How I gained 1 million followers overnight

Natasha Grano –The road to influencing millions

By Kicki Pallin 

Her journey has been nothing but spectacular. Natasha Grano is a 30 year old Instagram influencer originally from Cyprus, who grew up in Oxfordshire and now is living in Mayfair in London. She lost her direction in life, but gained something even greater when she was carrying her son. By connecting with him, she turned her passion for material things into an Instagram page, where she inspires not only beauty and fashion but also self empowerment. From the inside out. Natasha has a powerful way of communicating and she encourages others to stand firmly in their power, while embracing their inner child at the same time. A process that has gained her over a million followers in less than a year. 

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Your life has gone through a major shift these last years, but please share the major things during your upbringing that you believe have shaped you as a person? 

I think having been the oldest sibling of five children really impacted me in a positive way, as I had a sense of responsibility from a young age combined with strong ambition. You know what they say, it’s “survival of the fittest”. Being a high level gymnast until I was in my teens shaped me as a person too, as I had to compete and always strive to be at the top and perform at my best. Oh, and I cannot forget being sent to a Greek Convent in Cyprus for my whole summer holiday at age 15, what an experience that was! I was humbled in the long run, although at the time I just couldn’t comprehend how it would benefit me. But living in the Greek mountains on basic food and water each day, with other children from poorer background, was what I needed to see before I would embark on such a monumental career path myself. We would clean the toilets and scrub plates in the kitchen, and as cliche as it sounds, it really put things into perspective and shed light on how in fact fortunate my upbringing was in comparison. Therefore, it also got me thinking that maybe I owe it to the world to give a little back, as I have been given so many blessings myself. 

You had a big awakening when you were pregnant with your now 3-year-old son. How would you describe this period in your life? 

The start of a new chapter… I found out who I was and what I wanted to truly achieve in my life, and that was to help others. Through carrying my son Rio inside me, it made me learn how to love my inner child. It was through talking to him with loving words, when he was in my womb. But you don’t just have to carry a child in order to connect with your inner child. You can connect any time you choose through tuning into the little girl/boy inside of you, and speaking to her with love and gratitude and offering kind words. 

You studied Instagram for two years, watched Youtube tutorials and had a mentor in the US, but what exactly made you move onto the influencer path for empowering others? 

When I first began my influencer platform I knew the larger I grew, the more impact I could have “influencing” others. I knew this was not going to be only used to influence other people’s fashion and similar things. I was always uplifting others around me and talking to groups of people about the various laws of the universe and how they’d benefitted me, so gradually I infiltrated this into my Instagram in my captions. I believe if a spotlight is being shone on me, then I’ve made a deal with the world to do something that will benefit others too. 

You have said that female empowerment is part of your mission, and especially for younger women. Why is it so important to you? 

It all starts with the younger generation. Young girls are the ones these days who need the most support and encouragement. Something that upsets me greatly is the idea of someone not reaching their full potential, due to the insecurities or negative factors they might experience in today’s technological world. So, I feel I have a duty to eliminate those obstacles and encourage self love and therefore they will be the best versions of themselves too. 

Your life has changed immensely during the last years. You are getting invitations from all over the world, you have a luxury villa rental company, you’re in a relationship with actor Elijah Rowen, and you have not only a son of your own, but also two children in Uganda that you support financially … When you look into the future, what are your dreams and hopes, for yourself, and for the rest of the world? 

I think everybody’s got a right to carve their own path. I hope that I can be a factor in helping a lot of young women, and indeed men, to take control in the carving of that path. Wasted potential is one of the saddest concepts there is. I would like to help people achieve their potential and eradicate that waste and fear. I hope to one day be recognised as someone who has brought the best out of people and got them out of a dark place. Being known as one of the great figures of inspiration of positivity is something I strive for.

Credits:

Executive Director of Global Woman Magazine: Linda Prendi

Production: Rebeca Riofrio

Photographer: Walterlan Mendanha

Photography Editor :Juxhin Kurti

Fashion Designer : By Malan Breton

Make Up : Beauty Kulture- Aba Demha

Hair: Beauty Kulture- Billy BK

Hair Treatment: WS Studio

Location: Othman Alomeir