Alix Earle Covers Rollacoaster's AW25 Issue

Once a college student filming GRWMs in her dorm, Alix Earle has skyrocketed to internet royalty—amassing millions of fans, brand deals, and even a seat at Harvard. Now, with her eyes on the ballroom (and the boardroom), she’s proving there’s real power in staying unapologetically real.

Gone are the days when children dreamed of becoming princes or princesses. Today, the fantasy comes with a flawless skincare routine, the perfect ring light and a loyal online following. In other words: they want to be influencers.

A young Alix Earle wasn’t so different. She spent her free time vlogging daily routines, filming mock cereal commercials from her bedroom and envisioning a future as a news anchor. “Now I’m sort of, you know, the news anchor for myself,” she quips as we reminisce about her childhood over Zoom. She’s not wrong—and as I was soon to find out, her own story makes for one hell of a headline.

We connect at the crack of dawn in LA, during one of the only free hours Alix has in an ever-manic schedule. “There’s been a lot going on recently,” she says humbly—assuring me that her excitement is the perfect antidote to exhaustion. At the time of our chat, the 24-year-old influencer-turned-entrepreneur has just begun her double act as a ballroom dancer-in-training for Dancing With the Stars’ 34th season…so it’s no surprise she’s still catching her breath. “I’m so overwhelmed with what I’m doing that I want to capture it all and share it with my audience. But I really try to stay grounded—I do a little talking to myself in the mirror before going places, saying, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ I just let it soak in for a moment.”

When it comes to pinch-me moments, Alix never falls short. On top of keeping her 12 million combined Instagram and TikTok followers – and YouTube and Hot Mess subscribers – primed with daily content, she somehow found time to become Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s first digital cover star, appear in internet-breaking Super Bowl ads for Poppi and Carl’s Jr., and become the largest individual investor in the canned sparkling margarita brand, SipMARGS. She also launched the Alix Earle Scholarship at the University of Miami’s Patti and Allan Herbert Business School, leads the give-back program Serving in Heels, fostered her beloved pit bull, Asia, and most recently, spoke at Harvard Business School. Though spinning more plates than a circus act, Alix is certain she wouldn’t have it another way. She’s living the life she always dreamed of, and it’s all to fulfil the goal she set herself as far back as her early teens: “Someday, I would build something for myself, be a boss and create an empire.” No pressure, right?

Wrong—but she was up for the challenge. “Young Alix was always very ambitious,” she explains, laughing. “I think I’ve always been a little crazy. I always had very big dreams, but I think there was always a part of me that felt like I couldn’t admit those dreams out loud. I always wanted this, but if someone were to ask me what I wanted back then, I always felt a little insecure about the ‘reach’ I was going for.” There are two sides to the business graduate: the one who finds joy in the simple pleasures of being in front of and behind the camera, and the entrepreneurial mind inspired by her dad and brothers, who run their own company in New Jersey. Fortunately, she soon realised the secret to her future career wasn’t choosing one over the other—it was blending both. That balance set the wheels in motion for her breakneck rise to internet royalty. The result? A reach that is now unprecedented—so powerful and far-reaching that media outlets and brands alike coined a term to capture her influence: “The Alix Earle Effect.”

But it didn’t happen overnight. The journey began in 2020, when Alix started posting candid videos of her life as a University of Miami student, getting ready with her friends, taking her small following through her now-coveted makeup routine and sharing the BTS content most creators would do anything to hide: from acne flare-ups to left over Taco Bell containers strewn across fresh bed sheets. By her senior year in 2022, however, something shifted. The view counts began stacking up, the comments went worldwide and suddenly, Alix’s personal online diary became the weekly show for millions. “It was really crazy to me that the natural, organic things I was doing and posting were so crazy to people. I think that’s the beauty in it. I’ve never created the type of content where I’m trying to do a skit, necessarily, or having a niche. I was just going through my day and sharing whatever came to mind. There were definitely moments where people were shocked by what comes to my mind or what I’m wearing or what I’m doing—but I think that’s kind of the beautiful thing about it. There really is no filter. I’m just authentically me.”

Bearing all without a filter became a frequent habit for Alix—and when it comes to admitting her hopes for fame, she’s no different. “I was posting online all the time hoping that something would take off,” she admits. “I really wanted to have a virality online. That is something I always hoped for, but I didn’t expect it would ever come in this big of a way.” Nowadays, anything Alix points her camera to becomes a headline, her 1.4 billion amassed likes are proof of that, but it was still a learning process…one which Alix studied vastly. “I was using trending audios and I did live streams when I was getting ready in college with my roommate, Natalie. When I saw the engagement on them – even though at the time it was super small – I could tell that the comments went from being a heart emoji to someone interacting with what I was doing or saying and relating to it. I think that’s when it clicked for me that this was the content that’s resonating with people.”

“Brand deals” and “creator funds” were not regular verbiage for Alix at this point. Through some self-confessed “online stalking” of her fellow content creators, she deciphered that Amazon storefront was where they were making their cash. During her senior year, she dedicated herself to building her own…a process which brought her now-notorious sell-out phrase to life. “I found this light on Amazon and posted about it. All of a sudden, people had started ordering this light to the point where it was selling out and then they were upping the price of it. Then people started calling it ‘The Alix Earle Light’—I think that’s the first time I saw the ‘Alix Earle Effect’, which was really crazy to see. To this day, some people think I’m a lighting company…they’ve only heard my name because of that damn light.”

Misconceptions aside, the experience provided the blueprint for how Alix could turn her organic engagement into the business empire she was set to instate. What’s more, it gave her the confidence to do it. “I’ve never been much of a gambler,” she shares. “But I am when it comes to knowing myself and my work ethic. When I love a brand, I know I’m going to push that brand for years to come. It’s not, ‘I’ll push them for a month.’ When I work with someone, I want them to do as good as possible. So I think having a stake in that was really, really important to me. It’s kind of like I’m betting on myself and my ability to push and work with these people. That’s what I’ve found really exciting, more so than having a one-off type of deal, I’ve really liked investing in these companies and investing in myself.” And there was one brand in particular that Alix targeted for that venture. “I think SipMARGS especially has been a really great learning experience because I’ve gotten to be so much more than an investor. I’ve gotten to sit in on all the calls and company decisions and have learned a lot about running a business in general. I think some people more so just want to put their name on something or want the return, but not put in the work. I actually really enjoy the work side of it because I’m only 24 years old so the more learning experience I can get, the better.”

Confidence – though now bolstered by a steady stream of brand deals and opportunities – wasn’t something Alix always had. Her business instincts came naturally; believing in herself took time. “I went through a period right after I had graduated where I did start to question, ‘This is a business, can I still be the same?’ I am someone who has big goals in the business world and I do want to be taken seriously, so there was a part of me that felt like, ‘Oh, this isn’t very corporate of me to be, how am I ever going to make it?’ Even when I went to speak at Harvard, the professor said to me, ‘How do you expect to be taken seriously if you’re posting all these fun, crazy things about yourself?’ I eventually realised there is going to be no business if I’m not being myself. I had to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sharing everything and being authentic to myself. Everyone has two sides to them. For me, it’s important to stay true to myself and to not hide any part of my life just so I can be taken seriously from a business perspective…because I think there’s nothing wrong with having fun and getting your work done.”

Much of the world’s apprehension – whether in business or beyond – over the art of influencing stems from the fact that influencing is still a relatively unchartered space. But as the list of content creators recognised by society only continues to grow, it’s a space that’s rapidly widening. “I think about this a lot,” Alix responds. “Because being an influencer IS a new thing. There is no handbook. It isn’t the same for everyone—and I think that’s the beauty in it. At the end of the day, the job of an influencer is to influence. So I try to do good with what I’ve got and give back and share stuff that hopefully can help others. That’s what people come back to us for, whether it’s a source of entertainment or they can relate to an issue I’m having—being that source of influence is important. I think that sometimes gets overlooked as having these big viral videos. But that’s what I try to ground myself in and remember.” But like everything done in the limelight, it’s tougher than it looks.

Authenticity is, as it’s always been, Alix’s forte. There’s not much she won’t show, and even less she’ll hide. It’s won her the adoration of her audience…but that’s not to say it always came with ease. “In the beginning, it was my biggest fear. When I first had posted about my skin, I still had the filters on, I was still angling my camera the best I could. I still had to make sure I put on makeup at the end of the video so that I was maintaining some sort of image,” she confesses. That, in itself, is real—and taught Alix the value of being raw online in the process. “It wasn’t easy, but when I saw the response that it got from people…I had never felt like content I put out really touched people until then. That’s kind of what made me continue to post those things, even though it would scare me and I would see screenshots or articles of me and my skin where I thought, ‘This is quite literally the worst photo I’ve ever seen of myself and it’s posted on a massive article.’ But at the end of the day, I get to go out in real life and meet girls and they’ll come up to me crying and saying how much it’s helped them. If that one simple thing I can post will help someone in that type of way, then it’s so worth it to me, even if it is just one person.” Spoiler: Alix’s quest to give back helped a lot more than one.

“I think especially in the business that I’m in, I don’t take it for granted. And I don’t forget that I am where I am because I have an audience and people supporting me. So with that power and influence, I want to be able to give back to the community, the university or whatever it is that got me here,” she says. “The Alix Earle Scholarship was something that came about within the first few months of me having a platform. I recognised that my professors were being so kind to my overwhelmingly crazy schedule. I took a step back to really realise that people around me had believed in me and allowed me to follow my dreams, so I wanted to be that for other people.” The scholarship provides financial assistance to outstanding students demonstrating significant potential in the field of business—but as always, Alix goes the extra mile. “Besides the monetary value or a scholarship, I’ve been able to create super close relationships with the students. I FaceTime them, talk to them all the time and always offer my advice. If I can be a resource or a connection to anyone and help them out, then it really motivates me. I think that’s been the most rewarding part about it,” she says, smiling before adding, “It’s a very humbling and exciting moment for me and definitely my proudest achievement thus far.”

Taking in her story so far, it’s already enough for the fairytale. But life always demands another chapter—and that, in the present moment for Alix, requires a strict routine, ballroom shoes and a glitter ball trophy: an invite to be a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. “It was very, very exciting to be asked on,” Alix gleams. “I was so surprised and I think it was also a very reassuring moment for myself and what I’ve created. I think the world of influencers at times can get overlooked on the impact that you have. And it may not be that I’m a ‘reality star’ from a TV show, but I’m still able to reach the same audience and have such a strong connection with people. So I think it was really reassuring to be recognised in that way, to be considered a ‘star’ on the show. It was a very easy yes…it’s a show I’ve always loved and I’ve always loved dance in general.” At the time of our conversation, Alix is still in training—but she’s already picked up a trick or two. “I’ve been very disciplined and routine-oriented, which is really different for me because I’m the least having-a-routine person there is. I think it’s been a really grounding moment for me and it’s only been two weeks so far, but I’ve really unlocked this other side of me that is focused on wellness. I’m such a big believer in that everything happens for a reason. And I’m like, ‘Maybe this is God’s way of telling me that I need to slow down for a minute and get my life together,’” she chuckles. “I’ve also shocked myself with how competitive I feel, I’m like determined. If I’m messing up steps I go home, stand in the mirror and I’m like, ‘No, I’m getting this done. I will study the style of dance and learn this.’ I’m so shocked with the level of competitiveness that’s come out of me, especially competitiveness with myself,” she adds.

At the time of writing, Alix has glided across the dance floor for three live shows. She’s already been tapped as the fan-favourite and has consistently racked in high scores on the judges’ leaderboard. Perhaps it’s due to her new-found competitiveness, or maybe it’s simply down to her unwavering ethos to always invest all of herself into her projects. Either way, Alix’s world is spinning (or, perhaps, pirouetting?) to new levels of stardom…after all, she’s never been one to stay stagnant. “I have goals and a big plan for myself ahead. Whether I can achieve these things or not, we will see, but I would definitely love to be a founder myself and create my own business. I think that’s something I’m very passionate about,” she says, playfully shrugging when I ask in what area.

While we patiently wait for the next steps in Alix’s story, she’s learning to apply a brief pause to reflect on just how far she’s come. “If young Alix could see me now, I don’t think she would believe it. I think there was a lot of insecurities and doubts in the younger Alix. I think sticking to those dreams and delusions that I had in my head has paid off. I always wish I could go back and give her a hug, because she would be floored if she saw what was going on right now. I think she would think that I’m the coolest person in the world.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d take that over a tiara and castle any day.