Today we’d like to introduce you to Aalia Reeves.
Hi Aalia, 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 started modeling when I was 19 years old in San Antonio, Texas, while in college. I always had this huge dream of moving to California and being on billboards, but every time I submitted to an agency, I’d never heard anything back. In 2022, 12 hours before my college graduation, I got called by one of LA’s biggest agencies that saw my submission and wanted to give me a contract; of course, I signed it. I worked for about 4 months trying to save money for California, then packed all my things in my car in June 2023 and moved to LA. Within my first 3 weeks, I was noticed by 2 huge brands that wanted to work with me on beauty campaigns. While being in Los Angeles, I went through a lot of changes in my life that I’d never assumed would happen. Before I moved to LA, I had reverted to Islam from Christianity and was trying to adjust to the new lifestyle I was going to have to live, but I had just moved to Los Angeles, so I couldn’t stop networking or partying; so what was I to do? At the time, I didn’t have a ton of followers on social media.
A few weeks after being in LA I started to wear hijab (head covering for Muslim women) and the agency I moved to LA for dropped me from the 3-year contract 4 months in because “there’s no market for hijab women in LA so maybe try NYC or social media”. For 4 months, I was without a job, housing, friends, and model work until one day I just started creating TikToks and when those TikToks did big in numbers, id post them on Instagram. I finally got my spark back after speaking to other hijab models, and I refused to have moved to LA just to drive all the way back. I woke up every day and submitted to agencies and created content to post on my socials. Where I grew at least 50,000 followers in a 1-month span on both Instagram and TikTok. The content I was producing was endless. It ranged from Beauty, traveling, storytelling, and mukbangs.
Since I’m southern, most people loved my energy and accent in my videos which caused them to grow more.
Here we are 7 months later with an engagement of 2.8 million across all platforms, signed to an amazing agency, and traveling to different big cities where my story and face is known. I’m still modeling but mostly content creating because my hijab was never a barrier, and I need Muslim women to know that. Your voice still needs and should be heard. Your beauty doesn’t depend on your body type, you don’t have to allow yourself to be sexualized in order to succeed in this industry, I’m living proof of that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing about my journey has been a smooth road; since I made the huge jump from Christianity to Islam and not being covered to wearing hijab, everything about my lifestyle and work ethic has changed. Even moving from Houston to Los Angeles, the culture dynamic is extremely different.
In the modeling industry, it’s harder to Muslim women who cover to be noticed or chosen by brands for campaigns because of the restrictions that they don’t have access to. For instance, we must be covered to the wrist and can’t wear tight-fitted clothes, nor can our collar bones be revealed and photographed. So, I’d say the hardest part has been trying to get work as a hijabi in the West without sacrificing my morals and values. The easy part is that I get to create whatever my heart desires on social media, and my target audience loves it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What sets me apart from other creatives is my journey navigating as a Muslim content creator and model after 1 year. Most people know me because I used to be Christian and uncovered (wearing crop tops etc.). Now my social media consists of telling my story, beauty (makeup tutorials), traveling, and fashion.
I’m from Texas so most people aren’t familiar with our personalities, and I openly advise my viewers with tough love from their big sister.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
My biggest risk was packing my car up and moving across the country to California. I think in the industry I’m in, the beauty/ content creator industry, you have to take risks. Smart risks, though, if you can’t see any good coming out of it… even just a tad bit, then why do it? I never think me just posting myself at my most vulnerable state would cause me to grow in numbers on all platforms.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/TrenkellReeves?utm_source=linktree_admin_share
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trenkellreeves/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec3gOKhV0co
