Jenny Solares' authenticity makes us all love her

Jenny Solares is a runner, a home cook, and a beauty aficionado, but what makes her fans love her so much is her humor and relatability.

"ahhhh man I thought I was watching myself," one commenter said in one of Solares' TikTok videos about how her attitude changes when she drives. "FINALLY AN AUTHENTIC VIDEO WE CAN RELATE TO. Girl!!!! Get your miles anyway you can. You where [sic] glowing," one person commented under one of Solares's running videos.

That relatability has helped her garner more than 32,000 followers on YouTube, 942,000 on Instagram, and a whopping three million on TikTok.

Credit: Mashable / Jenny Solares

Mashable sat down with Solares at VidCon 2025, where she was a featured creator, to talk about how she finds inspiration for her videos, how her platform has taught her how to use your voice, and what she's done to make her channel so successful.

Where do you find inspiration for your videos? How do you not run out of ideas?

Ever since I was little, I've always had these creative juices flowing. [For instance], my song parodies. I remember taking road trips from California to Arizona a lot, and I would see road signs, and I'd literally make up little songs out of those signs. I'd put a little tune to it or use a tune that already existed, and then just put the words on it, and my parents would be like, "Oh, gosh." 

Just in general, my family is always laughing, all the time. We're always making jokes. It really stems from using my real life experiences and my creativity to just bring [content] to life.

All of the comments on your singing videos are like, 'Your voice is so beautiful. It's so amazing. When's the album coming out?'

I like the idea of being a singer, but I like it more that I'm able to do everything I like under one umbrella. I know it sounds weird, but I'm outgoing with people that I'm close to, but when it comes to big groups, I tend to pull back a little bit. I'm a little bit shy. I do not like to be the center of attention or anything like that. So being on stage is scary to me. The fact that I can do something on my phone and still share what I share — that works out perfectly for me.

Another thing that I've noticed about your content, particularly over the past couple of weeks, is that you use your voice to talk about what's affecting your community. A lot of creators talk about how scary that is. 

In past situations, it's been a little trickier just because maybe I'm not fully aware of the scope of the situation, or I don't know how to speak on it per se. But with something like this… My parents were immigrants, and they didn't come here legally. It's fine now, but I felt compelled [to speak on it]. I just couldn't hold back. The challenging thing for me is that I never want to come from a place of hate towards anyone. It's very hard to convey your message and still sound like you're coming from a place of love. And that's what I always want to put out. Really trying to figure out the tone and your words — there's always going to be somebody that's mad at you. 

I put it up and then shut my phone off for my mental health. Thankfully, social media apps can hide the comments from the creator.

What topics have you covered this year that have surprised or challenged you?

It's not surprising to me that I spoke about it just because, like I said, it was just like, it was like word vomit almost, you know? It was like a thing that I had to say. Look what's happening. It's not so surprising that I said something, because, even in my real life, I'll stand up for my people. I'll defend the people close to me. 

But running [content] was not on my bingo card, for sure. I am not a runner — I love fitness and I love going to the gym, but last year I tried to run and it did not happen. [Recently], I've been pretty consistent. 

What kind of feedback have you gotten?

There was just a lot of encouragement, and then people would say, "Oh, I started running, too." And I'd be like, "Oh my gosh." It's pretty awesome.

How do you engage with your community in that way? 

I am very active in my DMs, especially when I upload stories and people reply — it makes it a lot easier to communicate that way through comments. For my mental health, I'll post something and then maybe for like 30 minutes to an hour I'll reply to comments, and then I'll set my phone down. For the most part, it's through DMs that community is built. 

Can you walk me through your workflow?

Sometimes the idea comes to me on the spot, and I'll say, "Oh my gosh, I have to film this now." And I'll put on makeup or whatever it may be and film right on the spot. My notes app is full of pieces of an idea. Later, I'm like, "Oh, OK. This is how I'm gonna bring it together." Because sometimes I'll have a part of an idea, but I don't know how I'm going to bring it to life. And then with my song parodies, sometimes I'll do it without realizing that I'm doing it, and I have to write it down. 

What do you use to edit?

My phone.

What app?

I've been using CapCut and am starting to play with Edits from Instagram… CapCut is a little bit more established. But I definitely want to play with Edits more.

Do you use AI in your content creation right now?

I used to have to find images for green screen backgrounds on Google, and it was hard when I had to do sponsorships and stuff like that. But now I'll use ChatGPT. That helps a lot.

Do you use it for idea ideation at all?

Sometimes, I have an idea and just want to see how I can bring it to life. Sometimes, it works out, and sometimes, it doesn't.

What are some of your tips for creating viral content?

It's a little tough because sometimes the videos that you expect to go viral don't, and the ones that you least expect to go viral do. I would say not to hold back on being yourself fully. Don't be scared to put your full personality into something. And be consistent. 

Do you remember your first video that went viral?

It was a song parody. It wasn't like millions and millions of views, but it was 500,000. I was like, "What is happening? That's huge." It was a song parody during the pandemic, when none of the restaurants were open, and I really wanted to go out to eat. 

I was on a lunch break at my job, and I would film on my lunch break all the time. I would park in this dock where semi trucks would park. I would hide in the corner. And I was thinking of all the food that I wanted to eat. And then I made this little song.

When did you decide to quit that job and do content creation full-time?

Little by little, these bigger brands started approaching. I was at this point where I was like, should I quit my job? Should I not quit my job? And everybody close to me said, "You're never going to know if you don't try." 

Are those brand deals mostly how you make money on social media? Or do you use other monetization methods?

I do use other monetization. But they are my main source of income. TikTok Creator Fund; Facebook has a payment system. I do the affiliate program on Amazon. I have an LTK shop.

Mashable will be live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.