This self-proclaimed “dorky” influencer from West Palm Beach Florida never expected to become a successful Instagram model. Yet, her work on the platform has led her to work with some high-level brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch while also teaching her to become more accepting of herself more than she’d ever imagined.

Vanessa Ariel Torres (@vanessaarieltorres), born on April 16th, 1998, is an influencer in the Fashion & Style niche, currently living in West Palm Beach Florida happily with her whole family. She wouldn’t have it any other way, although if she could move her whole family to Hawaii, she’d definitely consider the change!

Vanessa told Furlough this about her hometown:

I love that people care about the environment, so the beaches and streets are always clean. However, I live in a pretty small town and there’s practically nothing to do here after the sunsets!

Talking specifically about modeling and social media influencing, she never set out to become an influencer. It just happened unexpectedly. She tells us she had started feeling more confident in herself around 18-19 yrs old and started posting photos of when she was out and about.

After a short while, brands started reaching out to her to work with them. Initially, Vanessa says she was confused because she had no idea about the business potential of Instagram. Little did she know that her influence on Instagram would become a great source of income that she really enjoys. She says: 

I love what I do and it’s something that has made me happy even before the business opportunity that came afterward.

Her success didn’t come easy though. Vanessa had struggled to accept herself, and this was of course magnified in intensity as her account grew and she reached a larger audience. Modeling taught her to not take everything personally. 

When another model was chosen for an opportunity instead of her, she used to question herself and feel lesser. However, a brand is going to choose the best fit for what they’re looking for – whatever style, and it’s ok to not fit their style. No one model can fit every aesthetic. 

This doesn’t mean you’re not good enough! I had to learn that! I overcome the adversity by simply accepting the opportunities that come and the ones that go. I sincerely believe that everything happens for a reason.

Vanessa has big plans for the future! She wants to have completed school with a Doctorate degree. Also, she sees herself in a beautiful home, big enough to raise a family of her own one day and close to her relatives.

Something not so many people know about her is that she’s actually pretty dorky. Social media could sometimes give the false impression that someone is intimidating, stuck-up or self-centered and dim. For Vanessa, this is far from the truth. In fact, she enjoys proving people wrong.

She has always excelled academically and feels that she is constantly pushing herself to learn new things. Also, she prides herself on being a very nice and open person who is constantly wanting to make new friends!

So far, she has had the amazing opportunity to shoot a campaign with Abercrombie & Fitch. Ever since she was a young teen, she idolized the models on Abercrombie & Fitch’s billboards and websites. She never could have thought it could be her on one of those billboards! 

Dream brands that she would like to collaborate with are in the travel agencies/tourist boards. Vanessa tells us that she would love to travel the world with the intention of leaving each country a little better off by leveraging her influence for good in various charity efforts. 

A piece of advice she’d love to share with her followers is this: 

Don’t sweat the little stuff. If it’s not going to matter in a few months, don’t even bother worrying over it. Life is too short to spend it with weights on our shoulders. Some things that make us unhappy are not in our control. The most you can do is fix what you can of it and let go of the rest. The weight of stress isn’t going to get things done. Let it motivate you instead!

Great words of advice! If you enjoyed this look into Vanessa’s story and want to know more, you can follow her on Instagram @vanessaarieltorres.

For Business Inquiries: vanessaarielt@gmail.com