#19 TRENDING IN Social Media 🔥
PHOTO BY Esther Brown

Meet Lexi Hidalgo: an Exclusive Interview on Social Media, Grounding Oneself, Inspirations

Social Media

May 09, 2022

We know her for her TikToks in Hawaii, inspirational lifestyle, and infectious personality: meet Lexi Hidalgo, an influencer who quite literally does it all! With her recent rise in popularity, Lexi has been able to motivate people around the world to follow their dreams and simply live life with the content that she creates.

The Teen Magazine had the special opportunity to have a conversation with Lexi about different topics including her fame on TikTok, The Moments Podcast, her yoga side-hustle, advice to supporters, and future plans. In this exclusive interview, we asked Lexi various questions about everything you need to get to know her and her story!

The Beginnings

Taking it back to the roots of Lexi's social media career, it all began during quarantine. "We were kind of just sitting at home doing nothing, and I was working out at home, making all these home-cooked meals, hanging out with my family—so what I started doing was just posting it," she recalls.

Image credit: @lexxhidalgo

"TikTok was popping off, and I was like, 'Why not? This is fun!' I've always loved taking videos and taking pictures, so I just started doing it—and my workout videos and 'what I eat in a day' videos really started to gain some traction. So then I just kept up with it and never expected it to get me to where I am right now, but it has been such a fun journey."

The Moments Podcast

What was once a long-term dream of Lexi's eventually became a reality with The Moments Podcast. "While I was doing TikTok, I started doing these things called 'Coffee Talks,' where I would make my coffee and give not words of wisdom, but just kind of talk about what's on my mind," she explains. "Sometimes it was positive stuff, sometimes it was mental health stuff, sometimes it was just advice for the day. I would start getting comments like, 'Oh, you should do a podcast! Oh, you should talk for longer than 30 seconds!'"

@themomentspod

For Lexi, this was when the idea first transpired. "I just kept thinking about it, but I never felt like I was really ready. I had a friend who was like, 'You should start a podcast!,' and I was like, 'You know what, I think it's time.' The timing is never going to feel perfect, it's never going to feel completely right, but the first step is just to start it—and that's kind of what I did. It turned out to be like my favorite thing in the world."

Currently, with new episodes every Monday, Lexi wants to grow it to not just be a podcast, but instead a community. She expresses, "Now it's like my baby, my favorite platform, and there's so much I want to do with it. I don't know exactly where it's going to go, but I know there's a lot I want to do with it, and right now, it's my #1 priority, so I'm very excited and happy about it.

Listen to The Moments Podcast here at any time, anywhere!

On Being a Yoga Instructor

Along with her growth in popularity on social media and now podcast, Lexi is a yoga instructor, and there is an inspiring story that comes with it starting at the age of 13.

"Yoga has been something that has been a part of my life for such a long time now," Lexi remembers. "When I was 13, I went through a really, really tough time with depression and anxiety—and I didn't really understand what depression and anxiety were at the time. I just knew that I didn't feel well often, I was always sad, and I never really felt good enough. And I tried going to doctors, and to an acupuncturist just to see if something was physically wrong with me—because mental health wasn't something that was very talked about, especially back in like 2013.

So one day, my mom was like, 'Alright, we've tried everything. Just come to yoga with me, see if you like it,' and at the time I had such a closed-off mindset. I was like, 'Yoga is like for hippies and weirdos, and I don't want to do that.'"

@lexxhidalgo

Lexi's journey of persevering to follow her dreams is so empowering, and it didn't end there! "So I did a 7-month training for 200 hours to get certified, and I ended up becoming like the youngest yoga teacher on the East Coast of the country I think it was, which was super cool. At the time I didn't even process it, but now I look back, and I'm like, 'Dang that was kind of sick!' But now, yoga has just been something that helps me get through a lot of anxiety whenever I'm really stressed."

As the hobby has helped Lexi get through difficult times over the years, she says that yoga is what never fails to "pull [herself] out of a funk."

"It's something that I do want to tap back into because I'm not teaching so often right now, but I'm still practicing all the time. And it's really cool to see too, because I realize the reason I wanted to get certified was to kind of help other people at that young age get through what I was going through. It's super cool to see that the platform I have now is kind of on a bigger scale of that—I'm still doing the same thing, I still have the same goals, I just want to help people get through when the days suck, because you know, we're all going through it sometimes!"

Social Media Goals and Aspirations

In terms of Lexi's presence on social media, there are a myriad of things that she hopes to share with her followers.

@lexxhidalgo

"I want to just inspire people to live their best life, and at the same time I want to be able to share the life that I'm living and loving—and do it in a way that is inspiring other people to do the same," she says. "To trust their gut, trust their intuition, and chase their dreams. And it's so cheesy for me to say it all out loud, but that really is the goal. That's all I've really ever really wanted to do."

Anything and Everything About TikTok

As many have discovered Lexi through TikTok, in which she has now amassed 2M followers (and counting!), she discloses what that experience was like, and how she still has yet to process it. "I still don't really recognize that people are following my life on the scale that they are. I have recently started experiencing people coming up to me and being like, 'Oh my god! You make TikToks!' And I'm like, 'Wait, I do? Are you sure that's me?' It's been a really cool experience," she voices.

"It's really rewarding when stuff like that happens, but it's not something I've processed at all because I just keep posting, and then I just keep seeing what happens, and it has brought me some really, really awesome opportunities and brought me to some of the people that have become my best friends. I think that's probably what I'm most grateful for from social media—it's the people it's brought me closer to."

Lexi told us that the people she has met on social media has also brought some of her favorite memories. She mentions how social media has the power to "literally put right in front of your face someone who has the same passions as you, the same values, and honestly even people in the same location."

@lexxhidalgo

"It has brought me to meet some of my best friends, just from starting by following each other, and then we start talking, and then we hang out, and all of a sudden there's someone that I don't think that I can live without. And with that is seeing the response from people when they let me know how not necessarily that I have affected their lives, but what I've shared with them has."

Social media is powerful, so powerful in today's day and age, and I don't even think any of us really realize it.

-Lexi Hidalgo

With the tremendous reach that Lexi has been able to get to with the content that she creates, she notes that "it's really cool to see people take advice that was once given to [her] and then be able to share it with more people."

Then and Now

Considering all the things that Lexi has been able to accomplish at such a young age, her life has definitely been impacted since gaining a large following on social media.

"It was just craziness, and I look back now, and I'm like, 'Wow, that completely changed my life.' Like when I first started doing social media, I had been in college, not in the best mental state—and quarantine happened. I started making videos, I started posting TikToks, that whole thing happened," she shares.

@lexxhidalgo

“It felt like such a huge era where I was just always, always, always on TikTok, making TikToks, and then I eventually met a friend on social media. We ended up talking, and decided like, 'Oh, we're going to go to Hawaii for a month.' We moved out here for a month, and ten days later we signed a year-long lease. When I look back on that, I'm like, 'Wow, that definitely changed my life and threw it for a spin,' because I never expected to move out to Hawaii, meet the people that I've met out here, and start a podcast.”

We can pretty much say that Lexi is living the dream life, and although each day comes something new, Lexi trusts that everything that happens is the journey and path that was meant for her to be on.

@lexxhidalgo

Self love and compassion 2022

♬ Lilacs - Waxahatchee


"I do think social media was the whole reason that that happened, and I don't know what I would be doing if it weren't for social media. But, it's been cool. It's impacted me in so many ways, and it has taught me a lot about what it's like to be doubted, and also what it's like to be believed in, and be encouraged, and it's just very cool. Social media is freaking awesome—for the most part!"

Inspirations

Without fail, Lexi is always there to inspire us each day, but who and what inspires her?

"Honestly, as far as people go, I've always followed Brené Brown, like I watched one of her TED Talks a long time ago, and I just got her book to read," she says. Lexi also shares that she enjoys Brené's documentary on Netflix called, 'Brené Brown: The Call to Courage.' "She just has a way with her words that she can just connect to people so well, and that's what I want to be able to do. My dream one of these days is to eventually give a TED Talk—I don't know what it's going to be on, don't know when that's going to happen, but it's on the bucket list!"

In addition to Brené, Lexi also admires Michelle Obama, which she says is, "because she's just cool—you can't not love her."

@lexxhidalgo

As far as tangible inspirations go, Lexi revels in nature and being outside, whether it's “sitting by [herself] or with the birds and the trees, things in [her] brain will start to spark.” “Also with traveling, I want to see the cultures of the world, and be able to shared them in a respectful way.”

Above all else, however, Lexi feels gratitude for her mom: “She is definitely the strongest person in my life who will believe in me through all of my crazy dreams. I can tell her, 'I'm going to move 5000 miles away, and I'm going to do this,' and she's like, 'What? Okay i guess thats what we're doing!' She believes in me more than anyone else in my life, so I'm very grateful for her and I wouldn't be chasing any of these dreams or doing any of this if she didn't support me through it all.”

Words of Advice

Time and time again, Lexi will always advise those who want to follow in her footsteps to never give up: “When it comes to social media, finding your purpose, and chasing your passion, there's always going to be a lot of people who doubt you—and the people who doubt you tend to be the people who haven't tried for themselves.”

"Something that helps me keep pushing and keep going is just understanding that anyone who doesn't want to believe in you, and anyone who hates on what you're doing and what you're creating is just someone who hasn't found their own passion, and their own purpose, so they're focused on what other people are doing."

With significance in knowing to keep going, Lexi explains how it is important to not listen to the people who have something negative to say. "You know deep down what you want to do, and what you want to chase, and what your passion is, and what your dreams are, and your goals. You just have to keep following that voice that's telling you to go, instead of listening to the ones who have been so engraved in our minds that you have to do this, and you have to do that to be successful."

Where we're at now, in 2022, you can be successful doing anything, so you might as well be successful doing what makes you the happiest, and what you're the most passionate about.

-Lexi Hidalgo

Future Plans

For a sneak peek into the future, Lexi announces that there are many things to come! "I can't really talk on them because it's not super set in stone, but I have a bunch of crazy, wild ideas, and they're going to come to fruition at some point, she mentions. "Some of them are physical, some of them you can use, you can write in, you can wear, but it's all in the works!"

@lexxhidalgo

Aside from this, Lexi also discloses information on a longer-term goal of hers. "One day, this is like a super, super long-term goal, and I'm just going to throw it out there because I like to speak it into existence, but I do want to film a documentary one day. A really awesome one where I interview people all around the world, and talk about different morals, different values, what it was like for them growing up, and just, nature—it's going to be awesome! But that's kind of a while from now—like a very long time, but it's a future goal! And it will happen, I'm sure of it—I just don't know when!"

10 Quick Q's With Lexi

What is your dream collaboration (with a brand or person)?

Probably doing something with Brené Brown, because she's awesome! She is someone I just very much look up to.

As far as a brand goes, definitely Converse. Hands down, I've been collecting Converse since I was probably like 12 or 13, and now I have like over 30 pairs. And I'm obsessed with them, and I think I can design a really sick shoe!

Where is your happy place?

I definitely have a couple different happy places. Anywhere I am with my best friend, she is probably my happy place—it's not really a place, it's just a person. And also sometimes just sitting in my room! Like making my room my little safe place is definitely awesome.

I also have a van that's broken down, and it sits in my backyard, and it's all decorated as if I were going to be traveling with it. I go in there whenever I need to just completely shut down from the world. But as far as an actual place, I would say Costa Rica. It's a good spot.

@lexxhidalgo

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

Swim. Right now, I've been living in Hawaii for a little while. Whenever I'm here and I'm needing a little escape, I'll just go in the ocean, and it feels like you're in a different world.

You get to just kind of feel like you're a mermaid in your own universe, so you stop thinking about reality. So I would say swimming, or laughing with my friends, cooking with my friends, and kind of just being with my friends, or reading a book! Or, making TikToks honestly!

What three words would you use to describe yourself?

The first one that comes to mind is spontaneous. I would also kind of describe myself as a squirrel because my brain kind of goes in 10 different directions all at one time. And this one is kind of basic but, optimistic.

I'm always trying to look for the good in the future, and the good in the now, and just trust that whatever bad stuff happens to me is happening for a reason. So, optimism—yeah, I'll stick with that one!

What is your favorite food?

Probably empanadas. Or, chicken fried rice. Those are two good ones. Hot sauce is my favorite condiment, like I won't eat anything without hot sauce, so it's up there on the favorite foods list.

What is a motto that you live by?

Everything happens for a reason. It's a really basic one, but I have this thing that my friend taught me. She's like, 'Everything happens for a reason, but when you don't know what the reason is, it's because you're in the happening,' and that's something I live by and remind myself of every single day.

So, definitely that. And my friend Meredith told me that—maybe I'll throw in her name too! But yeah, that would probably be my motto.

What is a song that you are loving right now?

'All That And More' by Kitten Rainbow Surprise. It's a good one.

@lexxhidalgo

And also 'As It Was' by Harry Styles, but everyone's loving that song right now!

What is your favorite store?

Free People, or Converse, or Urban Outfitters. I'll stick with Free People though. It's definitely Free People. I think I'm wearing everything Free People right now.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Definitely want to be doing what I'm doing right now. Ideally, I would be either done recording the documentary, or recording the documentary and traveling.

I definitely want to have a home base within the next 5 years because right now, I'm kind of all over the place—which I love, and I'm young, and that's what I should be doing, but a home base and some stability sounds nice.

And I don't know, I just want to be inspiring someone out there somewhere, in some way. Don't know how, don't know what it's going to be, but also maybe giving a TED talk or writing a book! I don't know, we'll see.

I feel like life is very unpredictable and if I envision myself in 5 years, I don't know what she's going to be doing. I know she's going to be living her best life, but I'll just have to see where life kind of takes me and feel it out!

What is an item/product that you would recommend others to invest in?

A Hydro Flask. I literally have it right here—it's my favorite. It's got a life story, you can collect stickers and put them all on there from all your travels and experiences...and it keeps you hydrated! It's like an emotional support water bottle, so I'm going to stick with that—it's the first thing that popped into my mind.

Keep Up With Lexi

As always, make sure to stay up to date with Lexi on Instagram @lexxhidalgo, TikTok @lexxhidalgo, YouTube @Lexi Hidalgo, and Pinterest @lexxhidalgo.

Additionally, listen to The Moments Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Anchor. Lastly, be sure to check out Lexi's website for cute products to purchase, merch, presets, and more!

Madison Yee
50k+ pageviews

Madison is located in Los Angeles, California. Currently, she manages the Instagram account and the Beauty & Style category for The Teen Magazine.

Comment