Today we’d like to introduce you to Fanta Ballo.
Hi Fanta, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started as a storyteller before I ever knew the word for it. Growing up, I was always writing poems, observations, and small truths that did not have a home yet. That quiet love for language carried me far. I earned my bachelor’s degree at just 19, stepped into performance poetry, and slowly built a path that felt uniquely mine. What began in silence expanded into a global audience, including a community of more than 250,000 people on TikTok and over 3,000 books sold this year. In 2021, I founded Ratty Reach, a creative brand and platform that merges fashion, poetry, and community while funding scholarships for emerging artists. Along the way, I performed at more than 100 schools, took stages like the Apollo Theater, traveled internationally, and shared space with artists like Shawn Mendes at Global Citizen Festival. At the same time, I have been intentionally building my digital platform so I can continue inspiring other writers and authors and show them what becomes possible when you honor your voice.
Today, I am pursuing my MFA with the hope of becoming a professor who not only writes but teaches, mentors, and opens doors for the next generation of storytellers. I plan to build my own publishing company one day and create a home for voices that deserve to be amplified. Every step of my journey has been a mix of curiosity, consistency, and faith. I have walked away from comfort, prayed through uncertainty, trusted the process, and followed the pull of purpose even when the road was not clear. I am still expanding, writing, designing, collaborating, and creating spaces where people feel seen. My story is about trusting my voice and building something larger than myself, one honest line at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has definitely not been smooth. When I transitioned from being a banker to a full-time artist, I took a huge pay cut and walked away from the security and benefits that came with that job. There were so many things I had to learn from scratch. I taught myself the ins and outs of self-publishing, started my own foundation, and eventually performed at more than 100 schools.
But before any of that happened, there was a long stretch where I was just in my house praying for a breakthrough. I didn’t have a blueprint, I just stayed patient, trusted the process, and believed that the work I was doing would make room for me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a poet who learned early that language can be a lifeline. My journey began quietly, journals, prayers, small rooms and somehow grew into a global path I could’ve never predicted. Today, I write, perform, and build community through Ratty Reach, the creative platform I founded to support artists who remind me of myself when I was starting out: ambitious, hopeful, and hungry for a chance. My book, For All The Things I Never Got To Say, became a bridge between me and thousands of readers, helped by the beautiful community on TikTok that has grown to more than 250,000 people and supported over 3,000 book sales this year. Every poem I share is a reminder that vulnerability can be a power, not a wound.
I’ve been blessed to take my voice around the world; performing on stages like the Apollo Theater, sharing space with artists like Shawn Mendes at Global Citizen Festival, and bringing poetry into more than 100 schools. But what I’m most proud of is the impact: the young people who tell me they felt seen, the communities that invite me back, the artists who feel inspired to trust their own voice. My work is bigger than poetry; it’s about creating access, building bridges, and turning my own story into an open door for whoever needs to walk through next.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I love to play chess, I actually was a part of a chess team when I was younger and we would travel to different states and play in tournaments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fantaballo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fantaratty
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fantaratty
Image Credits
@Ky.KapturedIt
@Billy.Jpg
@DavidPexton
