Check Out Isha Thorpe’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isha Thorpe.

Hi Isha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been an extremely hard worker. At a young age, my father looked me in the eyes and told me, “There are two types of people in this world: followers and leaders. You’re a leader,” and I’ve always kept that strong mindset when I’ve gone after whatever it is that I’ve wanted.

I attended Howard University for my freshman year of college but decided to transfer to a school in New York after that because even though HU was fun — I had a blast (too much actually)! — I knew that me being from New York was an advantage if I wanted to work in journalism/media since it’s the media capital of the world. After transferring to Lehman College and enrolling in there, at the time, new state-of-the-art journalism program, I began my professional grind. While there, I completed a total of eight internships at major companies such as NBC Universal, Marie Claire magazine, VIBE, Global Grind, etc.

Before those, I also interned for major fashion labels like ALTUZARRA in his personal NYC showroom as well as at fashion PR firms like PR Consulting where I worked for Rag & Bone, Maje, Elizabeth and James, Dries Van Natan, L’Wren Scott, Versace, and more helping to give celebrities outfits for magazine cover photoshoots, awards shows/red carpet events and more. Some people that I was most proud to help style were Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Halle Berry, Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Idris Elba and so many more. I’ve lost track! I also helped plan the infamous New York City Fashion Week shows for Rag & Bone (both the men’s and women’s collections), Proenza Schouler, and L’Wren Scott.

Moreover, I started a fashion/beauty blog while at Howard and it got pretty popular in just the 2 1/2 I had it. Within its first year alone, I had companies like Sephora, Marie Claire magazine, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Iman Cosmetics and more following it on social media. Though these were fun experiences and I got my ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ on, I knew that music journalism was what I really wanted to do.

After wrapping up these fashion gigs and focusing more on the hip hop media world, my first job ever was as a freelance writer for VIBE.com. With there being my last internship during my very last semester in college, after I emailed my previous supervisor and informed her that I was done with school, she hired me about five days after graduation. About three months after that, I got my first full-time job as a web producer at Radar Online. It was my first job interview ever and I was so happy that I snagged it like that. While there, though, I was freelancing on the side for TheBoomBox.com for a minute. But, I later got a full-time job at VH1.com as a hip hop writer less than a year at Radar. However, I got laid off about four months into that position due to budget cuts.

That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because three months after I was let go, I got the job as an associate editor for iHeartRadio where I was the music editor who primarily covered the hip hop/R&B beat for the country’s biggest radio stations’ websites like Power 105.1, Real 92.3, WGCI, among others. I was there for about 2 1/2 years before leaving for Los Angeles because I began to feel stagnant and wanted to spread my wings more and. So, I resigned and moved to L.A. on the last day of June 2018. Everyone thought I was crazy because I never even visited L.A. before then, so they thought why would I move somewhere I’ve never been.

Lucky for me, I’ve always trusted my gut and valued what it says to me more than others’ random opinions that nobody ever asked them for. I’d say, per usual, my gut steered me in the right direction because about 3 1/2 months after my move, I became the Associate Managing Editor at REVOLT Media & TV. Less than three years in and I’ve been promoted twice. Now, I’m the Senior Managing Editor after by promoted from Managing Editor in April 2021.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Some people may say that my rise was quick and easy, but that’s not the case at all. As I previously said, I’ve been busting my behind before I even graduated college. While so many other students were having the time of their lives — I understand from my HU days — I knew that I had to sacrifice a lot of social events if I wanted to get where I wanted to get as soon as I did.

It definitely wasn’t easy to be enrolled in college full-time and still complete EIGHT internships while also working on my blog (which I would later end) and being a contributing writer for sites such as Yahoo.com, Examiner.com — I forgot to mention those before (chuckles). I’ve worked so hard in my adult life and I’m still not satisfied. I still have SO much more that I want to do and I WILL. There were times in college I thought that I was going to just break down because I was always on the go. If it wasn’t an internship, it was class. If it wasn’t class, it was homework and projects. If it wasn’t homework and projects, it was my contributing writing work. It was a lot! But, I was determined and knew my tenacity would pay off big time, so I kept pushing myself.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the Senior Managing Editor at REVOLT Media & TV, I oversee the REVOLT.tv news site and all of its editors, writers, columnists, and contributors. It’s my job to make sure the editorial team — it’s a large one that has over 20 people right now — publishes the best content possible whether pieces are news articles, music articles, op-eds, etc. I monitor what’s being written, I proofread, I publish our digital series’ on the site, and I also assign story topics to the team. I approve or deny pitches as well. I’m there to manage the editorial content that the site is cranking out and guide my team in the direction that will make us continue to break site records.

Under my leadership, REVOLT.tv is now experiencing the highest site traffic in its history and we’re just getting warmed up. I’m most proud of this achievement and the fact that we’re now competing with the big boys. The site is now being seen as a credible and reliable news source, as we’ve been sourced in news segments on CNN and NBC in recent months for our social justice news coverage. More and more people are taking notice and seeing that we mean business.

I think what sets me apart is the fact that one, I’m hungry and I’m never satisfied. I always want to learn more, be challenged, and grow. Two, I also have a great understanding of the REVOLT demo and know exactly what they care about. Let’s be real. A lot of people don’t read much and if they do, it’s messy, gossipy BS. I know how to tap into the audience’s mind and inner thoughts — I keep my ears to the streets and eyes on the tweets (laughs) — and how to instruct my team to write and show them what type of news to look out for to write that I know will get us those visitors that a lot of hip hop outlets have difficulty getting.

Damn, this is pretty weird because now that I think of it, me being so into human behavior could very well play a part in this part of my job that sets me apart. I was actually thinking about majoring or minoring in either psychology or sociology in college. So, I’m now realizing that my gift/interest in understanding how people think and move plays a major part in this. Wow, I’m shook (laughs)!

And I’d say the third thing that sets me apart would be my expert knowledge of SEO. You may be surprised but the majority of people in journalism that I’ve met do not have good knowledge of search engine optimization at all. It’s wild. So, with my hunger/determination partnered with my understanding of the demo’s psyche, when I add the best SEO tactics to all articles and show my team how to do the same to get us up high in those Google searches, we have a winning formula. We have no choice but to grow and win.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
You don’t win if you don’t take risks. Me leaving my former job at a major music company, believing in myself, and moving 3,000 to L.A. was a risk in itself. People thought I lost my mind and we can see how that’s turned out for me (chuckles). If I would’ve never done that, I would’ve stayed miserable where I was. And the last thing I want to be is one of those people in the future who wonder, “What if?” Nah, I’m not doing that. I’m going to find out now! For myself.

You’ll never be successful if you don’t take risks. Being safe has very little reward. Breaking out of your comfort zone is how you truly grow. When I moved to LA and started working at REVOLT, my mother told me that I was so brave for leaving NYC and doing that and said she wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it if it was her. My sister Nell also recently told me that she’s proud of me for taking such a major leap.

I’m most definitely a risk-taker because, again, I constantly have to be challenged and placed in new unfamiliar territory. I don’t want to remain as is; I constantly thrive to evolve and become bigger than the day before. Leaving NYC was me leaving my home and my comfort zone. It was something that I needed to do for my personal growth. And I’m not done yet.

Leaving HU was also a risk. It’s such an incredible school with a rich history, but I knew that I needed to be in NYC for the years-round internship opportunities at top companies instead of battling the millions of college students coming home for summer break for summer internships. So, that meant going to a school that wasn’t as popular. But that worked out too as I knew it would because I was determined to make it!

Contact Info:

• Email: isha@ishathorpe.com
• Website: www.ishathorpe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beauty_marked92/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IshaThorpe

Image Credits:
Isha Thorpe