Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Gruber.
Hi abby, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey with social media started back in high school. I was always posting — Pinterest-inspired content, lifestyle content, random little videos — and slowly I started going viral here and there. People around me would ask me where my “silly little social media” was really going to take me, but I always felt like there was something bigger there. Even when I had no idea how it would turn into a career, I kept showing up every day, posting, learning, and building my confidence online.
Eventually, I moved to Florida and became a server. At the time, I was supporting myself and trying to figure out how to create a life that gave me more freedom. I was working long shifts while still creating content on the side, and that’s when things started to shift. I began working with brands on a smaller scale, learning how to pitch myself, create content that brands actually wanted, and understand how to monetize my social media beyond just posting for fun.
As I grew, I started to fall in love with travel and realized content could be the thing that allowed me to see the world. I started learning how to package myself as a creator and pitch hotels, villas, resorts, and travel brands. That led me to travel across Southeast Asia, where I worked with resorts, stayed in villas, volunteered through Worldpackers, and collaborated with properties in places like Bali, Thailand, and other parts of East Asia. I learned how to turn travel into a full-time income by combining UGC, brand partnerships, app campaigns, influencer work, and travel collaborations.
That season changed everything for me. I wasn’t just traveling for fun — I was building a business from my laptop, creating content for brands, and proving to myself that my income could fund my lifestyle instead of limit it. I started working with different apps, lifestyle brands, and travel companies, and one of my biggest campaigns was for Duet Dating App, where one of my creatives scaled to over 21 million views, drove a 9x ROAS, had a 12% CTR, and generated over 3,000 membership sales.
As I kept growing, I started getting DMs from other creators asking how I was landing brand deals, how I was getting paid to travel, how I was pitching resorts, and how I was turning content into real income. Around that time, my friend Remy Azario and I started hosting travel creator masterminds through StewChat, bringing creators together in places like Bali to network, learn, and build alongside each other. What started as conversations and community slowly turned into something much bigger.
I ended up creating a travel creator community and surrounding myself with creators from all over the world. In Bali, I was living with creators, building community, hosting experiences, and helping people see that content could open doors they never thought were possible. Now we are continuing that mission through creator trips and masterminds in places like Europe and Miami, designed to bring creators together from around the world and teach them how to create financial freedom through content.
That’s really where I found my passion. I realized I didn’t just love creating content — I loved helping other people understand that content can be a vehicle for freedom. Not just followers or free products, but real income, real opportunities, and a lifestyle where they are not trapped by their circumstances.
That passion eventually led me to start First Class Creators, my mentorship and creator community for people who want to build profitable personal brands, land paid brand deals, break into travel UGC, and turn social media into a real business. Today, I’m a full-time creator, UGC strategist, livestreamer, travel creator, and founder of First Class Creators. My mission is to help creators stop waiting to be chosen and instead build the skills, confidence, and strategy to create the life they want.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I think a lot of people see the exciting parts of being a creator — the travel, the brand deals, the collaborations, the freedom — but they do not see the amount of discipline, uncertainty, and sacrifice it takes behind the scenes.
For a long time, it was just me sitting in my room, working on my laptop, filming videos, studying content, editing, pitching brands, and trying to figure out what my actual path was. There were so many days where I would wake up hours before everyone else just to film content or work on my business before the rest of the world was even awake. I was constantly learning, testing, failing, and trying again with no guarantee that it was ever going to work.
That is one of the hardest parts of building something for yourself. You have to keep showing up before there is proof. Before the money is consistent. Before people understand what you are doing. Before anyone claps for you.
Another big challenge was learning how to break my own limiting beliefs. When you start putting yourself online, building an offer, launching a business, or asking for more, people are going to judge you. You have to be willing to be misunderstood while you are becoming the next version of yourself. I had to stop thinking small, stop undercharging, stop waiting for permission, and start believing that bigger opportunities were available to me too.
One phrase that has carried me through so much is: “If someone else has it, why can’t you?” That mindset helped me realize that God and the universe are not on a budget. There is no limit on opportunity, income, creativity, or impact unless you decide there is.
I think the biggest struggle has been learning to keep going even when the results are not immediate. But that is also what separates the people who succeed from the people who stop. Success in this industry is not just about talent. It is about resilience, consistency, belief, and being willing to do the work when nobody is watching.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What sets me apart is that I’m breaking the stigma around being “the blonde girl that travels.” A lot of people see a girl traveling, creating content, staying in beautiful places, and living freely, and they automatically assume she is a dumb blonde or that a man is paying for it.
For me, it is the complete opposite.
I built my business to prove that you can create your own source of income through content. You can build a skillset that funds your crazy, free lifestyle instead of being stuck with your income controlling your lifestyle.
That is the bigger mission behind everything I do. I want people to see that content is not just taking cute photos or posting videos online. Content can become your business. It can create travel opportunities, brand deals, community, freedom, and income when you actually learn how to use it.
Through First Class Creators, I help creators learn how to package themselves, pitch brands, monetize their content, and build a life where their income supports the lifestyle they want instead of limiting it.
I’m proud that I built this myself, and I’m even more proud that I get to help other people realize they can build it too.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is building a community where people feel safe, supported, and free.
To me, true success is not just making money or having a certain title. True success is being free — free to live, create, travel, serve, and build a life that actually feels aligned with who you are. I believe your income should fund your lifestyle, not control it. Your work should be helping you build your dream, not keeping you stuck in a life you are trying to escape.
A huge part of that for me is being able to serve God through the work I do. I believe we are given gifts, stories, and experiences for a reason, and I want to use mine to help other people believe more is possible for them too.
I find so much happiness in helping other people find happiness. Whether that is through content, community, travel, mentorship, or helping someone land their first brand deal, I care about creating spaces where people feel seen, capable, and excited about their future.
At the end of the day, what matters most to me is freedom, faith, and impact — building a life that allows me to help others build theirs.
Contact Info:
