Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Paige, Raven Yager.
Hi Alexa Paige, Raven Yager, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Raven and I met in 2018 as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cambodia. We returned home that same summer and decided to live together as roommates at BYU. Our friendship was solidified during that time and stayed strong through all of life’s changes. Raven got married, earned her degree in Elementary Education, and had a child, while I finished film school and moved to Los Angeles for two years to continue my acting career.
We stayed in touch and kept our friendship strong through Marco Polo — total game changer! Eventually, I moved back to Salt Lake City and realized our Marco Polo messages were 30 minutes to an hour long… basically podcast episodes. One day I said, “We’re basically sending each other podcast-length messages every day — what if we just start a podcast?” We were already doing it anyway!
With all the skills I gained in film school, and Raven being a longtime podcast listener, we realized we were the perfect match as co-hosts. A podcast of two besties yapping with our listeners about what we’re obsessed with that week while shouting out our favorite artists, creators, and businesses. And thus, The Pretty Obsessed Podcast was born.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Raven and I both went into this with an almost a non-existent budget, but we didn’t want that to mean we had to sacrifice quality. With my background in media, I knew I could find budget friendly but high quality mics and use my existing lighting equipment to create good video content. I’m a professional photographer on the side, so we used my photography equipment and Raven’s genius DIY creativity to create our first promo photos and the cutest podcasting setup that matches our branding.
Starting a podcast was a bit intimidating at first because Raven and I aren’t influencers or celebrities with an existing audience we could carry over to the podcast. We were truly building this from the ground up. The support and growth we’ve experienced since we launched the podcast in April has been such a fulfilling experience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The Pretty Obsessed Podcast is unique because it is OUR podcast – it has 2 cohosts who are besties and are experiencing 2 very different phases of life. We bring 2 different perspectives of life into each episode. Rae is married and has a toddler while I am living the most untethered life as a working actor and creative. Because of the vast experiences we’ve had as individuals, as well as the mutual memories we have made as roommates and friends, we have A LOT to talk about when it comes to adult friendships and navigating all relationships. In fact, out of the 12 episodes that have been released over half have been about the ups and downs of friendships. We’re so proud of the care and thought we’ve poured into this—especially in the beginning, when we had no idea if even one person would listen! Because we’ve had so much fun and genuinely care about what we put out into the world, staying consistent and intentional has been something we’re incredibly proud of.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success in podcasting can look like a myriad of things: gaining thousands of followers, having hundreds of downloads, or getting sponsors. But for us, success has looked like the laughs, the time spent together as adult friends, and showing up consistently every week for something that fulfills us both.
We’ve found so much joy in people engaging with our silly Instagram videos — and even more joy in the moments where word of mouth brings new listeners our way.
In this beginning stage of the podcast, we’ve defined success in the simple but powerful fact that we’re still going. Statistically, most new podcasts don’t make it past their third episode — and we’ve already released twelve, with many more on the way. Every new follower feels like the biggest accomplishment!
Even this interview has made us feel on top of the world. Like our podcast matters. We also find success every time a listener submits a story or leaves a kind comment on one of our posts.
At the end of the day, it’s not about the numbers — it’s about the connection, the creativity, and the joy of building something we genuinely love, one episode (and one silly video) at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pretty-obsessed-podcast/id1805979544
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prettyobsessedpod?igsh=NWE1azFpejRlbjg3&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/12MSCecM1Rm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PrettyObsessedPod
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/3uXclpIMTm0PFankS7306e?si=OkMSbizNR0eIC-tEqRWWCQ
