Michaela:
My guest today is Holly Johnson @missholldoll on Instagram. And let me tell you one thing that I did not expect and that is she is hysterical. I literally felt like I was sitting in the living room having a cup of coffee and chatting about life with her. She is so raw and so real and she is really blazing the path. She's a quote unquote Oh gee in the way of hiking and all things outdoors in the Pacific Northwest. Plus she works full time as an executive assistant at an advertising agency in Seattle. So she's just really inspirational and doing incredible things for the hiking community. So I hope you enjoyed this podcast as much as I did chatting with her and I think that you will also, we totally need your support. I am so thankful to each and every one of you who listened to this podcast a weekly. Our ratings are growing, our listeners are growing and so thank you. Thank you for being here. If you're new to this podcast, please shoot us a rating. Shoot us a comment, give us a leg, hit, subscribe. These things are so important for us to continue to get to produce this awesome podcast all about being you and finding happiness.
Michaela:
I'm so glad it worked. So excited to finally connect them. Yeah, me too. Thank you. You do a lot actually. And that's one of the things that I was going to ask you about. I mean it's, I know that you have like a full time career in, is it event? Is it event or marketing or something like, well, I work at an advertising agency, but I'm an executive assistant so I support the president of the company along with a couple other executives that we have there. Um, and I've been with the company for almost five years now, I think or have something along those lines. But um, yeah, I mean it's a full time gig Monday through Friday and helps me to have a stable income and kind of a world totally separate of social media, which is really hard. And that's in the Seattle area.
Holly:
It is, yeah. I love Seattle. That's definitely my favorite city in America. Ultimately. I mean, it's a great city and we're surrounded by, you know, mountains in either direction and there's just a lot here in Washington for people who, you know, especially anyone who loves the outdoors, people always talk about the, um, the rain and whatnot. Ironically, I lived in that area for, um, I went to college up there for like half a year and it would guess it was a Lonnie new year at LD new year. I forget which, but we had sun 24, seven. Yes. Yeah. I mean, I think generally speaking, it's nicer here than I think people imagine. And whenever Seattle is, you know, kind of painted in the media, especially like if you see, you know, Seattle on a show or in the movies and stuff, they always kind of classically have this like dreary, like Drizly scene.
Michaela:
And not to say we don't get that weather. I don't think it's as common or, I mean, as frequent as I think that would bum me out. I'm in Northern California and I think that all that rain, I start to feel it for sure. Um, we've, we had a really rainy year this year. As a matter of fact, we had like torrential rains up until pretty much last week, which is, you know, people start to get kind of like buck. Although I visited Snoqualmie a couple of years ago and it was that Drury weather, but I felt appropriate, you know, we had like a great hotel and the coffee and it was like, Oh yeah, it's all rainy and juries. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it has its charm, that's for sure. Yeah. I think perspective plays a lot into that. But you've actually mentioned that on a post before.
Michaela:
I remember one of your posts that you said, um, you do have a tough time in the winter sometimes cause you can't get out and hike as much. Um, I wouldn't even say it's about getting out and hiking. It's literally as I've gotten older, I mean, I, I mean, I will call it seasonal depression. I think that as I've gotten older, it continues to kind of get magnified a little bit every year or just a little bit worse. Um, and you know, I mean it's still one of those inexplicable things that doctors can't quite pinpoint what it is and if it's real and all that stuff, but around the same time every year, and usually it's around mid October, I start feeling it and like found out, it's not even bummed out. It's like, it's just, it feels like a little bit of a mild headache.
Holly:
You're kind of always tired. There's a lack of motivation. There's this like fog that kind of takes over a little bit. And so it's not just like, Oh, I don't like the weather, I can't go outside as much. I think what it is is it's a, it's a light, like how much light we actually get and it kind of flips a switch or something along those lines. So if doctors can pin, can't pinpoint it, I sure as shit can't either. But um, but it does seem to happen once we get, like, I want to say it's like under 11 or like 10 and a half hours of daylight and then it kind of only gets worse as the days get shorter. So, and I think probably, I think you're probably right on. I mean I think humans didn't use to, they, they used to operate more within the limitations of the sun, you know, and not like force ourselves to stay up or you know, with like we have, I mean lights are fake, you know, that's a fake stimulus really.
Michaela:
Yeah, it's definitely, that's definitely something I know for me as a mom, um, when I started, cause I worked up until like, you know, the end of my pregnancy and then I didn't, and then I would stay home. I stayed home with him for a few years. And so when I would get off of w w when I would get off of work before, at in the winter time, I would feel that like, Oh, it's dark when I'm driving home, you know, and I'm just kind of dragging se. But after having him, I didn't really have that sense of, you know, my work day was based on the son and what he bringing in, all of that. And so it kind of diminished actually. So I think you're right. I'm on. Well and I went to Hawaii one year for Christmas, um, and I was gone for like a week and a half or something.
Holly:
And it was, you know, I mean, of course like going on vacation and especially going somewhere tropical. I mean that's like a mood enhancer right there. But, um, landing, you know, in Honolulu and you know, instantly it was like my seasonal depression was gone and it wasn't noticeable at all through the trip. And then as soon as I like landed, like the next morning when I woke up, you felt it pretty much just back. Um, and so I mean, and, and I really just, I think it has to do with, yeah, like kind of the amount of daylight we're getting. I do feel that like somewhere along like February, even though I don't even know that we're getting enough daylight then either, but I start to kind of at least either get used to it or like snap out of it a little bit. So, but yeah, the fall is, is a little challenging for me.
Michaela:
You know, I didn't even think about that. When we go up to Alaska, we go up to Alaska every summer and it's light out until like right. 10 or 11 at night. Yeah. And even in that way, it's kind of wacky. Like I feel, I feel this weird sense of like I'm super tired right up and doing things and sometimes even out on a hiking trail. Yeah. And it's a weird sensation. Yeah. I definitely, I'm S I totally agree with you. Yeah. But, um, but I mean, now that I kind of can recognize what it is, even though it still takes me by surprise every year, like I typically feel like I'm getting sick for good week before I'm like, Oh, that's right. It's my seasonal depression. Yeah. So, so maybe it's a good time to go in and, and, and do that kind of cozy stuff. Maybe that's a good thing. Yeah. I mean, I'm all for it. I don't, I mean, I know there's the, the common saying of there's no, no bad gear or no way, no bad weather, only bad gear or something. Right. But Hey, like I'm good with, you know, hunkering down and being cozy and taking care of myself. Just fine. Speaking of, of gear, I have to ask because, so did you wear the shirt for seven days? So I did. Yeah. I mean I didn't, somebody was like, you didn't sleep in it, did you?
Holly:
But, um, yeah, I, I am a big proponent of, you know, not washing my clothes that often anyway, to rewear you know, my jeans as often as I need to. And I mean, of course if they smell or face bill something on them, that's a whole different ball game. But, um, I live in an apartment building that has, you know, 40, 50 units and we only have
two washers and dryers building. So I actually save up my laundry and then every like three weeks I go, I go down and visit my sister and I do my laundry there a whole day. She calls, she's always like, Oh, you're like my third child home from college or something like that. So, um, so I don't, I don't wash my clothes like super frequently, you know, anyway. But yeah, when the campaign came across my, well in my inbox I suppose, um, for the icebreaker challenge to wear the same shirt for seven days, I was like, yep, sign me up. Like not only, I mean, was it a really good campaign and educational and pertinent in today's world, but, um, I was kinda like, Oh, this is, this is heck yeah, I know. I think, I think it's definitely like I'm the same way unless I get super sweaty or something.
Michaela:
Like, especially if it's like work clothes that are, you know, like dry clean only or is I write very few dry clean only. Yeah. So I bought, I bought one from your, from your posts and I haven't worn it yet, but um, ironically I washed it, but I'm going on a four day backpacking trip in the Sierra Buttes. Yeah. So I'm, I'm, that's what I'm planning to live in. So good. Yeah. I mean, I think so. And it's kind of like, you know, people asked me, you know, am I sweaty person? Am I smelly person at all? That's not going to be really, it kind of just depends. Like, I think that I, I think we don't really realize it, but when we do wear synthetics that it's easier to beast to get sweaty or, or, or to potentially be smellier like I have times when I like wear a tee shirt and later that day, you know, I do the arm sniff and I'm like, Oh God, yeah.
Holly:
You know, and all I did was go to work and didn't do anything major. So I think that there's certain, you know, blends and fabrics that can really kind of, you know, unfortunately enhance our, our body odor. I totally agree with that. And I was talking to my husband about like, what did they do in the olden days? They wore their clothes for days and days and days. So something's different. It's coming to me. Right. So yeah, this honestly this shirt was, the shirt was amazing. I mean, and like I was honest in the post where I'm like, now do I really want to wear the same shirt for a week? No, but I love the idea of being able to wear like a natural fabric that is naturally odor or resistant. And you know, when you were at once and you know, put it back in the drawer, you didn't, you know, spill your coffee all over yourself. Right. Totally. To me it was the more amazing feat. I didn't spill anything on myself. Yeah. I don't know.
Michaela:
That's funny. And so, so a little about you, you're a, you're into video games. You like, you like video gaming. Do you do that on a daily basis or how does that fit into your schedule?
Holly:
Oh my gosh. And you know, it depends on the game. I or I guess kind of what's going on in my life. Um, I try not to play video games like in the summer and all that kind of stuff, but, um, but yeah, like I grew up, you know, like a lot of kids playing video games. Um, my sister and I used to get off the bus and then like race home to get to the Nintendo and start playing Mario leg and stuff. And so, yeah, I was, you know, in elementary school when we first got the Nintendo. Um, and then it just kind of was something that, you know, we continued to play like all through our childhood. My sister and I lived in an apartment together. Um, I was in community college and she was at university and we, I remember we got our first X-Box and we would just dork out on weekends and play video games and first person shooters and stuff. And so it's just kind of been something that's been a part of my life ever. Um, and even, you know, I'll go down and visit my sister and while we're doing, you know, my wallet,
laundry, you know, we're playing, we're playing video games and you know, taking them, the kids are playing with us and stuff. So it's just something that's kind of been a big part of my family. Um, and, and we do it together. So it's not just this, you know, thing where, you know, people kind of look at video games as something that like you check out of, you know, social
Michaela:
well, it's interesting cause I, I've been following you on Instagram for a couple years and I don't know how long you've been on, I'd love to hear that backstory, but, um, I remember the first time you posted something, I think it was like shortly after they introduced stories and you posted something about gaming and I'm like, what, this is not even possible. Like I was so like bamboozled, I couldn't believe it. I'm like, here's this, like super outdoorsy, like, you know, bad-ass hiking chick and she's a gamer. Like it was mind blowing.
Holly:
Yeah. I, um, I haven't really been in like, I mean I'll always love video games. Um, I haven't played much lately as I'm just, it kinda just depends on if there's a game I'm really interested in. So, you know, there's sometimes it's just, there's not a lot kind of going on. And right now I've, I've been waiting for a sequel to a video game to come out for the last like, Oh my gosh, like eight years basically. So I'm in waiting, but I have a lot of mobile games keep me entertained.
Michaela:
Yeah. I'm a wordscaper so. Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm one of those. Yeah, that's funny. And I get really mad when they have like, you know, abbreviations. It's funny, I've never really been very good at the word games and stuff cause there's some, there's some pretty fun stuff on. I mean it's kind of amazing what you can find, you know, the apps these days and the graphics and all that stuff. It's just kind of outstanding. It really is. I mean, people can really entertain themselves wherever they are at any time. Yes. And unfortunately with our mobile devices. Right, right. So you, you talk about, you talk about kind of like the disconnecting, um, from certain things in your life and reconnecting it was supposed to have not too long ago. Actually. I'm trying to think about what it was. Like I said, I've been jotting notes for so long now, but you said you need to give yourself time and space to think. And I loved that. And I wanted to understand better for you is, is being in the mountains of being on hiking trails that way that you disconnect or how does that work for you? Yeah, um, I mean it kind of depends. I think that I,
Holly:
if I'm hiking for me can be one of two things and one, it can be a social, you know, um, activity that I do with friends or family, um, or I go by, you know, I can go by myself and, and that's, I think when I have those like really therapeutic times. Um, and sometimes I have to like schedule almost like schedule that where, um, you know, I don't, I don't plan anything with a friend or something, but, but I mean, I get overwhelmed like kind of easily with the amount that I have going on with like my regular job and then feeling the pressures of social media and needing to kind of keep up and create. And, and of course, like with that also comes getting out, you know, getting outside, um, which is fantastic. But there's, there's often when I just, I feel so kind of overwhelmed with what's going on in a busy schedule that I just, I have to like take, take things off my calendar and, and just give myself that kind of room to breathe. Um, I'm not somebody that likes to have something going on like every day that actually will like freak me out. Yeah. Yep.
Michaela:
I can. So, so people often talk about, you know, how your strength when you are hiking alone, do you remember your first kind of like alone hike, like real hike? Like, I mean I'm not talking like a little, you know, half mile loop trail kind of thing, but like a real long head. Um, yeah, yeah. I mean a couple of things, things
Holly:
kind of come to mind. But like when I, when I started hiking, I didn't have any outdoor friends, so I mean I was doing it alone anyway. And there was a trail that was, you know, 15 minutes from where I lived. And so, I mean, it's a real hike. It's just, it didn't, it felt more like training, I suppose. You know, I was getting on the trail to just sort of get used to hiking by myself, if that makes sense. So yeah, it's like four or five miles round trip or something. It doesn't, it's mostly in the, actually I think it's all in the forest and then it basically takes you up to a non viewpoint. So I looked at it more as just like exercise and, and just getting used to like, you know, going like being out there, you know, by myself, even though you know, you're, you're by yourself, but there's tons of people, you know, still like coming and going like on the trail and stuff.
Holly:
So not necessarily alone, but, um, yeah, I think a couple months later I did a hike down. I'm actually on the, uh, on the Columbia river on the Washington side, so, right, right. Basically where Oregon and Washington meet, um, there was a hike called hammer is a hike called Hamilton mountain. And that I, I'm pretty sure that that was the first one that I really kind of considered like my first solo hike. Yeah. Beyond just the training trail, you know, that was 20 minutes from where I lived. So, um, and I mean I think with each, which with each solo hike, they just felt easier and I felt stronger and more and more proud of myself that I was kind of continuing this like new found passion without anybody to, to go with me. So, and that was, that was just a new experience for me in general.
Holly:
Like not only just getting out and hiking, um, but doing something alone that wasn't something that wasn't something I thought I would enjoy. Yeah. I think that, I think that a lot of times, um, we fill ourselves with other people because we don't, we don't want to face ourselves alone with be alone with our thoughts. Yeah. And I think, I think it can be so powerful. I know some of my biggest aha moments or my most recent just like, Oh, I need to do that, or I didn't think of it this way. I have taking trail from weld. Right. And you and you overnight alone as well? I do. Um, I, I haven't done it as much. I think is a lot of people assume I have. Um, I'm trying to think. I didn't even get out on a single solo backpacking trip last summer, which is kind of a me.
Holly:
I mean, I, I wish I would have been able to because they have been my favorite, like some of my favorite trips. But, um, somewhere along the way I developed quite a few hiking friends. There's all my so many weekends, you know, and it was just, you know, sometimes you just get planning and the next thing you know, you are summers, you know, basically filled up with plans with people. Um, and that's not a bad thing at all. But yeah, I've, I've loved it. The solo backpacking trips that I've been able to go on. And, and of course it took me a few years to go from day hiking by myself, um, to being able to go out and, you know, feel comfortable overnighting by myself or just even having that like strong desire to go do it. Um, and so how do you get these, these awesome photos?
Michaela:
Do you use like a timer or how do you do that to get these great pictures when you're by yourself?
Holly:
Um, I, over the years it's kind of grown, um, a little bit, but I, I used to just, I mean, up until we had about 50,000 followers, I was only using my phone and I was using a little like tripod, you know, for, for my phone. And I think I downloaded an app that had like a timer or something on it. So it you push. Yes. It used to be as simple as that. Um, and then, and then as I, you know, got more into photography, I would, yeah, just take a tripod out with me. And then I bought a remote shutter, um, which I've now thankfully graduated to like an intervalometer, so I can like plug that into the camera and like hit a button and it just will take pictures of, you know, a picture every two seconds, three seconds, whatever it is you want.
Holly:
So that's way I hope I'm saying it right and intervalometer. Wow. I'm writing like, it looks like it looks like a small, like TV remote. Um, and it has a little wire and so you plug it into the camera and then you can kind of adjust, you know, the various settings that you want. But right now I have it set, nibble. He used it a few times, but um, I have it set to basically take a picture every like three seconds. Um, so that is making my life a lot easier because I used to just like point this, you know, like remote shutter at the camera, which I could only be 10 feet, maybe 12 feet away from the camera, and then I'd have to like run in place or act natural or something like that. So the intervalometer has really stepped my game up or it will anyway. I've only used it a couple of times, but so far I'm in love watch out world. I'm getting an avatar. Yes. I mean sometimes I have my friends help me. What's that? I burned out that.
Holly:
Yeah, I used to, I've asked friends to help me before. Um, and sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't. And I just, I, I would hate to when I felt frustrated. Right. You're not, you're not getting it. I've so been exactly, I'm like, really, really that's where, that's how you took it. Like I totally described my vision and that's what I've even like I'll take an example photo and I'm like, just like this. And then I'm like right here, I'm like, literally there's 75% sky. What are you doing in order to save some friendships? I was just really like, mm,
Michaela:
I do. I try to take, I try to take the pictures myself. Um, it just makes me feel, I don't know, better, more control. So what is, so what is your family think of all of this? How have they handled your, your instant success? I don't think they got it for a long time. Like I don't think they even understand
Holly:
it was, I mean, especially like my, my grandma has no freaking clue. Like she knows that I work with brands, but I mean that's it. Like, she does not really get it beyond that, but she still thinks it's really cool. So that's neat. Um, when did you, when did you start? I started, well, I mean I think, I think I started kind of, um, turning my page into like the hiking theme probably in like 2014 or 15. I can't honestly, it really took off after that was, it took a little while of course. But I mean, um, I probably, let's see, it sound like what year is it now? Um, I've been working with brands for the last probably three years, I think. Um, yeah, it kind of took a while. I think now, now micro influencers, which are smaller accounts, usually it's, it's accounts under a hundred thousand, but I mean, it can be anything even, you know, accounts with 10,000 followers.
Holly:
Micro influencers are a much more, it's just a much more prominent thing than it was even three years ago. Like, I remember some brands reaching out to me back when I had like 30, 30,000 followers or something and they wouldn't, they wouldn't pay or anything until I had 50,000 followers. Whereas now I think accounts that are smaller or you know, can still make decent money and stuff because, and they should, you know, I mean, I think all advertising and the time it takes to take photos and stuff, whether you have an account that has 10,000 followers or 300,000 followers, like it's still the same amount of work that's going into it. So really the only fluctuating factors should be audience size. I love that about like knowing your worth and having and having an appreciation for what you are worth. I think a lot of people don't realize that or, or sell themselves short, you know?
Holly:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, and it took, it took me a little bit because, you know, I think once, you know, once you have a social following and a brand reaches out to you, I mean, it kind of doesn't even matter what brand it is, but they're like, Hey, we like, we like what you're doing and we want to send you something. It feels good, right? Like, right. Um, but, you know, then I kind of realized I was, you know, in the beginning I was taking time out of, you know, my, my special time with nature and hiking and all that stuff to get photos for companies that obviously weren't actually valuing like the time I was, I was putting into it, you know, so is it really worth 50 or 75 bucks? Right? Or, or just a really bad t-shirt, you know, like, right.
Holly:
So it kind of, it took a while and I again, I think today it's different for smaller accounts and all that kind of stuff that they're actually able, like I think the value is there and I think it's more widely recognized. But um, yeah, it took a while before I was able to kind of find that value and realize like that my time was precious and I wanted to make sure it was really only aligning myself with, with brands that I wanted to and brands that valued me. That's awesome. I think that's such a great message to, I mean, to make sure that you're staying true to who you are and what you actually would wear for seven days or whatever, you know? Yes. Yeah. And your brand, your brand sponsors. I mean, I personally have have followed those links because they're awesome. They're really good quality.
Holly:
Like being an actual hiker myself, you know? Yes. I need that. That is great. Yeah. Thank you. I'm glad. Cause there, I think it's so funny, like sometimes, sometimes, you know, we as influencers will work with companies that, you know, maybe it makes sense for us, but as you know, an audience member might go, Oh, you're a sellout. You know, those lines. And, and I, the, the thing is is that people don't, people don't realize like how much stuff I turned out, like, Oh yeah, it's, there's so much garbage that comes through. I could easily be making double what I'm making. Um, or more if I accepted, you know, everything. But there's so much stuff I'm not willing to put in front of my audience. I'm not willing to compromise, you know, my values. And, you know, I mean, recently I had, I can't even remember what company it was, but it was bottled water. And I'm like, no, no, that's hard.
Holly:
That's a hard, no. Um, I had clinic reach out to me about doing a campaign, um, that was going to pay pretty, pretty good money. But I, you're vegan. I, well, yeah. And I mean, I look for products especially that I'm putting on my skin. I want things that are nontoxic, you know, and that are socially and environmentally conscious, so, and don't do animal testing and all that. Yeah. So it was an easy no for me. So, um, there's a lot of stuff that gets turned down because we really, I think most people, um, really put a lot of thought into what's gonna, what's gonna make sense and resonate with our audience, you know? And, and that doesn't feel like we're really compromising our values. Not everybody, but a lot of us do. I think that's fantastic.
Holly:
You know, I mean, it's such, it's such a unique industry and it's growing and so many incredible ways that I think you're really trailblazing. You know, what will be for the next generation of Instagram influencers, you know? Yeah. I mean, I hope so. It's kind of weird. I have some people that will, every once in a while tell me, I'm kind of like an OJI, uh, especially the hiking, the hiking, you know what I mean? Like the, you know, sadly the, the whole picture of the, you know, the girl that you just see the back of their head like that, you know, I was one of the originals to kind of start those. I got know that that's true. But, you know, but I mean, when I got into, when I got into turning my page solely into like this, like female themed hiking page of just, you know, pretty landscapes, you know, and me, you know, in the back of my head, basically, um, you know, I don't, I don't remember. I don't remember seeing other accounts and being like, yes, I want, I want to be like that, you know, or something. I want to have something that looks like that. So, so maybe, I mean, I remember when I, do you follow around the world girl?
Michaela:
No, I don't. I'll have to check that one out.
Holly:
Yeah. She and I are friends and we, uh, she was somebody that I came across back when I had like 2000 followers and she helped at 2,500 followers and uh, and she also had a page that was kind of like female outdoors-y, uh, hiking and stuff and, and so we kind of came up, uh, in this whole influencer world together. Yeah. It's been an interesting ride I suppose.
Michaela:
So I remember, um, I've just kind of reflecting as you're talking because my first, um, couple of pictures like that, like, you know, I had my arms out with my fingers back in like 2007, 2006, but I posted them on Facebook, you know, Instagram wasn't around and I was kind of like the dork, like I was like that weird hippy hiking girl, like, yeah.
Like, and I'm thinking like, damn it, why didn't I just stick with it? Totally. I mean, who knew it was going to become this like pretty gigantic trend? Um, where, you know, I think I had a, I had a post a while back where it was just kind of like talking about like the wander babe theme. Like that's huge and it's seemingly never ending. There is no shortage of wonder babes out there. But it's crazy. It's really wild. My husband, I were just joking about this when, when I first started dating him he would take me fishing and we, you know, we do little YouTube videos and stuff and same thing now girls with rods is like a fake. But back then I was that weird girl that was touching bloody fish. Yeah. Yeah. I mean at the end of the day I'm always just so glad that I, I can look back and like my hiking, my love for hiking and like that whole, I guess if you want to call it a career or whatever, I mean it hiking started well before Instagram for me.
Michaela:
So I'm always very happy about that. Um, you know, cause it just doesn't blur the line between like what came first and stuff. So luckily like I was hiking well before Instagram even was a thing. So, well, yeah, it's been a big part of my life for awhile. That kind of leads me into something else that I remember this awhile back and I really, I was, I was like, that is so honorable her. So, so same thing being a hiker like way before Instagram and stuff. I've noticed over the years the trails have just gotten crazy with people that are just there for like the photo and leave, you know, shit, tons of stuff lying around when they, when they, they don't pack out, you know, kind of deal. And number one of your posts, you're like, don't ask me where I am. I'm telling you Washington state for a reason. I'm not going to be specific in my post because my respect for nature is larger than Instagram or whatever.
Holly:
And I'd love for you to elaborate on that a little bit. Yeah. Um, I mean, you know, there is a, a real push pull mentality with the, you know, the geo-tagging. I mean for one, I just, when I began hiking, I took to the internet of course, like here in Washington we have a website that is called Washington trails association. And there is plentiful information, you know, on different hikes. Um, you know, there's, there's write ups on everything how to get there, uh, all the regulations. And then of course there's trip reports. So we're kind of constantly able to peruse to see where people have been recently. Um, and it is, it is probably Washington, like it, it is the greatest resource in Washington for hikers. And then of course, you know, guidebooks have been around since, I don't know the, what the seventies, eighties, yeah, something along those lines.
Holly:
Right. Um, yeah, so there's great information there. And as I was hiking, well before Instagram, I didn't have social media to go get, you know, inspiration or to demand like where is this? You know, I sought it out and I put the time and the effort in every week to figure out where I was going to go on the weekends. So a little bit kind of comes from that like, but then as my account has grown, I mean not of course I have 300,000 followers. Not everybody, not all of those people see it. I mean, I think generally speaking, we only, you know, I only reached like a third of my following, um, time I post, but that is still an, and who knows how many of those actually live in Washington or are hikers, all that kind of stuff. Right. It is, there's a responsibility there.
Holly:
I, I believe to not blast out any one individual location. Um, it just seems, yeah, it just seems really irresponsible. Um, so I don't, um, and I hope people put in the effort to figure out where it is that they want to go and not just expect that they're going to find it on Instagram. Um, so I actually use the comment filters. I don't know if you're aware of comment filters on Instagram, but it's a setting where you can manually enter in words or phrases that know that don't show up, um, on your posts. So I actually started using it because I was getting so fed up with people that would just comment and say, where is this? What trail is this? What Lake is this like that, those kinds of things. You know, some were just as simple as where question Mark and right. And so I actually have all, all of those, even some that are like misspelled, like word is this word. Um, so I don't, I just, I don't, I don't deal with it anymore. I don't see, I hardly ever see it. Um, which is kinda nice cause it was just getting really out of hand I think for awhile. Yeah. Yeah, I could totally see that. Um, I know for me, I, we used to hike, so I live right at the border of desolation wilderness. Yeah. Kind of near breeze actually. Oh. And we have, we have a golden two. He's 11 and a half. He's like looked exactly like Molly. So she just had her first solo paddle. And I was like, I thought I just felt her post though intensely. But, um, I know I texted her right after that. Yeah. She's gonna have to be on the podcast someday and share Marley's story cause it's, it really is.
Michaela:
Um, but yeah, so we used to go to this place and I'll just say it cause it's closed now, but it's, um, it's called university falls and it's this really Epic like waterfalls down multiple granite rocks. And um, I went there about seven or eight years ago and we were hiking all the time and there was just trash everywhere and somebody the last fall, you really can't go off without dying. And somebody went off and they had to be life-flighted out. And these people would park all over the place. Just, I mean it's a highway and they would just park everywhere. So the forestry service actually shut it down. They like gated it up and walked it down. And it made me so sad cause it was the place we went when I was a kid, you know, like we'd been hiking there for years.
Michaela:
So I think, I think, I think that's good that you're, that you're having that element of responsibility. I think that's amazing. Yeah. I mean I've, I've obviously firsthand seen that trails have gotten a lot busier, um, in the last like five years or so. And I've, you know, witnessed a lot more garbage. I've packed out a lot more garbage. Um, and yeah, I mean we're, the trails are going to continue to get busier. Um, and I'm still an advocate of getting outside because it has done, I think we as humans, like we need it. We shouldn't be cooped up in buildings. Like we need nature. I totally agree. And we need nature to care about nature. So I am an extreme advocate for getting outside and getting into it and a part of it and learning to love it. But that doesn't mean I want to tell a hundred thousand people exactly where this one spot is. Totally. Totally. Um, one of the, one of the things recently that I was so impressed with was you went to Patagonia and which I got to hear about. You're going to have to tell me about that. My brother works for Patagonia and that, so that's always somewhere where we kind of go, but your edits were off
the hook. I've seen so many pictures of Patagonia and yours were like, I mean, they were stellar. So beautiful. So how, how do you kind of, how do you do your edits? Like what's, I mean, don't give away your secrets or anything, but how do you kind of do that?
Holly:
Oh, you're sweet. I mean, I feel like I didn't even love the, I mean I love some of the pictures that I got from Patagonia, but I mean it's such a photo chip, photogenic area anyway, but I'd love to go back and kind of try again because doing, I don't think I got a single like real sons that you know or anything like that, but, um, but so the editing keep it easy. Um, and it's something that it's actually kind of hilarious that I felt embarrassed about for a long time cause it made me feel like I wasn't actually, I don't know, considered like a legit, uh, photographer, which, you know, um, maybe I'm not, but, um, as I've, you know, kind of really realized that, you know, what I do is so much more social based that I don't, I don't really have the time to sit down and do everything on, on my computer.
Holly:
So I, I really utilize the mobile applications and like Snapseed is one of my favorites. Um, I do use the light room app. Um, I'm trying to think what else. I mean I use some of the editing. Just an Instagram too. Wow, that's crazy. Well, you're, you're a really good photographer then. That's what it's coming down.
Michaela:
Fantastic. Yeah. I love your edits are off the hook. Um, and, and so how do you think you're, you know, talking about the balance and the pressures of, of your social media and still having a job. How, how are you kind of balancing all of this? Uh, I sometimes don't know that I am keeping it real. That's awesome. Sometimes don't know that I am. Um, you know, sometimes I find that I'm at my regular job and I've got too much social media stuff kind of happening or on my brain, which isn't already there. Are you there? Oh, you just like went into Neverland. Um, I don't, I don't know what happened, but suddenly I was like, okay. I don't think she said anything in a moment. And then I look at my screen and it had been dictating what I was saying. Well, will be really interesting to see how that pans out when I listen. Okay. So where do, Whoa, Whoa. I don't even know. I think where we left off as you were saying that, uh, you're not sure that you have a hundred percent balance. Oh my gosh. Um, okay. Yeah, that was so funny. I literally had like, I looked at my phone and there was an entire page just filled with all this stuff I had just said, now I can't even remember what that was.
Michaela:
But maybe you can cut and paste it and use it in your next capition. No, no, it's gone. Um, I'll have to report that to them. I've never even heard of that before. I don't know. But it was so weird. Cause obviously it took me away from our conversation. You couldn't hear what I was saying was like, I think she muted me. I couldn't hear a word. That's so funny. So funny. But yeah. So on that though, you, you, you talk a lot about being yourself fully and like allowing the process to unfold. Um, it comes across a lot on your profile. What do you think about people who maybe are limiting themselves or who are afraid to just be who they are?
Holly:
Oh gosh. Um, that's kind of a little bit of a can of worms, but, um, I think, I think it's just, it's so easy. Um, it's so easy to just kind of get wrapped up in, in the surface level, you know, of of it all, you know, especially when we're talking about, you know, social media and whatnot. Um, because a lot of times it is just like, for some people it is just pictures and you know, very uh, lighthearted, I don't want to say shallow in a negative way, but just, you know, surface level kind of caption and all that stuff. And there's, there is a, there is a lot of that and there's nothing wrong with that. Um, but I think that, I think what we're seeing is an extreme oversaturation of, of just everyone. I mean, like not reality. Um, I mean there's just, there's so many people that are obviously on social media and it's so easy to kind of grow a large audience.
Holly:
Um, but I'm kind of surprised sometimes at how, how many people kind of don't dig a little bit deeper. Um, and, and the ones really required to share anything they don't want to share. So I think that that's, that's okay. But I find more and more as I scroll through the feeds that I'm following is that I want more, I want more. Yeah. And it's not pointed at any one individual, but, um, but I do, I think generally speaking like I want more and I think a lot of people want more. I'm kind of, I, you know, I've sort of been guilty of falling into the, uh, you know, falling into the theme of trying to, trying to post like the perfect picture or trying to get the perfect picture and, and that's, that's not, that's not where I want to be anymore. That was something that really kind of stressed me out for a long time anyway because I didn't feel like I was actually capable of getting like the perfect picture.
Holly:
So I always was comparing all that. But I get so much more enjoyment out of the posts that I do where I'm able to just, I don't know, share a little bit more real with people. And even if, and even when you look back like two or three posts and it's a picture of me and my cat like, right. I know, you know, I literally just like set the camera up and I, you know, my little intervalometer and I had it taking pictures and I think that's how I first connected with you was because your cat looks like mine.
Michaela:
Remember I bought the banana. Oh my God. She is obsessed with the banana. That is by far her favorite toy. Stilly too. Yeah, that's a good one. But I love that I've actually taken, and not right now because I'm kind of in this like growth period, but I actually had disconnected myself from a lot of the feeds that didn't have any part of themselves that was coming out. Yeah. You know, I see a lot of these couples that are kind of traveling the world and then they're just like on a tree swing in Bali. And I'm like, well that's great, but like, here's your marriage like that every day. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's so easy sometimes to fall into like, I don't want to call it a trap or anything like that, but I mean, I've definitely been guilty of like kind of making quick decisions on who I follow and you just see some, you know, beautiful imagery and all that kind of stuff and you're like, Oh, this is great.
Holly:
You know, I want to follow this. And maybe it's just for some kind of inspirational or it's not sorry, like maybe it's photo inspiration, right? Like that, you know, whatever it is. But yeah, eventually I'm kind of like, I'll look at accounts and I'm just like, why am I falling? Why am I following this? Right. I'm getting triggered by this constant, like, yeah. Yeah. And I think like as we as adults kind of start to navigate, I mean, we've been navigating it for awhile, but I think as we kind of understand what social media is really doing, you know, to us, um, I think we're looking to find healthier ways to interact with it. And I think some of that comes from stepping away from the perfect, the perfect stuff that we're seeing. We're so used to saying that was so successful and probably still will be for a long time, but totally, you know, I've, I've seen my engagement, you know, dip and um, you know, I'm not really growing anymore and my posts aren't doing as well as they used to.
Holly:
And I mean, I know that happens, that's, that's happened to a lot of people, but um, yeah, and it's probably a saturation issue too. I think there's just a lot more people like spread out for whatever. Yeah. And, and I'd rather follow less accounts that, you know, actually where I get something out of it, you know, and it, it really does inspire me or educates me or, you know, just makes me feel good. That kind of stuff doesn't make, cause I'm trying to really pay attention to how I do feel when I see a post or somebody's feed or their words and that sort of stuff. And if it does kind of, you know, bring up a little bit of like negativity, like, you know, maybe that's not on them, that's, you know, more on me, but right. I think putting our mental health first and kind of, you know, paying attention to if there's, if there's people that we follow, where we get those, you know, those comparison, um, payings and, and it makes us feel a little bit less like you don't need to see it.
Holly:
Like it's not their fault. That's, you know, we have to own that and it's our responsibility to kind of do something about it. I remember not too long ago, it might've been a few months ago now you, um, you had posted something and said you were feeling a little disconnected from your feed and you started doing more just you and, and you and the cat and stuff like that. And I really appreciated that and I wondered what your feedback was going to be like from that. Cause I remember you kind of posted to everybody, like, would you like to see more stuff like this? Right. Yeah, it was overall it was good. I mean it's kind of funny because I have noticed that when I post things like that, there's sort of a little bit of a mass Exodus. Like, there are a lot of people that are like, Nope.
Holly:
And you know, and that's okay. Like there's, you know, some people don't really want to get personal and don't want to say your regular life and they do just want those like pretty photos. Um, and so sometimes it happens, but you know, I have to kind of keep going back to the fact that like I would, I would rather have a smaller following that actually like is engaging and interacting with me and my life, not just hiker, Holly. Right. Then, you know, a large following that doesn't give a shit. Absolutely. Now I'm in a struggle right now because, you know, the traditional way, I'm an author, psychotherapist and the traditional way of selling books and stuff just isn't, you don't load up your trunk with books and drive around the United States anymore. This is not a thing, you know? Right. So I really am meeting to grow this platform to, to probably see the level of success that I want to see.
Holly:
And it's, it's a little intimidating trying to kind of maneuver that, staying true to me and being authentic. And still existing in my regular life, but also having a more curated feed and you know, that kind of stuff. It's, it's been a challenge. So I can only imagine how it must be for you. The pressure there. Yeah, it is. There is, there's a lot of pressure and I just kind of have to slough it off a lot. I mean, I used to give into it and I, I mean, gosh, I went through a period of time where I was basically having a mild panic attack before I posted anything, just just because I was always so worried about like how it would perform. Did I edit it the right way? Did I say the right thing? Did I, I don't know. It was, it's actually kind of embarrassing.
Holly:
But yeah, there was, I mean my heart would just like pound. Um, so yeah, there's, there's, there's a lot of pressure to, you know, to kind of just keep, keep it up. Like you sort of have to, if I want to continue this as a career where I'm working with brands, I can't obviously just post sponsored content when and if it comes through like I keep up, um, keep, take, keep taking pictures, keep sharing them, keep, you know, coming up with captions. Hopefully sometimes they're meaningful and lengthy and it's just now on that note, you have a big trip coming up, right? Costa Rica. Can you, can you tell everybody about that? I do. Um, so yeah, it's pretty exciting in terms of, this is actually a host, a trip I'm hosting, which is, I don't, it's either. I mean, I hope it's going to be a blast.
Holly:
I'm working with a company called Trova trip. And so they basically handle all the logistics and itineraries for these trips and so they put it all together. Um, and then I kind of advertise it to my audience and sort of see who, who wants to come to Costa Rica and adventure with me. So some of these times, you know, some of these trips, they, you know, photographers will use them as like photo workshops and all that kind of stuff. But, um, I'm, I just wanna like get to know people. So, and plus I couldn't teach a photography workshop to save my life. I'm not even, I'm not even kidding. Like I mess around with all the controls and kind of figure out what it is I want and I'm like, cool. But I couldn't tell you like anything about anything so, so yeah. I bet pictures are accidents too. Like it's pretty funny. I definitely still have a lot to learn in terms of just basics, but, um, but I keep at it. Um, nobody would ever know by looking at your feet. Holy moly. If I could suck as good as you are, that would be.
Holly:
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. My, my dad always said I had a natural eye for photography and I don't, I mean, I, I'll take the, I'll take the compliment. But yes, in terms of like, like the actual, like tools of the camera, like I couldn't give you a good description of like what a lot of things do. I literally live in what's ISL? I don't know. It has something to do with the amount of light maybe. I, yeah. So yeah, so photography workshop were not really my jam. I'm exploring and it's, we're going to do some, we're going to do some hiking. There's some, um, zip and canny. Kenny canyoneering canyoning I don't know if that, I don't know which one's a word. Um, and, and just, yeah, just kind of hanging out. So far, 17, 17 people signed up. So the people having people sign up, how has their interested in going to Costa Rica with you?
Holly:
Where are they interested to going and going to Costa Rica with me? Um, first of all, the trip is the week before Thanksgiving, so it's in November. Um, and I think we actually get home like, Oh, like six days before Thanksgiving. So there's still plenty of time. It doesn't interfere with the holiday, but, um, the link is currently in my bio to check out the trip and get more information on it, see the full itinerary and hopefully sign up. So yeah, there's only a few spots left, but I think I'll put that link in the show notes too. Oh, thank you. And Bree is coming with me. I saw that. I saw the ice was going and I was like, I'm feeling left out, but I'm going to be in Panama for my 40th birthday that week. Well, she's hosting a trip to Bali in April.
Holly:
I saw that too. And I'm going to go, I think I may need to go to that one. Yeah. Yeah. So it was, it was pretty exciting. She's such a good friend of mine, um, that I met through well. Okay. Yeah, we, we both were following each other and she, we didn't have any interaction with, like, we both followed each other, but we really didn't have any interaction actually until Nell's sister passed away and I announced I put something on, on Instagram about, you know, my cat and losing her and, and breeze wrote me a sweet message and, and it was kind of like she was somebody that like, you know, I, I knew we had like mutual friend or two or something along those lines, but that was our first real interaction. Um, and then I got reservations or permits, um, to have a sweet pie in Arizona for a group of four, myself included.
Holly:
And so instead of inviting friends, you know, that I already knew, I decided I would invite three girls, like from social, from Instagram that I want to get to know. And breeze was, was one of 'em. So I threw the invite out to her and then two others and we all went and had a great time and then breeze and I really maintained, um, the friendship after that and, and got a lot closer. So, and it'll be nice cause she lives in Reno, no search. She lives in Tahoe now. Um, and so we don't see each other very often. Um, so the fact that like she's coming to Costa Rica with me and then I'm going to go to Bali with her and, and so yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun and I'm going to be so fun and the pictures are going to be Epic.
Holly:
I cannot wait. I mean, I hope so, but I'm definitely like the nice thing about, the nice thing about this trip, um, I mean I'm sure everyone will get great photos, but there's no, um, there's, there's no pressure to post anything like for it. So that's always kind of a nice thing is just when there's, you know, sometimes I'll go on trips that are sponsored with brands or something along those lines and we'll have to get a certain amount of photos and post them and all that. And there's, there's nothing. So it really can be just about, you know, engaging with people and being there to be together. So, but yes, I'm sure in today's world we will all get some great photos. Yes. Have you been to Costa Rica before? No, this will be my first time. I loved it. I had a great time.
Holly:
Good. Yeah. I mean I'm slightly concerned. So October is appropriately their wet months, their wellness month and November should be, we should be coming out of that. So fingers crossed that there isn't like a super lengthy wet season this year, but we'll see. That's the tropics and the roads and the driving are terrifying. So I'll watch God. I began, it was like, I was like puckering most of the time. Yeah. Okay. Well it's unbelievable, but it was so fun and the Howler monkeys and the slots and it's just gorgeous. Yeah. Yeah. I can't wait. I was really excited just because, you know, I'm planning it for November, which is about a month into my seasonal depression. So it'll be very, it'll be very needed and the podcasts are, goes back. That's fantastic. Yes. So, uh, well I know I've taken up an hour of your time. Can you tell everybody a little bit about who you are?
Holly:
Yeah, we're really coming full circle. Um, yes. So my name is Holly Johnson. I live in Seattle, Washington. I'm a Washington native. Um, I got into hiking in my mid twenties. It was a venture that I took on by myself, but at the time I didn't have any outdoor friends, so it was something that I just kinda got into alone and found the greatest, you know, therapy from it. And Oh, there's my cat. I don't know if you just heard that she just made a terrible I did. I okay. As always, that's always our cute, um, hiking led to social media and social media led to a complete second side job. So, um, it has been such a journey and I love it. I love the life that I've created for myself, so fantastic.
Michaela:
I'm just so thankful that we finally were able to make a date work and, um, love having you on today. This is just so, I know all the listeners are just going to love hearing yourself. It's really cool. So awesome. And maybe I'll, maybe I'll be with you guys in Bali. Yeah. She's got breath, has the link in her bio so you can check that out. Um, but yeah, I've never been to Bali and neither has she, and I'm really excited about that one and actually I haven't been there either, so that's definitely on the list. Um, yeah, so check it out. And that's going to be, it's going to be a lot of fun. Plus, I love trips in the spring. Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. Well, that will be fun. Okay, cool. Well, thank you so much for being on today and all right, have a good night. Bye. Bye. This has been a BU. Find happy podcast for more inspiration. Check out early. Bye. Bye.