If you’re on Instagram, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Alexis Ren. With more than 10 million Instagram followers, Alexis Ren is undoubtedly one of the most biggest influencers in the world. She’s dazzled us with her stunning feed of content featuring travel, healthy and delicious-looking food, her seemingly impossible (but real) beach body and the hard work she puts in to achieve it. The 20 year-old is #goals in basically every way one could imagine, so you could say that we felt a little intimidated by Ren before we hopped on a phone call to talk about her new fitness subscription box, Ren Active. But this call truly put things into perspective because we learned that Alexis Ren is personable and real. The model prides herself on keeping her Instagram content true to herself, (i.e. no sponsored content), which is a rarity for most popular social media influencers. In a similar fashion, her new high quality activewear line combines her passion for fitness and healthy living – while looking damn good doing it, of course. Why were you inspired to start REN Active? I feel like activewear lines have been lacking a certain millennial touch. Everyone thought I was going to do swim, but I thought that was too predictable and I eventually want to go into streetwear. I knew active is a good access point into – like sweaters and hoodies. I wanted something that I could wear all day long and still be able to present myself after the gym. Can you give us an overview in terms of how the subscription works? How did you decide what the subscribers would receive? I wanted it to be more personal and to give my subscribers a gift once a month with limited edition colors and a cool bottle. I wanted this to really be quality and to keep the box affordable. I’m excited to collaborate with other brands to make sure people get excited every month and don’t get bored with it. We read that one of the goals is to become a lifestyle, rather than solely an activewear brand. What does this mean to you? It’s becoming a part of my story. Clothing is clothing until you put an experience, moment or memory with it, and I wanted to tell a story with it. My goal is to have it grow with me. I’m only 20 so I’m still figuring out life. I change my mind so much that I wanted something to go with the way I evolve as well and something that I can bring along with my story because I know social media’s not telling your story. I wanted a brand that wouldn’t advertise other brands – but be my own brand. Can you tell us about some of the different styles of activewear in the line? I am obsessed with The Tasmin – a full-on black one-piece with a slit in the middle to give you some cleavage. It’s so effing sexy. I want the girl to feel hot. It doesn’t matter if you’re working out or not. I would get so motivated when my outfit was matching when I go to work out. When I look good, I feel good. What tips can you offer to your fans for adopting a healthy lifestyle? First of all, it’s not easy. Being healthy is hard, but it’s worth it. I like to separate my adult life from who I am because you can get so wrapped up in it. I have to separate myself and that creates a healthier lifestyle because when you get too into it, it becomes you and that’s never healthy. And self-acceptance. Every single person in this world finds it hard to self-accept. This is something my Godmother told me about that’s really helping. Every morning I go into the mirror and I tell myself something that I’m feeling that I’d like to say to myself, like “I’m proud of you – you’re doing a good job,” or “Mom would be proud,” or “You’re beautiful.”  We get in our heads so much and we don’t think we’re enough. But by translating that out – it’s hard the first time – but it rewires your brain. What does beauty mean to you? F**king happiness. I love happiness. It’s what we’re all trying to aim for. We forget it’s a choice. What tips can you offer to women about being the most confident versions of themselves? Don’t take yourself too seriously. I screw up on a daily basis and if I was hard on myself, I wouldn’t get anything done. When I screw up, I tell myself never again and I laugh about it. Being an adult is knowing the outcome and doing it anyway.
