By Dara Mormile
In a world where social media personalities compete for a unique audience and niche, a newcomer to the scene - Phaith Montoya - wants to break barriers while empowering women to shape their own narrative and show who they are despite their "worst days."
"It's more than just telling followers about self-love and acceptance," the 26-year-old Ticktock star told Preferred Health Magazine. "My message is less focused on outwardly expressing those things but on being myself and existing in my body, not allowing limitations of society about what my life should look like, and living beyond those things. I may not say things like, 'Oh, you're so beautiful… you're so beautiful that you're going to find a man one day.' Still, they see me, a plus-sized girl posting with her man, and they see how outwardly he loves me and is proud to be with me, and that inspires them to see that there are men out there who will love them like that."
The role model, who garners 3.1 million TikTok fans, over 584 Instagram followers, and 90k YouTube subscribers, loves that her audience see themselves in her - whenever she walks down the runway and she's honest about her thoughts on self-improvement, or enhancements like Botox and fillers.
"I'm an open book. I tell people the truth; I wish there weren't so many predators focused on getting women to buy services that make themselves feel beautiful," Montoya said. "I put myself in a different category - even from the body positivity creators… I can admit that I'm not confident all the time. It's not reality. Some days, I wake up very insecure. Some days, a comment can make me cry, but that's okay.
"I tell my boss all the time,
let's do it ugly - if you don't feel pretty,
get out there
and do it anyway!"
The 26-year-old media trailblazer's journey into the world of influencing began shortly after her graduation in 2020, when she made the decision to shave her head (thinking of her family member who beat breast cancer twice and had shaven her head) and to document the evolution of her mind and body - capturing the different transformations both emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Montoya says her haircut served as a powerful act of liberation and self-renewal - inspired by an old magazine article she read, and overcoming a series of personal hardships which began with the loss of her cousin who was working on the front lines as a nurse and died as a result of the Covid-19 virus. Montoya then moved across the country to a new city, experienced a heart-wrenching breakup, and says she needed a healthy way to heal after she hit her own "rock bottom" in life.
"Every woman should shave their head once in their life!" Montoya excitedly told PHM. "As the months went on and my hair grew back, it was difficult to manage, so I'd have to style it in all sorts of ways - and I truly saw so many different versions of myself. I kept looking in the mirror, thinking, 'Who's this person in front of me?' Because I didn't have all this hair - it forced me to look at myself constantly. I truly fell in love with every version of myself. Afterward, I felt invincible - like nothing could break me or change my strength. I started bringing social media along on my journey after five weeks.
As she documented this transformation, the Florida State University graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in chemistry lived in New Jersey and taught middle school science and high school art.
Simultaneously, she battled mental health issues and was very vocal about her struggle.
"I was diagnosed with high-functioning depression and a binge-eating disorder in college," she said, "It wasn't as appealing as people on social media want it to look. Sometimes, depression looks like I don't want to shower for a few days or I don't want to make myself look appealing to the masses. There are even times when I disappear from the camera and social media for a while to heal; my followers were like, 'Where are you?' 'Where have you been?" I'm grateful to have an understanding community to support me."
While mental health awareness may be a modern movement practiced by a slew of influencers, Montoya wants the public to know that there is no reason to suffer in silence as many did in past generations, stating her elders didn't label depression and anxiety in the 'old days,' as there was a stigma behind seeking therapy for mental health issues.
"If I asked my grandma about feeling depressed, she really couldn't relate - I mean, she was sleeping on floors when she came to America at six years old. When I told her about what I was going through, she would say - 'What do you mean you have depression?'" Montoya reflected. "In her days, everyone just got up, went to work, and didn't think about the anxieties and pressure they felt. It was frowned upon and ignored."
The successful content creator admitted that some days, getting out of bed is a big accomplishment. Subsequently, she's proud of the foundation she's building to help women like herself get through some of the toughest times of their lives.
She also told PHM that her collaboration with the Hispanic community through NAMI (The National Alliance of Mental Illness) has been one of the biggest honors of her career. With so many communities suffering in silence - and lack of resources for mental health struggles - being a NAMI ambassador is a chapter in her life she's excited to embark upon.
"You have these plus/mid-size plus models in your campaigns and it's great to have that representation," she said in earnest to the trending companies who tout their pride serving the plus-sized community. "But I have to tell my followers that the style I'm wearing goes beyond a 3X. It's not like Victoria's Secret, for example, even though they make plus-sized clothes," she said. Society lacks stores or malls that allow much larger women - who might be up to 6X in size - to show up in person.
"It shouldn't be a landscape where they're forcing us to go online and shop with our eyes closed," Montoya said.
Proud of her journey and "doing things even through the ugly" Montoya solidifies her status as a style icon and keeps uplifting women to celebrate their beauty in the most challenging and darkest days!
Check out her socials and get empowered!
https://www.TikTok.com/@phaithmontoya
https://www.instagram.com/phaithmontoya/
https://www.YouTube.com/@phaith