The Hustler's Digest Staff“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” -Farrah Gray
The above-mentioned quote happens to be the first one among the quotes highlighted on the Instagram account of Kai Lanier, a micro social media influencer, uprising content creator, and the CEO of Testing Viral Trends. Lanier is not just pursuing the American dream of having the liberty to choose whatever any individual aspires to; he is already living it. However, it wasn’t offered to him on a platter.
Belonging to an adopted family, Kai had a difficult childhood. He struggled with the identity crisis and family relationships from a young age. He even had to hide to talk to his friends in a household where social media was not allowed. Kai had to wrestle with his adoptive parents to let him use social media as it was his only refuge. The more he was restricted, the more he felt a drive for it. Kai felt a natural affinity with social media as he was raised with the desire for it. These years of hide and seek intensified Lanier’s determination and passion for social media as he used this time to think it through his way into the field.
As soon as he moved out, he went to the grind and started pushing for what he was denied earlier. Kai began from scratch, having zero followers and no influence on anyone. He put his passion and vigor into creating content, making life hacks videos and points of view with a dedicated demeanor. Now, he has built his community of half a million followers on TikTok, 20k followers on Instagram, and 177k subscribers on YouTube. He has also been a recipient of a Silver Youtube Plaque for hitting over 100K subscribers, which he attributes to the love of his fans and followers. He is making money through monetization and connections.
Being viral and famous also has drawbacks, and Lanier was no exception. He received bitter words from others and angry criticism from his rivals, which inevitably wrecked his mental state and cost him a lot. He found coping challenging but overcame the situation with motivation and resolve.
His story is not over yet. While Kai could sustain himself by being a full-time social media influencer, he chooses to work full-time at a hospital as he intends to save money and move out of Florida. He has dreams bigger than he has already achieved, being a full-time influencer in ten years and starting his future career in modeling and acting. Kai won’t stop at anything in the present because he keeps his sights fixed on long-term objectives.
