20 minute read
At Home With
At Home With The Shearsmiths
WORDS BY GRACIE HARVEY & DAVID DRURY
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This year, we wanted to take 88 Magazine in a new direction; step it up and profile people who are doing great things in their lives and their cities. It’s been a tough start to the year but we want our readers to feel a sense of
escapism and excitement for the future.
And so we reached out to the Shearsmiths. A Hull couple making absolute waves in the social media influencer
culture. Some social media
influencers and creators
have been uniquely valuable (others, questionable) during the pandemic. Introducing you to the charming social media duo, Scott and Danielle Shearsmith.
Lockdown Influencers
A lot of social influencers
swapped out the unrealistic expectations of their lifestyle and took it back to basics -
they too were in lockdown, they also couldn’t do what they wanted to do, they were at home, homeschooling, learning something new, trying to make a living, keep distracted, missing their loved ones, all during the unprecedented times each and every one of us were faced with.
But then came the backlash, when some social media
influencers packed their bags and jetted off to places like Dubai at a click of a
finger. Where they were supposed to be opening themselves up to their followers, being down to earth and accessible, they ended up putting even more miles between themselves
and their fans - mentally and physically.
Take Scott and Danielle
Shearsmith then. First
impressions of their lives on social media may seem so far removed from a lot of people. Designer brands filling their shelves, a “perfect” couple, in a “perfect” home, walk-in wardrobes, freebies thrown at them left, right and centre; looking like they’re living their best lives, with or without a lockdown to
contend with. At first glance, it seems like they’re having a great time in lockdown and haven’t been greatly affected by it at all. But 88 Magazine wasn’t buying it.
Even with over 177k
followers between Danielle
and Scott, 11k following their home account, a Chihuahua with more followers than
most of us and Danielle’s
fifteen year old daughter with almost 10, 000 herself - it can’t be all rosy, can it?
88 Magazine doesn’t do anything in half measures, and so we sent in our two
most brutally honest and ballsy writers - David and Gracie - to get up close and personal with the power couple.
88 MAGAZINE:
So let’s jump straight in and get your love story then. How long have you been together? How did you meet?
DANIELLE:
We got together in March 2018. Basically, Scott took one look at me and fell in love!
Joking aside, Scott had actually added me on Facebook and
I used to get loads of friend requests, so I never really looked through them or responded - not to be big headed! But one day I was just looking through and I thought oh he looks nice, accepted and then we ended up being at the same party about three days later. We’ve been together ever since.
He actually thought I was rich on our second date because I
insisted on paying for tea… we had fish and chips!
88 MAGAZINE:
You were quite well known already weren’t you Scott, through your modelling career? So how did that all start?
SCOTT:
Yeah I was. My modelling started when a guy I knew through Facebook messaged me because he had a clothing company in Hull. He just started by asking me to share something for him and I said I would, but also asked if I could model for him in return. He actually said he would think about it, leaving me hanging for a while!
He got back to me and I did model for him a few times. I did one shoot with two massive
models at the time and once
I’d done that, I started getting loads of other companies approaching me off of the back of it. A lot of how people make it in the modelling world is through word-of-mouth; head-hunters see who you’re modelling with, what you’re doing and what engagement you get, then that’s where all the interest comes from.
I just did modelling on the side to start with, whilst I was working full time at the council. I knew that was the
route I wanted to go down, so I kept at it, built my Instagram wall and then started getting decent traction from it all.
88 MAGAZINE:
So is modelling what you do permanently now then?
SCOTT:
No actually, I haven’t modelled for over a year now.
DANIELLE:
That’s where I come in, I’ve now picked it up. You’ve tapped out and I’m like, my turn. Haha.
88 MAGAZINE:
Is modelling how you initially developed your following, you’ve got over 134k followers now haven’t you!?
SCOTT:
Yeah, it was a slow builder but I started getting more and more opportunities after each modelling gig. Because of that, I was confident enough to decide to quit the council and try modelling full time. To begin with, the money wasn’t great. I was broke when I met Danielle!
I was doing it all off my own back just through Instagram. It was a hard graft reaching out to people to try and get opportunities, and build up my portfolio.
88 MAGAZINE:
How about you then Danielle, what’s your background?
DANIELLE:
I had a daughter when I was 17, Layla. So I’ve tried to work my career around being a mother. I’ve always known what kind of lifestyle I want, but the jobs I’ve had have never really stuck as a career because they’ve not been for me, do you know what I mean?
I’ve worked at every bar or restaurant you can think of in Hull to be honest! I was managing a bar down Newland Avenue when Scott
and I met. As you can tell, I’m a people person so I do enjoy that kind of work. Obviously, I like earning money, but in all honesty, I just don’t like
I wasn’t truly happy when I was in that line of work and not that it affected our relationship as such, but Scott was out living his best life, sending me pictures of him sunbathing and I would be changing a barrel, thinking this is definitely not for me!
I tried working at a spa. I was their receptionist for a while but I didn't like it that much
because I couldn't snack when
I wanted - haha!
Then we got married which was my main focus for a full year. Scott thought we would be engaged for a couple of years but no, I was straight on that. And good job really because we probably still wouldn’t be married yet if we had waited!
We were living in a rented place at the time and it was certainly not our dream house. But the good thing is, we hated it that much it pushed us to get out.
I’ve always been like that. Even at 19 I was living in a high rise flat on Orchard Park, but I knew that it wouldn’t be
forever and with every step that I took, as long as I was going up, I knew I’d get where I wanted to go.
We both have that mind set, don’t we Scott? We’re both
really driven, dreamers in a way really. But we work hard to make it happen.
88 MAGAZINE:
Oh, I’m all for that. Say yes to something and then figure out how to do it after.
SCOTT:
Exactly. When we came to view this house, we put an offer in but we didn’t even have the deposit at that point. We just worked day and night to get it done, and here we are.
88 MAGAZINE:
So, for the uninformed reader, how do social media
influencers pay for, well, a beautiful house like this? How do you monetize the Shearsmith brand that you’ve built on social?
SCOTT:
As well as my strong presence on social media, I have a marketing and advertising company - Scott Shearsmith Ltd - so the majority of my earnings come from that. I also own a race horse named
'Shear Gold'. A lot of my focus is on horse racing because that is where the money is.
DANIELLE:
I think it’s good to keep such a variety though isn’t it in a business. With Scott, he started off modelling which put him in touch with a whole host of influencers but he knew that wouldn’t last forever. Not in a bad way obviously, he’s lovely looking. But in something like this there’s always fresh new people popping up and it’s super competitive. So his next step was finding ways to make money from what he built so far, so that’s why he ended up starting a marketing and advertising agency.
With myself, I don’t make money from influencer marketing. I’m actually quite soft and when local businesses contact me, I’ll just do it for them and help them. It might serve me and build my wall, but it also helps these local businesses which is so
important, especially in times like this.
It’s not always about the money! We’re not shallow or materialistic. We need to
make money to pay for things obviously, but I don’t think people realise that Scott works 12+ hour days. We don’t just get up and things get handed to us for free. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it!
88 MAGAZINE:
That’s what we really like about you two, especially after meeting you today. You’re not quite what we expected and we’re not afraid to admit that!
Like everything in here looks phenomenal, but you did most of it yourself didn’t you Danielle? We hear you’re quite the bargain hunter.
DANIELLE:
obsession! It got really bad at one point because I would go every day. We love nice things, we have amazing holidays and we’ve done nice things with the house, but you can’t beat a bargain!
88 MAGAZINE:
That said, have you ever had any backlash to what you share on social media? Do you think you keep it real?
DANIELLE:
When I look back, before I got pregnant, I was only uploading quite provocative pictures with short paragraphs that were probably quite shallow, just talking about what I was doing that day. Nothing deep and I didn’t really think about inspiring people at the time. That was working for me though at that time and building my wall up quickly.
Then, when I got pregnant, my attitude changed. It sounds quite bad but I did think, oh no, now I’m going to lose followers because I thought well, why would they want to follow a pregnant 32 year old now? Especially when most of my followers were men due to what I would post!
My first post as a pregnant woman was about coming to terms with having to love another child after being mum to one for 15 years. aI had more reactions than ever from this! It made me feel more real and I’d never felt more myself! People were so nice and supportive. My following increased and it’s like I’d tapped into a completely different audience really.
Obviously you don’t get positives without some negatives though. One time that stands out is the
comments I received following a piece Hull Live did on me. It’s so hard because one person can say something then it just escalates and everyone believes it! Loads of people started calling me a gold digger. But they didn’t even know me or my background. Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has been broke and even Scott was
when we first met, so I don’t know where people have got this idea of me from.
People always ask me “How do you handle it?” but the truth is, I know who I am. I know who
we are as a family. So if people are going out of their way to be hateful, that’s not my problem. I respond by killing them with kindness! One guy used to inbox me all the time, for 6 months or so, and I would just go back with things like “I’m really sorry you’re feeling hurt, if there’s anything I can do let me know.” And it actually worked! Eventually, he backed down and apologised for ever offending me or saying anything out of line.
It’s mainly guys who are negative though. Not really the women! I was quite surprised by that.
There’s just such a misconception about us most of the time, people just think we get free stuff and try to be something we’re not. That isn’t the case at all. You don’t
know us personally. I’d rather someone judge us if they know us! Scott, honestly, is the nicest
person I’ve ever met. People always say to me “Oh wow, he is really different to how I thought he would be.” They thought he would be really arrogant, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
88 MAGAZINE:
I think it might be because you look like such a confident couple on social media and
you’ve created this image through it haven’t you.
You’re a lot more open and honest than we thought you would be. We automatically thought two people with such a high profile in the local area would be a lot more guarded or have a chip on their shoulder, but you’re not like that at all. You’re actually very down to earth and really make us feel at home!
DANIELLE:
Yes we get that a lot. Someone messaged me the other day saying I can’t believe you replied to me and my reaction is just well why wouldn’t I? People go out of their way to message me, so of course I’m going to reply. I reply to every single message.
88 MAGAZINE:
What are you going to do when you get to a point where you can’t keep up with that though? For you Danielle, you’re now at over 43k followers and you’re getting really good traction, what’s going to happen as you keep taking social by storm!?
SCOTT:
Yeah actually, even I don’t know how she goes through hundreds of messages and replies to them all. It does take over your life really doesn’t it? I mean, I don’t get as many as Danielle, she’s more personal and motivational, so loads more people relate and feel inspired by her.
DANIELLE:
I only had 300 followers when I met Scott so I was quite overwhelmed with his 26k at
the time. But then once you’re in it, it never feels enough! You said 43k just then and my first thoughts are oh, is that it!
It can be so addictive in that
way really. It’s one thing to get the followers, but you’ve got to keep them as well and keep that momentum going - like any business account on social media. We want to maintain
that interest all the time and we
do think about ways in which we can do that every day.
SCOTT:
When I first got Instagram for modelling, I was really addicted. It is for business reasons as well because you want to better yourself for the purpose of building a career, but you can end up being on your phone so much. Danielle always used to moan at me, saying “You’re always on your phone!” when we first met. Now it’s probably the other way around!
DANIELLE:
We’re used to it now. We have
very different accounts and very different approaches to what we do, but we understand each other now.
I mean, we each get a lot of attention from the opposite sex and so we have to be
confident in our relationship to not let it affect us.
We can’t allow each other to
get jealous really. We end up having a bit of a laugh about it and watching what we get sent together, rather than it being something toxic that comes between us. We try not to take it too personally or deep, it is what it is and we both have
that understanding. We’re transparent with everything.
88 MAGAZINE:
The whole construct behind social media is to give people an insight into your life. 2020 was an absolute shit show, to put it politely. How have you maintained that momentum
then despite the fact we’ve not been able to do anything?
SCOTT:
Obviously, with Danielle being pregnant, we couldn’t really go anywhere anyway because you hated it didn’t you!?
A lot of what we do can be done remotely, even though we do miss travelling around. That is something we love to do!
DANIELLE:
I think if anything, it’s actually probably shown a better side to us because before the pandemic, we would go out six times a week. I’m a massive
foodie so I love going out for meals. We go on nice holidays and so we would portray the really idealistic side of our lives, but that isn’t always relatable is it? In a way, we’ve been able to show our more “real” home
life.
88 MAGAZINE:
The big question then - Instagram vs Reality - what side of the wall do you fit into?
DANIELLE:
Before I was pregnant and
probably even before I was married, I’d notice how many beautiful women Scott would have on his Instagram, I’d follow them all and religiously compare myself to like a 5ft, size 6 woman when I’ve got a totally different body shape to them! I’m never going to be like that, so I unfollowed everyone I couldn’t relate to. So all the
influencers I follow now are all those who are like me with a
similar figure.
It builds your confidence because they’re not unrealistic ideals or views that you’re comparing yourself to. And I want my social media to have the same effect on the women who follow me too - whatever their age.
88 MAGAZINE:
Is that what you want your Instagram to convey to people? To show that you don’t have to be a certain “idealistic”
or “unrealistic” version of yourself for the benefit of others?
DANIELLE:
Oh yes, absolutely. It breaks my heart when people message me and always say “You’re so beautiful, why can’t I be like that”. And I always respond with “Babe, it’s a filter, don’t think my face looks like this in real life!” It doesn’t look like that Or if someone asks me how do you lose weight and it’s because I’m STARVING! It’s
not all glamorous. I would hate people to think that everything is easy and just happens with a click of the fingers, it’s not like that at all.
88 MAGAZINE:
Your very much all about body positivity as well aren’t you Danielle?
DANIELLE:
Before I was pregnant I was really paranoid. I have honestly always had a problem with the way I look, like most girls, we’re never happy are we? I had a boob job when I was 21, thinking “That will make people like me more”.
I’d overthink every picture I put up and when I look back, I was thinner than I am now so
then I got pregnant and that choice is taken away - your body has to change to be able to have a baby so you start to accept it.
I just started to think, it’s really not that important is it? I’ve always known that there’s more to me than what
I look like, now it’s about who I am and I enjoy this more. I’ve found as my mentality has matured, my social media posts have and then as a result the feedback is better than I ever could have imagined. The messages I get are amazing. Women talk about their lives
and they feel inspired because of what I’m saying and posting. That’s a great feeling.
I also realised I need to show
how much I love pizza!
88 MAGAZINE:
So what does Brand
Shearsmith look like for you in
DANIELLE:
FABULOUS! Not just that though, obviously. We have our home account so that’s
definitely something that we want to focus on and expand.
I used to sit on an app in our rented house creating different rooms and putting together a dream home so then when we
bought this, we literally spent three solid months totally
transforming it into what we had envisioned for so long. We have the same taste as well, don’t we Scott? I really love the property side of things so I’d like to put more effort into that.
I’ve just taken over a clothing brand as well, so that will be another little project. I want to really concentrate on making the brand accessible to more
“normalised” body types though because when we first got it, the sizes were all 4 to 10 and that’s just not me at all. I want to give it a new look, push it out there and not alienate
anyone who can’t relate.
Especially when Lake starts growing up, I’d like to focus on the mum in me and what
appeals to new parents as well.
SCOTT:
I’m definitely looking at focusing more on property too. Transforming houses like we’ve done here, sell them on and go onto the next. Danielle is really creative and I’ve got the business head, so we work well together and complement each other’s ideas.
88 MAGAZINE:
And for you on maternity Danielle, do you plan to take your career in another direction or start something new? Is interior design the
DANIELLE:
I am very honest, in that I just don’t know. I’ll always make sure my family is okay but to me, I’m a mum, and that’s my main focus. Being a wife too. They’re my jobs.
SCOTT:
Our main focus is that we want to be happy in life. I’d rather be happy than have a million pounds in the bank.
88 MAGAZINE:
Would you ever plan to move abroad or anything like that? Up the level of glam and move somewhere else?
SCOTT:
I think we just plan to go on a lot of holidays when we can! I prefer that, rather than moving abroad permanently.
DANIELLE:
I like coming home too, we’re both home birds aren’t we?
We love being the entertainers as well, having family and friends close by is really important to us so that they can just pop over. Can’t wait to do that again!
I’d love to go on Come Dine With Me actually, can you get me on there?
88 MAGAZINE:
So you mentioned this earlier on but where do you think the power to change comes from? Do you think it’s money, or fame?
SCOTT:
Before I met Danielle, I wanted fame. I was doing applications for Love Island, Ex On The Beach, shows like that. One show actually got back in touch with me after I’d known Danielle for only about five days.
But I’d met Danielle and I
decided not to go! is definitely more to life than social media!
88 MAGAZINE:
Well, it has been absolutely lovely meeting you and I think we can both say that you have a very successful future ahead of you.
Follow them on Instagram;
@scottshearsmith
@danielle.shearsmith
@shearsmiths_at_home
88 MAGAZINE:
What advice would you give your younger selves?
DANIELLE:
It’s not everything. Yes, social media is a great platform and it’s good to show an image of who you are, but it’s not who you are. No one knows what’s behind that picture. Don’t believe everything you see. No one is perfect!
I think if someone came up to us and said we’re going to give you £2m but your marriage might be a little bit rocky, we wouldn’t do it. If it was to jeopardise our marriage, we would stop tomorrow. I’m one of these people who just thinks well, if that doesn’t work, there’s always something else.
One main thing is that there
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