What were your career aspirations when you were four? I wanted to be a waitress. For some reason the idea of getting tips was really appealing, probably because my idea of “a lot of money” was anything over 25 cents and I regularly saw my parents drop tips that were WAY more than a shiny quarter. Did you wanna be a pirate? A police officer? A fire fighter? No hate for the classics, but four-year-old Ryker Wixom has a different career math in mind:
Male model.
…ideally without the explosive gasoline showers, I’m assuming.
A four-year-old who is pictured copying the outfits and poses of celebrities and models on Instagram is now being hailed a style influencer himself.
‘Mini Style Hacker’ Ryker Wixom, from Los Angeles, California, whose account has almost 178,000 followers, is now set to be paid by big name brands for appearances in future posts.
Ryker’s mother, Collette Wixom, told CNBC she is already ‘bombarded’ with emails from brands on a daily basis. Footwear brand Skechers, in particular, sends sneakers for the preschooler to wear.
Mrs Wixom, who runs the Instagram account, says she never anticipated this level of success when she started sharing photos of her son online less than a year ago.
‘I was very surprised when brands started reaching out,’ she said. ‘This is all very new to me… I started this to do something creative and fun other than sword-fighting and mud pie-making. I never imagined it would become what it is today.’
To make the most of the Instagram account’s financial potential, Mrs Wixom has now appointed an agency that helps pair brands with tastemakers and style influencers.
She hopes that with the agency’s help, she may be able to quit her job in publishing within the next year.
Holy shit kid, you know what I was wearing when I was four? Purple Lady and the Tramp tees with purple sweatpants. I was a frickin’ grape. He’s even got a suit:
I’m 21 and I DON’T EVEN OWN A SUIT. You know what my parents’ ideology was towards clothing when I was growing up? “Let’s buy everything from Walmart, she’ll outgrow it in a year anyway.” Not only did I dress like a hobo, but I had a bowl cut that made me look like a boy because “it’s easier to take care of.” Hopefully this all pays off for Ryker, otherwise his parents are going to have a shitload of useless child-sized designer clothes in a few years.