Ladies We Love is an interview series with women from around the world that provide us inspiration through their travels and their personal stories. This week we got to know blogger, vlogger and Instagrammer Aggie Lal of Travel In Her Shoes!
This January, we got to meet the gorgeous Aggie Lal in London and it had been a long time coming! We started our @WeAreTravelGirls Instagram page at the end of 2015, and back then we would like and comment on Aggie’s page. She was just getting started with Instagram at the same time we were and the first photo we featured of her was from a trip she took to Guatemala. Since then we have watched her grow from just a few hundred followers to a few hundred thousand! Since the first moment we interacted with Aggie, her genuine personality shinned through and we were delighted to meet her for the first time this year, two years after our online friendship began! In this month’s Ladies We Love interview we caught up with Aggie to ask her ten questions about travel, her favourite destinations, and her tips on how to grow a tribe of dedicated followers.
1. For our readers who don’t yet know you, please tell us a little about yourself – who you are, where you are from and what you are doing now.
My name is Aggie and I am a travel girl! You could call me a blogger or an influencer, but either term is very limiting, I definitely like to be called a ‘travel girl’ who is just lucky enough to make traveling her living. I was born and raised in Poland, studied in Australia and now am based in Los Angeles!
2. What do you feel has been your greatest travel achievement or accomplishment to date?
It’s to be able to be constantly appreciative and humbled by another new destination despite having travelled to over 400 places.
3. We know that you have had some great adventures, sailing the Pacific and climbing Kilimanjaro (about which you also wrote a book), can you tell us what challenges you faced during these trips and how you overcame them?
The challenge is that your mind is constantly telling you ‘you can’t do this’, your body is begging you to go home but your soul feels so good to be surrounded by nature and to be in the element you have to keep repeating to yourself ‘I am stronger than I think’ (which is always true) but the mental game during such experiences is unbelievably hard and impossible to describe. Sailing the Pacific was million times harder than Kilimanjaro in terms of that mental game, because I had to pep talk myself like that hundreds of times a day for over 180 days, which is not easy. Kilimanjaro was definitely harder on my body – the inability to breathe and walk during the Summit attack is beyond anything I can describe to you, but I’m pretty sure that’s what dying feels like haha.
4. What have been your favourite destinations to date and why?
French Polynesia – only because I spent there 4 months and consider it my place on earth (currently here as we speak!).
5. Whats on your travel or experience bucket list for 2018?
South Africa, explore the Philippines more and Fiji! I would also like to revisit my old home – Australia :)
6. You have had great success growing a tribe of followers on Instagram and on your blog, what do you think has been the key to this success?
Showing up every day. People know that if they want some travel motivation or when they really need some inspiration, they can go to travel in her shoes every single day and there will be one new little dose of travel inspiration waiting for them. Whether it’s gonna be a new post or a story, they know they can count on me. That’s invaluable and it’s what makes people ‘follow’ you not only just know of you.
7. What are your top three tips for creating great content?
- Don’t look up what others have created in that same exact destination (it’s hard not to copy a shot if if fall in love with it so I try not to research locations).
- Have your style, but try new things.
- Collaborate.
I know so many amazing people that have a great message to share and are literally born to do this, but they take years to start thinking they have to have it all figured out (blog name, defined photography and editing style, a perfect website). I personally don’t think you do. All you have to do is to show up every day, post photos/write blogs and you’ll create your own brand just by being you. Once you have your brand, it becomes so much easier to grow because people know what you’re about.
9. What would you like to do more of in 2018?
Spend less time on my phone, travel to more off the beaten path locations and would love to go on a trip with my followers.
10. We always like to ask, if you had to choose – Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling?!
Easy – Gosling! ;)
Read More Ladies We Love Interviews
- Ladies We Love: Kate Webb of The Responsible Safari
- Ladies We Love: Alyssa Ramos of My Life’s A Travel Movie
- Ladies We Love: Asha Daya of Girl Talk HQ
- Ladies We Love: Marina Comes
Connect With Aggie
Blog | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
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Zhanna says
I love Aggie and her always positive personality. The girl is so inspirational that you can’t ignore her, like her and follow all her adventures. :)
Www. Morethandestination.com
We Are Travel Girls says
Thanks for reading Zhanna! Glad you enjoyed this interview. Becky, Founder – We Are Travel Girls