Rising Stars: Meet Kallee Kerestes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kallee Kerestes.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2020, and I remember when covid struck my last year and being told my senior year would all be done digitally. I literally thought my life was over because, I mean it was senior year, and I had big plans, but looking back at it now and seeing how if this wouldn’t have happened, I would have never been where I am today, and I am so thankful for that. I had already decided to receive a degree in marketing; however, my focus was more on the creative old-school style of advertising, such as magazine ads, billboards, Tv and etc. I was so bored out of my mind and was going crazy, so I ended up taking to social media to share my mental health journey through fitness. After quitting gymnastics several years ago, it was always a passion to stay healthy and move my body, but no one could go to the gym, so I began to share a lot of home workouts and recipes. Little did I know it would get so much attraction because everyone else was in the same boat as me. I ended up doing my senior project on my social media and won several awards for it based on my creative marketing tactics. While I had no experience with social media, it was a lot of trial and error, and it is forever changing, which is the most magical thing about the digital world. After graduating and taking an “adult” job, social media wasn’t taken as a serious career at this point, so I continued in the typical marketing world, and my social media took a back burner. Soon enough, I realized that I hated my life and didn’t want to do this anymore, so something had to change. Thanks to my past social media experience a big company decided to take a chance on me, and it became my dream job and gave me the opportunity to get back into the creative world of social media. Social media also began to really take off, and while still many don’t see it as a real career, I don’t think many realize the effort, skill, and all the time we spend that goes into everything we do as a social media manager. It also gave me the motivation to kickstart my social media page again, where I have had the opportunity to work with many brands and meet so many wonderful people. Today I continue to run my own brand Kalleek.fit, where I continue to share my journey with mental health and fitness and run SHOP.COM, TLS WEIGHTLOSS, MA Healthyliving, and other Market America social media pages. 

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 absolute opposite of a smooth road. I hit so many road bumps and setbacks, but that is all part of life’s process and the magic of how we become stronger and learn. I remember people made fun of me for thinking I could make a career out of social media at that time and trying to film and make content in places where I would have to film myself. It was very uncomfortable. If I wanted to know how to do something, I had to teach myself. I remember having like no free time just because I was trying to learn so much on photography, editing, filming, and copywriting, and analytics. I also still do today occasionally but would get a lot of hate on social media for being a female in the fitness industry and losing a lot of friends because they thought it was weird that I was putting so much of my personal life on social media and taking it so seriously. I also think time was a huge struggle because Social media takes a lot of time, and at this time, with taking 15 credits, working full time, dealing with other life stuff, and trying to still prioritize time for myself I just seemed always so busy, and it was exhausting. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think the biggest thing that sets me apart from others who do social media is that I really put myself and my life out there. I am open and share everyday experiences because we are all real humans, and we all love to be able to relate to someone else’s struggles and know we are not alone. I also do all of the aspects of social media on my own, from creative planning and concepts (my favorite) to filming, directing, copywriting, editing, and even analytics. You kind of have to be a pro at everything when you do social media because it’s just you. You typically don’t have a whole team of people behind you. I am so most proud of seeing the lives I have impacted. When someone messaged me and tells me how they relate and how much my content means to them. How they feel less alone and seen. It makes what I do all worth it. It’s the end goal. 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The biggest lesson I learned was to be okay with being uncomfortable and to not worry about what others thought about me or what I was doing with my life because while one might judge you, another is thanking you. When we are uncomfortable, we are learning and changing. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kaptivemedia.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kalleek.fit?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kallee-kerestes-3bb7ba172