When Emily Solman started uploading pictures of her breakfast to Instagram five years ago she never expected it to become her full time job.
The account (@_emilysworld) was initially created to share pictures of pancakes. Now, the 24-year-old has over 114,000 followers and collaborates with some of the biggest brands in the UK.
While studying for her A-levels in 2015, Emily created an Instagram account to upload pictures of her impressive pancake stack and to show off her fitness progress.
Read more: The chef whose indulgent Welsh-inspired cooking is seen by millions on hit recipe site
Emily Solman
(Image: Emily Solman)
Emily Solman’s pancakes, the first thing she uploaded on her account
(Image: Emily Solman)
“I would often upload pictures to my personal account but a friend unfollowed me because of it so I made a separate account.”
She continued uploading her meals throughout the day and listing all the calories she ate.
But as the years progressed and Emily finished school and went to university- she realised there was more to life than calories and her followers were not just interested in her food but also her bubbly and goofy personality.
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“I was strictly counting calories but that became quite unhealthy so I started to change my content and people enjoyed it.”
Her account looks very different five years later, it features a variety of content from porridge recipes to videos of Emily dancing with her nan.
Emily’s account has changed significantly over the years
(Image: Emily Solman)
Her signature catchphrase is #StayGoofy and she lives by it.
Emily was born and raised in Tonyrefail. After starting the account and having finished her A-levels she then went travelling for a year. This gave her a chance to focus on her account before going to the University of Essex to study biological sciences. She aims to make nutrition and fitness accessible by approaching it in a fun and entertaining way, and loves to have fun.
She said she recognised a lot of her followers had issues relating to food so she no longer posts the calories or dieting tips on her account, but instead encourages her audience to embrace their imperfections and to live a healthy lifestyle.
“Social media can be a very negative place but there is a mute and block button for a reason,” she said.
She has worked with big brands such as Alpro, Disney, Sensodyne and much more, and even gets her grandparents involved in her brand deals, getting them to do silly dances and skits.
“It’s so weird being able to work with brands I have always loved. I remember when I first received a sachet of protein powder a few years ago and it felt so surreal.”
She has had many highlights while influencing, from going on trips, to meeting new friends but one of her most memorable moments was working with boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
Emily Solman and Anthony Joshua
(Image: Emily Solman)
“I couldn’t believe it, I am not the biggest fan of boxing but everyone knows who he is.”
Emily graduated this summer with a first-class honours degree and in the future hopes to incorporate her studies into her account.
“I want to do further research into female hormones and periods. It is something lots of followers struggle with.”
Emily shared in an Instagram post last year how she was having issues with her own hormones and lots of her followers were able to give her advice and help her.
(Image: Emily Solman)
“It is something I want to look into and help other women. I was able to get specialist help.”
In future, Emily hopes to continue expanding her account and to work on many different projects.
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