Today we’d like to introduce you to Liya Kamkadze.
Hi Liia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Liya K, and I’m a digital artist based in Los Angeles
I’ve grown an audience of over 60K English-speaking followers while creating in a language that is not my first, and my content has reached more than 150 million views across platforms
In my content, I explore themes such as self-love, body acceptance, and seeing the United States through the eyes of someone with an international background
At the end of December 2023, I came to the United States and created a new Instagram account in English
I had always wanted to be a creator and build an audience, but for a long time, I kept postponing it
When I arrived in the U.S., I felt an incredible amount of support from people I didn’t even know
There was so much kindness, joy, and creativity around me that it gave me a new sense of belief in myself
At the same time, one of my biggest dreams had just come true
Coming to the United States gave me a powerful emotional momentum, and I decided to finally start creating content
At that time, my English was very limited
But I chose to create anyway, because I didn’t want to waste time
I can’t say that my audience grew easily
For the first seven months, I gained only around 200 followers, even though I was posting up to 50 videos a month
It wasn’t until the seventh month that one of my videos reached 1 million views, and that’s when my audience finally started to grow
The message I want to share with people is simple
To always believe in yourself and keep taking action, even when it feels small
To enjoy every moment, including the challenges along the way
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It wasn’t a smooth road at all.
One of the biggest challenges in growing my Instagram in English was that I didn’t speak English at all.
When I came to the US, I really wanted to have an international audience.
I was inspired by the idea that English connects people from so many different countries.
I wanted my audience to be made up of people with completely different stories, backgrounds, and cultures.
So I made a decision.
I would start creating videos without speaking, and just write captions.
I allowed myself to start imperfectly.
And I made a promise to forgive myself in advance for all the mistakes I was going to make.
I think that decision changed everything.
Because when I faced hate, or when people couldn’t understand me,
which happened a lot, since I was using Google Translate back then,
I didn’t feel pressure, stress, or disappointment.
I already knew what I was choosing.
And I had accepted the consequences of that decision.
And eventually, my English improved so much over the past two years.
I built an English speaking audience from all over the world.
And I’m incredibly grateful to myself
for not being afraid to start two years ago,
even when I didn’t speak the language at all ❤️🔥
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a digital artist, and I’m proud that on my Instagram I talk about topics which people are usually afraid to talk about.
I talk about how important it is to accept and love your body, even if it doesn’t fit certain beauty standards. This topic resonates very strongly with people, and I have a video with 30M views about it.
The reason I started talking about this is because seven years ago I had cancer. During chemotherapy, I, like many others, lost my hair, lost weight, and became very pale. I always considered myself unattractive.
As a teenager, I even used to call myself ugly. But when I was in the hospital during chemotherapy, I looked at myself in the mirror and, for the first time, I noticed how beautiful I actually was.
For the first time, I fell in love with my long Caucasian nose and accepted my Caucasian side. For the first time, I saw how beautiful my face is, and how beautiful I am overall, even though I was pale and connected to an IV.
From that moment, my life changed a lot. I started accepting my body, I started loving my body, I started believing in myself, and I started wanting more from my life.
One of the reasons why I came to the United States is also connected to that experience.
I believe that my experience, my thoughts about self-acceptance, and my belief that everything is possible help people find inspiration during difficult times.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, success has two main components.
The first one is material, and the second one is non material.
The material side is, of course, financial reward, opportunities in life, and the level of lifestyle you are able to create.
For me, money is a reflection of the value you bring to people. If you are doing something meaningful and helpful, the world pays you back. It means you deserve that reward. You invest your energy into people, and it comes back to you in a financial form.
The non material side of success is the feedback you receive from people. If I see that people who interact with me leave with a positive feeling, if they feel grateful, if they want to continue connecting with me, that means I am on the right path.
When people reach out and send long messages of appreciation, I know I am doing something right.
I believe these two components support each other.
Because if you have financial success but no genuine appreciation from people, something is out of balance. It may mean that the money is coming in a way that is not aligned or not sustainable.
And the opposite is also true. If you have a lot of grateful people around you, but no financial return, it may mean that you are giving too much and not valuing yourself enough.
And if you don’t value yourself, people won’t value you the way you deserve.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liya.k.love
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568513458269
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@liya.k.love.
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@liya.k.love
Image Credits
Daria Zamorskaia
Kateryna Kravchenko
Gilbert Molinet
Kristopher Wile
