Brooklyn Riley: How Early Commercials And Competitive Cheer Built A Thriving Career In Modeling And Social Media

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brooklyn Riley

Brooklyn Riley is best known as a Model, Influencer and Content Creator from Tennessee. Brooklyn got her start in a commercial for Dollywood at the age of 5 which led to more commercial work. She has done print or commercial advertisements for numerous brands including Splash Country, Arcadia, Ripley’s Aquarium, and Varsity. An All-Star Cheerleader, Brooklyn is also a model and ambassador for The Varsity Family. Fashion has been a part of her life since she was little and as a model, she has graced the runways for designers at New York Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week. When not working on her content for her growing fan base, this Macro Influencer enjoys hanging out with her friends and shopping.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born in North Carolina but moved to Tennessee when I was 3. I started doing pageants when we moved, and I also became a dancer. At 5, I decided to do All Star cheer and model and I’ve been doing it ever since! Currently, I am on a level 6 Senior Cheer team at Diamond Allstars and I’m a Runway model and love to travel when I walk for designers.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

My mom has been a very big help throughout my whole modeling and influencing career. She has helped me get into agencies, runway shows, and has helped me with my social media platforms. I definitely can say my mom has helped me become the person I am today.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?

Something that was interesting and fun was the time I had to do commercials for a huge Arcade. Me and my mom got there at 10 pm and they shut down the arcade and we all just played games and ate pizza until 4 am in the morning! My mom actually played the games the whole time and had so much fun while I shot commercials and print. That was the most interesting thing that happened because we had the whole arcade to ourselves.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was asked to audition for an athletic company for a commercial. My manager had sent me 6 hours away and when I got there, I thought it was for a cheer brand and it was for softball. They were asking me what my favorite softball team was, and I had no comment because I didn’t know anything about softball! Needless to say, I didn’t get the part!

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Right now, I am getting ready to head back to NYC for Varsity. Since I am an Allstar Cheerleader I am a model for the biggest cheer company in the industry. We will be doing photo shoots, videos, and lots of content for the upcoming season. Being a Model and an Ambassador for them has been amazing and I love the company! It really helps girls empower themselves and I feel like I can be a positive role model for other Cheerleaders.

Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?

I was traveling so much with modeling and competitive cheer that we had to decide that homeschool would be the best option for me. When I was in 4th grade, we made the decision, and it was the best decision we could’ve made. I can take my laptop with me and work on everything when I travel.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am particularly grateful for my mom. She has helped me with everything that I do and has guided me every step of the way! When we started this, she would reach out to agencies and brands, and I have her to thank for all the amazing opportunities I have had. She got me in acting classes, and I also took runway classes when I was younger. She has helped grow my social media accounts and showed me how to run it all myself! If it wasn’t for her I don’t think I would be on the path I am now.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s jump to the main part of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1. Don’t let anyone get in the way of your success.

2. Don’t let the negativity get you down. Instead use that to push harder for your goals.

3. Keep working hard now and enjoy the life you worked hard for later.

4. You will have your ups and downs, but it will only make you stronger.

5. Things may not be easy; you may not get every audition or brand but eventually with persistence you will

You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?

I think a way of spreading positivity is always being kind and uplifting others through social media. Social Media can be a very toxic environment sometimes but by uplifting and being positive you can definitely help others. Just by giving someone a simple compliment can change the way they look at things that day. I have always been positive, and I think that’s why I do have so many people that look up to me on social media.

If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)

If I ever got a chance to work with any co-star I would love to work with Rachel McAdams. She is in some of my all-time favorite movies, especially “The Notebook”. I think she is an amazing actress and an inspiration.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

They can find me on Instagram Brooklynriley_1 and on TikTok Brooklynriley120

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!