Episode #5 - Teejay Hughes on TikTok, Authenticity & Inspiring Confidence
Derek Horn
Welcome back to In These Uncertain Times, a podcast about creating and connecting in the midst of uncertainty. I’m your host, Derek Horn.
My friend Teejay Hughes is an Entrepreneur & Content Creator with a collective audience of over 600,000. Over the last 2 years he's been traveling the world working with brands to create inspiring content that empowers people to travel more often, and more freely. His fun-loving energy and creative direction has garnered partnerships with international brands like the Global Hyatt Corp., Marriott International Inc., Hostelworld, and various Boards’ of Tourism.
Outside of creating travel content, Teejay also helps people and brands create better content through short-form video tips. Tiktok knows him as their “Photographer Big Brother” where he empowers people to express their creative skills through photoshoot tutorials, content creation advice, and model/posing tips.
Before pursuing his own ventures full time, Teejay climbed the corporate ladder working at a NYC advertising tech company as a Manager of Brand Development. He led 4 teams across the CPG, Restaurant and Retail industries—overseeing account revenue growth, client relationships, and strategic direction for brands like Staples, Wingstop, and Sol De Janeiro.
We have a great conversation about how social media can be a positive platform for inspiration, what people are getting right and wrong about influencers, and what your brand needs to pay attention to when dabbling in new social media platforms like TikTok.
Enjoy!
Hey Teejay, welcome to the pod. How are you doing today?
Teejay Hughes
I'm doing good. Derek. I'm excited to be on here.
Derek Horn
Thank you for joining. So getting right into it. You described yourself as an entrepreneur and content creator, aka "your photographer big brother." What does that mean? And how did you come up with that nickname?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, that's a great question. It's kind of funny, Derek. Um, so that name was actually given to me when I joined TikTok. So I joined TikT early in this year when kind of COVID hit and it was a new platform and I wanted to like move around. And I started like posting creative tutorials and how to take photos and also like teaching people how to pose because, as you know, I am a content creator. So I have a lot of pictures. And it was given to me in the comments. It might people were blowing up in my comments saying, Oh my god, you're my photographer “Kuya” and “Kuya” is Tagalog so if you don't know what Tagalog is, that's the Filipino language and it literally it means like older brother. So I was like, noticing all these comments coming in. I was like, oh, they're calling me like photographer, big brother. And I decided to start filming videos as that is my intro. So it's like Hi, I'm TJ, your photographer Big Brother. And it exploded not just in the Filipino community but also like on TikTok. It like blew up and people were like, I've always needed a photographer Big Brother, and I think it builds have a relationship with people that isn't just like I'm teaching you how to do something, because it's more than just a teacher. It's like a big brother like there to like help you work through things and all of that. So to answer your question, it was given to me and I kind of just like rolled with it, I incorporated into like, my top brand and who I was, and the rest is history through that.
Derek Horn
Yeah, I mean, I think that it definitely suits you well, as I think you have the energy that I would love in a big brother. So I think that it's great that you're able to put that in your your social media presence and have people learn from him. How has COVID forced you to adopt your process as a content creator?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, that's a that's a really good question. And I feel like I'm still navigating through it all. But I think in a lot of ways, like, everything has changed, right. But also, a lot of aspects are kind of like conditioned for that already. So like, as a content creator, I'm already in the digital space. So I'm, I'm working through digital, I'm talking to people through emails, my content is posted through digital. So like, that aspect of my life has pretty much been like the same in terms of how I'm putting content on how I build it. But I will say like, what has changed is like, what I was doing in 2019, up until now is very different than what I'm doing now. Meaning I was traveling around the world full time. My entire process was to help people travel more freely and travel more often, teaching people that travel can be affordable, how to do it, where to go, how to build communities through that.
And COVID obviously stopped that I got stuck in the US I actually had two huge trips planned for 2021 was to backpack through Australia and live there for a year. And then the other was to go through Indonesia. And obviously that stopped and it really caused me to like evaluate like, what what am I going to do with with my life, it's like goals was to travel and teach people how to do that. So I I struggled through a few months, but I also downloaded TikTok how I mentioned at the beginning, it kind of grew and adaptive that way, like people wanted to learn for me, it opened my eyes unto like, why people follow me and what they want for me in a way of like, yes, he teaches us how to travel. And yes, he has like beautiful pictures and makes that dream world come to life through content.
But also, like, people want to learn how to do that for themselves. And that's where the value comes in. That's where like being a photographer, big brother, like, was really impactful and made my following grow exponentially from that. So COVID really taught me a lesson about listening to my audience, and giving them what they want as well to empower their lives and change their lives to so teaching them how to be creative and teaching them how to do all these things that I've built my audience from.
Derek Horn
Nice. See, I know that it's someone that's been like you said, traveling for long periods of time working on a new places, I think that you're no stranger to having to make do with the environment that you're in is a workspace. So even this year, and they change locations a couple of times. So what are your must haves for your surroundings, when you do your work? What is your workspace look like?
Teejay Hughes
My Workspace has always been kind of like, all over the place, I'm lucky enough to have spent a few years adapting to that lifestyle. So what my essentials basically I carry my camera, my laptop, and whatever country I'm in a SIM card that's connected to the internet, like those are the basis of my work and what I need to create. But I have moved around a lot. So I've been agile enough and flexible enough to know that this is my work setup. And this is what I need. But I will say like some of the big must haves that I do need when I stopped in a place is space, creating takes a lot of space up because I'm throwing a lot of like my clothes around or I'm throwing a lot of my ideas around. I'm using materials that are around me like mirrors or windows or like anything that I can make a picture come to life, I'm having to pull that all together in a space and then make something out of that create something out of that.
So like, aside from the equipment that I carry on my back, the important thing is our space, internet connectivity because I am posting to my audiences and teaching people and having outlets to teach people how to do things. And one of the most important things with photography in video is light. So I need to have a place to as good lighting or be in a space where I can set up good lighting, because those are all factors on how that affects my my content. But I guess advice to people that are listening that want to kind of move in into that space of like being flexible, it is hard, minimizing the stuff but having being a full time traveler and knowing that you have to carry stuff on your back that really cuts down a lot of things that you think You need so let me be an example of like, the three things that I need is internet, a laptop and a camera like those are the basis is what you, you should have as a creator and all the rest comes with creativity using that you're using your surroundings to your advantage
Derek Horn
Love that. And I think that that's one of the great things about TikTok in particular, I think that it really gives people kind of the tools they need, even in their phone to create this content. And I think that that's kind of that type of scrappiness is even celebrated on TikTok like a lot of it is really, that content is rough around the edges. A lot of it is not super polished. It's really more about that creativity and the idea itself, that really shines through,
Teejay Hughes
You're hitting the nail on the head and I think that's what makes people want to engage with you wants to see your content on TikTok because it's a real is right. Like it when we dive into like my Instagram audience. My photos are like very tailored and edited and perfect looking. But when you look at my TikTok, I'm the more goofy fun Teejay that you you seen person, Derek, and I don't think that translates necessarily through all my model-esque travel photos on Instagram. But on TikTok, second, you click on my video and you hear me "Hey, I'm your photographer, brother, like let me help you be creative. Let me do all these things," that authenticity really is what shines and TikTok in and builds community,
Derek Horn
I know that you are in many ways your own small business. So I know that involves a lot of brand partnerships and things like that. And what are your primary methods of communicating with these partners and has that at all shifted during COVID have those conversations changed?
Teejay Hughes
So I'm lucky enough to be the ones that my life is digital. And because I'm traveling constantly, it was always email, video calls, and any kind of digital format of communicating. I will say when I did a lot of collaborations with like the tourism boards and the hotels that was more in person and kind of like talking through them in person and figuring out what kind of contact are con content they want. So I wouldn't say that it's too terribly different.
But I will say that it has shifted in terms of what my collaborations are now. So like in 2019, since I was traveling and doing like hotels and Tourism Board stuff. Obviously, that's an in person thing where I'm shooting content in person, and with a team and all of that. But now it's shifted a little more to like, either apps that I'm promoting or food or actual physical products that I'm promoting or clothes, I'm lucky enough that my audience isn't just focused on travel, it's a component of who I am as a person. So that encompasses travel, lifestyle, photography, all of those things. So I'm able to work with other brands that aren't in travel to to make content and make a living honestly. So the communication through that is clearly just over digital, because generally they'll send over the product. And then we'll have a conversation about what it looks like what needs tweaking or how partnerships will moving forward.
Derek Horn
Nice. Is there anything you've discovered during the COVID era that you want to keep going for the long haul?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, I think keeping things in the long haul. When I'm analyzing, like, how my content has changed how I interact online a lot. that those are the biggest takeaways like I said, kind of at the beginning. People want to learn people don't want to just see like, see me doing amazing things and our see anyone like on Instagram just doing amazing things, I think people are a little more proactive about like wanting to live the life that they see. So like teaching people how to do that has really come to the forefront of my content, right? So like telling them how to take good photos or how to post these or how to get good lighting but not not just that but like talking about how to build a business how to talk through sponsorships, right like how to get sponsorships how to even begin building a portfolio building a small business building, all of those things, those are huge nuggets of like gold that people are searching for.
And I think that people want now the next generation coming up are a lot of like doers I think and I feel like our generation are growing up with social media we're a lot of consuming data a lot but these people if TikTok is any indication of this, these people this generation coming up want to create and want to make and me being in the position that I am and having a lot more years of experience of going through this, I know that I need to incorporate teaching them how we did it, how our generations creators did that so that they can have the tools to go go find their dreams and do all that stuff, but also just teaching random people that don't want to have like a full creator. I don't want to be like a full time creator, but I want to know how to take a good picture, right? My videos help people do that. And it's it's impactful because I see comments all the time. Like, I feel so much more confident in my posing, I feel so much more confident in like taking pictures. And that's really fulfilling, that's more fulfilling than I was when I was just making really beautiful pictures, if that makes sense. So the long haul, I definitely want to keep adding value and adding empowering people in my audience to get after what they want and feel good and confident about themselves.
Derek Horn
I love that. So I know that you spent a lot of your time creating content and creating media. But what is your own media consumption diet look like? And is there anything you want to recommend to listeners?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, so I think it's it's kind of surprising when people hear this. But like, for background, I studied marketing, but I also studied finance. I'm a really big numbers person. I love numbers. I love getting into the nitty gritty of all those things. So a lot of my media consumption is very different than kind of the media that I'm producing. So I listen to a lot of like, self help, self productivity, podcasts and videos. Also, a lot of educational videos. I'm a really big nerd for like, the current series with Fox teaching people about like the elections and all of that, like really in depth, things like that. And also finance, I listened to a lot of finance podcasts and stuff. So I guess, I think some recommendations of what I would say is for finance, Andei Jikh is a really great finance person, he makes it fun, because finance can kind of be boring, right? So he's a YouTuber, if you want to want to look him up, he makes learning about stocks and investing and all that fun and kind of brings like a kind of a nerdy joking manner to it, which is great. It's easy to listen to, I think.
So he's a really great one. I kind of mentioned Vox. Vox does like right now they're focusing on election. But in previous times, they've done things like borders, where they do like an in depth analysis on why country's borders were created. And not just like country borders, but like race borders, and all of like in depth things. And they do like a deep dive into those. So it's great educational content, where I'm kind of like, Oh, I didn't know that about this thing. And that's what I really love to focus on. When I'm like casually looking for me kid to dive into and then when I guess one last recommendation for productivity is Matt D'Avella. He is a really good content creator in terms of telling a story. He has previously done documentaries about a lot of different things. But he really focuses on minimalism, and how to be more productive person. And he's very raw and real with it. I love that. So that's kind of like a wave of all the kind of media that I listened to, outside of just purely Instagram and TikTok videos.
Derek Horn
Nice. So can you tell us about a misconception that people have about your work? And what are they getting wrong?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, I can definitely tell you some. I think a lot of people have this idea that influencers are like, they just kind of appear in places and like, get paid money for that, or like, they just take a picture. And like, that's the end of it. But there's a lot more transactions going on there. There's a lot more like, business building that's around that, like influencers and creators. Like, I'm not saying like everyone is like this, but the ones that are building an entire business around it are working a lot. They're building audiences, they're crafting brands, they're doing the sales, the negotiations are building contracts, making invoices, like there's a huge plethora of like things that you just don't notice. And you don't see it at the surface level it. But like when people say like, Oh, I want to be creative, they don't also realize that there's a lot more to that, because you have to make money off of that if you want this to be your full time job. If this is something that you want to be a hobby on, like, that's great, you have other means of support.
But if you want to build your life on this, you need to put in where a lot of hats and I think that's what a lot of people don't see when when they meet creators or quote unquote, influencers, that there's a lot of branding and knowledge around like how to support oneself and build relationships and keep relationships that go along with that.
Derek Horn
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people just in their heads had this image of influencers as like the snobby girl showing up to a restaurant and like demanding free meals like offer their followers as currency. And I and I have to say like, even before I met you and got to know you and kind of how you work and how much goes into what you do. I didn't really have that much perspective and all the hustle that goes in behind the scenes and how much like you said, How many hats you need to wear In order to make this a viable source of income and being able to support yourself, so I totally think that it is. I think that, especially on me and social media, which in general, it's very easy for us to just see this veneer or a certain image, you're not seeing everything that's going on behind the scenes in these people's lives. And especially in the case of influencers, you don't see all the hard work that's going on to make these things happen.
Teejay Hughes
Definitely. I think, there, don't get me wrong, there are people that demand free things, and yeah, going about it all wrong, because that does exist. But the people that actually spend a lot of time and effort to like helping their audience and building that audience, and in wearing all those hats, it's a lot of work. And, Derek, when I tell you the first time I saw a contract and had to like sign a legal contract with a huge brand, I was like, What is this? Like? Do I need to hire a lawyer? Like how do I even like, Can I negotiate? Am I allowed to negotiate all of those things are things that I had to like work through and learn and figure out as, as a creator, and it's a surreal experience, when you're talking to a brand that you hold so high in your head, like, Oh, this is a huge brand, like, I need to just listen to everything they say, but being actually like, no, like, they want me for a reason I'm adding value to their brand.
And like, this is how this conversation should go and needs to go. So like, those are hard skills that I feel like people don't learn until way later in their career. So, um, there's a lot of a power in knowledge that creators have to learn how to use and as tools to kind of make it through. So there's there's a broad spectrum of types of creators. But yeah, it's it's there's a lot of misconceptions as well.
Derek Horn
Right. And I think that right now, we're in a period where a lot of people might be losing trust in our institutions, or our elected leaders, or even even corporations and companies that might not doing the best thing. So I think a lot of people do look to influencers or these, these homegrown public figures that have come up through the internet and social media for that kind of leadership and perspective and even comfort, or the advice of a big brother.
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, definitely.
Derek Horn
So I think that a lot of people specifically, from older generations they might look at social media or things like that. It's kind of this frivolous thing that is very vapid or void of any true meaning. But I really do think that it is a force that has a lot of potential for good, and is going to be around for the long haul, whether people like it or not.
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, definitely. And also, when you think about this, like the way it's moving, like with TikTok and the platform and how quickly things can go viral. And now, going viral doesn't mean you have to have 100,000 followers already, like people that have like very, like no followers, they go viral on this place. So like the impact of that, and, and how intertwined. It's becoming in not just our media consumption lives, but like, Look, it's TikTok really influencing music, the amount of new music that has come out that has started on TikTok and pushed to the billboards on tick from TikTok is, is really impactful. So it's becoming even more ingrained in our daily lives. And it's a point where you could ignore it. But it's getting really tough nowadays to ignore it.
Derek Horn
Right. And what are your thoughts on kind of these big corporations trying to capture the lightning in a bottle, so to speak, or trying to get their own kind of viral moment? And sometimes I know that that doesn't always come off as the most authentic thing. And I know, we were talking about TikTok is a very almost down to earth platform. And especially these this younger generation that is just so savvy with it. And they're kind of BS detector goes off very quickly. What are your thoughts on that?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, I mean, I think TikTok the corporation is doing a really good job of kind of meeting that kind of question in terms of they have an entire creative team that meets with brands to say like, hey, like, this is a different platform. This is very different from how advertising is look on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat. And these are these are how you can sound authentic to our audience. And I think that's really great that TikTok is built has built that team to kind of focus on but when you when you ask me like the problem that you're kind of displaying, I think of creators like myself, like those brands should be working with people like me and other creators that have the authenticity because we are going to know how to make the brand sound more authentic and incorporate it into our entire like lives and what it would look like on TikTok versus a brand coming in and like doing something that's just not not interacting with the audience that they're advertising to. Right? So I think there's a lot of things that are being built out and that have been built out where brands can use the tools but the question is, and I'm kind of turning it to the brands is like, are you doing these things? Are you looking at these things? Are you talking to TikTok corporate to figure out if your advertisements and they go well, are you talking to creators and thinking about how they would approach this and how it looks in your brand because when you think about very specific brands, like luxury brands with soap, such polished advertising with such like beautiful models and all that stuff, that looks kind of stark on TikTok, like you're swiping up and get an ad that's so like, beautifully crafted, it doesn't feel authentic and real. So like, how, how do they incorporate the correct way? And I mean, for an example, there's a really interesting like sound on TikTok that's like how to become a Gucci model. And it's a really funny sound. Or it's like put on a turtleneck and a not matching sweater and like it's just normal people wearing like crazy outfits. And then at the end, they look like a high star like fashion Gucci model. So like, that was huge promotion. Gucci didn't make that sound. It was made by a creator on tik tok. And like, that was huge publicity for Gucci because of the name and the awareness. But how does Gucci incorporate that into their polished advertising? And that's a challenge that they're gonna have to figure out. But there is such potential because that sound went so viral and like so many people did it.
Derek Horn
Yeah, I think that the old school of marketing, so to speak, it's very easy to kind of when you're doing a campaign, you can take a look at, okay, these are the platforms we're going to hit. And it's almost, I think, people are kind of hardwired to take this one size fits all approach to their campaigns where it's like, okay, we have our message, we have our creative, we're going to filter out through all these platforms, when I think that right now like you're like it is much more nuanced and different. People need to take different approaches different platforms when it comes to that stuff.
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, I used to work in advertising in New York City. And I used to have to teach brands all the time. Like, you cannot just take your TV commercial and put it on Instagram and Facebook, it's not gonna resonate the way that it does or did on TV. And now we're at the point where TikTok is this whole other world, and I'm nervous for brands, I'm nervous for brands trying to still not make an advertisement on TV advertisement on all these social platforms. I'm nervous for them to be able to make that move to TikTok and what I will say is, it's an opportunity loss for them, there will be new brands solely built off of TikTok like, just like Instagram was, massive brands. And it's the old brands that are going to suffer from that if they don't figure it out. So it's arised challenge for them. And hopefully, they can listen to creators like me and other other resources to figure out what's gonna make them sound the best on those platforms.
Derek Horn
Totally. What is your favorite trend that is popping up on TikTok this year?
Teejay Hughes
This is a really good question. There has been so many trends that have happened lately. A lot of them dance most specifically, I'd have to think I mean, not to like place my content in there posing has been massive on tik tok equated to a lot of growth. Like teaching people how to do poses and how to make people feel feel and look empowered. It's how my brand was kind of like exploded and built on there. So like, how to pose videos have been really great for me but I also love just like the fun dance challenges even though I'm not a cancer the lap dance has been really impactful in my life because I love doing that with all my friends and like it brings all of us together but yeah, let's let's stick with those two posing and WAP.
Derek Horn
Yeah, even like when it comes to music videos it's been really interesting this past year seeing like there's been a few music videos like one from Drake where it's it's very clear that the choreography is made through this lens where they're like, Hey, this is what we want you to do on TikTok.
Teejay Hughes
Yeah.
Derek Horn
Maybe go and start this TikTok trend. I think that like with Doja Cat, the the say so song that the I forget the name of the girl that did that dance that everyone loved. To the point where I think when does your cat want to make the music video, she recruited the girl and that they ended up doing a dance and music video so it's been really interesting watching kind of how the audience and the artists kind of feed into each other and they have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to that
Teejay Hughes
1,000% it's just cool to see how trends become a trend. It's like the Dreams Fleetwood Mac song with the guy that has cranberry juice skateboarding. Like he was just like, just didn't have a car, his car broke down, he just skateboarding down the street and playing the song holding a cranberry juice. And it just like exploded. And now this, this small band that hadn't had the hit in like the 2000s is charging on the Billboard 100. So like, that's, that's massive, massive power that this platform can can give to people, and also a huge moment for brands to kind of tap into and people to be engaged. Right. Crazy.
Derek Horn
So pivoting back to you in your personal growth and self-care what are some ways in which you stay present and true to yourself?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, so that's a really good question. And I think I'm gonna answer this in two different parts. So in 2019, when I was traveling around the world, that was for me to be present and experience life in 2019, definitely gave it to me, I traveled for the whole year of it. And I think that taught me a lot about understanding how my body feels, understanding how I feel, and figuring out what, what means, like, what's meaningful to me and what I want to do. But now with 2020, and completely, like different and like not being able to travel and like, how do I stay present when you're just with yourself all the time. And that can be like overwhelming, right. And I think what I have focused on is self care.
And that, and I wasn't really big on self care before 2020, I kind of was like a workaholic. And it was like always moving and never really had time to like, sit down and be like, Oh, this is my me time to like indulge and care for my myself and 2020 has allowed me to do that. Because you have to, you're just there in your presence. So disclosure, I'm really cheap as well. I'm cheap AF and I don't like spending money on a lot of things. And self care can be expensive. And I will learn the value of it. I never saw the value. I was like why do people spend money on going to the spa? or Why do people spend so much money on this face cleanser are all of these things and I can proudly say in 2020, I have learned that because feeling good. Looking good really affects how you work in the world, and how productive you can be in taking care of your body and exercising, like these are all things that I took for granted. Because when my youth or I was moving a lot, and I was like that was enough exercise. But when you're really present and stationary, and you're forced to do that, you really discover like, what you need in terms of self care and self empowerment.
And it's important that I learned that through this. So self care is huge for me now. And I wouldn't tell anyone less of like, if they are struggling through something and need to take time for themselves or need that face cleanser or need this soft, slushy pillow or need a nap like you should definitely put yourself first and take care of yourself in that.
Derek Horn
Yeah, that's great advice. What's the most unexpected habit or hobby that you've adopted this year?
Teejay Hughes
I think making TikTok videos I make videos like crazy, like I was not expecting to do that my main source of content and main source of income was always photography, and being on camera and figuring out how to incorporate my view on trends and figure out how to bring my aspect on TikTok and how I want to present myself on video and how to be more authentic, all of those things that I never even had on my list of things that I want to do have just pushed to the forefront. And it's, it's kind of like, it's hard to say that this is my work, but it's also something that I really enjoy to do. And it is a hobby, right. Like, I can buckle down on Instagram all I want but like making videos and having fun and being creative has really made me happy. And I wasn't expecting that to be in the format of videos. And of course, self care and really taking care of my skin in my body and working out and stuff too. So those are hot hobbies that I've really buckled down and understood the value of and they bring me a lot of units. So I want to continue doing them.
Derek Horn
That's great. I know Yeah, you have your accounts like your official accounts that you engage with your followers on. Do you ever find yourself wanting to engage with social media more as a quote unquote regular person and what does that look like for you?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, I mean, that's that's an interesting question for me, given the fact that I am a creator. And I think people think I'm not sure about other creators, but with me specifically, think people think that I'm constantly on my phone and doing all this stuff like consuming media, but like, I think it's important to make the distinguish of like consuming media and making media making content, they're very different. The time that I put into making content far exceeds the amount that I consume. So like, when people get offended, like, if I didn't see a friend's Instagram post, or any of that on my account, it's because I don't consume media, like a normal person I like would constantly be scrolling. I'm a different aspect of that. So, um, I think, do I want to be like, more normal? I think when I do consume media, I am more normal.
But maybe I'm taking a little more context of like, Oh, that was really interesting to make, like that person made this video really interesting. I think I'm just consuming a lot more information, maybe when when people are in that normal state of media, but I don't think I don't wish that I did. Because I feel like I do. I feel like I consume media. But I don't think it's in my best interest to consume even more media, you know, like, I think that affects my creativity affects a lot of things. So I don't want to become more of a consumer, I pride myself on being a creator and producing things. And I like that I add to the world versus just constantly consuming, right. And I'd love for other people to kind of challenge themselves, like, sit back and say like, are you consuming too much media? And what are you getting out of that consumption? Is it impacting how you live your life? Is it impacting how you're building out other things for other people? Because those are important questions that I don't think people think about when they do think about social media, right?
Derek Horn
Yeah, I mean, I think that, especially now, when so many of us are just kind of at home, we don't have all the same activities, we can go out and do. Now more than ever, I think it's, it's almost second nature to just pull up in your phone and see what's going on on Instagram, or Tiktok, or Facebook, or whatever it may be. So don't think that it is a good challenge to take a step back and really consider what are you getting out of this? Is this taking a toll on your mental well being is that adding or subtracting to that. And I think that big just being more mindful about the, your consumption of this stuff, I think is really important.
Teejay Hughes
Yeah. And I hope that my videos and how I post myself, empowers people to put down like the consumption and make something I think that's I'm hoping that's what people see from my posing and creative tutorials and photography tutorials, I want people to see my work and say, I can do that. And he's teaching me how to do that. I'm gonna go do that right now. It like helps give them a reason to put down their phone and create.
Derek Horn
I love that. So one day, hopefully in the not too distant future, hopefully this period will be behind us. When you think of that day, what what are you hopeful for?
Teejay Hughes
Yeah, that's a big question. And I think the first things that I kind of stream into my mind are like friendship and family and enjoying travel again, not the extensity of me going full time all over the world. But like, in 2019, I was out of the country for the whole year, and I missed my friends, I miss being around my family and what I'm hopeful after all of this challenging stuff has happened with with COVID. And the pandemic is like being able to connect with my friends and family and being able to enjoy travel with them, and in really connecting with them. And I think a lot of people are feeling that way too. They want to be able to go to a party with their friends and not have to worry about who's going to get affected and all the exposures and things like that. So I'm hopeful that we all can be connected with our family and our friends again, and we can indulge in what we enjoy.
And I hope that all the things that have kind of come to the surface during the pandemic, like the racial inequality, and like sustainability of like the earth and all those things like these all were like dug up and pushed to the surface. While we were all in lockdown. I hope that we start to challenge and really pick up the pitchforks and say like, this is not okay. And now that the world has gone to a place where we can be together that we can all come together and make things make things happen. It's going to be a really big year in 21. And hopefully the pandemic has lessened and more people can come out of their homes but I hope that they take that as a call to action for the things that were dug up during this pandemic because they are So important there. They need to be fought for. And it's important that we do. So I'm hopeful that that happens. I'm hopeful that we can be with their family, with their friends, but also really pick up our stuff that we discovered and work towards a better future.
Derek Horn
Yeah, that's one of my, one of the things I wanted to probe with his podcast is the notion that one, this is awfully said and done, we have the opportunity to build a new world. Yeah, imagery of what we want to see. Just because everything's been uprooted, and shaken up. Where can our listeners find you? And is there anything specific that you want to plug?
Teejay Hughes
You can find me on any of the social sites. It's @teejayhughes So plug in that name on any of the social sites, and you'll find me and anything that I want to plug. I mean, check me out on TikTok and hopefully, I can inspire you to take some cool pictures, and have some posing ideas for your next event. And I also just want to say thank you, Derek, for bringing me on to this podcast. I love that you're doing this. It's awesome. I think you're bringing up a lot of good topics with the types of people you're bringing on the podcast and also the questions you're asking. So I'm so proud of you for going after your dreams. And as a fellow creator, I'm so happy to see you becoming that creator and you're gonna do awesome with this.
Derek Horn
Well, thank you, that means a lot. Thank you for joining today. And I'll talk to you soon.
Teejay Hughes
Okay, bye!