Welcome to Favorite Follow, a series spotlighting NYLON’s favorite creators and the stories behind some of their most memorable content.
For those looking from the outside in, Jenny Welbourn lives a pretty aspirational life. Known as @wearilive on social media, the Colorado-born content creator first popped onto our radar documenting her thrift-shopping trips in 2015, but in recent years, her channel has become more focused on lifestyle, showcasing their food diaries, on-the-go vlogs, wellness rituals, and more.
“I went through a few phases growing up, but I always knew I would end up on some kind of creative path. For most of my childhood I thought I would be a chef and was very close to going to culinary school,” Welbourn tells NYLON. “YouTube has been very special to me because it allows me to incorporate so many different interests into one and I love editing so it’s an icing on the cake that I can put it all together myself. I feel very lucky to be in a place that allows me the flexibility to grow along with a ‘career’ I guess, and also lucky that it grew up with me and people are still watching.”
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and consumed by the ways of the Internet. As an influx of creators floods our social media, there’s exhausting pressure to stand out, but Welbourn believes staying true to yourself is the only sustainable way to stay online. He also reiterates that what you see online is not the whole truth. “It’s easy to glamorize a lifestyle; Sure, he’s incredibly privileged in a lot of ways, but there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on that I don’t think is possible to explain until you’re in it,” she says. “Following ‘trends’ is helpful for growth, but try not to get too caught up in them, especially to build longevity online.”
Despite this, she remains grateful for the community she has built over the years. “Being online has brought so much to my life and definitely encourages anyone who has something they feel called to share to do so. You will attract what you offer and you will not focus too much on the result.”
Since amassing 295k subscribers and counting on YouTube alone, Welbourn reveals that there are quite a few special projects in the works, including one that applies “sustainable practices to create something physical for the first time.”
“It’s a sneaky project I’m working on for fun and should be ready in the next few months,” he adds. “And I’m dabbling in other areas of life: writing, acting and more.”
Later, Jenny Welbourn aka @wearilive spoke to NYLON about how her YouTube has evolved over the years, her love of economics, online burnout, and more.
On how his YouTube platform evolved over the years
“I started my channel almost eight years ago, and it feels crazy to think that I have posted almost every week for so many years. In that sense, I understand why it twisted and flowed over the years with me. I started my channel when I was stuck in my hometown after high school, longing to be in New York and at FIT, which was my dream school at the time. I was saving money and working in restaurants while attending a local college and decided to start my channel as a way to get closer to what I wanted to do, which was really special to me at the time. It was a way for me to connect with something bigger than my hometown and that’s why the internet is so great in some ways. It has gone through many phases.
Once I finally got to New York that’s when I really realized that I was passionate about sustainability and that’s when my channel started to take off as I think that passion showed through on screen. My channel has definitely changed in the last three years since the pandemic hit. It was during that time that I really needed to focus on my mental health and it seemed like viewers wanted to feel close to others too, which is when vlogging became more prevalent for me and naturally my content started to reflect where my focus was: self-grow and discover my path to follow”.
On living and leading a sustainable lifestyle
“I had my real turn while I was at FIT. I grew up in a small hometown and lived very close to nature. Moving to New York City, which I had never spent more than four hours in before, was a huge culture shock for me. Honestly, the fashion industry grossed me out the first year I was there: labor exploitation within production lines, horrible environmental practices, and the fact that, especially at the time, it was normal to work for free on ‘internships’ for get anywhere. That’s when I started using my channel for more than one outlet to talk about the things I didn’t like, while still appreciating the role that fashion has played for me in my life. I still feel the same way and have been happy to see the increased awareness, especially online. I think people are much more in touch now and have more access to information. For me, sustainable fashion has taken a more implicit role in my life lately, although it is still one of my favorite topics to discuss and learn about and I am sure it will remain a part of my life forever.
I try to remain honest with myself and pay attention to what I could do better when it comes to an individual level. I really don’t like it when people search each other online just to try and survive in a world that is set up for all of us to waste and unfortunately generally contribute to the exploitation of others just by existing. I’m glad people are more aware that we need different legislation to make corporations more accountable. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can do, but I like the ‘do your best’ mentality and only you know what your best effort is. We are all set up with a unique life and set of challenges and to assume that we are all in the same place is naive. Kindness goes much further when it comes to sharing information. Routines, lifestyle, mental health, and self-care all relate to being able to present yourself and then presenting yourself to others. I assume that, nowadays, we are all a little bit stressed about one thing or another.”
About your personal style
“I’m a bit all over the place in a way, I like a lot of different things but I also go with the flow most of the time and I think my style generally reflects that. I don’t like to put a lot of effort into being perfectly assembled.
I can point out that I have always liked loose, oversized clothing like t-shirts and denim. That has been and probably always will be the basis of my wardrobe. I am absolutely more myself in a silk button down and some denim. I have always liked the style of older people, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers, and I think I copy their appearance a lot. I also think my style is more masculine, but I like to add some fun elements that have a more feminine feel. Every year I think my style is a bit more defined, which makes sense; Every year I get to know myself a little better.
I’ve definitely been going through a huge style transition right now that has me stumped about moving to LA. I’m having trouble understanding how I’d like to express myself here. It’s only been five months so I’m taking a second to recreate my image, which is fun and why I love style and fashion! I think in Los Angeles, people in general dress more vulgar, no offense. I personally love it and I think it comes from Hollywood and sometimes life feels like a simulation or maybe things aren’t really that serious. If that makes sense!”
On the second-hand economy and a successful shopping trip
“I love buying second-hand and finding unique pieces. I love the thrift stores in my hometown; when I go back to Colorado, it’s my second stop, after my favorite place to eat. That’s where my love of saving began and continues. There are some smaller stores that I love and I definitely prefer the smaller local stores to the chains. A million things always catch my eye so I definitely end up with a big stack of chips and luckily I have friends who are much better at ‘editing’ my picks. Sometimes I walk in with an idea of what I need in my closet (new pants, maybe a white shirt) or I walk in with the idea that I’d like a few more “fun” pieces to spice up my closet.
I recently went back to Colorado for the winter and found an amazing blue knit poncho for $6 that I still plan on wearing when hosting a housewarming party because I think it gives off an amazing hostess vibe. I also found an amazing leather racing jacket, which was actually something I had been looking for and am obsessed with. Moving to Los Angeles has been so much fun because of the flea markets! When I first moved in, that was all I did on the weekends, but now, thankfully, I’ve calmed down a bit. And to save successfully, you must have an open mind! That’s the fun part: no one tells you what you like and that’s when I always come up with the best discoveries.”
On navigating burnout online
“When I started online, it wasn’t that obvious that I would ever turn this into a career or make money from it. For the first four years I made YouTube videos, I made maybe $10 total. I had a moment where I realized that I really wanted to commit and see where I could go. Over the course of the year, I had a few videos take off and realized I needed to quit my retail job so I could keep up with the sudden influx of emails I was getting and have more time to create. So crazy to think back then and three years later, I’m still doing it full time.
It was quite a struggle, actually, to finally be where I wanted to be, and it took me a while to adjust. It takes a lot of discipline to create your own schedule while managing all of these expectations that you and others have for yourself. When I’m depressed, I really try to lean into the parts that I love and enjoy the creative process. The hardest part for me is that YouTube is about my life, but my life is about YouTube. There hasn’t been a day in the last eight years that I haven’t thought about my channel, but is my channel just an extension of me? The lines blur when every part of your life could potentially become ‘content’, so it’s a strange thing to process. I always say I’ll take some time off, but it’s also hard when you’re struggling with algorithms or just want to take advantage of the awesomeness in front of you.
That’s where the exhaustion comes from: suddenly monetizing being a person. It’s super weird. I love it though, and it’s been such a wild progression in my life. I truly am in the place that I could only vaguely imagine in my wildest dreams. I start to go a little crazy if I think too much about what I actually do: film myself brushing my teeth sometimes and put it on the internet? [Laughs] I’m still learning how to balance it all and enjoy the process. It really pushed me to look inward at a faster pace, I think. The more I’ve learned to like myself and feel confident in who I am, the less I’m bothered by other little things, like silly comments or judgments from others, which have been nice to notice. Getting to that point is necessary to stay in line. Overall though, I have such a lovely viewer base that I learn a lot from.”
Follow Jenny Welbourn on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and her “Too Sensitive” podcast on all streaming platforms.
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Source: www.nylon.com