At a glance at Gabby Epstein’s Instagram page, it’s clear she is living a life many only dream of.
At just 23, the former Gold Coast based model has more than 1.8 million followers and is paid to travel the world as a lifestyle blogger and ‘influencer’.
Her success online has been so great, that she now makes more from a single sponsored Instagram post than she was making working four days as a professional model.
Gabby recently spoke to FEMAIL about how she was able to make travel a full time job and collaborate with swimwear, beauty, fashion, travel, hotel and lifestyle brands around the world.
Gabby Epstein, 23, recently spoke to FEMAIL about how she was able to make travel a full time job and collaborate with swimwear, beauty, fashion, travel, hotel and lifestyle brands around the world
Gabby, who studied a Bachelor of Biomedical Science after high school, said her social media stardom was an ‘accident’.
‘I just started posting photos after my friends told me to download Instagram when I was studying part-time and doing a bit of travelling for modelling,’ Gabby said.
‘I was fortunate to be able to visit some pretty amazing places for work and began posting photos of places I travelled, my life on the Gold Coast, my friends, my dog and memes that I found funny, and I think people just liked the authenticity of my page and my life.
‘It started with brands and companies approaching me and offering free clothes, products and travel in exchange for promotion on my Instagram page, but as it’s grown it has now become my full time job.
‘It started with brands and companies approaching me and offering free clothes, products and travel in exchange for promotion on my Instagram page, but as it’s grown it has now become my full time job,’ Gabby said
‘I’ve just spent two months travelling Europe working and shooting content for a couple of different hotel chains around Greece, Italy, France and Morocco,’ she said
‘I’ve just spent two months travelling Europe working and shooting content for a couple of different hotel chains around Greece, Italy, France and Morocco.’
Gabby said she first started to realise the extent of the perks available through social media when she was making more money than she was as a model.
‘Depending on things like engagement, gender age and country demographics, influencers can earn anywhere between hundreds to thousands of dollars for a single sponsored post,’ she said.
‘I realised I could really turn this into a full time job and then I began to get offers for all expenses paid trips overseas from different hotel and travel companies two years ago.
‘Depending on things like engagement, gender age and country demographics, influencers can earn anywhere between hundreds to thousands of dollars for a single sponsored post,’ she said
‘I couldn’t believe this was all happening, the power of social media influencers is amazing.’
Gabby is picky with who she works with, however, and is careful to stay true to herself.
‘The best part about my job is that I get to decide the kind of work I do what kind of products I want to promote,’ she said.
‘All the products I promote I’ve used first and are things I would recommend to my friends – so I feel safe recommending them to my followers.’
It’s not a perfect lifestyle, however, with Gabby having to learn to deal with trolls and cyber bullies over the years.
‘The best part about my job is that I get to decide the kind of work I do what kind of products I want to promote,’ she said
‘Some people forget that people they follow on Instagram are real people and think it’s okay to comment or send rude and vulgar messages to women – which is never okay,’ Gabby said of the darker side of social media
‘I’m pretty immune to it by now to be honest. It used to really affect me when my account was smaller and I saw every message and comment but now the positive messages far out way the negative ones,’ Gabby said.
‘It’s pretty sad actually that people have the free time to troll strangers on the Internet.
‘Some people forget that people they follow on Instagram are real people and think it’s okay to comment or send rude and vulgar messages to women – which is never okay.
‘You wouldn’t say that to a female friend or a stranger you meet in a coffee shop – so why do you think it’s okay to write that to someone online?’
Gabby said the best part of her work, besides all of the travel, is the freedom of being able to work for herself – whenever and wherever she wants
Gabby said the best part of her work, besides all of the travel, is the freedom of being able to work for herself – whenever and wherever she wants.
‘I can literally be anywhere in the world that I want (whether that’s Italy or my living room) with a phone and a laptop and be able to work and completely support myself,’ she said.
Despite working online for a living, Gabby always takes the time to step back and switch off.
‘Disconnecting and taking a break from social media and technology in general is so important,’ she said.
‘One day a week I avoid touching my phone in general. I try and keep Sundays as a day to spend at the beach or at the park with my friends and family.
Despite working online for a living, Gabby always takes the time to step back and switch off
‘Having one day a week where I can be completely in the moment and not check in to what other people are up to on my social media feed is important.’
And for those who believe that everything online is exactly as it seems, Gabby urges girls to stop comparing themselves to others.
‘I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in a household where I was instilled a very strong belief of self-worth and self confidence which has never had anything to do with aesthetics or “likes on Instagram”,’ she said.
‘My best advice for young girls is to create a strong sense of self-worth based on their talents, personal qualities and tangible friendships – away from social media.
‘Having one day a week where I can be completely in the moment and not check in to what other people are up to on my social media feed is important,’ she said
‘Girls need to remember that people they follow usually only post the highlight reel of their life on Instagram but they are human too. They have problems and issues and cry sometimes like everyone else – they just don’t post about it.’
Gabby recently collaborated with Crushfame to share her best advice and knowledge of social media through a video course aimed at helping people make money through Instagram.
‘The founders of Crushfame, Jarrad and Matt reached out to me with an idea to share all of my best advice I’ve learnt along my journey to becoming an Instagram Influencer,’ she said.
‘We created my video course where I discuss everything I wish I had known when I first started.
‘We covered topics like how to create a successful Instagram account, gaining more followers, making money from your posts, tips to get freebies, managing negativity and body image online and how I launched my own swimwear brand.’
The link to Gabby’s course can be found here.