Leilani Green on becoming a role model
Leilani Green has always followed her heart.
Even before the inception of modern-day influencers, Green knew she wanted to make videos. Green prioritizes creating elevated content and adapting to the demands of her audience. She taps into the dynamism of the industry, constantly challenging herself to ask what’s next.
Her growth over the past few years has been promising, though the road to internet fame may not have been as simple as it appeared online. In spite of her then unconventional career, Green was insistent on creating her own definition of success. “I followed my dreams, no matter what anyone said. I didn’t let anyone stop me, and I succeeded. I would say to my younger self, or anyone trying to do something out of the norm, ‘don’t worry about what anyone has to say. The future is unwritten, and you don’t know what’s going to happen.’”
Green thinks back to the moment the switch flipped and it dawned on her that social media “could go somewhere.” When she was attending college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Green remembers awaiting her mathematics final with no enthusiasm, despite her natural affinity for the subject and plans to one day become a teacher. “Even though I didn’t particularly want to, I felt like being a math teacher for high school students was the only job I could do happily,” she explains.
In the moments leading up to that exam, Green finally realized she was pursuing the wrong track. “Everyone was so passionate about what they were doing. I sat there looking around the class. I knew what to do, but I didn’t feel any passion or interest in doing it. I wasn’t excited to do it. Even if I passed, I wouldn’t have felt any type of way.”
When she returned home, Green immediately dropped out of college. “That was the day I realized I had no interest in school but all the passion in the world to get back home and make videos and create content.” As she reflects on that decision, Green explains that it was unrealistic for her to commit to social media full-time without having something to fall back on. She had to be practical, working hard to sustain herself and her family while still growing her YouTube channel.
“You can’t give up everything and go for one thing without being able to pay your rent. You have to work [while] fulfilling your dreams. You have to be in multiple lanes, but eventually, you’ll see which one is meant for you.”
At this point, Green had been active on YouTube since middle school — inspired by internet icons like Nikkie Tutorials and Anna Steele. The beauty community takeover of the mid-2010s took her by surprise and proved that a life built upon your goals is feasible after all. She recalls being teased by her classmates for her interest in content creation. “Of course, you get made fun of if you’re stepping outside the box. I would let it bother me because it was all new to me.”
Within months of officially leaving school, Green quickly gained a considerable following. She eventually upgraded from amateur recordings on her iPhone, to setting up her own studio and taking her videography to the next level. “I wanted to go high quality. I wanted people to watch my videos and feel like they were getting an experience they couldn’t get from anyone else.”
Green first gravitated toward teaching because she enjoyed helping people solve problems, keeping the pedagogical aspect alive in her work as a beauty influencer. She posts tutorials and routines, delineating step-by-step instructions for perfecting eyeshadow or sculpting eyebrows. “I wanted to be a role model for students. I feel like, in a way, I’m still doing that. I’m able to continue helping people in real life, just like I wanted to do as a teacher, but I get to do it in a completely different way through makeup.”
Green has found that she loves connecting with fans and feels most proud of the community she has constructed from the ground up. “There should always be somewhere your audience can go to see your real, true self — not just the retouched, perfect version of you. Mine is Snapchat. I record my entire day. I record when I’m sad, or crying, or having the worst day. I record what my house looks like when it’s a mess. If you want to see the perfect version of me, go to Instagram. But if you want to see a real human who makes mistakes, go to my Snapchat.”
“I wanted to be there for people who wanted someone to talk to — like FaceTiming a friend — especially for kids who didn’t have anyone in their household. I wanted to fill that big sister void. Now that I have, I’m making a living off of it.”
While Green is now earning enough to support her household, the idea of pursuing social media as a career never crossed her mind as a teenager. She created videos with the sole intention of sharing her own artistry. “Don’t look at likes, views, or followers,” she says. “If you’re starting something that you love, it can’t be because of money. When I first started around eight or nine years ago, I didn’t see people like me making money, so I thought that it was just a fun activity. I feel like that’s where people get twisted in this industry — when they’re motivated by money to start doing something.”
As a result, Green’s approach to social media has evolved in tandem with her platform. Over the last few years, she’s learned to persevere and push herself outside her comfort zone. “What separates well-known creators who have been on these platforms for years from those who trickle in and trickle out is passion. The creators who are constantly growing over time started creating content because they had real talent and drive and motivation from the beginning.”
By following her intuition, Green has found a great degree of permanence. Her ability to innovate in an industry largely dominated by trends has set her apart from other influencers. “I try to reinvent myself every year. That way, you never stop, and you never fall back. If you’re stagnant, and you’re not doing anything different than you were yesterday, you can only fall back. If you’re continuously doing something new, you can only grow from that.”
Coming off of her third year as a full-time content creator, Green knows all too well the dangers of slowing down and the importance of staying true to her passions. Looking forward, she’s interested in branching out and trying anything that allows for creative expression.
“I never thought I would get to where I am today. I didn’t know what the steps were. I didn’t know that I was taking the right steps all along just by doing what felt right and what felt true to me.”
Photography IRENE CHEN
Fashion CHARLOTTE HARRIS
Hair SAMM CASTRO
Makeup LEILANI GREEN
Words KATELYN POTHAKUL and ANDERS LJUNG
Interview ICEIS AUGUSTINO
Layout IVY KURNIAWAN
Retouch KATERYNA STINICH
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