EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: ALEXA

We’re super excited to feature you in the Employee Spotlight this month! What's the first thing that came to mind when you found out you were next to be featured on Vapor95's Employee Spotlight?

Thank you. Excited to be featured! When I first heard I was going to be the next Employee Spotlight I was curious about what the questions would be. They tend to be pretty creative.

First, tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at Vapor95.com. What does your day to day look like?

I live in Brooklyn and work remotely, handling marketing and PR at Vapor95, specifically working on influencer strategy and relationship building, managing brand partnerships, creator design collaborations, planning live streams, and events, and reaching out to editors for press coverage. My day to day varies a lot depending on what projects I’m working on. I can say that I do a lot of emailing, researching, and planning every day, and have to be pretty organized to stay on top of everything that I’m working on at once.

How did you find yourself working for the company?

I was friends with River (the founder of Vapor95) before working for the company. He knew that I was working really long hours at my previous job and wasn’t super happy there. He asked me to come work for Vapor95 and it was the greatest work decision I’ve made.

What did you do before Vapor95?

Before Vapor95, I was a Digital Strategist working on influencer strategy for a creative agency. I worked with a variety of lifestyle, beauty, and tourism clients as an account lead for everything influencer related.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a treasure hunter or an actress. I went to performing arts schools and had dreams of becoming a movie star, which is funny to me now because as I’ve gotten older I really don’t like being in the spotlight. When I initially went to college, I went thinking I wanted to pursue a career in creative writing. I later switched gears and went into marketing.

What are your passions and interests outside of work? What's your creative outlet?

Before the city shut down due to COVID-19, I would spend a lot of my time going to shows, mostly to see local Brooklyn bands, but also made sure to see larger bands I love when they made it to NYC. I like to snowboard in the winter, when I am able, but unfortunately didn’t make it out this past year. I wish I could say I have a creative outlet currently. I think I’ve had ‘start writing again’ on my to-do list since I graduated college. I have started getting into genealogy over the past few months while we’ve been stuck at home and have discovered so much about my ancestors. It might be lame, but in general I love doing research and discovering personal histories.

How do you relax when work finishes? What's your ideal weekend?

Working remotely, I sometimes have a hard time establishing a good work-life balance, partly because I’m excited about what I’m working on and also because I haven’t set up a consistent hourly routine for myself, so I often work late into the night. To relax, I like to take a bath, journal, read, light candles, and listen to music like Mazzy Star, Beach House, or J. Mascis. Pretty standard stuff I guess. 

My ideal weekend is being outside in the sun, laying and hiking around in nature. I feel so deprived of it after being stuck in a little apartment for months. I think I need to get more plants for my room!

What is your favorite part about working for Vapor95? What are you working on now?

My favorite part about working at Vapor95 is feeling like I’m heard and respected, and that what I have to contribute is valued. I am able to be super creative and try out any ideas I have. There is an opportunity to get involved in all parts of the business that interest me, and I think that’s pretty invaluable.

Everyone at Vapor95 is super cool and easy-going. There is an immense opportunity for everyone working here to grow and learn new skills as the company grows. 

Right now I’m working on a few things: finalizing our marketing calendar for the remainder of the year, launching new influencer merchandise collections that I helped design and am really excited about, managing co-branded collection drops, launching a new women’s collection, reaching out to the magazines about Vapor95 news, and managing our influencer and creator partnerships.

What's a secret about you that your co-workers have never heard before?

This question is reminiscent of having to go around the classroom and introduce yourself with one interesting fact about yourself, but worse. Working remotely I haven’t really had the opportunity to get to know all of my co-workers on a super personal level so there is a lot they probably don’t know about me.

If you had to choose, what is your favorite design at Vapor95, why?

My favorite Vapor95 design is the Severus, a limited edition, embroidered hoodie. I love all of the details that went into the design. I’ve been trying to get River to bring it back forever. 

I’m also a big fan of the Vinne Art designs, especially CyberVision, Prototype, and Always Cute.

We ask this question to artists we interview here. Letʼs say you get full artistic freedom on a billboard on the busiest road in a huge city where millions will see your message. What would your message be? Any combo of words and images is fine.

If it’s possible, maybe a semi-translucent, holographic billboard that simultaneously casts rainbows and the shadow of the words printed on it onto the road below. The message:

Remember Magic

Or maybe just this quote by Ernest Hemingway:

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.

If you weren't working at Vapor95, what would you be doing?

Most likely working for another lifestyle brand involved in the music or snowboard industry doing marketing, events, and influencer stuff.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Where do you see Vapor95 in five years?

In five years, I hope to still be with Vapor95. I think we’ll be doing really big things and I’m so excited to see the brand evolve and to be involved in that growth.

Which year of your life would you like to relive?

Is this a situation where you go back to change something knowing what you know now about life? I don’t know that I would want to relive one specific year in my life, but I do look back longingly at my childhood and wish I could relive portions of it. The simplicity of life, when the most important things to me were playing outside with friends, and logging into AIM as soon as I got home. Summers spent climbing trees, catching hermit crabs at the beach, and believing in magic. When days felt like they lasted as long as my weeks do now, and memories of my favorite times were easy to recall. When I would stay awake all night to devour books and write plays that I’d make my family act out. I would go back to those moments when things felt calm, simple, and happy. 

What message do you have for the vapor95 fans and customers reading this who admire the brand and want to create something or do something similar?

First and foremost, thank you! Thank you for being excited about the brand and a part of our community. The customers and fans of Vapor95 are the most amazing, kind, and creative people I’ve encountered. Working for a brand that you feel good about and connect with is so rewarding. 

As cliche as it sounds, just go for it. Put aside any fear of failure and know that there will always be people out there who relate to and connect with what you’re doing. It may take time, and a lot of hard work, but you will find your audience or community.