An Unfiltered Influencer: Getting Real With Victoria Garrick

Victoria Garrick is major.

She recently signed to Dear Media with her podcast called Real Pod. It’s so good, millennials are loving it. She recently had me on her show & I was really impressed with the depth of the questions she asked. You gotta check it out & subscribe, it’s so impactful.

She was recently on TSC HIM & HER podcast talking about body dysmorphia, self-esteem, self-love & more . She’s creating space for a serious change in the social media game so I wanted to interview here on the blog for you guys.

If you haven’t heard of Victoria, she went viral from posting a video in a bikini showing how different poses, sucking in your stomach, photoshopping pics & all that stuff can make you look completely different. She’s an author, TED talk speaker, mental health advocate, podcast host & a former athlete.

With that, let’s welcome Victoria.

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♡ Introduce yourself to The Skinny Confidential audience. We want your whole story.

Victoria Garrick: Hi beautiful TSC readers – it’s an honor. My name is Victoria & depending on who you ask, I can be many things! TED Talk Speaker, Former DI Athlete, Founder, Podcaster. But if you ask me, I’m just a person who is relentlessly candid with the world about her experiences in life. ( That’s really how this all started! )

I was a freshman on the volleyball team at the University of Southern California, pretty much living my dream, & thought life would be absolutely perfect. Little did I know, the pressure I was about to endure as a Division I athlete was beyond anything I’d ever experienced before.

I had a five hour practice block six days a week, was training & lifting like an Olympic athlete – pushing my body to limits it had never come close to – I was also balancing a full load of class, starting as a freshman, oh & we were the #1 team in the country… Sounds breezy right..?!

I quickly began to develop anxiety like never before. I was constantly on edge trying to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes or forget the scouting report/class assignments, & I could never get the negativity or imposter syndrome out of my head! On top of all that, I was very insecure about my growing shape. This new lifestyle was causing me to eat a lot more than I was used to, & I grew muscle like never before. At the time, I was disgusted with myself & thought I had to do anything possible to lose the weight. This is where things really took a turn…

The melting pot of anxiety & stress with my newfound determination to restrict my intake & count calories led to a brutal backfire: I began to develop a binge eating disorder. I started turning to food for comfort & to cope with all of the stress in my life & the dislike for my body.

As my mental health issues continued to pile, I found myself in a major depressive episode by my sophomore year. At first, I felt so ashamed about all that I was secretly going through & didn’t want anyone to know. I posted perfect photos ( all edited ) & moments from my life that seemed great but weren’t true. I was fronting, & putting on an act. But when I finally sought help, I realized that what I was going through was actually very common, & that struggling with my mental health was nothing to be ashamed of.

I delivered a TEDxTalk that spring & it was the first time I ever shared what had been going on & found my voice. I also committed to remaining authentic on social media, starting my #RealPost movement. I had no idea what would happen next, but I’m glad I finally got REAL because it led me here today!

♡ You’ve done an incredible job influencing young women in a positive way. How did this come about?

VG: The talk had garnered so much attention that I began to cultivate a small community online of people who wanted to hear more. Post by post I sort of realized that not only did I have a lot more to share, but other people out there were relating & feeling helped by my page.

For the first two years, I was primarily just sharing on Instagram & YouTube, it wasn’t until 2020 when I got on TikTok that things really picked up at a rapid pace & I was able to reach more people.

♡ If you were the president of Instagram & social media, what & how would you propose a change?

VG: Oh how fun this would be!! *laughs maniacally to self* My first order of business would be making it a community violation to post anything that’s been filtered, edited, or facetuned without a notifiable “mark.” So let’s say someone decides to photoshop their body to make their waist smaller & butt bigger ( which is fine… everyone can do whatever they’d like to their photos ) but there must be some sort of label or mark on the image so that consumers will know what they are seeing isn’t real.

One of the biggest issues on Instagram & social media today is that consumers are not able to determine what is real & what is fake. I’d like to prevent people from consuming images, body-types & faces especially, that are unrealistic standards of beauty.

♡ What do you do to set your morning up for success?

VG: Prepare yourself, what you are about to read is not worthy of the TSC blog, but it is my #RealPost truth…

I wake up begrudgingly to my 7:15 am alarm, immediately check my phone & begin answering texts/emails from bed. I then roll out from under the covers to the bathroom where I brush my teeth & splash water on my face before I sleep walk over to my desk to begin working from home in the pajamas that I slept in. ( Lauryn is quaking in her boots right now. I’m sorry queen! )

I would LOVE to have a much more productive & attractive morning routine, & I’m working on breaking the habit of the immediate phone grab, but this is my current truth.

However, I will say, what sets me up for success is writing out my plan & to-do list for the next day the night before. This way I wake up & can get right to what’s on schedule, as opposed to wasting time THAT day trying to map out THAT day.

♡ What are some things that help you stay positive?

VG: A few things:

+ The people in my life that I love! ( When you find people who help you radiate at a higher frequency & feel like the best version of yourself, don’t leave them. )

+ Self-care: I love a good hibernation moment, a.k.a going completely MIA so nobody can contact me & I am not near my phone.

+ Therapy: Love a good therapy session where I can talk through my problems & gain clarity on my life.

+ Gratitude: Shifting back to the blessings we do have & what’s going GOOD always keeps me grounded & adds perspective.

♡ What’s your advice for girls who want to find their passion?

VG: Try not to get so bogged down with “how it’s going to make sense” or “what your brand & color scheme is going to be” or  “what people will think” … it’s not about that – yet.

Instead, get a pen & paper & think BASIC – write down what brings you joy, makes you happy, & gets you motivated. Are those things you can be doing more of? Does your current job reflect those things? How can you incorporate more of that into your life? Baby steps build the empire!

♡ How would you recommend someone grows on Instagram in 2022?

VG: Reels, reels, & more reels!! Create trending content on TikTok – IMO the BEST platform you can be on for growth – ( seriously, go make a Tiktok ) then post that content to IG as reels. You now have 2 deliverables from 1 piece & they’re both getting pushed on the most discoverable algorithms.

♡ What’s a book, podcast or resource you recommend that brought you value? 

VG: Breaking Free From Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth.

♡ Where can everyone find you? Pimp yourself out! 

VG: If you want to find a corner of the internet that doesn’t use filters… like, EVER… not even the Paris filter on IG story ( yes, I know that’s a fan favorite ) – follow me @victoriagarrick. You can also listen to my podcast, Real Pod, where I interviewed Lauryn & got all of her juicy UNFILTERED tea.

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There you have it. Be sure to follow Victoria on Instagram, TikTok & her podcast for MAJOR realness. You guys will love it.

x, lauryn

+ stalk my latest pregnancy rituals here.

++ check out the top life lessons I’ve learned from over 400 podcasts. 

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