For a generation of creatives, the Internet has become both a canvas and a launchpad. Bedrooms, timelines, and feeds have been turned into places where entire careers can begin. And sometimes, the work starts to stretch beyond the platform that first made it visible and the question becomes, “what happens when you want to build beyond the thing people first knew you for?” For the creatives who came up online, that can mean taking an audience into a new medium, turning influence into ownership, or simply giving themselves permission to become someone new.
We spoke with six Latine creatives working across poetry, music, entertainment, beauty, and brand-building about the leap from being known online to building something that can live beyond it. Their paths look wildly different, but the same thread runs through them: The work that lasts until the end comes from somewhere deeper than the digital binary. It comes from following what’s in your heart, trusting the parts of yourself that feel most true, and carrying who you are and where you come from with you as everything else changes.
Desi Perkins — Beauty Creator & Founder of DEZI and DEZI Skin
It all started as a passion project. I had no idea it could become a career. The moment everything changed was my first collaboration with an eyewear brand. It was the first product I had ever created to sell, and it did $7 million in 12 minutes. We completely shutdown Shopify and exceeded every expectation anyone had. I remember being genuinely shocked because I had no idea I could sell anything, let alone at that scale. Until that day, I don’t think I fully understood how much support I had behind me. That experience made me realize that I could take the community and trust I had built online and create something tangible from it. It also showed me the difference between contributing to something and owning what you’re building. I wanted more than my name attached to a product. I wanted a seat at every table — product development, operations, marketing, finances — and to build something where the long-term value belonged to me and my family.
I wanted more than my name attached to a product. I wanted a seat at every table — product development, operations, marketing, finances — and to build something where the long-term value belonged to me and my family.
DESI PERKINS
An audience can help you have a successful launch, but it cannot guarantee you a sustainable company. I never wanted to create a product just because I knew people would buy it once. I wanted them to finish it, miss it when it was gone, and spend their own money to buy it again. Building DEZI Skin forced me to think beyond hype. Going slowly taught me that trust can get someone through the door, but the product has to earn the repeat purchase. Influence can create attention, but it cannot replace a strong product, healthy margins, good operations, or customer loyalty. People also underestimate how much creators learn by being in direct conversation with consumers every single day. We know what people are asking, the problems they’re trying to solve, what language connects, and when something feels forced. But understanding the consumer doesn’t automatically mean you know how to run a company. I had to learn forecasting, inventory, cash flow margins, retail partnerships, hiring, and operations—all the things no one sees in a launch post.
I used to think longevity meant staying relevant. Now I think it means building something that doesn’t depend entirely on my relevance. Platforms will change. Algorithms will change. People’s attention will move somewhere else. I’m building brands with real products, real teams, retail relationships, and customers who may discover DEZI without knowing anything about my YouTube career. I’m also building equity. Something my family can benefit from long after a post stops performing.
That ownership is personal to me in other ways, too. Being Mexican-American doesn’t look or sound one specific way, and there were moments when people made me feel like I wasn’t Latina enough. With DEZI Skin, I didn’t want to translate my identity into something more comfortable or marketable for everyone else. The Spanglish, the ingredients, the product names, and the stories are all connected to how I actually grew up. The goal isn’t to remove myself from the story. It’s to build [the brands] strongly enough that they can grow beyond me.
Katteyes — Creator & Recording Artist
I’ve always loved music. When I was very young, I went to singing academies, and when I was 14, I released a couple of songs and then deleted them because I was embarrassed. By the time I was 18, after already building most of my career as a digital creator, I decided to pursue music because it had always been a passion of mine, but I hadn’t felt ready or prepared before. I didn’t know how to release music or upload it to platforms, and I signed my first music contract without really understanding what I was signing. I come from a working-class neighborhood in Chile. I went to public school, and I had to learn almost everything on my own. I made a lot of mistakes, but because of them, I learned how to manage my career today. When I decided to focus on music, I basically had to start again from zero.
Having followers who watch you for 15 seconds on a social platform is completely different from getting someone to listen to your music for three minutes and then go find you on Spotify, Apple Music, or another platform. More than moving an audience from one place to another, I had to build a new audience. When I started releasing music, I stopped creating digital content for a full year and stopped accepting campaigns. My income dropped a lot because I was betting on this new project and taking that risk. I had to reinvent myself. Social media and music are completely different worlds, but I do think they can complement each other, and everything I learned from the speed of the digital world has helped me understand the artistic world, too.
Having followers who watch you for 15 seconds on a social platform is completely different from getting someone to listen to your music for three minutes and then go find you on Spotify, Apple Music, or another platform. More than moving an audience from one place to another, I had to build a new audience.
Katteyes
As an artist, I’ve realized there can be a lot of anxiety and frustration around always asking, “What’s next?” Instead of chasing viral moments or trying to copy-and-paste the same successful song, I believe in following your essence and making what you actually love, what fills your heart. That’s what brings results because you’re making something unique and authentic. I want everything I do to feel 100% mine, whether I’m involved in the choreography, the technical production, the visuals, or every detail of a show. And no matter how international my music or image becomes, I always want people to know I’m Chilean. I carry Chile with me everywhere I go. More than visibility, I think what builds something lasting is not being afraid of rejection, of being laughed at, or of looking ridiculous. You have to show yourself authentically. That’s how you create a fandom, a family that can follow you for years because they connect with who you really are.
Kathleen Lights — Beauty Creator & Founder of Lights Lacquer
I think [what has allowed my career to last] has been my ability to stay relatable and authentic. I’ve been pretty open about my struggles with anxiety and have shared a lot of my life with my audience, the good and the not-so-great—and I think people resonate with that. Makeup was what brought us together, but those conversations allowed the connection to become more personal. I’m also very honest in my reviews, and my audience appreciates that. People are spending their money based on something I recommend, and I take that seriously. When I started my channel, I was mainly looking for community. I was excited to gain subscribers, but I never imagined it could turn into the business it has become. Working with brands helped me realize how much I enjoyed product development and showed me I could do more than review products; I could help create them. But having an audience and building a business are very different things. I’m incredibly grateful that my community gave me a place to start, but I don’t see their support as something I’m automatically entitled to. I wanted to create products people would genuinely enjoy, not something they would purchase only because they wanted to support me.
Having an audience and building a business are very different things. I’m incredibly grateful that my community gave me a place to start, but I don’t see their support as something I’m automatically entitled to. I wanted to create products people would genuinely enjoy, not something they would purchase only because they wanted to support me.
kathleen lights
Ownership and creative control are everything when you’re attaching your name to a brand. Having your name attached to a brand and having the ability to shape its direction aren’t necessarily the same thing. That’s why I launched Lights Lacquer on my own. I wanted to be closely involved in the products, the stories behind the collections, and the experience we’re giving our customers. I’ve loved being able to build a brand with my audience in mind, but ultimately, I want someone who has never watched a KathleenLights video to discover Lights Lacquer and love it. My audience helped give the brand its beginning, but the products need to give people a reason to come back. [My Cuban-American identity] is woven into so much of it because it’s how I grew up and I hope another Latina can see that there’s room to build something without separating yourself from where you come from. After more than a decade online, my definition of success has become more personal. I don’t want to measure everything by whether I’m getting more attention than I was yesterday. If I’m making work I’m proud of, maintaining that connection with my community, and feeling okay in my actual life, that means a lot to me.
Laith Ashley — Creator, Model, & Actor
It’s quite interesting, especially thinking retrospectively about how far social media has come in the last 10 to 15 years. Instagram was still in its infancy. It had not developed into the content creator market that we see today. For the most part, I was posting myself, my friends, and my family. When a photo of mine suddenly went viral overnight, it felt like I was thrust into the public eye and was unprepared for what that came with. I was fortunate enough to receive overwhelming support after the initial backlash. As opportunities began coming my way, I told myself I had to take them despite my fear, and I am glad I did. I have tried my best [to expand beyond what people first discovered me for], but it’s hard to break free from the boxes you are put in based on how you’re perceived, especially if you’re POC. There are moments I have struggled to be seen beyond my body, especially as I age. I have, however, realized that all I am and can be are also tools I can use to further my career. I cannot control every aspect of how I am perceived, and that isn’t my job. People are going to believe what they want to believe. I spent a long time trying to convince people of one thing or another. That was exhausting, to say the least.
I have tried my best [to expand beyond what people first discovered me for], but it’s hard to break free from the boxes you are put in based on how you’re perceived, especially if you’re POC.
Laith Ashley
I’m not ashamed of my transness. When I’ve spoken about wanting to be recognized beyond it, it was because every single thing I did was punctuated by it, even if it had nothing to do with gender identity. I knew that at the time visibility was important, and it still is. The issue I had was that I wasn’t allowed to perform beyond it. At this point in my life and career, I feel like I am rediscovering myself, my passions, and what brings me joy, and that has also been a lot of work. Messy work! My relationship with social media has changed tremendously, too. There are moments when I feel like I have aged out of social media or have lost interest altogether—maybe I’m just tired. [My advice is to] have fun, be yourself, and stay informed. I spent so much time chasing this idea of success that I missed out on living in the moment and enjoying those small victories and time spent with really amazing people.
Maleni Cruz — Creator, Comedic Actor, & Recording Artist
I don’t think I ever realized my audience could become something bigger. Even now, I don’t know if I fully realize it. The moment that really hit me was when people started naming their kids after me. I was like, “okay, if y’all are naming you’re kids after me, I can’t fail you!” When people tell me they’ve been watching me for so long that they feel connected to me, that connection is never going to go away. When people grow with you and experience life with you, that’s how you know they’re going to support you time and time again. I think what has helped me build that is how authentic I am. People relate to me so much, they think they’re talking to their cousin, their sister, their homegirl. When they see me, they feel like they’ve known me for years. Before content became my full-time career, I was still working in dance, and I got to a point where I couldn’t give 100% to that job and 100% to myself. I had to bet on myself. I had to ask, “Are you picking yourself or are you going to neglect you?” It was time to really pour into myself.
I’m still building what I want my career to look like. I want to do more acting, more comedy, even action comedy. I want to be recognized for my talent because I really see myself as a performer and an entertainer.
maleni cruz
I’m still building what I want my career to look like. I want to do more acting, more comedy, even action comedy. I want to be recognized for my talent because I really see myself as a performer and an entertainer. But I’m also a firm believer that whatever door is in front of you, take it. You really don’t know where those doors are going to lead you. That’s how I’ve been my whole life, even before social media. Being from New York and being Dominican are things that are always going to walk with me. That’s just who I am. My advice to anyone starting out is to do whatever makes you happy and post whatever makes you happy. Don’t think too much about what someone else is doing, how many views something has, or how many comments it gets. If you follow what your heart wants to do, regardless of what everyone else thinks you should or shouldn’t be doing, just do it.
Orion Carloto — Creator & Author
It’s funny how often I reflect on [those early years online], and how it always comes down to the belief that the Internet saved my life in some strange way. I found little corners in the world where I could create a shrine of everything I already knew and loved, which inevitably led me down rabbit holes of shinier obsessions. You could shape a world and let a new world shape you. There was fear in letting people into the real me, so it was natural that I went out seeking kindred oddballs. Growing up in a predominantly white town, it was also the Internet that led me to love my identity in more ways than one. It was in this strange absence of closeness (to others) that I went looking for communities more like me.
I just wanted an ear, and I’m grateful that people are kind enough to still keep listening.
Orion Carloto
I just wanted an ear, and I’m grateful that people are kind enough to still keep listening. There’s a sense of entanglement I share with my audience that feels less like “an audience” and more like, “Oh, we just grew up together.” We’re all interested in the same things. For me, longevity has come down to being honest with myself. If your heart is in something, other people will feel that too. Feeling is extremely important to me. Documenting feeling. Documenting change. I’ll take the photo, I’ll write a poem, I’ll journal about the cicadas, I’ll pocket a spoon from an Amarillo Motel. I love road movies about nothing. My favorite genre of literature is reading about how someone felt about something. Anything. I’m interested. But I think we all are. The language is in the everyday, and the everyday outlives us all. Doing this has taught me that.
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