With Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month coming up soon in May, I thought I would share some of my favorite AAPI influencers. These people not only create amazing and relatable content, but they also inspire me as a creator. Here are my top five favorite AAPI social media presences:
- Bretman Rock (@bretmanrock)
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Bretman is my favorite social media influencer of all time. He is so beautiful, hilarious and inspiring. I love watching his Instagram stories that detail his day-to-day activities (which may sound boring), but are actually so entertaining and enjoyable. He posts such a wide variety of content that it is hard to not find something you like. He also has a new reality show on YouTube that is overflowing with juicy drama and exciting adventures.
- Melissa Ong (@chunkysdead)
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Melissa is one of my favorite TikTok/Instagram comedians at the moment. She proudly boasts in her bio that she is a UC Berkeley graduate who worked at Google and then decided to leave it all to become a content creator, or in her words “ex-Googler turned internet meme.” Melissa is unapologetically raunchy and explicit but artistically blends her NSFW content with sarcasm and satire. Her comedy style may not be for everyone, but I do recommend going through her videos to see for yourself.
- Natalia Seth (@escapingyouth)
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Natalia is a self-made self-portrait artist whose work exudes a very whimsical, colorful and youthfully nostalgic tone. She photographs and edits everything herself, which really emphasizes her raw talent and artistic vision. Every inch of her page will catch your attention and make you want to keep scrolling.
- Justine Mae Biticon (@justinemaebiticon)
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Justine is a model who shares her gorgeous photoshoots, behind-the-scenes and overall daily fashion content alongside her childhood passion for figure skating. Her feed is aesthetically arranged and curated to reflect that of someone with an exquisite taste in fashion and art. If you want inspiration for what to wear, how to pose in photos or how to arrange your Instagram feed, check out her page.
- Alok Vaid-Menon (@alokvmenon)
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Alok is an author, performer and speaker who loves fashion and activism. They explain that their style and identity are in a constant flux that refuses to be boxed into any one category or description, which is why they love performance art so much. It is the one medium that they believe allows one to be truly free and authentic. They are such a cool and interesting person who also recently released a book titled “Beyond the Gender Binary” in June 2020.
There are way more amazing and talented AAPI influencers and content creators out there, but these five wonderful humans stood out to me for their passion, artistic style and overall kindness as human beings. Go check out their work and support them! And happy almost AAPI Heritage month!