Find Your Niche and Work with It: Interview with Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram

Several years ago, I interviewed social media influencer Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram in an interview originally published in Thrive Global. Here is an excerpt from our conversation:

Adam: What is something about you that the many people who follow you don’t know?

Kristina: My life is pretty much an open book. As an influencer, I feel it is very important to be transparent in all that I do because I want people to feel they genuinely know me. But, if I had to say that there is something that people don’t know about me… it would be that I was the first ever ceramics major at Vanderbilt before I transferred to Rice University.

Adam: What are your hobbies and how have they shaped you?

Kristina: Hobbies: well, I eat! Ha! I am an avid Yogi, I love to exercise, sing, and dance, to be in nature and with animals. As cheesy as this sounds, being creative with food is one of my biggest hobbies. I was actually the first ceramics major at Vanderbilt, which was awesome, but I furthered my artistic skills developing my love for food styling!

Adam: How did you become an “influencer”?

Kristina: I think I knew at an early age that I was destined for great things. What, I wasn’t sure. One of the defining moments of my transition into raw foods happened when I was leaving Vanderbilt University and headed to Rice University. I will never forget trying to become a RAW FOODIST in college. IT WAS ROUGH. I was always made fun of and… man, it was a challenge. But I saw beauty in the struggle, and I realized that I was trying to do something different. When I realized that what I was choosing, to become fully healthy, was a way to help others change their lives; I knew I had more power to impact my community and those around me.

I guess you could say the inside story came from my passion to heal myself from onset Type 2 diabetes which led to WAY more. I realized that my story (Going FULLRAW/ “cold turkey” from 0-1,000 in one day) would be an example for others to follow. 13 years later, I haven’t eaten a cooked meal, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a dream to be able to include and influence others in this lifestyle and to live a fuller, richer, and healthier life every day!

Adam: What has being an influencer taught you about branding and marketing?

Kristina: First of all, the world of branding and marketing is constantly evolving and changing. Changing so much that you have to know that what you are offering provides useful, original content to all around you. I like to surround myself with like-minded influencers who also keep themselves abreast of the current fads/trends and are always working to creatively reach his/her audience. Branding is something that comes naturally to me, but when it comes to getting the message out to the world, I’m always coming up with creative ways to reach out… most of them for me are digital now… with my platform being mostly digital, I like to create custom challenges, classes, and programs.

Adam: What advice do you have for those interested in becoming influencers?

Kristina: I think you are born with the desire to do great things. If you are feeling that urge to do more, find your niche and work with it! Find a team of people who support you, get creative, and HUSTLE, HUSTLE hard, and do it… consistently, every day! It will become who you are and the way that the world recognizes you… then, you will have created a brand and you can take your dreams to the moon and beyond.

Adam: What advice do you have for those interested in working with influencers?

Kristina: As an influencer, you must take your responsibility to do good and be good very seriously. It’s not every day you have the lives and esteem of so many in your hands. Advice: Always be authentic. That’s the first. I have been through a few rough spots with many influencers who were in it only for their own benefit. I have to rely heavily on my gut and work with those whom I feel like have the same mission, goals, and dreams, and are in alignment with the integrity that I hold very dear to my brand/myself and the dream of making this world a healthier place.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and on LinkedIn and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.