ourselves before we settle down and have kids here in Los Angeles. Plus,” she adds, “it’ll be great for our careers.”
The Fashion Chef
HOW THE DIGITAL CREATOR DIVERSIFIES HER PLATFORM, ONE ONLINE COOKBOOK [AND NON-TOXIC PRODUCT] AT A TIME
Working in fashion was quite simply in the cards for digital creator Kayla Seah. Launching her blog, Not Your Standard, while studying fashion communication and interning in New York made this innovator one of the first to turn online blogging into a full-fledged career. A decade and almost 400K followers later, and Kayla continues to trailblaze across an increasingly competitive and fast-paced digital landscape.
It’s sort of a guide on how to eat plant-based and gluten-free while not sacrificing taste. Look, my boyfriend was a picky eater and now he’s basically vegan.
Throughout a sit-down at her LVR photo shoot, it becomes quite apparent that for Kayla, finding natural transitions and turning them into business opportunities is just another day-in-the-life. “When I started the blog, the idea always was ‘fashion, food and recipes,’ so I started with food.” After wondering how to best combine the mouth-watering creations she so graciously shared all over her social platforms, Kayla landed on the concept of a digital cookbook showcasing her 25 favorite tried-and-true vegan dishes. “It’s sort of a guide on how to eat plant-based and gluten-free while not sacrificing taste,” she explains. “Look, my boyfriend was a picky eater and now he’s basically vegan.”
There’s such an unawareness of how toxic certain things can be in your life, so this concept was sort of born out of that.
Next on her agenda was to understand what the next iteration of her career-launching blog would be. Enter: Not Your Standard—the product line, a very hush-hush project. “There’s such an unawareness of how toxic certain things can be in your life, so this concept was sort of born out of that.” While not disclosing too much, she smiles, “What you can know is that it’s a non-toxic product in the home-decor space that is hopefully launching soon.”
Now leaning into learning more about the world of video, Kayla takes a moment to highlight where she believes the future of influencing is headed. “It’s all video, it’s taking over.” While swaying more into platforms like TikTok to create this currently craved content, Kayla remains self-aware and excited about what’s to come, that is—of course—after getting over the video learning curve. “Well, let’s just say that’s been an interesting one to tackle.”
The Study of A Life Well Lived
HOW THIS INFLUENCER MERGES VULNERABILITY INTO A PICTURE-PERFECT CAREER
For Angela Fink, being more than just “the girl taking pictures in the desert with a cool outfit on” is extremely important. Boasting one of the most impressive résumés in the content-creating stratosphere, this celebrity stylist-turned-influencer is keen on opening up conversations that create community.
“There was just no emotion attached to it,” she admits of her entrance into the influencing world. Coming from a strict editorial background—working as a stylist for US Weekly, GQ, E!, and eventually Kim Kardashian—there was little to no room for error. But it’s that imperfection—particularly lately—in which Angela likes to thrive. “You never know how sharing something you might deem as imperfect will help someone else.” From speaking up about her private struggles with food to the EMDR therapy she’s undergoing, Angela is carving out a space in which people can see themselves reflected.
You never know how sharing something you might deem as imperfect will help someone else.
The fact that Angela has made her way into mental-health territory is no surprise. “I’m a serial pivoter,” she jokes of her love of constantly evolving and changing. “I don’t want to have a niche… That’s what inspires me to stay creative,” she says earnestly, while patiently sitting through an interview in the middle of hair and makeup for this LVR photo shoot. But multitasking is definitely not a new concept to the creative and her husband, Kelly Bolton. In between shooting memorable desert-set content, the duo runs their creative agency, Dumont, all while juggling their furniture company, Search for Space. Lola, the couple’s four-year-old daughter, has been watching alongside her parents every step of the way. “I create boundaries with my daughter when it comes to work, but we definitely enjoy bringing her into our lives.” So much so, that Angela clued us into a very secret project featuring her mini-me—details, however, she kept close.
I’m a serial pivoter,I don’t want to have a niche… That’s what inspires me to stay creative. You never know what contribution you will bring to an audience. Just be yourself.
When asked about any advice she may have for someone hoping to enter her world of content creation, she quickly states, “You never know what contribution you will bring to an audience. Just be yourself.” And as someone with their hands in so many different pots, it appears that honest content creation lies at the intersection of them all. “I used to think it was just all about perfection, when really, it’s just about a life well lived.”
I used to think it was just all about perfection, when really, it’s just about a life well lived.
The CHANGEMAKER
HOW GUILLERMO ANDRADE IS CRAFTING HIS OWN NARRATIVE WHILE CREATING SPACE FOR THE LATINX COMMUNITY
“My parents didn’t come to this country just so that I could make T-shirts,” says Guillermo Andrade, the mastermind behind one of LA’s most sought-after streetwear brands, 424. The Guatemalan-born designer has a point of view and something to say.
After opening his storefront in 2010, what started out as his now trade-marked “sneaker crowns” manifested into a full-fledged monobrand brick-and-mortar. Boasting collaborations with household names like Adidas and Arsenal, 424 has been a one-to-watch since its inception. Now, with social media doing what social media does best, the young designer has been pushed to the forefront, for better or for worse. “It used to be fun,” Guillermo tells LVR of Instagram’s “pure” days. “Somewhere along the line, the tables turned. Before, you were serving the app instead of the app serving you.”
You have a responsibility. You work so hard so you can have a voice. Especially being a latino in this country, I often felt I didn’t have one. If you have a voice, you have to say something that’s worth listening to… or at least try to.
And while Guillermo, the human, and 424, the brand, may have separate social accounts, the two are in fact not that far apart. “You have a responsibility,” he notes of his position in the design world, “you work so hard so you can have a voice. Especially being a latino in this country, I often felt I didn’t have one. If you have a voice, you have to say something that’s worth listening to… or at least try to.” With not-always-subtle nods to issues plaguing the world—from police brutality to the realities of being an illegal alien in the U.S.—Guillermo’s collections reflect culture, fully and without apology. Although, he admits, his “f*** you’s” have recently become more abstract.
It’s fair to say that Guillermo and his brand are synonymous with crafting the change he’d like to see in the world. “I don’t ever claim to offer up any solutions,” he smirks, “but I highlight problems I’d like answers to.” One cause close to his heart: creating space for the Latinx community while simultaneously breaking down stigmas, both facing it and within it. “I grew up in a house where my grandma said if you had long hair, you weren’t a boy,” he says, detailing an endless list of taboos and expectations placed upon him. Cue the Andrade Mentorship Program, a 10-week apprenticeship with the designer—just one way he hopes to give back to his community. “Either the parents have the same story or the kids do… regardless, we can all relate.”
I don’t ever claim to offer up any solutions, but I highlight problems I’d like answers to.
