{"id":12850,"date":"2018-03-07T23:13:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T04:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/?p=12850"},"modified":"2018-03-07T23:51:17","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T04:51:17","slug":"ari-fitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/ari-fitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media Star Ari Fitz on Staying Focused and Believing in Herself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ari Fitz is a social media and TV personality, model, filmmaker, and writer. She co-runs the Instagram account @the.tomboyish<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, produced My Mama Wears Timbs<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a documentary about a masculine-of-center mom-to-be, and is the mastermind behind WEDGE<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a webcomic about an incarcerated teen named Ace. On top of that, Ari\u2019s YouTube channel<\/span><\/strong><\/a> has over 237,000 subscribers to date. Her work defies the gender binary and emanates pure black girl magic. We had the lucky opportunity to photograph and interview her for Posture. Read on below to learn all about her creative projects, relationship to social media, and how she learned to believe in herself, above all else.<\/p>\n

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\"AriJumpsuit: Yohji Yamamoto \/ Shoes: Dieppa Restrepo<\/em><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s almost like the world was waiting for me to accept myself truly and honestly before they could accept me.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What are some things you’d like folks to know about you \u2014 who is Ari Fitz?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She\u2019s imperfect, androgynous, at times fashionable, and on a mission to tell real, authentic, inclusive, nuanced stories. She wants to tell stories that would make her 13-year-old self know that everything\u2019s going to be fine after all. She\u2019s also a model, a YouTuber, a comic book creator and filmmaker trying really hard.<\/p>\n

What was your journey like towards “mega influencer” status as a queer, black androgynous person?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My journey has been a wild one. It\u2019s hella cool that I gained influence after I stopped downplaying all those things about me. The world started to admire me more the moment I stopped downplaying my androgyny, downplaying my queerness, downplaying my quirkiness and so on. It\u2019s almost like the world was waiting for me to accept myself truly and honestly before they could accept me.<\/p>\n

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\"Ari<\/p>\n

Jacket: Philip Lim \/ Top: Katr Dobrrkova \/ Pants: Stylist’s own<\/em><\/p>\n

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That’s really powerful \u2014 was there a specific moment in time \u2014 like a, “damn, maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself” moment that helped you come into your own?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a tough question, as I think I have the, “I shouldn’t be so hard on myself,” moment daily. Nothing specific comes to mind, but I will say realizing that everyone has their own internal struggles woke me up and helped me see myself more fully. Also, seeing that my heroes still had shit they had to work through helped me get out of my head. The word “imperfect” floats around my head a lot lately. I like it, I like that I’m imperfect. I like that my friends are imperfect, and my mom, and my girlfriend, and the characters I create.<\/p>\n

What is the inspiration behind your comic book, WEDGE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

WEDGE was inspired by my black queer intimacy project with Christine Ting. I desperately wanted to tell a fantasy love story with black queer characters. Problem was I didn’t \u2014 and don’t \u2014 have fantasy love story movie coin so I decided to turn it into a five-part webcomic. I released the first comic book on January 31st and plan to release the second book later this month. There are five total within the whole story.<\/p>\n

I consider the whole project my own personal practice in learning to tell fantasy and science fiction stories \u2014 something I’m really interested in. It’s hella fun and I can’t wait until the full story is complete and online.<\/p>\n

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\"Ari<\/p>\n

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You’re right \u2014 like now, in the age of Black Panther, there’s still a lack of stories where we see queer people as heroes. I’m thinking about that deleted scene in the movie where Ayo, one of the Dora Milaje, flirts with Okoye…and it’s like, damn, if we can’t have queer folks in Wakanda, in a movie based on afrofuturism, then where can we?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That.<\/p>\n

Was WEDGE the first story you wrote, or do you have others you’re working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bruh, I have so many canned projects. So many short films I\u2019ve written, stories I\u2019ve written, things I\u2019ve never released, things I\u2019ve half-assed released. There are so, so many. I\u2019m working on being more thoughtful about what I put out now, but it drives me crazy because there’s nothing more addicting than watching one of my projects come to life and reach the world.<\/p>\n

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\"Ari<\/p>\n

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On your canned projects \u2014 that’s so real. On the flip side, how do you feel about this whole idea of content pushing \u2014 where folks feel pressured through social media to just put their work out there without thinking it through?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes! I think it’s so woven into the fabric of this kind of work. I earn a living from consistently posting YouTube videos, Instagram photos, et cetera. If I don’t regularly do so, my numbers will go down and my rent won’t get paid, which like…sucks. If I could release myself from needing to constantly push things and to plan more larger releases, I’d be a much happier person.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I have a very physical addiction to posting online. I experience a wave of excitement, anxiety, and panic. I get so nervous. “Will they like it? Will they like me?” That pisses me off, but is still very present.<\/p>\n

What you named as an addiction is backed by science. Apparently every “like” on social media releases dopamine, which is tied directly to the part of our brains that control pleasure. Also, I think folks assume the “influencer” lifestyle is this easy thing to do, and it doesn’t seem like that’s even remotely correct.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve actually had a really hard life up until this point. I had to grow up fast and think about adult shit very early on. If now my biggest struggle is a dependency on social media, I\u2019d say I\u2019m winning, you know? Fuck it, lemme collect that dopamine and look fly while I do it.<\/p>\n

My childhood was stolen from me and now I\u2019m stealing it back with every story, every post, every goofy YouTube video. I can act like a kid and dream like a kid for the first time in my life. I\u2019m good for real.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ari<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On that note, do you have advice for creatives who feel pressured to just keep creating?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t make your passion your job too early. It compromises your work.<\/p>\n

“Don’t make your passion your job too early.” I felt that in my soul. Is there a lesson in that message? Did you try something “too soon” and had it not work out as well as you would have wanted it to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve hopped in too soon on every damn thing, including what I do now. The thing that I hate and love about myself is I tend to go all in with my work. I place my blinders on and keep running until I lose my breath or all my money.<\/p>\n

Google \u201cgenjuice, arielle patrice scott\u201d and you\u2019ll find an entire era of my life where I didn\u2019t know what I was doing or what I was building \u2014 but I believed in myself more than anything. I\u2019ve made so many mistakes, but my girl says her favorite thing about me is that I always believe in myself. I like that about me, too. That said, if I could do it all over again, I\u2019d believe a taddddd less and be a little more hesitant to go all or nothing on something.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s either a serious character flaw that will leave me broken forever or something that will put my name in history books, I can\u2019t see any in between to be honest. Only time will tell where I land.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ari<\/p>\n

Top: Issey Miyake \/ Pants: COMME des GARCONS<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How did the Instagram Tomboyish come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was on Real World a few years back and I got into a fight with my girlfriend on the show. The fight was about how I dress, how I was changing my style a lot and becoming more masculine. The internet really stood behind me and it showed me how much folks needed content for masculine of center women, tomboys, dykes, etc. I hoped TOMBOYISH would fill that void and it’s been a fun ride ever since.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve abandoned it many times in favor of shiny new projects, but I\u2019m working on doing something really great for it in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Since you brought up “new projects,” is it too late to ask about your goals for 2018? I haven’t been able to figure out if everyone’s collectively over it or not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh nah, I think about this stuff daily. I have a sticky note on my computer reminding myself of the goals I have. I’ve had to adjust them a bit, but they’re still staying. Oddly enough, I got an email from NYLON a few days after I wrote down I wanted a cover, so I think they’re important.<\/p>\n

My big 2018 goal is to write and star in an award-winning short film, but we shall see what happens by December – and if I was too busy keeping my posts consistent to do something impactful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ari<\/p>\n

Top: Issey Miyake \/ Pants: COMME des GARCONS \/ Shoes: Issey Miyake<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Describe a regular day in your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want the truth? Every morning I wake up and decide what I want to do, and if that ain\u2019t freedom I don\u2019t know what is. Sometimes it\u2019s work on my web comic, sometimes it\u2019s work on a script, sometimes I have networks or brands or agents or someone in my inbox that wants something from me and I decide if I want to give it to them. Sometimes I want to see people, sometimes I just wanna dance naked in my spot…it\u2019s on me. I decide.<\/p>\n

The only consistent thing is I tend to take a shower and as the steam builds up, I thank my god for giving me this freedom.<\/p>\n

Oh, and I masturbate nearly every day. Some self-care shit.<\/p>\n

Follow Ari on Instagram: @itsarifitz<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Editorial Credits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: Shaira Chaer<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Producer: Winter Mendelson<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Photographer: Lauren Perlstein<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Photo Director: Asher Torres<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Creative Director: Morgan T. Stuart<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Stylist: Paris Roman<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, garments courtesy of andARCHIVE<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Makeup: Slater Stanley<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Hair:\u00a0Josh Nyitray<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Location: Beyond Studios<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Ari Fitz is a social media and TV personality, model, filmmaker, and writer. She co-runs the Instagram account @the.tomboyish, produced My Mama Wears Timbs, a documentary about a masculine-of-center mom-to-be, and is the mastermind behind WEDGE, a webcomic about an incarcerated teen named Ace. On top of that, Ari\u2019s YouTube channel has over 237,000 subscribers\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":12851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2065],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[4450,4437,4441,4438,3284,3278,3283,4442,4433,4440,4456,4445,4455,4454,4453,4439,4434,4378,4444,2225],"class_list":["post-12850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","post_format-post-format-image"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Ari-Fitz-Featured-Image_Photo-by-Lauren-Perlstein.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6QBV8-3lg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12850"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12872,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12850\/revisions\/12872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12850"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}