Nara Smith and Lucky Blue Smith on Living Authentically in Viral Moments

0:04Hi, this is Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion. Welcome to the BOF podcast. It's Friday, January 17th. In today's fashion landscape, so many of us now live in an infinite scroll. But recently, one couple has captured the internet's attention like no other. Lucky Blue Smith and Nara Smith. From making cereal from scratch to becoming one of fashion's most sought-after duos, their rise has sparked both praise and criticism. For millions of people following online their content offers a glimpse of domestic bliss and authenticity. For others, it raises eyebrows, stoking wild conspiracy theories.

0:48As a result, the young couple has found themselves in the glare of the social media spotlight. But as the Smiths revealed at BOF Voices 2024, they've come to learn that not everyone will understand who they really are. And they're okay with that. You can't believe and you know everything you hear and see it's the internet. As long as you're authentic to yourself and you're living your best life and not being fake that's kind of how you can get to a point where you might be a really successful influencer because I think people really see through all the fakeness and if you're really authentic then that's really compelling to a lot of people.

1:29Here's Lucky Blue Smith and Nara Smith on the BOF podcast.

1:42How are you? I'm good. How are you? Good. I'm excited to be here. Hi guys. Hello. We're so excited to have you. I want to start with you, Lucky. Let's do it. I showed you that picture the other day when we first met. I think you were 16. Yeah, 16. I was so young. We were both so young. We were both so young. We both look like babies. I almost put that picture on screen, but then I thought it would be embarrassing. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. But what was going on with you at the time? Like, how did you end up doing what you did at that time at the age of 15? And how did it, you know, we called this going viral.

2:22Like, how did it feel going through all of that at the age of 15, 16? Yeah, it's very interesting. I never wanted to be a model or be in the spotlight at all, to be honest with you. To make a long story short, my family, we, my oldest sister got scouted by an agency. And the other agent, I think I was like 10 at the time, I was with them when she got scouted. And he turned to me and said, he was like, I want to see you when you're older. And I honestly thought that was so bizarre. At the age of 10, I was just like, what is this guy talking about? Why does he want to see me when I'm older? And I just moved on with my life.

2:57And then when I was 12, my sister, we went to the agency in L.A. and all got signed. And I was kind of thrown into it. And I didn't really understand what was going on, to be honest with you. And then when I got older and turned 16, I was able to do the shows in Europe and kind of have that whole tour. and that's when everything really started to pick up on social media and especially in the fashion world and it's interesting when I was going through all of that and all of that was happening I really didn't recognize the moment or understand what was going on and it's very interesting to look back now you know as I'm 26 looking you know 10 over 10 years ago what was kind of going on and it was a very interesting time you know you don't really in that moment especially that young you don't really realize what, you know, is in front of you.

3:47It's hard. I mean, you're 16. You're not really worried about fashion. Some people are, but I personally wasn't. You know, I was just a kid, so it was interesting. Nara, your viral moment has happened more recently. Yeah. But before that, you grew up in Germany. Yeah. Tell us how you kind of took a first step into this space. I think I kind of slipped into it. I don't even know. There was never a conscious effort of being what I am now. I grew up with social media. I'm only 23. So when I was 14, I think Instagram came out, or at least it was a really new thing. So I got on there, posted a little picture of my ice cream scoops with a really bad filter on it and called it a day.

4:29And that kind of evolved into me posting more fashion content. And kind of as the landscape evolved, I kind of evolved with it. And then TikTok came out and I did not want to be dancing on the internet. and I refused to download it. But then after a while, it kind of changed and I kind of dabbled in it. And then I just shared parts of my life and cooking is a massive part of my life because I grew up in Germany, moved to America five years ago. And food obviously is so different in America than it was for me growing up. And that kind of evolved into more from scratch cooking after I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and struggled with severe eczema.

5:05I kind of had to change the way I look at food and that kind of came out in my content. Yeah, so for those of you who haven't or aren't familiar, I'm just going to show you, this is what Nara has become famous for. And if you look at the, like 48.9 million people watched that one video that was just scrolling there. But before all of this happened, you guys met. Yes, we did. Right. And it was kind of the force of two viral sensations coming together that has led to this explosion over the last year. Like, yeah, how did you meet? Oh, it's kind of embarrassing. No, it's not. I feel like it's it's very like we met on Instagram.

5:52It's very fitting. You met on Instagram. Yeah. He messaged me. Duh. He slid into my DMs. I messaged her on Instagram and I think we were texting back and forth for like a month I'll be honest for the first two weeks I never texted back I like getting on the phone I love like hearing the voice you know talking texting is just I can't be bothered and then one day we got on the phone after I don't know a couple weeks of barely texting back and forth and we were on the phone for what seven hours straight and then after that every single day for at least four hours we slept on the phone We just were on the phone 24-7.

6:30And then two weeks after that, I told him that I might be slower to respond because I'm going to Milan. I was walking a fashion show and he coincidentally was attending that same show. So that was the first time we actually got to meet in person working. So it was great. And then after that... Well, what happened at that first meeting in person? I don't think you want to know. I really don't think you want to know. I think we were both just so nervous. Yeah. And it was just so fun. So you knew right away? Yeah, he asked me to be his girlfriend the first day. Yeah, the first day. We met each other in person.

7:03When I see what I want, I go and get it. I think for me, it was that first phone call. I've never been able to connect with someone on, you know, that level for that long with, you know, every minute felt like it was the first minute we were on the phone. And so for me, it was that. And then when we met in person, it just kind of solidified everything. And we just, I don't know, we just worked really well. And she was one of the first people I felt like I could truly be myself in front of. I think when you go through a big viral moment and you're all over social media and everything, you can kind of become, in a way, self-conscious.

7:35And you have to really worry about what you're doing in front of people. And for me, that was the case. And I just kind of built this severe social anxiety throughout the whole thing. But meeting her, it felt like I could be my true self for the first time in a while in front of someone. Sweet. Yeah, you know. How did it feel for you, Nara? Yeah, please. Wait, what? Meeting him? I think it's interesting connecting the dots because I didn't really remember. But now looking back, I'm like, oh, I saw that kid on Ellen and had a crush on him when I was 15. And I didn't realize that it was the same guy I was talking to until it kind of clicked a little bit later.

8:13But I think obviously he had a massive digital footprint. He had the Ellen show he was on. He was on numerous covers. He was doing all these interviews. He was playing at Coachella with his sisters. It was a massive moment. And I think connecting that online person and then the person in real life that's so different than what the media kind of portrays was really fun and exciting. And I got to know him on a totally different level. And that was really fun to me. So kind of 10 years after Lucky's Varo moment, the last year for you must have felt. It was wild. It's been crazy. It has been. just for those of us who haven't gone viral yeah what does that really feel like as a human being you know to like all of a sudden be exposed all over the place to be everything to be dissected everything to be you said just now that you started doing the make from scratch videos because of your eczema and because you grew up in germany but like maybe most people didn't really understand And I think it's interesting because it for me personally, it happened so quick.

9:22I started I hit a million on TikTok in January this year and now I'm at almost 11 million. And I think that growth was so rapid. And between that, we also had a baby. It's been your third baby, my third baby. Yeah, it's been a lot. So I think just realizing that you all of a sudden have so many eyes on you and so many people that watch your content, you don't realize that because I'm just at home cooking for my family. only cooking for Lucky, cooking for myself, and posting that. And all of a sudden, 60 million people are watching my videos. I have 20 ,000 comments, people retweeting it, going viral on all these platforms.

9:58And that comes with so many different opinions and thoughts. And I think that just realizing that was really hard. And then also, I think I'm just a girl. I'm just cooking at home, not doing anything massive. But then I go out to the mall and we get stopped every five seconds to where now that is harder. or going to the grocery store. You get film getting food at the airport with your children, and that becomes a viral video of 20 million people watching you get Chick-fil-A for your daughter because you have a layover, and that gets criticized. So I think just realizing just how many people are watching, that was the hardest part.

10:33But with that comes so much opportunity, and you get to inspire people. And I have people messaging me and saying that their daughter loves to cook now or their daughter watches my videos to go to sleep because that's the only thing that calms them down. and there's so many great things that come with that. I get to work with brands that I never thought I would work with. I get to be in spaces talking to you. These are all the things that come with it. So as much as it can be overwhelming having people's opinions about you and your life all the time, it's also, it feels really good having a voice and being able to share that with millions and millions of people.

11:09Yeah, I will say when you have these numbers on a screen, you really don't realize it and you can't comprehend of what it would look like in person. I mean, with just the views, you know, an average view that you get on a video, you could fill stadium after stadium after stadium after stadium. And I also will say you have had a really amazing viral moment over the last year, but it's what you've done with that viral moment and how hard you've worked has been really inspiring to me. And I hope for a lot of people watching it, it's, you know, you don't really get where you are without really working and having a strategic vision of where you want to push yourself forward.

11:44I'm so glad you said that, Lucky, because one of my reflections as I've been seeing some of the comments and reading some of the coverage, a lot of people don't see what you do as work. No, they don't. And if you think about, like, just yesterday here, we were talking about the amount of time people spend on their screens. Something like, on the average American spell, 12 to 15 hours. That's crazy. On screens. and yet if you were on a big screen making movies or something people would be like that's work yeah but because the work that you both do is mostly being delivered on small screens yeah the so-called creator economy yeah it's not really recognized as work like no what's your reaction to that i think it's such a new landscape and i think it's really hard to navigate because it's so new and people don't really i think a lot of people don't really understand how much time goes into a video because what you're seeing on the screen is a minute and 30 seconds.

12:46But I'm in my kitchen seven hours a day cooking and then putting my kids to bed and then editing for another two hours. And that's every single day. I don't take days off. Sometimes I'll take a Sunday off if I'm feeling risky. But I think that people really don't realize how much time goes into what they're seeing on the screen, which I can't blame them for because it does seem very seamless. But it is work. I'm standing all day long. And then on top of that, we're parents. So we have to juggle having the kids and splitting our time and both of us figuring out our work. So it's definitely, it's a give and take.

13:22And I think that that's what people don't really see. Yeah. And with the physical work of being in the kitchen and standing and doing all these videos, you also have the mental work of the strategic planning, all of the things that you want to do. And it's a lot. It takes a toll on your mental health and your physical health at times too, but can't complain, you know? Yeah, no. My partner Nikhil and I, we were watching the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix recently. Did anyone see that? It's good. It's really good. Oh my God. She's an icon. And you know, I had this conversation in the back of my head as I was watching that and it just made me realize in the same way she was discredited for the work that she was doing because it was seen as housewife work.

14:06Look what she built. Look at the journey that she went. Look at the challenges she faced and look at the path she paved for people who never saw a woman in that kind of role. Yeah. What does Martha Stewart mean to you, Nora? I think she's just an icon, isn't she? Yeah. I think her being unapologetically herself and not being afraid to speak up or have an opinion or be a certain way or do what she's doing and just the way she keeps going, regardless of what men say, regardless of what other women say, regardless of what's being said about. her. She's just doing what she loves to do and she's doing it in the most amazing way is really inspiring to so many people.

14:47Yeah. One of the other things that just kind of captivated me as I observed this viral explosion over the last year was the brands that approached you. Yeah. And the first time I saw one of the cooking from scratch, I mean, I was like, what is this? I didn't understand it. Right. And then, you know, I started seeing the more and more and then I saw the Mark Jacobs video. Right. And for those of you who haven't seen it, you know, Nara has this like very signature style of creating videos with like this amazing ASMR voiceover. And you took that exact approach and you did it for a brand. Yeah. How did that happen?

15:29And how do you maintain your identity and your authenticity and your approach as you're doing more and more of these commercial partnerships, as more and more businesses are looking to leverage 11 million followers on TikTok, you know, collectively between you, like millions and millions of views every week? I think that it's really fun working with brands. And I think that with my content and what I do, it's so easy to integrate a brand into that. That feels authentic to me. And I think there's a difference in having an ad and posting an actual ad for a company and it just being unauthentic. And I think where I'm a little different is it integrates very seamlessly into my content to where sometimes it doesn't feel like an ad.

16:14It just feels like a normal extension of what I would usually do. So that's always really interesting. And I think that's also what's very intriguing to a lot of brands. And one of them was Marc Jacobs. I don't know, I was in LA shooting the Harper's Bazaar editorial and my agent told me, Marc Jacobs wants to do this tote bag thing with you. How soon after that? Like what, at what point in this year was that again? Remind me. I think it was in the summer and it was a very quick turnaround. I heard about it a few days earlier and then we were on set the next day and I didn't know they wanted to do that video because it was not my idea, but I turned up on set, did the campaign for them.

16:47And then they were like, Oh, also we want to do this video with you. What do you think? And they just told me what I needed to do and I did it. And then they posted it and it went very viral. Um, and it was great. Yeah. You know, earlier we were discussing just being in the kind of center of the storm and the spotlight of everything that's going on. And lucky over the last few days, you found yourself in another one of these viral moments getting a lot of negative feedback. And I'm just curious, like, you're now 26 years old? Yeah. And when you were not first met, you were 16. How do you navigate this constant scrutiny of everything that you and your wife do?

17:33Especially in a moment like this where the heat, the temperature's gone out. Yeah, it's very interesting. I mean, being in the public eye, unfortunately, it comes with a lot of negativity and hate. and there's always a moment where someone's going to want to assume and of what you are, who you are, what you want to be or fill in the blanks, how they deem fit and, you know, kind of project onto you. And I think the best thing to do, well, first of all, we have to realize, like, it's the internet. You can't believe and, you know, everything you hear and see, it's the internet. And I think you just have to try to focus on the positive and move forward.

18:12And I think that's the best and all you can do. I think if you always focus in and hone in on the negativity, you're not going to wake up feeling inspired. It's going to feel you're going to lose that spark. And so you just have to kind of ignore the negativity. And I think having a really big moment when I was 16 and now kind of going through that again with my wife, I can really look at it from a different perspective. And I've learned a lot throughout all these years of just focusing on the positive, moving forward, you know, knowing who you are and staying true to that. That's really all you can do.

18:42And so for other people out there that, and it's really interesting, you meet young people now, and you guys are young people, but I'm talking about even younger people. Like, they all want to be famous influencers. Oh, really? Well, yes. I don't know why. I don't know if anyone can relate to that, that young people are kind of obsessed with this kind of fame. Like, what warnings or advice or reality check would you give to those young people about what it's like to lead a life like the ones that you are both leading? And to stick to the theme of this section, like, how can you go about doing that while living your best life?

19:23Well, first of all, I feel like living your best life, it's an always evolving kind of journey that you're on. I don't think you're ever going to land somewhere and be like, yes, this is my best life. You always want, you know, I always want to level up and, you know, move forward and challenge myself and, you know, try to grow. But I think there's so many amazing things that can happen from being an influencer in the spotlight or a supermodel in this position. But I think just there are things that you probably wouldn't realize, you know, that come with it. Like for you, when you started to go really viral, what are some things that happened that you were like, oh, wait, I didn't really realize it was like this?

20:00I think a lot of it is just all the eyes watching you. And you don't realize that when you're at home cooking on your kitchen island. But then all of a sudden you are at the airport and you feel like you're in a fishbowl because everyone's whipping out their phones and filming you do all these random things. And it's really intense sometimes to think about. You have to be very conscious of what you're doing. And then even if you do something that's totally normal to you, it might be totally absurd to other people. I think it's also dealing with all the opinions and the thoughts and all the things that are untrue and just brushing them off in a way.

20:36But also, I think as long as you're authentic to yourself and you're living your best life and not being fake, that's kind of how you can get to a point where you might be a really successful influencer. Because I think people really see through all the fakeness. And if you're really authentic, then that's really compelling to a lot of people. Would you do it all over again? I would. I would. I think so. Yeah. Yeah, I would. Why? I mean, it's look that it's you can live a really great life. You know, we have the ability and we're fortunate to travel to different places like coming here and being able to speak in front of amazing, inspiring people and reaching people on the Internet to hopefully inspire to push them.

21:19So I love being in a position where I can inspire and, you know, hopefully motivate people to really go after their ambitions and what they really want to do. So, you know, I love having voice, but, you know, it can come with its negative parts. But I think I would do it over again. It's fun. Why not? I would do it all over again. I think my biggest takeaway is just the inspiration that I can bring to people's lives in whatever way that may be. And that even if that's just one person, that's worth it to me. Changing someone else's life or bringing them a different perspective or just inspiring them in whatever way that may be.

21:55or helping them even through my content, that's all that matters to me. And that's really all worth it to me. Okay. Well, I am so super grateful. Lucky and Nara flew here with their seven-month-old all the way from Dallas. And we're so grateful that you came. Well, thanks for having us. Luckily, it's been such a pleasure. I know. Seeing you after all these years and catching up again. And I'm really excited to see where you can take it. I mean, I don't think Martha Stewart-type impact is out of the question. So congratulations. Thank you.

22:33The BOF podcast is edited and produced by Olivia Davies and Eric Bria.