Rising YouTube Star LOEY LANE Interviewed by Iesha Coppin
Describe your channel in three choice words?
Fat, Fearless, Fun!
At VOLUP2 we aim to embrace true diversity and stretch beyond beauty and societal norms. By definition how do you portray beauty to not only yourself, but a massive following within the YouTube community?
It’s important to stay true to who you are and by doing so, you are providing visibility to yourself as a person. I ultimately believe it’s that visibility that will embolden the community who is for the first time, seeing public figures who are more like themselves, which allows them to feel better about themselves. I try to always be uplifting and empowering because this is an exciting movement to be a part of and it’s all of our responsibility to define our culture and what we stand for as humans.
As a Social media Influencer, cyber-bullying and body-shaming are an innate occurrence - how do you filter out the hate?
I don’t read them. I don’t pay them attention to them. I do not see it, so it does not exist. Mean comments say more about the people writing them than who they are directed towards.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be Nicer to Your Mom and not worry so much about the way that you look! I had curly hair and flat iron it straight and burn my hair, I was so obsessed with fitting in I didn’t realize it was more important to be myself.
Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years from now? Will you continue in YouTube or are there other industries you would like to discover?
I think I’ll always be on YouTube, but want to explore more modeling, acting, writing brands, and build a clothing brand. Basically, I want to continue to build my brand and inspire others!
The burning question that many want to know and probably always ask, “What does a YouTuber really do?”
What is a typical workday like for you?
Everyday I work on YouTube; I’m a workaholic. There is no day off when you work for yourself, plus, when you are your own boss, you have to have the self-motivation to work, come up with ideas, schedule content, to listen and engage with your community. Every day is different but a typical one looks like:
Wake up, edit, take care of all my pets (you can see their adventures on @LoeysLittleZoo), drink coffee, film, go to meetings, film more, edit before bed, sleep, rinse, repeat.
If you weren’t doing YouTube where would you be?
I’d be in medical school prepping to become the world’s best Pediatrician!
As an authority on plus-size fashion, what are some of your favorite trends this season?
It’s winter, so I really LOVE playing with silhouettes: Chunky sweaters with tight leggings, flowy dresses with thigh high boots, really any combination of the sort! I also love jewel tones and being grandma chic (stylish fashion that’s also comfortable!)
What are your top 5 beauty secrets?
One – Drugstore eyelashes are better because of thin band to make them seem like they are truly yours!
Two – Moisturize.
Three – Brush lips with tooth brush to exfoliate and plump in mornings before you do makeup.
Four – Moisturize. (Redundant but bears repeating! It’s beauty 101 but key to ensuring all the other beauty hacks will work! A key foundation. Also bears noting, moisturizing also starts from the inside, drink tons of water, people!)
Five – Highlighter makes everyone look awake.
What are your top 4 must shop, can’t live without plus-size fashion brands?
Simply Be, Boohoo, Eloquii, Dia & Co.
Your audience looks up to you as an inspirational figure. Who inspires you and why?
Ashley Graham because she was revolutionary for the body positive community in that she broke out and gave us a mainstream face, especially with her campaign. Plus she’s truly the sweetest in person!
Who are some of the lesser known bloggers/YouTubers just coming out, that you are excited about, whose sense of style and intellect we should watch for?
Ironically, because I work and produce so much YouTube, I barely have time to watch myself! Can you guys let me know who you’re watching and I’ll check them out!!
Where do you see the future of the Plus-Size fashion community headed?
I think we’ll see a continued trend of inclusion into the mass. I love how many brands are full-sized now, like Boohoo and how brands like Kohl’s offer a wide selection of full range options to some of their collections. We’ll also see a lot more of the plus-size brands see increased business & revenue. I’m excited, because we are getting more opportunities to be featured in the real, true fashion world. For example, I walked in Dia & Co’s Fashion Show at NYFW most recently but there were also designers like Chromat who featured talent of all shapes and sizes. This sort of diversity is beautiful.
