Today we’d like to introduce you to Santana Whatley.
Hi Santana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been very active on social media ever since I was 14, when MySpace was still the most popular platform. I grew up in poverty in south Mississippi with an abusive home life, so social media was my escape from the real world. For most of my life, I created content with the intent of appearing “neurotypical,” which has proved to be challenging (and unsuccessful) for me. Over the past few years, however, I have embraced my true personality – and even ended up getting an official Autism diagnosis! Since I have become more authentic with my content and embraced all my personality quirks, I have gained over 60,000 followers on TikTok.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, but it has still been rewarding. I’ve been bullied for my appearance plenty of times, and I’ve been told that my content “isn’t funny” or just isn’t appealing. Sometimes I’ll have people make comments telling me that I’m making up a story, even when I have photographic evidence in the video! I tell everyone that there are stages of dealing with it; first, you make an effort to read and delete all the mean comments. Secondly, you try to block out offensive words and block anyone who says anything mean. Third, you try to ignore it. And last, you start letting it roll off your shoulder. I’m at the stage where I’m able to let most of it roll off my shoulder, but it does still get to me sometimes. Fortunately, I have friends (and a therapist) in the real world who help remind me of my value whenever I’m feeling down. Additionally, sometimes I’ll have fans reach out to me asking for life advice or just telling me they love my content. The fact that I have fans at all is still such a crazy concept in my opinion, but it fills my heart with joy any time I hear from them. Fans and friends are what keep me going, despite all the online abuse.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a creator on TikTok! I am part of the “messytok” niche and I talk about all kinds of things. In 2021, I went viral with a video of a girl yelling at me in a grocery store. When people started making comments about her race, I started responding to the comments with videos where I would call them out for being racist. I absolutely do not tolerate racism in any shape or form, and I wanted that to be made clear. After calling out a few people, I woke up with 20,000 new followers overnight. I never expected it to become viral from that moment, but I ran with it. I’ve since made additional “call out” videos, but I also talk about dating and my personal life. Since I’ve been through so much trauma and have been fortunate enough to receive treatment for it, I like to share some of the traumatic stories through Tiktok videos. Sometimes I do this through “story times” where I just talk to the camera, and sometimes I tell these stories using humor in the form of various Tiktok trends.
I would say I’m most proud of being able to overcome all the bullying. I was always bullied throughout elementary and high school, and I’m still bullied on the internet sometimes. But seeing how many followers I have and knowing how many friends I have, helps remind me of how far I’ve come. And besides – I have more followers than all my bullies now!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Authenticity. Authenticity is 100% the most important characteristic to my success and I believe it’s the most important for anyone who wants to be successful.
Pricing:
- $40 per video ad
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