Meet Abby Catrina | Social Media Influencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Abby Catrina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abby, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve always been very creative, and my parents always encouraged me to explore that creativity. My mom has actually worked in the fashion industry for 25 years, working as a designer for Vera Wang for 5 of them. When I was 11, I was given an opportunity to become an actress, which is a career I pursued for 6 years before taking a break from it to pursue other avenues and really get to know myself. When I started gaining followers on TikTok I immediately started putting 100% effort into making it a career. I’m still only 19, so I’m still finding myself and exploring what the world has to offer. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but creativity is in my blood and I know I’ll continue to pursue careers that offer the ability to continue to be creative.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s hard to tell you what my “job” is without calling myself an influencer, but I hate being labeled as an influencer. As of right now, I’d just say that I do social media. I wouldn’t necessarily call it my career yet, I turned 19 only a month ago. I’ve been pursuing social media for almost two years now. I started gaining followers and attention around October of 2021. With all the attention and followers came a new world that I had to navigate. I made quite a few friends through social media, but I quickly realized that not all of them were trustworthy nor were they the kind of people I wanted to surround myself with. There were so many times when I’d find out my “friend” was doing something shady behind my back or spreading hateful rumors about me in an attempt to get my platform taken down. Then came the comments and DM’s I continue to deal with to this day. I’m constantly scrutinized by people in my comments section. They say I’m too fat, not hot enough, I wear too much makeup, the list just goes on and on. To give some of those people credit, sometimes my content can come off as being intentionally promiscuous or slutty. The real idea behind my social media is for me to be able to express myself and have fun, but also to prove that women can be funny, sexy, intuitive, opinionated, kind, and smart all at the same time. I try to rid myself of a specific label and just be myself. Yes, sometimes I want to feel sexy and I post something that’s a little risqué, but I also like to show that I’m not just a “pretty face” or a “hot body” but that I’m a multi-layered soul.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents – even though they don’t fully understand the concept of social media as a career, they’ve always given me their full support. My dad would consistently clear his schedule so he could drive me to social media collabs, and would sit patiently for hours while I worked with companies and other creators to make social media content. My mom is always willing to film videos for me and take my photo. They both encouraged me to explore this avenue wholeheartedly.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abryancat/?hl=en

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abryancat?lang=en