The Untold Truth Of Remi Ashten
Even if you don't pay attention to the world of YouTube stars, chances are good that you've heard of Remi Ashten (she is also sometimes known as Remi Cruz). Ashten is a wildly successful YouTube vlogger with two different channels who has been working to expand her resume. In the summer of 2018, she released her own skincare line called HoneyPop, and in October 2018 she put out a podcast, Pretty Basic, with fellow content creator Alisha Marie.
Ashten is loved by fans for her genuine, fun, and outgoing personality — and, of course, for her interesting videos that focus on many different lifestyles topics, like DIY home decor, hauls, getting ready videos, and more. She's also known for being refreshingly open and honest about herself and her private life, including her much-discussed weight loss journey that she regularly goes into detail about. As a confident force in the female YouTube space, Ashten is one star worth looking up to. Find out some things you might not have known about her here.
Her career as a YouTuber has helped her stand up for herself
Running two successful YouTube channels, owning a skincare line, and working on a regularly released podcast requires a lot of time, effort, and dedication. It also demands that you be in control of your own brand and name to protect yourself. One thing Ashten has learned from being famous on the internet is to stand up for herself. In an interview with Celeb Secrets, Ashten revealed that her best advice to anyone pursuing her kind of career is to "follow your gut." She added, "I can be a pushover sometimes, but I've learned to stand up for myself in this new entrepreneurial world that I'm entering."
She has also acknowledged that the road to success can be a tough one, and it's important to continue to stand your ground no matter what. She said, "I feel like a lot of people are going to create roadblocks or get in your way of achieving your dreams." While Ashten acknowledges that this is just part of the industry, she had encouraging words for her fans: "Be persistent, and go after what you want!"
She's struggled with acne her whole life
During the summer of 2018, Ashten followed the footsteps of many before her and stepped out of her YouTube comfort zone to launch her own skincare line called HoneyPop. HoneyPop stands out as a DIY mask kit that makes it easy for anyone to customize their products based on their skincare needs. Ashten created the line with the idea of making something that all of her fans could benefit from, no matter their skin type. In an interview with Cheddar, she explained, "I really wanted to make something that was great for everybody. I feel like skincare is very inclusive."
She was also inspired to make the line because of her own skin issues in the past. In the same interview, Ashten said that she originally decided on a skincare line because she wanted to be "different," adding: "Skincare is something that I've struggled with my whole life, acne and things like that. So this was just kind of perfect for me to do."
She struggles with online bullying
As someone who has been in the public eye for years, it's not surprising to hear that Ashten unfortunately struggles with the difficulties of online bullying. She participated in a campaign by AwesomenessTV and Invisalign called Speak Up: A Made To Move Series, which celebrated people standing up for what they believe in. During Ashten's video for the campaign, she opened up about how bullying has affected her, adding that she thinks her success comes from her ability to ignore the hate and negativity she gets from her channel.
Still, she admitted that it was, and still is, difficult to deal with. Ashten said, "Some hate comments that I've definitely gotten in the past were about my weight back in the day. You know, just attacking my body and all these sorts of things." She explained that it made her feel insecure, and even when she lost the weight, she was still getting the comments. Finally, she said she realized that, "It's not all about fitting in or reacting to comments or even losing weight, it truly just is about loving yourself."
She struggled with her weight her whole life
In early 2018, Ashten began a weight loss journey that involved totally changing her eating and exercise habits. She's been really open about the entire experience, documenting it in videos on her YouTube channels and talking about it in interviews. In one interview with fellow YouTuber Niki DeMar, Ashten got real about how she's struggled with her weight most of her life, saying, "Throughout the years, since I was young, I tried losing weight multiple times. I was on NutriSystem in middle school."
She talked about her many failed attempts at dieting, saying, "I would diet on and off. And eventually when I got to college, I gained the freshman 30 or so, and just wasn't working out. I went a whole year or so where I wasn't working out. I feel like finally something clicked in me about a year ago when I just said, 'you know what? I'm just going to do this for me.'"
She doesn't think she'll ever fully be happy with her body
Ashten lost over 60 pounds in less than a year and was extremely close to meeting her goal weight. When talking to DeMar about her journey, however, she said that while she thought she would feel really happy about it, she actually doesn't. The biggest reason is because she finds herself more obsessed with her appearance now than she ever was before. She explained, "Before I lost the weight, I was just like, 'oh, this is just me, this is my body,' like very content with it, and accepting of it, which is where I'm trying to get back to."
Ashten went on to say that throughout her journey, she became extremely fixated on eating healthy and working out, and couldn't stop wondering why she didn't look better instead of thinking about how much she had accomplished. She said that although she doesn't think she'll ever fully be happy with her body, it is something she's working on.
She hasn't hired a team to help her with YouTube for this amazing reason
Ashten has never been one to act like her success was fast, easy, or simple. In fact, she's talked about the work that goes into her YouTube channels a few times. During one interview with Entrepreneur, Ashten talked about her channel, saying, "There's so much work that goes into it. Honestly it can be very emotionally straining; I'm starting to learn that. With the business side, people don't really know until they're experiencing it, but there's so much more that goes into the video that you're watching than you have any idea about."
In another interview with TubeFilter, Ashten said that she doesn't work with a lot of other people on her channel, explaining, "I have my friend help me film and edit, but other than that no 'crew.' I like how it's very relaxed and fun to film. I don't want my channel to ever feel like a set."
It took her over a year to put together her skincare line, HoneyPop
The YouTuber also put just as much work into her HoneyPop line. In an interview with Cheddar, she described the process of creating HoneyPop as "crazy," admitting, "I didn't realize that so much work and decisions and time goes into making a product." She added that it took over a year for her to put HoneyPop together.
What was she doing during that time? According to the interview, Ashten was busy coming up with concepts, choosing colors and scents, deciding on names for each of the items, and testing out tons of different formulas to find the right ones, among other things. However, she added, "It took so much work, but it was absolutely worth it." As for the name? Ashten told Tigerbeat that she picked it because she's a big fan of honey, and also because it's a great ingredient for skincare. She also said, "When I came up with 'HoneyPop' it sounded so cute and just completely stuck with me!"
This is her best advice for aspiring YouTubers
Although Ashten's biggest advice to aspiring YouTubers is to learn how to stand up for yourself and stand your ground, she also loves to tell her followers and anyone listening how important it is to be genuine — something that has really aided in her own success. In an interview with Entrepreneur, Ashten revealed her go-to advice: "Stay true to yourself and stick with your gut. So many awesome opportunities come from YouTube — there's a lot that you're going to have to turn down — but you have to be honest with yourself. Also just make content that you truly want to watch, so that your brand stays true to who you are."
In her interview with Cheddar, she also advised people to "stay consistent," to stay away from trendy stuff, and to "be genuine and make content that you're truly passionate about." It's something she's always done herself, and it clearly works!
She struggles with how much she should share about her personal life
While Ashten has built her brand on being genuine, open, and friendly, that doesn't mean she always knows exactly where to draw the line between her personal life and her public life. During an interview with Kenzie Elizabeth for her podcast I Love You So Much, Ashten admitted that she struggles with figuring out what to share and what to keep to herself. She said, "I'm just a very open person. That's the problem. I just don't really think a lot when I post. It just becomes routine to share everything with people, and so I'll just say things in the moment."
She explained that this way of doing things has led her to overshare a bit. She pointed out that she's been vlogging during very pivotal years of her life, and that she's changed a lot physically and mentally during that time, which makes things a little extra difficult for her.
She doesn't share details about her love life
One of the things Ashten has never really shared, though, is details about her love life, and she's done that for a reason. During her appearance on Elizabeth's podcast, she explained that she's seen many people on YouTube talk about their relationships, only to have to deal with invasive questions that she says she doesn't want to deal with. And who can really blame her? She said, "I keep my love life very private, and that's the only thing I keep really private." She added that sometimes she'll put little details up, but it always ends badly.
Ashten also said that she doesn't think she'd ever make any of her relationships public, explaining she's worried about having to explain things to fans if the relationship doesn't work out. She said that after doing a "followers control my first date video," she was turned off by all of the attention, saying she hasn't put any guy she's really interested in on her social media.
She's actually very shy
If you watch any of Ashten's videos, follow her on her social media accounts, or tune in to her podcast, you would never think to call her "shy." Ashten is willing to talk about pretty much anything (except her love life... see above!), she's always friendly and outgoing, and she constantly has a huge smile on her face. But according to her, she's actually quite shy.
During her interview on Elizabeth's podcast, Ashten talked about one fan experience where she was hanging out at The Grove in Los Angeles when a group of screaming fans came upon her and surrounded her. She said, "My first instinct was just to run." She added that although she loves meeting her subscribers and is so appreciative of them, she just doesn't know how to handle those situations because she doesn't love having people screaming around her. She admitted, "I'm actually kind of shy. I'm actually very introverted at times." She added that YouTube has helped her break out of her shell.