8 minute read
Cover story: Baby Ariel
Baby Ariel
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
Baby Ariel is not your typical teenager. At only 18, Ariel was recognized as one of the most influential people on the internet by Time magazine and was featured on Forbes’ 2017 list of top entertainment influencers. Besides her place as a leader in the social media space, Baby Ariel is also a singer and an actress while she launched her own anti-bullying campaign. She’s taking over this issue of the magazine and we met up with her for an amazing photoshoot and an up close and personal talk.
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
Hair and Makeup: Juel hair & Makeup @juelhairmakeup Stylist: Dumebi Fashion @atelier_dumebi Location: Ragdoll Pink Palace in Los Angeles @ragdollpinkpalace
On The Move: Hi Ariel! We are super happy have you today with us. To put things into context, you’re a singer and actress but also a major social media influencer. What do you like the most about social media? O
Baby Ariel: I think that the beautiful thing about social media is that we’re accessible and we’re right there. It’s not pretending, we really are right there and we’re able to post stories and see every single person who viewed our stories and reply back to every single person. They can message me directly which is my favorite thing ever. I can’t respond to every single person but like as much as I can I will and I really like to treat social media as a place where I talk to my friends because they are like my friends. So if I post a picture of me hanging out, at a sleepover, doing nothing, honestly that’s what I would post to my friends. They’re watching what I’m doing, we’re hanging out together. Social media is a great plan
On The Move: Don’t you think it should be used carefully though? In order not to comparing yourself to others?
Baby Ariel: For sure. I think that everybody at one point definitely gets sucked into comparing themselves because as a teenager we all spent hours on our phones and we’re humans so it’s hard not to. But it’s really about recognizing that you are doing it and getting off your phone and escaping and doing things for yourself, going outside, doing what you love, focusing on your own passions and just becoming truly happy and confident in yourself. Because it’s hard, like as a teen girl what we do on a daily basis is to compare ourselves, it’s hard, we have to support each other as much as we can and learn to love ourselves. Instagram is not real life. We all go on there and we edit, we use filters and we post that we’re doing this but we’re not doing actually doing that. We should stick to reality.
On The Move: You’re doing so many great things at the same time at such a young age. How do you balance your jobs but also your life as a young adult?
Baby Ariel: At first it was really difficult. When I first started, everything kind of blended together and it became one and I’ve quickly had to realize that that wasn’t the way to do it. I’ve learned how to compartmentalize everything and say ‘okay I need a certain amount of time for everything a day’ because if I don’t get enough time for myself then I’m going to go crazy. If I don’t get enough time to work then that’s not right. So it’s learning how to separate your mind from each and not thinking about it all as one. Like when I think about my job, it is my job and I love it death but the same way my mom and my dad will go to work during their time, they come home and they separate and now it’s family time once you get home. So I’ve learned how to do the same thing and also my family and friends have been the biggest support system and loving people on this entire planet. And they’ve helped me through every single set, my family travelled with me everywhere I went. I couldn’t thank them enough. It’s really not me it’s them (laughs). I couldn’t do anything without my parents.
On The Move: You created an anti-bullying campaign called #ArielMovement. What was this inspired by?
Baby Ariel: It was inspired by my fans. Because when I first started on social media, I was getting a lot of hate online. I was so new to the social media world that I didn’t know how to handle it so the only way I knew how to was to address it and make a video about it which I did. And after I addressed it saying ‘this is not okay’ and even if you don’t like I like it so why come on my page and hate me? I don’t understand. I got a lot of responses from my fans who could relate to my story and were telling me their story and so I decided to open up the Ariel Movement to just create a positive platform where I might not be talking on there every single day but they’re able to find a friend within each other and they’re able to talk to each other and love and support each other. It’s a world where we can go and be ourselves and not focus on judgment and mean people.
On The Move : On the music side, I heard that you’re working on new music?
Baby Ariel: Yes I am going to release new music very soon. The next song is a very personal one and it means the world to me. It’s the most “me-song” that I’ve ever released and with the music video which we’re filming soon, it’s a very personal story. It’s called “Wild Side”.
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
On The Move: You also have a Snapchat series coming up, right?
Baby Ariel: Yeah I have a Snapchat show coming up and it’s called “Baby Ariel presenting” and then it’s a person’s name. In this show I talk to ten different
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
people with ten completely different stories and backgrounds and cultures and things that they’ve been through and we talk about one thing that they have gone through that has made them a better person or transformed them in some way. And we just filmed it and it’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had because I’ve never been able to meet someone completely new, sit down with them and really have a meaningful deep conversation where we just dive into them and who they are and what makes them them and what makes them smile every day and I think a lot of the really beautiful stories that they share will help a lot of people. Hopefully it will change something in their lives like they did in their own lives. It was incredible!
On The Move: Can you tell me more about the different episodes in the series?
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
Baby Ariel: One of them happens to be my exboyfriend and we talked about our relationship and then one was my best friend and then like seven of them I didn’t know. And then there was my other friend so just a bunch of different kind of people. They’ve got completely different point of views, they come from completely different worlds and places and talk about completely different things. Like I spoke to one person about hair, I spoke to another person about bullying online and self-confidence and body positivity and being creative. Like totally different worlds, different people’s perspectives.
« The Ariel Movement is a world where we can go and be ourselves and not focus on judgment and mean people»
every person throughout their entire life goes through that journey. And there are days where you go all the way back and there are days where you go all the way back up. Then I would say spend time off social media because it is toxic and that’s so cliché, people probably say it all the time but it is toxic. The more time you spend comparing yourself and you’re so focused on what other people are doing every day that you need to put it down and focus on you and learn more about yourself. Try a new sport, try a new club, try anything that makes you focus on you. Also surround yourself with people that love you and care for you and lift you up because I think every person deserves happiness no matter what. So if you can create a loving and warm environment for yourself then do it and don’t be afraid to cut out negative people because sometimes there are bad people that have been in our lives for a long time but if they’re not nice to you then you cut them off (laughs)! And be kinder to yourself because you deserve it.
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
On The Move: You just mentioned self-confidence and body positivity. How do you - as a 18-year-old girl living in the public eye - work on this on a daily basis and which advice would you give to your fans about it?
Baby Ariel: First of all, before anything I just want to say that it takes time. Like you don’t wake up the next day and you’re like “okay I’m fully in love with myself ”, no it takes time, it’s a journey and I think
INTERVIEW BY PAM CHARBIT & LUDIVINE DESUMEUR PHOTOS BY Heather Koepp EXCLUSIVELY FOR ON THE MOVE
Baby Ariel for On The Move
@ Heather Kopek exclusively for On The Move
