Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani Mathews.
Hi Dani, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Although I was born in the US, I lived in Colombia (where my family is from) until the age of 10. Moving to a small town from a totally different country at such a young age had its challenges. I was different, and had a tough time fitting in. I wanted so badly to be like everyone else but everyone else had grown up together, had gone to the same church together, same schools together, and that’s something that I wouldn’t ever catch up to be.
Fast-forward – I couldn’t wait to leave Greenville when I left to attend college at USC in Columbia. (At this time, there wasn’t much to do in Greenville – downtown was just OK – there were a couple of restaurants, Falls Park had just barely been completed, etc). Anyway, college is where my cooking journey started (this is important because that’s how HealthyishDani started). At this point, my mom had only taught me how to make rice and pasta, but everything else, I taught myself via the Food Network (loved Barefoot Contessa) and food blogs like SkinnyTaste.
In college, I would cook for my friends and roommates and have dinner parties – they’d call me “Delicious Dani.”
During Covid, TikTok became really popular, and I would see so many people sharing their recipes online and I thought, why can’t I do the same?
So my @healthyishdani journey started January 2022 when I decided to post my first video. I was posting so many recipes when one of my breakfast casseroles went viral. Then more and more of my breakfast recipes, specifically EggWraps, would go bananas. In April 2022, I felt confident enough to start sharing them on Instagram too (because this is where all your cousins, mom’s neighborhood friends, random people from high school, are going to start seeing your cringy, silly little videos).
While things were looking up for me on social media, my relationship/marriage of almost 9 years ended so I moved back to Greenville Spring 2023 to be closer to family. Divorce is hard. Moving to a new(ish) city is hard.
Greenville had changed so much, it felt like a totally new city to me. And while itt was hard moving back, especially with what I was going through, this time moving to Greenville, I felt so welcomed by the community.
I fell in love with the ever-evolving culinary scene in this city, and slowly my recipe videos started trialing off as I started to share more restaurant content. Now it’s evolved to sharing a little bit of everything, from restaurants (love sharing the spotlight with small businesses) to easily accessible destinations (short drive or nonstop flights), my overall lifestyle, and more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think there’s also a lot to say about moving to a new city, finding community and making friends as an adult! It’s hard!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have a full time job in Marketing. Have been working in Advertising, Public Relations, Event Planning and Influencer Marketing in the tourism and hospitality industry for 12+ years.
Although I am very proud of my professional career, I am proud of the small community I’ve built on @HealthyishDani where we can all come together with our love for food.
There are so many food, travel and lifestyle bloggers out there,but what sets my content apart from the rest is being my authentic self. Only I can be myself. I am who I am, my opinions and experiences are my own, and though someone can make a video about the same restaurant I made a video for, they’re going to be entirely different.
Something else that I am proud of – every time a business owner of a small, local restaurant/business, reaches out to me and says something along the lines of “Because of your video, we saw an influx of visitors and it has made an impact” – that makes me so gushy with pride. And that is why I do what I do.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Showing up and being vulnerable on social media is a risk.
For example, it was a risk to share how challenging it was to move to a new city after my divorce, and trying to make friends as an adult. Social media can be such a highlight reel, and seeing the sad/challenging parts of life, are important too. Being vulnerable on social media can open you up to hate, judgement, etc. In this case, taking the risk to be vulnerable and opening up, makes others feel less alone.
The response was overwhelming. So many of us are seeking community. When I shared about my experience, I also shared a variety of resources for others going to through the same things (such as Facebook/Instagram groups, tips and tricks), so the risk was certainly worth taking I’m glad I ‘overshared on the internet’ as they say 🙂
Contact Info:
- Email: dani@healthyishdani.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthyishdani/?hl=en
