Blake Linder Shares His Advice On How To Grow Your Influence On Social Media

Blake Linder is a 17 year old full-time highschool student that has a successful sneaker/streetwear YouTube channel. The content he creates is based on his love for filmmaking and his love for the culture of sneakers and fashion. Blake is from Los Angeles and takes to the streets in every video to record the hottest and newly released fashion. He also hits up Downtown Los Angeles to visit @havasole to hand out sneakers to the less fortunate. Blake has amassed a social media following with over 300,000 followers on Instagram and over 629,000 subscribers on YouTube. He started off as a young 12 year old with a few sneakers and a passion for creating videos. Being persistent with his uploads, attracting a bigger and wider audience with each one which has led to the following and impact he has now. I had the pleasure of interviewing Blake, here is what he had to say:

Hey Blake, why did sneakers and streetwear become a big part of your life?

Blake Linder: The culture and how basketball players that I looked up to were wearing the newest kicks really took me in. Fashion and how someone dresses depends a lot on what is hot and trending at the time.

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H Y P E with a little bit of ☘️

A post shared by Bsneak®️ 🎬👟 (@blakelinder) on Mar 17, 2019 at 7:26pm PDT

Can you tell us more about @havasole and why it’s important to you?

Blake Linder: A few years ago I was shown the Instagram account @Havasole. I was really interested in what the page was about with giving back to the less fortunate in a sneaker related manner, so I sent a message to the account and got a response back from Rikki, the founder. We set up a date for me to come down to the headquarters and see what it was all about. The first time I visited Havasole, I was astonished. Rikki explained and show me the 1000s of pairs he had collected from different sponsors and companies all for giving back to the people of LA that needed new shoes the most. From that day on, I would frequently visit Rikki and I would hand shoes to the homeless of DT LA with Rikki and his team which has always been an amazing experience. Being able to get so up close with someone who has been through so much and at the same time and be able to connect with that person over a common love and interest is one of the greatest feelings I have felt.

Wow, that’s amazing! Social media has obviously played a big part in your success. What advice do you have for someone who’s looking to take their social media serious and grow a large following and influence?

Blake Linder: Consistency and persistence is so important. With my channel, things didn’t take off at the very start. I had to create a lot of content and believe in myself and my skills in order to grow my channel. When things didn’t go how I had hoped, I had to keep creating more and more videos, instead of feeling down and wanting to give up.

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T U R B O G R E E N🐳🔥 I ONLY get my kicks from the @sneakercon app!! Download link in BIO📲

A post shared by Bsneak®️ 🎬👟 (@blakelinder) on Apr 24, 2019 at 4:34pm PDT

Knowing what you know now what are two things you wish someone told you when you first started?

Blake Linder: I wish someone had told me that no matter what you do or say on social media, you still can’t make everyone happy. There are always going to be haters no matter what. Also, when I had my low times on YouTube, such as slow growth on the channel, I wish someone had told me that consistency was a key early on. This is something I recognize now.

Thank you Blake for this interview! How can our readers follow you on social media?

Blake Linder: My Instagram is @blakelinder and my YouTube channel is @BSNEAK