Who is Alexander Tries?

Alexander Tries is a 2SLGBTQIA+ Activist and Mental Health Advocate. They work as a recruiter in their day-to-day life but are an active advocate online, using Instagram to share positive messages and advice about mental health and 2SLGBTQUIA+.

Before starting her Instagram, Alexander shared, “I didn’t have anything else that I was doing that made me happy or that I felt was fulfilling me in some sort of way. So, I was really just doing the corporate thing alone. Not a very exciting life for lack of better words.”

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However, they wanted to look into alternative ways to express themselves, especially exploring makeup which had been a huge passion of theirs since they were a child. 

“I always had a passion for makeup, but I always repressed that because I didn’t feel like it was going to be received well by people I knew… I felt like people were going to find out that I was more feminine than I had presented to be, so I kind of hid that for many years.”

Alexander shares that they would use Halloween as an excuse to go all out with their makeup to explore this passion. A few years ago, Alexander’s husband filmed a quick video of Alexander creating a makeup look, leading to the creation of their YouTube channel. 

“I noticed what I was loving more [about creating content] was the fact that I was telling stories about my life during these makeup tutorials. I had story time, and it was those stories that were actually getting most of the response.”

Switching Social Media Platforms

Alexander started posting on YouTube two and a half years ago but switched their primary focus to Instagram. The short, educational video style on Instagram has performed well for them and allowed Alexander to share a lot of information using this format in a short amount of time. 

“It’s been an interesting ride kind of evolving from what I thought people wanted me to be, to becoming what I needed to be and who I really want, who I really am, and being authentic in my delivery and all of that.”

Her typical content includes a captivating makeup look that grabs the audience’s attention paired with a strong advocacy message. 

“A lot of people are out there putting out a message, but if I can put it out in a way that’s going to attract people instantly and then keep them there, I think that’s a great way.”

Mental Health Advocacy

Mental health advocacy is a key part of Alexander’s content, partly because of its significant role in their own life. 

“Mental health saved my life… I was with a company for seven years that was very thankless, and I was spending a lot of time on them, so much so that I forgot about myself. I went down the darkest hole I’ve ever been in my life.”

During this dark period of their life, Alexander shares that they gained 90 pounds and started having severe panic attacks, which led to many emergency room visits. 

Seeking help from a therapist changed her life. 

“I wanted to share that with everybody, and I think mental health still has a stigma attached to it, especially in communities [that] are more oppressed, especially like people of color… It’s very taboo. We don’t talk about that. I didn’t grow up talking about mental health like that. My family are immigrants, and so to them, that’s like black magic.”

As a result of the huge changes Alexander saw in their life after seeking mental health help, they realized that sharing this with everybody needed to be part of their content. Mental health affects every aspect of people’s lives and getting help when needed is crucial.

“I want everybody to know it’s possible to go from these dark places to a better place and a lot of times talk therapy, and also, I advocate for medication if you need it, is important. I think it’s really important to being able to survive. You can’t do anything without your mental health.” 

Viral Content

Alexander’s most popular content on Instagram was a reel sharing information about loving yourself. 

“Self-love seems to be very important to people and something that I didn’t know people needed more of until that message that I put out.” 

Her most popular YouTube video focused on her coming out as transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid. 

When asked about content strategies, Alexander shares that consistency is critical. Currently, he posts consistently and comments back and likes every comment. 

“I think it’s important to also interact with your followers so that they know you’re a real person… Also, I know it makes people’s days. It made my day when my favorite creators would comment back or even just like my post.”

Brand Work

Alexander works with several brands, including The Phluid Project, a brand creating gender-free apparel and accessories. 

“I’ve been working with them and kind of just doing videos on styling their t-shirts and all of that, but they also have invited me to events.”

Another brand Alexander has loved working with is Urbody Functional Fashion, a brand creating gender-affirming underwear and activewear. For example, Urbody sells binding garments for trans men, which promotes safety for them. 

“I really love working with them. They’re another brand that’s just super supportive of the community, and they, the people who own it, are [part] of the community. Same thing with The Phluid Project, that’s people of the community, so it’s like people getting people in their own areas and their own categories. I love both of those brands.”

Her dream collab? Fenty Savage

They share that working with Fenty Savage is a dream collaboration because they are an incredibly inclusive brand with beautiful items. 

“I would love to collaborate with them. That would be a dream, and just the exposure that could give me to also continue delivering my message would be fantastic.”

Closing Thoughts

In the future, Alexander would love to see a push for more people of color or queer creators to be included and promoted within the algorithm. 

“I feel like we’re often still left kind of on the back burner. It’s much easier to get follows and likes and comments if you are a cis white woman.”

Alexander’s followers can look forward to several secret projects in the future. He notes that if one secret project happens, it might end up on TV, which he is excited about.

“I have a lot of amazing projects coming up where I’m collaborating and doing lives with [others.] For example, I’m doing a live[stream] with a gender specialist. She’s a psychologist who specifically focuses on gender.”

This live stream will be in Q&A format, allowing Alexander and the gender specialist to educate others and answer questions live.