Meet Henriette Høigilt of Talk To The Tan in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Henriette Høigilt.

Henriette, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always felt a bit different. As a kid, I had no interest in makeup and beautiful dresses like most other girls. I’d rather hang up side down from a tree, looking like a baby clown in my big brother’s clothes, a chewing gum in my hair and dirt in my face. When my girlfriends started to play handball because the coaches were really hot, I joined the school’s chess team and enrolled in judo. Pretty hot, I know! Haha!

My biggest dream, from an early age, was to travel and see the world. I have no clue where it came from, as none close to me seem to have the same desire. As soon as I finished high school, I went to Asia for four months. My first big adventure. It was scary, liberating and super fun. The travel bug got me immediately and soon after I got back home, I decided to move to Australia to study.

After two amazing years Down Under I got a Bachelor degree in Media & Communication, and me and my boyfriend moved back to Norway – ready to get serious. I got a well-paid job as a journalist, we bought an apartment in a really nice neighborhood in Oslo, and basically did what everyone else our age did; followed societies formula on how to live a successful life.

What now? Should we get married and have kids? I soon realized that this never really had been my dream. I thought it was, because that’s how life was supposed to be, right? But when I got scared thinking about a possible proposal, I knew something wasn’t right. And as I’m normally a yes-person, I needed to get my shit together before I ended up in serious trouble.

Long story short, I moved to Los Angeles. I had saved some money, got a part-time job as a freelance journalist, but didn’t know a soul when I arrived. I felt extremely free, intimidated and excited at the same time. I had no clue what to expect or how long I would stay. A friend told me he was pretty sure I would come back to Norway within the first two weeks. That sure gave me motivation to make things work.

I ended up living in LA for a year. A really good year. I met so many wonderful, fun and loving people. My closest friends were from their early twenties to their mid-fifties, which was so amazing and different from how I grew up in Norway. Don’t get me wrong. I love my country. And I’m so grateful for being Norwegian and for my upbringing in the beautiful north. But I need diversity. I need open minded people. I need sunlight. And I need a bit of craziness. Los Angeles got it all.

Nevertheless, I decided to move back to Norway because – again – I felt that was the right thing to do. Be serious. Get a real job. Work 9-5. Like ”normal people” are supposed to.

I was offered a job in a PR company in the fashion industry. It was a great opportunity. Fresh start. Doing something totally different. And it was fun for a while. Helping creating big events for fashion brands, be around fancy clothing and beautiful people. But when I realized I would rather spend $3000 traveling the world as a backpacker than using it on a designer bag – I knew I was in the wrong business. I quit, packed a few things and flew to Central America. Ready for a new adventure. All by my self.

I surfed. Did ok. Studied Spanish. Kind of sucked. Meditated. A new world opened up. Lived in a tree hut in the jungle. Loved it. Crossed boarders by foot. And by busses. Got to know the locals, other travelers and my self – on a whole new level! Went on night safaris, snorkeled with sharks and swam with giant turtles. Did I feel alive? Hell yeah!

Half a year later I returned to Norway, moved in with my parents (thanks mom and dad), worked in a restaurant for four months while spending some quality time with family and friends. And then I moved back to LA – and I’ve been here ever since.

I’m still not sure how my life will turn out. But that’s ok. That’s what makes it exciting. To me. Yes, sometimes it’s scary not knowing if you have a job the next month. But I’ll take scary over predictable any day. I want to live and feel alive while I actually am. And to me Los Angeles is a combination of real-life and an adventure. You never know what’s going to happen or who you’ll meet around the next corner: I’ve interviewed Mike Tyson – on a Monday, flown a private plane to have lunch in Santa Barbara – on a Tuesday, got my personality crushed by the Scientology church – on a Wednesday, surfed in Malibu – on a Thursday, skied in Big Bear – on a Friday, met a smiling butt naked man on my local grocery store – on a Saturday, and attended the Golden Globe awards because my friend got an extra ticket – on a Sunday. Not in the same week though. But anyway!

So here I am. Still in Los Angeles. Eight years and counting. I’m 40. I’m single. And I’m currently sharing a house with three other people. I own nothing, but I still feel rich. Rich in experiences and adventure, in friendship and family, and in laughter and love. I still try to travel whenever I can, but these days my trips usually go to Norway to visit my loved ones’ back home. During the last couple of years, I’ve also managed to spend two months in South Africa, where I worked as a volunteer at a big cat sanctuary and did a ten days’ silent meditation retreat, seven weeks in Spain, working on a TV-show, and a month in Mexico and Belize. Just exploring. In a couple of days, another adventure lies ahead of me, as I’m off to Nicaragua. This life is not for everyone. But after all these years back and forth, I have finally realized it is for me. Because it’s everything but boring.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenges for me is definitely having my family and friends so far away. The older I get, the harder it becomes. I’m missing out on my niece and nephew’s birthdays, a lot of family gatherings, my girlfriend’s pregnancies and the chance to have a close relationship with their kids. And my parents and grandparents are not getting any younger. I’ve actually tried to move back to Norway three times, but when you’ve lived abroad for many years, that’s hard too.

Henriette – what should we know? What is it exactly that you do?
I’m a journalist, content creator and traveler. Monday to Friday I work as a journalist for a Norwegian entertainment site called Se og Hør. The equivalent of People magazine. Earlier I did a lot of press junkets and interviewed celebrities like Caitlynn Jenner, Sofia Vergara, Dakota Fanning and Morgan Freeman, to name a few. But now I’m more an office rat editing other journalists’ articles and writing my own about what’s going on in the celebrity world. In addition to focusing on my own social media travel/lifestyle brand; Talk To The Tan, I also do freelance work for other Norwegian magazines and content houses, and occasionally I work for TV-productions.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
What I’m most proud of in my career is that I’ve followed my dreams and made it work.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles is the perfect place for what I do. As an entertainment journalist this city is really the place to be and I’ve had the chance to interview some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. It’s also a lot of interesting people living here with fascinating stories on how they followed their dreams and ended up in LA. It’s a very career driven town and a lot of talented people fighting towards the same goal – to make a name in the industry. Most people come here with big dreams and stars in their eyes, but if you don’t have a solid plan, it’s very easy to get lost and many end up leaving again after only a couple of months. I read this quote somewhere, and it’s pretty accurate: Los Angeles – the city where dreams almost never come true! Haha!

My goal has never been to get super rich or to be someone’s boss. The only boss I want to be is the boss over my own life. I still have no clue what the future will bring. But I know its bright. Because I’m the author of this book.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.talktothetan.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @talktothetan

Image Credit:
Thomas Engström (Caitlyn Jenner)

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