Get Mota-Vated

With millions of fans constantly clicking on her every post, YouTube star Bethany Mota has one of the most widely recognized faces on the internet—and IRL. Here, the 21-year-old vlogger, entrepreneur and soon-to-be author shares how, despite bouts of shyness and self-doubt, she built an empire by facing her fears...and letting the *Real* Bethany shine.

- Sydney Adamson

It was bullying that led Bethany Mota to post her first video on YouTube in 2009. “I was looking for a way to express myself,” she says. Sharing her voice on YouTube felt safer, somehow, than opening up in real life, where “friends” had been cruel.

That first video, a simple beauty haul, put Bethany on a path to more than 20 million social media followers, a clothing collaboration with Aéropostale, a spot on Dancing with the Stars (she made the finals), two hit music singles, an interview with former President Barack Obama, a line of school supplies with Target and a spot on Time’s most influential teens list—twice.

Now, in June, she’ll step into bookstores around the world with her first release, Make Your Mind Up: My Guide to Finding Your Own Style, Life, and Motavation! (Gallery Books, $25)—a collection of Bethany’s thoughts and advice on everything from fashion to beauty to DIY-you-name-it. We caught up with Bethany to chat about how the book came to be, plus her journey from shy girl to social media icon.

GL: Your bullying experience sounds intense. What exactly happened?

Bethany Mota: When I was around 12, some kids at my school created a page online where they posted photos of me with mean captions talking about my weight, my appearance, things that really had nothing to do with who I was as a person. I hadn’t dealt with anything like that before and took everything to heart. I thought something was wrong with me—I blamed myself.

How did you react?

I just kind of shut down and didn’t talk about it, but I felt very negative inside. I always had issues expressing emotion, even with friends and family, and the bullying made me even more scared to be myself because I was afraid of people disapproving of me. But now I feel grateful that it happened.