It's true that the best connections are often made in the botox and filler chair. If that wasn't a rule before, I'm certainly dubbing the sentiment true now.
Shout-out to Suzie at SpaDerma, who encouraged me to follow the well known Instagram account Be There in Five and furthermore, follow the creator (and fellow SpaDerma client) Kate Kennedy. To find a Chicago-based Instagram influencer dedicated to deep-dives of Real Housewives episodes was like finding water in a Coachella festival drought.
I finally sat down with Kennedy last month to learn about her road to local fame and how her entrepreneurial drive came manifested in various projects.
It's not just hard for me to sum up Kennedy's resume, it's hard for Kennedy herself. "I usually say I'm in ad sales because it's so complicated [to explain]," laughs the Lincoln Park resident. Aside from her Instagram account, which is just the tip of the content iceberg for her, Kennedy is an author, podcaster and founder of the Remindoormat -- as seen on Vanderpump Rules thanks to Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute, both of whom Kennedy sings high praises of. "If you're on a national TV show, you can get anything for free and Kristen and Stassi bought mats full price," adding, "So incredibly cool."
The mats, which are infamous and Pinterest-board worthy for reminders and pop culture anecdotes like "Turn Off Your Straightener" and "What Are You Doing Here Without Dorinda," might have been Kennedy's initial claim-to-fame after abandoning corporate life in 2015, but it's her podcast and children's book that furthered her digital-inspired fame.
The book, titled Twinkle, Twinkle, Social Media Star: An Internet Fairytale of Fame, Fortune and Followers, started off as an outlet for the author, who was new to book writing, but eager to channel her past poetry experience. Inspired by flourishing influencer culture, Kennedy explains, "How are parents going to explain to children that an influencer is a career like a firefighter or anything else?" Stepping up to answer the call, the author used traditional nursery rhyme characters to illustrate modern online culture and released the piece last November to much acclaim.
As for the podcast, Kennedy doesn't hold back in the world of pop culture. Furthermore, she is quick to point out analytical nuances that everyday audiences might miss. For example, her podcast listeners will attest that her deeply attentive Taylor Swift album theories are meticulously thoughtful and original. From predicting album titles to foreshadowing song themes and deeper meanings, Kennedy poses collegiate-level proposals for what fans can expect in Swift's music.
What sets Kennedy apart from everyday commentators is her eye for press strategy and attention to telling metadata attached to news stories and photos. Even more tangible is her proprietary scale, which determines the longevity of a reality star's career on any particular show. Essentially, the Y axis reflects likeability while the X axis reflects crazy. And if you're wondering whose chart represents the ultimate balance between the two, it's Vicki Gunvalson of course. The longest running reality star is still on Real Housewives of Orange County and just locked in another season, further proving the accuracy of Kennedy's astute calculation.
Obviously, the hustling entrepreneur juggles a lot of different crafts -- all distinguished in their own right. I like to think that Kennedy is an exemplary role model for not staying in your professional lane, a practice rarely encouraged. "We don't have to pick one thing and stick to it," she advises.
For others ready to take the leap into a new lane, Kennedy recommends to avoid the unavoidable -- overthinking. "People get stuck in their own head over logistics of their dreams," she says. "People talk themselves out of what they want to be doing because it's too hard. It just is hard."
But as everything else in life, if you want it badly enough, it will come. "I'm not where I want to be in my career [yet], but there's enough evidence that creative risks are worth it."
Follow Kate Kennedy here: Podcast - Be There in Five
Instagram - @BeThereInFive
Twitter - @BeThereInFive