Popular Social Media influencer says being in spotlight isn’t always easy

by Lyf Compton

Being one of the most followed Vincentians on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram isn’t all fun and games according to influencer Kevisha Greaves.

The local lass said that she has had to shut down suitors of both sexes, deal with death threats, and persons have even wished failure on her and accused her of stealing the spotlight from others.

Greaves through her Instagram account _.bae.its.kae._ has managed to amass some 61,100 followers, while on TikTok, she has 199,400 followers and 6126 subscribers on YouTube.

She is the most followed local content producer on TikTok and Instagram.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Monday, Kevisha said when she began uploading photos to Instagram sometime in 2013 using her Apple iPad, she had no idea that she would become one of the most followed local content creators, as in her mind, she was just using the platform as a sort of public diary.

She said she isn’t even sure when she moved to _.bae.its.kae._ from her first moniker i_kisses, but knows her following took off in 2019 when she posted a photo her mom took of her in a turquoise dress next to a turquoise painted vehicle.

She said at that point, she had 9,000 followers on her private account and it shot up overnight when she made her account public, and the photo later amassed 14,000 likes.

Since that photo, the young woman, the daughter of Mare Cupid and Kevin Greaves (deceased), has been involved in promotions for companies like Digicel, FLOW, Hot 97.1 FM, Kubiyashi Productions, Mirage Productions, AMGINE Entertainment and fashion establishments like D Fashion Spot and Tia La Mode.

“…That was a regular picture and it blew up,” the former student of St Mary’s Roman Catholic (SMRC), Girls’ High School (GHS) and St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) told SEARCHLIGHT.

Kevisha, a dancer with the Arabesque Dance Company is also a model having gone through her paces with the Mije Personal Development and Advertising Agency, and Paragon Model Management SVG.
She said she started being expressive at around eight years old and has been engulfed in the world of modelling and dancing ever since.

Where she has reached in terms of followers and gigs was not planned.

“Personally it just kind of happened. I was always a person who would take and post pictures, and Instagram became like a public diary; I did it for myself, and then persons reached out to me for help to promote their companies so that is where that came about,” she related.

“I just like to create content,” Kevisha added, while noting that about 40 to 50 per cent of her followers are Vincentians with other people are in places like Africa, France and Dubai.

“It had a moment when I asked followers where they came from …and I was really surprised when I heard persons reply from England and America and other places.

“I was surprised that I had so many different nationalities that followed me, so I started posting more lifestyle content of me in the Caribbean because it made people interested in St Vincent and the Grenadines and what we are doing here,” Kevisha explained.

She said some of her content includes her showing her make-up and dress-up routines when she’s preparing to go out to have a good time; while other content shows exercise and other everyday activities, including vacations she might take.

“It’s just like the audience is trying new things with me while I try them,” she said while noting that she doesn’t focus on the number of persons who follow her platforms but knows it is a big deal in local settings.

“I’ve looked at it before but I only think about it when people mention it to me.

“…Being from a small island, I appreciate having the support and followers,” Kevisha said and added that in a country of 110,000 people, having over 61,000 followers on one platform and nearly 200,000 on another is an accomplishment if you are to look at the percentages when compared with other content creators from other countries.

Kevisha, who pursued studies in accounting in the United Kingdom (UK), said she is now studying Social Media and Marketing and her social media presence is helpful.

She, however, thinks that persons who live in SVG and may want to take up being a social media influencer as a full time job should rethink the idea.

“It is not necessarily a wise career path on a small island, and it takes a toll on you. You have to realize that not everyone is going to like you,” Kevisha said while relating that she has had death threats and stalkers, and have had to block persons.

“A male wanted to be with me and he kept bothering me and he went on Twitter saying I made him want to commit suicide, and that moved to a death threat and I didn’t know who the person was.
“I have received messages with people telling me they want me to fail and die and I am taking away the spotlight from people.

“A lot of persons have a problem with me for some reason,” she related.

Kevisha said she prefers when Instagram did not allow direct messaging as there have been instances where males have sent unwanted photos of their private parts to her.

“Nobody deserves to be treated this way,” she said, while noting that she has had to use certain features available on the apps that block certain words.

“People meet me in person and say I am nicer than they expected … when I am around people who I am comfortable with, I am very nice, but I have to be very guarded with people,” Kevisha stressed while noting that social media is a place where you can express yourself and also earn money, but the Internet can also be a dark place where all types of persons lurk.

The content producer did not even want the community in which she resides mentioned, preferring to say that she is from Sion Hill and Revierre, the areas where her mother and father grew up.

The dog lover also revealed that she is taking a break from social media while she works with her mom at an agency they operate in Kingstown.

“If you notice I haven’t been posting as much content as before,” she said.