Tales of Estare, the New Age Nomad.

Cast your mind back to 2012 – at a time when gaming content had taken over YouTube, a new genre was about to emerge. Eyeshadow tutorials, OOTDs and seasonal style lookbooks were popping up all over the streaming platform. With them, a wave of Black content creators were fast becoming the authority on all things fashion and beauty.

Among them was EstareLIVE, whose love for film and learning led her to start her YouTube channel, where she taught her ever-growing audience how to make wigs, what upcoming fashion brands to follow, and things to know when going on holiday, catapulting her to influencer status.

When we speak, I remind Estare of how long she’s been creating content, to which she asserts that it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. Still, her numbers say otherwise. With 202,000 subscribers and over 330,000 Instagram followers, Estare has cemented her position as one of the go-to Black British lifestyle content creators. Scroll down her Instagram page or spend an hour watching one of her travel vlogs, and you’ll see why.

Drawing from her love of cinema, Estare’s content mirrors that of a small screen production, immersing the viewer in her adventures across the world, from Colombia to Amsterdam.

“I used to love watching movies, and that gave me a bit of inspiration to express myself through videos and moving image”, she tells me. “I’d study films like Avatar and Titanic because they kept me entertained, I was hooked, and I guess that kind of fuelled what I would then do. Being a content creator has allowed me to experiment with apps and editing software and be super expressive with what I put out. I always want to make sure whatever piece of content I’m making, that audiences are captivated.”

Keeping audiences captivated doesn’t seem to be an issue for the London College of Fashion alumni, who boasts thousands of views and likes on her content daily, much of which centres around her personal life and her relationships. Throughout her ten years as a content creator, viewers have seen the ins and outs of her love life, seen her friends get married and have kids, and learnt that she was a young mum–transparency is Estare’s forte.

Reflecting on her journey, she explains that sharing hasn’t always been so easy.

“There was a phase where nobody even knew I was a mum; I was trying to keep that under wraps because I thought people would look at me differently. With things I’ve gone through, I got to a point where it’s like, this is my life. This is the story being written. And if my story can inspire other people and be something that’s uplifting, then I’m going to continue sharing it”.

Evidently, Estare’s openness has been worth it because she later confesses that the highlight of her career has been working with her son. “I went from a place of being unsure if I wanted to share that part of my life with my audience [to] now [be] able to create with him is amazing.”

Where it may have been unheard of to share so much of your personal life online in 2012, Estare acknowledges that things have changed.

“We’ve seen a switch with a lot of creators, where it’s becoming okay to show those parts of yourself that you might think are detrimental to your career, but these are the things that make you who you are.”

“We’ve got so many types of creators who just share their stories, their day-to-day, their struggles–they’re taking this to the next level because it’s so raw and real”.

Throughout our conversation, it becomes clear that Estare is passionate about the future of content creation. As one of the OGs of this career path, she wants to ensure that those following in her footsteps are getting their just due. We talk about the state of content creation and influencing–and I gather she has complex feelings about the latter term. Reminiscing on the reckoning of 2020, which saw the influencer industry come under fire for the pay gap between Black and white influencers, Estare mentions how important it is for Black content creators to speak out, not just for their sake, but for others.

“Having the confidence to speak up, I think, is so important. And understanding and believing in your value–if you, as a creator, are willing to take something that you don’t believe is your worth, then you’re kind of doing it for the next person.”

Ironically, Estare reveals that when she was approached for Instagram’s Black Perspectives Initiative, her imposter syndrome kicked in and made her question how far she’s come in her career.

“I was a bit like, are you lot sure? You want me to be part of it? I was really shocked; I still feel like there’s so much more I can do.”

As part of the initiative, Estare is hosting the Creator Quest. She’ll be taking four creators on a day-long workshop where they’ll undergo challenges to give them a behind the curtain look: from the business side to the logistics of shooting content.

“I’m all about teaching people and leaving them with the knowledge. I want to be able to have open conversations and drive some change through this initiative. Black creatives are at the forefront of trends and conversations, so Instagram wants to champion emerging Black creators–that’s the origin of my project”.

Along with three other leading voices in the creative space, Estare is making room for the next generation of storytellers. With the listening ear of one of the biggest social platforms in the world, Estare is making sure people feel confident in telling their stories.

“You can do absolutely anything you want to do in this day and age. We all have something to say, so don’t be scared to tell your story and be yourself”.

Having conquered the worlds of Instagram and YouTube, Estare is committed to speaking her truth, and in time, hopes to have conquered a new medium where she can continue her work. “My wish is to have something cool out by the end of the year. Everybody’s used to seeing my face, seeing me on video and in pictures; hopefully, I can give you more of my voice”.

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