Alex Zouaghi
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Instagram: @a_ontheroad | aontheroad.com
A Parisian at heart, Londoner, former New Yorker and new dad, Alex is a content creator by day and passionate photographer the rest of the time. His blog and Instagram are the diaries of his travel adventures, food discoveries and the big joys of being a new dad.
Creative Community
I love to surprise people and read their reactions when I post a new picture or share a new story. I am incredibly lucky to have a strong and engaged community that started to follow me four years ago and which is still there, and I absolutely don’t want to disappoint them. I always try to reply to every comment that I receive on Instagram because I know that without this community I wouldn’t be able to do what I do right now. I am truly grateful for that.
Content Creator Reality Check
I wish more brands and more influencers would consider this job as a real job. A lot of brands keep contacting me to offer me various experiences or products in exchange for visibility on my channel. I do understand why people would say yes and accept those kind of deals, and I still accept some of them, but I wish the industry could be a bit more professional and consider the fact that producing a concept, taking a picture, editing content, etc., takes time, and this time needs to be compensated in actual fees and not only in free products. I am sure this will come, and I really appreciate seeing more brands being proactive, but the influencer marketing really needs to take a next step and become a responsible industry.
Advice For Creators
I would say, work hard and be committed to what you do. A business doesn’t grow overnight; it requires a lot of work and patience. It may sound basic, but there is no secret. I am often asked what is the secret of being successful on Instagram, and sadly there is no secret recipe: Wake up early to shoot, be involved and present for your community, push yourself harder and harder to create better content, and try to be as humble as possible.
London Town
I have been living in London for the past four years and completely fell in love with Notting Hill where I moved in 2015. Notting Hill has been one of the first sources of inspiration of my Instagram feed. Colors, little alleys and cute houses, the kind of London everybody would love to be living in! What I love the most about my neighborhood is its beautiful mix of people, the little antique shops and the incredible sense of community that is still very present in that part of London.
Explore
»Cafés I Love: Half Cup in King’s Cross for the best pancakes in the world. Attendant and Ozone Coffee for brunch (but be ready to queue)!
»Try to wake up early to have the city all for yourself! The first rays of light are magical and the city feels so different when it’s still quiet and empty. It’s one of my favorite moments in the day to take pictures!
»I love Golborne Village, up north Portobello Market. It’s what I would call the vintage Notting Hill. That part of the neighborhood seems to have been forgotten by modern times! The streets are full of antique shops and vintage markets. Everybody seems to know each other, and the Saturday market is definitely less crowded and more authentic than Portobello’s, which is really touristic these days. It’s one of my favorite places to hang out in London.
Favorite Winter Tea
I always love a good rooibos tea. The good thing about it is that you can enjoy it as much as you want and it doesn’t contain any caffeine.