There was a time when influencers were likable. Not to everyone, of course. But they had something that explained much of their success: they seemed like ordinary people doing everyday things, close to the reality of their followers.
A kid recording videos from his bedroom. A girl showing off her travels with a camera. Someone talking about video games, fashion, cars, sports or anything else from a shared apartment, with no studio, no agents and not much production.
We followed them because they were one of us.
And then success arrived.
The Lamborghini was never the problem
Years ago, I heard a YouTuber say that one of his biggest goals was to buy a Lamborghini Huracán Performante.
My first reaction was to think: What a ridiculous thing.
Over time, I realized I was probably the one who was wrong. Because everyone is entitled to dream about whatever they want. And that guy, at least, was being honest. He wanted a Lamborghini. He said so. His audience knew it, and his followers watched him try to achieve it. There was no deception.
The problem starts afterward
Many of those creators grew. Millions of followers, advertising campaigns, travel, homes, restaurants, five-star hotels and, yes, Lamborghinis, followed.
The problem arises when, after reaching a standard of living they probably never imagined when they started, they still try to present themselves as the poor kid having an awful time.
Because constant travel is exhausting, because spending all day in hotels is so hard, because creating content generates enormous pressure, because having millions of followers causes anxiety, because fame has a side no one knows about.
But there is an important difference between having problems and losing perspective.
Followers have problems, too
Because while you explain from Bali how exhausting it is to travel for work, one of your followers is waiting for the bus at seven in the morning to get to a factory.
That means context matters, and it matters especially when your business depends on millions of people continuing to feel there is a connection with you.
From admiration to disconnection
That is the real problem. For years, the influencer industry was built on a very powerful promise: “I’m just like you.”
You are no longer exactly like your audience, and that is fine. The mistake is pretending that nothing has changed.
Influence does not disappear with success
I think some people are getting one thing wrong: followers do not necessarily resent someone else’s success. Quite the opposite!
What breaks that relationship is not success, but a lack of authenticity.
It is hearing someone enormously privileged constantly construct a narrative in which they are the victim. It is turning every inconvenience into a drama.
And when we stop believing, we stop following
Influence has never been solely about accumulating followers.
But you probably also need to change the story you tell about yourself, because growing means accepting that you are no longer that kid who started out recording videos from his bedroom.
So no. Your Lamborghini does not bother me. Neither does Bali. Nor the five-star hotel. Nor the fact that you make a great deal of money.
In fact, congratulations. There is only one thing that is becoming increasingly difficult to buy: the story. And when an audience stops buying your story, you may still have followers. What you may no longer have is influence.
