Jasmin Zakaria Bet on Herself — Nearly 1 Million Followers Later, It’s Paying Off

Betting on yourself sounds great in theory. It gets a little scarier when it means walking away from a perfectly reasonable plan. Just ask social media star Jasmin Zakaria, who was getting ready to move into her own place near her mom in Miami when her brother floated a completely different idea: Texas.

“He pointed out that I was about to pay nearly three times as much in rent,” the 22-year-old said in a statement. “So I gave myself about two weeks to really think about it, and eventually I was just like, ‘You know what? F*ck it. Let’s do it.'”

The move wasn’t the only thing on her mind. “I was ready to bet on myself, and that’s what kickstarted everything,” she said. “Once I moved to Texas, I was working hard every day, milking the f*ck out of Instagram, and I never stopped.”

Pretty quickly, all that work began finding an audience. Gym videos caught on first, followed by pool clips and eventually the face-squeezing videos that she’s become known for.

“I started paying less attention to what everyone else was doing and more attention to what I actually wanted on my page,” she explained.

That approach worked better than she could have expected. At one point, Zakaria says she was gaining between 100,000 and 200,000 followers a week. Within months, she was closing in on one million. “It honestly doesn’t feel like I have this many followers. I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet. More than anything, I’m just incredibly thankful that I bet on myself and that my brother believed in me, too.”

Taking a chance on herself has already started opening doors. Last month, Zakaria walked at Swim Week Las Vegas for designer David Tupaz during the Art Hearts Fashion event, part of a three-day fashion weekend that also drew names like Sommer Ray and John Summit at LIV Beach.

“Swim Week was so much fun,” she said. “I had my friend there with me capturing all the behind-the-scenes moments, which made it even more special. I definitely walked away wanting to do more.”

As for where she’d like to take it next, Zakaria already has a few ideas. Prada would be a dream — “they even carry my favorite perfume,” she pointed out — while Chanel has always appealed to her because it’s “so classy” and “feels very me.” She’d also love to do more magazine shoots, with a Playboy feature sitting somewhere on the bucket list.

“I’m just getting started,” Zakaria said. “There’s a lot more I want to create, experience, explore, and learn. I’m just excited to see where it takes me.”