Whether spending Sunday afternoons shooting content for the week or countless hours every day crafting funny reels and relatable Instagram stories, content creators put passion and tremendous effort into their platforms. The combination of a remote lifestyle and a desire for a creative outlet has encouraged several military-connected influencers to take a chance on sharing the intimacies of their daily life through Instagram. Not to mention – a new recipe, favorite morning coffee or budget-friendly outfit.
Keep reading to hear how military life has influenced the content behind these 20 military-connected creators.
#1. @rachelearls
Rachel Earls: Army veteran spouse
Lifestyle influencer
“Creating my content is more than a full-time job… It’s constant. My platform is my ministry… “Love God, love people, make a difference, and be thankful.” I’m just trying to show an authentic real life. I’m not trying to be picture perfect and have it all together … I just want to love God and people through all the ups and downs in our life.”
#2. @alexa.anglin
Alexa Anglin: Army veteran spouse
Lifestyle influencer
“Our time in the military taught me patience, perseverance, and empathy. My husband deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and that time apart definitely taught me how to become more self-sufficient and independent. I learned patience and how to persevere during difficult times.”
#3. @justin.lascek
Justin Lascek: Combat wounded double-amputee Army veteran
Military and mental health advocate
“I honestly don’t think I enjoy sharing anything about myself. Sometimes it can be cathartic to put an idea out or let others know what I’m feeling, but generally, I don’t want to share any of that information. I do it because nobody does. I do it because I want people to know what the truth is, how someone can actually feel in the world. Maybe the empathy they have for me – someone who almost died and is desperate to heal and be in love – will transfer to themselves and others. If I can bare my soul to help another person generate compassion, then I will do what I can.”
#4. @mat_best_official
Mat Best: Army veteran
Black Rifle Coffee co-founder
Author and veteran Mat Best explains his passion for life in this YouTube clip, I Choose Life. “No matter what path you take in life, there will always be those who hunger to see you fail. Even the most confident and motivated people will need a helping hand at some point in their life. Cause life ain’t easy; it’s going to kick you down, and hope you don’t get back up. It’s up to you to find motivation through adversity. I’ve found that life is a constant opportunity to learn, and sometimes mistakes teach you the most about who you should be. It’s about the fight, the future, and being the person you want to be despite anyone else’s expectations.”
#5. @thekindredginger
Caitlin Lewis: Marine Corps spouse
Lifestyle influencer and military advocate
“As a military spouse, we are constantly forced to fly without wings, and that trains us to be strong, resilient and optimistic. Things that often could be of great challenge to some aren’t as challenging for military spouses. That perspective and mindset has helped me not only with my platform as an influencer, but as a woman and mother. I’m able to use that voice being a military spouse has given me to have an impact on my community!”
#6. @stripesandwhimsy
Katie Vail: Army veteran
Fashion and lifestyle influencer
“I started my blog and social media accounts back in 2013 when I was an active-duty Army officer working at the Pentagon. It was a nice creative outlet that I desperately needed after four years of living in a barracks room as a West Point cadet and then close to a decade of wearing a uniform. In the past two years, it has evolved into a true job where I share real-life outfits, decorating ideas, motherhood highs and lows and furniture DIYs.”
#7. @designaddictmom
Stacey-Ann Blake: Army veteran spouse
Home interior design influencer
“When we were stationed in Fort Leonard Wood, Miss, we lived on base in military housing, and I remember getting carpal tunnel when it was time to move. You see, I had painted the walls of our military housing and got carpal tunnel because I had to repaint it all when it was time to move. And guess what, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I believe you should embrace whatever space you have and make it your own, and I share creative and fun ways to do just that.
#8. @veteranwithasign
Zachary Bell: Marine Corps veteran
Veteran mental health advocate
“The goal of my platform is to make people laugh more and to hurt themselves less. My goal is to be a bridge between the military and veteran communities. I want it to be a place of understanding where people can learn more about each other and their experiences. The only way we’re all going to learn more about each other is having open and honest communication.”
#9. @fortheloveofgourmet
Claire Dieterich: Army veteran
Food blogger
“I’m very proud of my service and of my husband’s service. I think when people leave the military or graduate from a service academy, there is a “typical” trajectory for their life and career. I like that I’ve done something different, and it shows that your military background can help you in many different ways. I am a one-woman team, which means I need to be very intrinsically motivated and excel at time management. Those are definitely skills that I learned and honed during my time in the military.”
#10. @travelswithnano
Nano Betts: Army spouse
Travel, food and photography influencer
“Most importantly, I use my platforms to connect with local communities. Military and diplomatic lifestyles can be fun and adventurous, but also quite challenging emotionally for spouses who have to uproot and relocate every 3-5 years. Rebuilding those connections and friendships all over again is not easy. As dramatic as it may sound, my Instagram page has helped me cope when we moved to Japan and when we relocated to Washington, D.C. I hardly knew anyone in either of these places, and it was hard. However, slowly but surely, I was able to reach out to like-minded creatives via Instagram who were open to connecting.”
#11. @nickbarefitness
Nick Bare: Army veteran
Fitness influencer and BPN Supplements founder
Fitness influencer Nick Bare discusses why he runs in this YouTube clip, WHY I RUN. “Through my time in the military, running was just a part of me. Then when I left the military, that part of me naturally felt like it should have just stopped. I should have stopped running. But there was something missing from me, and I think it has to do with a personal trait, wanting to get better. Wanting to constantly improve, wanting to ‘go one more’ all the time. There’s a correlation between constantly wanting to improve and running for me. It’s you versus you, and there’s no rest.”
#12. @planesandprettythings
Aimee Huebner: Air Force spouse
Fashion influencer
“Being a military spouse was how I got my start in the first place with being an influencer. I was a little burnt out with teaching at the time but still wanted a job that would be able to move every few years, and this seemed like a perfect fit. I can work from anywhere in the world, which is especially helpful with military life! I usually work 9-5 on weekdays and shoot content with my husband on Sundays after church. When I am not actively shooting content, I am editing, reaching out to brands, strategizing for the week and crafting campaigns. My husband is also a huge help with my business. He is my photographer and shoots 90% of all my photos/videos.”
#13: @theshortwife
Erin Byal: Marine Corps spouse
Mental health advocate
“I am no stranger to being vulnerable and laying it all out there on the internet for everyone to see. Because I’m so open about my mental health journey, people feel that connection and relate to my story. It helps others feel seen and heard and think maybe they’re not “crazy.” Especially when the military decides to throw curveballs like deployments, moves, TDY’s, job changes, schedule changes and more.”
#14. @occasions.byshakira
Shakira Patterson: Army spouse
Lifestyle and motherhood influencer
“I share about making every day a celebration. My followers know how much this lifestyle pulls me to adapt and how, due to deployments and PCSing, I’m not guaranteed the ‘big’ holidays and celebrations, so creating the joy where I can is how I navigate military spouse life. I literally practice what I preach.”
#15. @wivesoftheairforce
Jen and Kirst: Air Force spouses
Military lifestyle influencers
“When we both started our respective relationships with our husbands, we were met with a lot of negative, doom and gloom information on the internet about how ‘miserable’ this life would be. Wives of the Air Force is a space where you can find helpful resources and emotional support to thrive in this lifestyle.”
#16. @itskellierene
Kellie Renè Hall: Navy officer
Motivational speaker and lifestyle influencer
“My platform “#DoBoth” was born in 2016, when I competed in my very first Miss USA state pageant and was bullied online by other members of the military. I was told I ‘wouldn’t be taken seriously as an officer’ if I decided to compete or pursue modeling and that I wasn’t ‘committed to the Navy’ if I had passions outside of the military. Not only have I continued to pursue my personal passions, but I’ve continued to excel in my military career as well. I want to be the example to other women that I wish I had as a young midshipmen myself: you don’t need to change who you are to be successful, you need to embrace who you are instead. Being uniquely different individual is what makes our Navy a great team. That is why I maintain my online platform, to showcase that we really can do both.”
#17. @lisa_faye_medina
Lisa Faye Medina: Army spouse
Home interior design influencer
“My goal is to encourage people right where they are, and whether you’re in the middle of a deployment or you’re working to create a beautiful home you’ll love, no matter where the military takes you! I’ve been a military spouse for almost 20 years and I’ve learned and connected with more incredible military spouses online than I ever have before.”
#18. @whitney.lynn.m
Whitney Morrow: Marine Corps veteran spouse
Fashion and lifestyle influencer
“Once my husband returned from deployment, my social media strategy changed. I used to be on my phone from the time I woke up to when I went to bed. And unless you have experienced a deployment, I’m not sure someone will ever understand that. I now make sure to unplug each day when my family is together. And I also now encourage any of my followers who might be going through a deployment, to reach out to me if they need someone to talk to. Because I know that checking your phone constantly for a call or a text can become exhausting.”
#19. @kendallmariah
Kendall Mariah: Army spouse
Motherhood and lifestyle influencer
“I am “the girl next door” figuring out how to make our on-base home beautiful, sharing my secrets to solo-parenting, and keeping it real about the struggles we face as military families. I know what it’s like to get married and move 3,000 miles away from your family and go through months of being alone and have an identity crisis because suddenly you are “just so-and-so’s spouse.”
#20. @movingwiththemilitary
Maria Reed: Army spouse
Creator, “Moving With The Military” TV show
“Moving With The Military was created out of being a military spouse. I was a filmmaker for many years prior to meeting my husband, but I don’t think I could have ever created a series like we have without having lived this life. Being a military spouse has taught me so much through the deployments and constant training cycles. I learned I am strong and capable, and no is not an option; I just figured out a different way to do it. I became very resourceful.”
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