Kélani Anastasi is one of my favorite lifestyle Youtubers. Her Youtube channel continues to grow every day because she is so relatable, authentic, and inspiring. She was kind enough to speak with me about her channel, fitness Instagram, and everyday life so we could get all of the inside scoop!
Krystal: Why don’t we start off with you introducing yourself? You can tell us things like where you’re from, where you attend college, and what you are studying.
Kelani: “I’m from South Jersey, like the Jersey Shore area. I moved to Montclair and went to Montclair State University. I’m graduating…I’m a TV Production and Digital Media major with a concentration in TV Production. I did Youtube all through college, I worked – restaurants and babysitting…”
Krystal: You kind of already touched on it but when did you start your Youtube channel, and what was your inspiration behind why you wanted to do Youtube?
Kelani: “I made a channel in 8th grade that was inspired by juicystar07. Those were the days… Bethany Mota, oh my god…So, I had that and my friend and I made makeup videos for like a year and it went nowhere. But I continued to watch Youtube videos and stuff like that, but I never really followed through. Tenth grade I made a new channel because I kept telling my dad, ‘I want a DSLR, I want a DSLR.’ So, he was like, ‘Okay you actually have to do it.’ So, I did and I did it like tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade and I gained a really good amount of subscribers like my videos got more views than they do now. So, I had a little bit of exposure then, and then I got to college and I was like, ‘This is so dumb, I don’t have time for this,’ like I had a roommate, so I kind of stopped. I guess like two years ago I picked it back up right before my junior year. I picked it back up again and I guess it just kind of stuck. A lot of my professors told me to continue doing because it would look really good on a resume, like being self-taught. So, I just stuck with it. It’s fun.”
Krystal: How would you describe your style on Youtube? What type of videos do you post?
Kelani: “Mostly lifestyle, health, and fitness. I dabble in like fashion and skincare. Basically anything girly honestly, but more health-focused.”
Krystal: Do you get hate comments on Youtube, and if so, how do you deal with negative comments?
Kelani: “Yes. Um, I have two viral-ish videos. They both have about 300,000 views and one is the food combining video and the other is the Juul video. I legit get death threats like all the time on that. Usually, it doesn’t bother me, but there have been comments where I lash out on people and go into self-defense mode. If people say nasty things to me, sometimes I’ll let it go, but if I’m in a bad mood sometimes I’ll address it. I actually made the Juul one private the other day because recently there’s just been a growth in views again and I have gotten so many nasty comments of people telling me to kill myself or that I deserve to die. I got so sick of it and I posted it eight months ago and it’s still getting death threats. But usually, they don’t get to me.”
The Juul video she’s talking about is when she discussed how vaping seriously impacted her health. She was trying to share her experience of how she got seizures from Juuling and warn others of the negative impacts Juuling can have on the body.
Krystal: What piece of advice would you give someone who wants to start a Youtube channel?
Kelani: “Not to be afraid of judgment because I know it’s really hard to put yourself out there, and realize that you might get hate or people will comment on it. Even in high school, I never really got bullied but sometimes people would put my videos up on like the big screens. You have to just get over the fear of it. You don’t need crazy equipment, you don’t need lighting; just a simple camera, even your phone nowadays. I feel like it’s a lot easier to start it than it really seems. You just have to send it honestly. If you want to do it, do it.”
Krystal: Since podcasts are a huge thing right now, would you ever consider starting one?
Kelani: “Yes, this has been on my mind literally all of quarantine. I’m afraid that people won’t listen to it. That’s like the one thing. I don’t know if people will listen to it, like ‘Why me?’ It kind of goes back to when people say, ‘Why start Youtube channel, you know? Like, why me?’ Every single Youtuber has now made a podcast and I’m like, do I wanna follow through with that, or just stick with Youtube? I’ve definitely thought about it but I don’t really know. I’ve thought of topics …”
Krystal: You’re a huge advocate for exercising and eating healthy. When and why did you start your separate health and fitness Instagram account? Did you make it to track your own progress or to inspire and motivate others?
Kelani: “I made it right when I started food combining actually because I wanted to take my channel in a new direction and making a health and fitness account was something I always wanted to do. I figured it’s the summer, I have extra time, so I made that to just kind of inspire other people. Plus, I love cooking…I have some good recipes to share. Inspiring people definitely because I’m all for body confidence and stuff because I know how hard that can be and I want to instill that (body confidence) in other people. Do you know @mikzazon on Instagram? Look her up, she’s amazing. She talks about body confidence and stuff. She inspired me too.”
Krystal: What are your go-to healthy meals that are super easy to make?
Kelani: “My grilled chicken and my radishes. I freaking air-fry everything. I love my chicken and radishes with broccoli and spinach. For breakfast, either toast with almond butter and bananas or an egg-white scramble with spinach, turkey sausage, and tomatoes.”
Krystal: How do you stay motivated to exercise and keep up with your workout routine?
Kelani: “I definitely have my days of not wanting to do anything, but I think that because it makes me feel good mentally and I always feel really refreshed and proud of myself after a hard workout, it gives me a sense of accomplishment because I did something good for my body and my health.”
Krystal: What is one thing you wish someone told you when you started your fitness journey?
Kelani: “That it’s okay to have a bad day. I feel like me getting over the hump of ‘oh my god I ate something bad…’ like I would think about it and be like, ‘oh but I ate bad, I ate bad, I ate bad,’ and I couldn’t get over it. I somehow got over that finally and I would remind myself it’s okay to eat this cookie and move on. You don’t have to eat perfectly all the time. You don’t have to go to the gym seven days a week. It’s all about balance.”
Krystal: Since you’re a senior in college and about to graduate, what is your favorite college memory?
Kelani: “Oh my god, my entire freshman year. My freshman year was insane. I had such a different group of friends, and so many of them left after the first year, but my freshman year, in general, was just fun. I can’t think of an exact memory. I guess the spring semester of my freshman year. I look back on my Snapchat memories every day and I’m like these are the freaking days.”
Krystal: How has quarantine affected your everyday routine?
Kelani: “Honestly I’m thriving because I usually wake up, and I either have a video to edit or film. I go to the gym, on a bike ride, play with my dog, or I watch Vanderpump Rules. I’m chilling honestly. The fact I can’t make money from babysitting kind of sucks, but other than that I’ve been handling it well.”
Krystal: What are your future plans post-grad? Are you going to get a traditional job or are you going to stick with Youtube?
Kelani: “I’m not at a place financially with Youtube where I could do it full time, but if I could I definitely would. That would be the best job ever, but right now I’m not really interested in getting a job for what I graduated for. My mom owns a gym and I’m going to be working there this summer as a general manager and I just started my personal training certification. I really want to get into personal training and health coaching. This is going to sound super narcissistic, but I don’t want to do anything in TV unless I’m on camera because I don’t like positions in the control room.”
Krystal: Okay so we’re going to do a round of miscellaneous, fun questions. So, If you could only listen to 2 songs on a loop for the rest of your life, which would they be?
Kelani: “Oh god, this is so hard for me because I love Drake. I’m going to pick Recognize by Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR and then Going Bad by Meek Mill and Drake.”
Krystal: What are the top 3 products that you’ve purchased this year?
Kelani: “The Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Water, Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme Lip Plumper, and the Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM.”
Krystal: Dream vacation destination?
Kelani: “Bora Bora. If I had all the money I would go to Bora Bora.”
Krystal: Since we’re stuck in quarantine and we all need good TV show recommendations, what is your favorite binge-worthy TV show on Netflix right now?
Kelani: “I’m gonna say Hulu. I’m a Hulu gal because they have all reality TV and I’m gonna have to say Vanderpump Rules. I’m a big Housewives person too…I also watched Tiger King, and I want to start Outerbanks.”
Krystal: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Kelani: “My mom always told me growing up that everything happens for a reason. Now I’m such a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Like, just go with whatever. I think it’s really helped me.”
I just want to give a big thank you to Kelani for taking the time to talk with me about her Youtube channel and everyday life. She’s seriously the sweetest person ever and you guys should definitely check her out!