Meet the Internet’s Big Sister: Lucie Fink

Transforming from the teen liaison for the TODAY show all the way to being the captivating persona behind Refinery 29’s renowned “Try Living with Lucie” series, Lucie Fink has evolved into an unstoppable force. As a digital educator and content innovator, Lucie shares her life’s wisdom to diverse audiences. She embodies a vivacious spirit, infusing every narrative with an invigorating breeze of inspiration. And after meeting her, I can say with confidence that her real personality matches her online persona.

On December 14th, 2023, I was granted the opportunity to chat with Lucie, delving deep into her success and her personal evolution through her influential platform. It was a genuine honor, and I am looking forward to introducing all of you to the incredibly talented human Lucie is!

To begin our interview, I asked Lucie how high school set her up for her career today. She replied enthusiastically,

“In high school, I was the president of the Drama Club! I always had these two sides of my brain with two varying interests. On one hand, I was always interested in the performing arts with acting, performing, public speaking, anything really with communications. However, there was always one part of me that was so interested in the sciences. I always sort of thought that that would be the field I would end up in when I was older because it always seemed very academic to me and the more collegiate road. So, in high school I ended up doing a bunch of extracurriculars like acting and just loved every minute of it. However, when I attended Johns Hopkins University, where I went for undergrad, I sort of was like, ‘Well this is a school known for its medical school, so I guess I am supposed to go down the medical route,’ which I started off pre-med, a neuroscience major, thinking I was going to be a doctor, and pretty quickly pivoted away from that world, seeking the entertainment and communications side of Johns Hopkins. I started making videos for the Johns Hopkins office for undergraduate admissions, and basically became the face for the admissions office while I was there, and pretty soon afterwards,  was able to parlay my existing YouTube content to TV appearances, which led me to my jobs post-college.”

I then asked Lucie what jobs she had held in her past, and how each one had helped her achieve her current career. Reflecting, Lucie replied:

“So, when I graduated college, my first job was at an advertising agency where I was actually behind the camera. I was just looking back and found the paperwork and my contract, and I was making only $20 an hour and I was like an assistant producer to the producer, from producer to assistant associate to associate, shifting from role to role. However, at this agency I was able to meet this woman whose name was Lisa Clunie, and she ended up becoming the COO at Refinery 29, and when she got there, she called me and was telling me about Refinery 29… mind you this was 2015, so I had never really heard about it, so I assumed it was sort of like Forever 21!” Giggling, Lucie continued, “A couple months later, once [Lisa] had settled in, she called me and said, ‘I would really like to encourage you to come meet some people, and I think that you would be a good fit!’ I was like ‘Okay, sounds fun!’ When I arrived, I was in a super chic New York City office in the downtown financial district, and I was just wowed! Little did I know how successful this would be. I started making content designed to encourage young women, creating “Try Living with Lucie” and “Lucie for Hire,” and I started to create my own audience. Honestly, the followers are just so dedicated and loyal! After only a few years of working at Refinery 29, I had different talent agencies and managers reaching out, and trying to sign me, working with me exclusively. However, around 2019 I had this itch to try something new, and I wanted to grow as a person, so I left. Ever since then, I have worked for myself, I officially started a corporation, Lucie Fink Media, and I started working with brands on my own!”

Moving onto to Lucie’s present career, I was curious what it was like to work with such influential brands and companies, to which Lucie replied:

“It is actually a little less mind-boggling when you are in the midst of the partnership. Most of the time you as the influencer, when you are working with a big brand like Target, Grammarly, or Google, you are not actually working with the CEO,” giggled Lucie, “you are actually working with a third-party hire to do an advertising campaign with. However, it is cool posting, ‘#ad with Target’, haha!”

Taking a pivot, Lucie asked me a question: “When you look at my content what does my niche say?” To which I responded with:

“You are a familiar friend. Watching you grow on my virtual screen through your different stages of life makes me feel like I am never missing a single beat. Honestly, you feel like my virtual big sister.” 

Next, I asked Lucie what advice she would give students who are looking to explore a similar career path as hers. Lucie eagerly responded:

“I think my biggest piece of advice to anyone would be to stay extremely curious. I actually gave an entire TED X, which was an amazing moment by the way, and talked about the power of trying new things. In my mind, when you view obstacles or new opportunities as a challenge, and you say, ‘You know what, I am just going to try it,’ and taking the approach that trying may lead to failure, it is ultimately a success because you tried. I think people need to remove the mindset that everything is set in stone, and move into things with a more playful, curious spirit, allowing the journey to unfold naturally, where your heart is pulling you.”

Veering off from Lucie’s career, I asked Lucie who she would consider her role model to be. With thought, Lucie replied:

“I think… Anthony Bourdain. It is very sad because he is not with us anymore, but for me, he was my video king. Everything about the type of content he made, the way he tapped into the human connection of things is just my inspiration. The video series I produced for Johns Hopkins and then “Try Living with Lucie,” I feel like they were my young girl version of things I have seen Anthony Bourdain doing. I mean his show “Parts Unknown” was like my inspiration for everything!”

Concluding our interview, knowing Lucie’s advocacy for mental health, I wanted to ask her what advice she would share with her high school self if she could go back in time. Lucie answered:

“I mean I think one thing that affects a lot of high schoolers in general is the stress and weight of everything going on in their life at once. And I remember the immense weight from an academic and social standpoint, trying to deal with all different types of people, different cliques, feeling left out, and wanting people to perceive you as being cool, but it is also that stress of wanting to succeed academically, wanting to go to a good college, get a degree, it is just a very heavy time. Trust me, though, I remember thinking that your own little bubble of the world, the high school you are in, and that little social circle that you are floating in may feel so important and that is your world; however, being able to pull yourself out, and think about where you will be in ten years’ time really puts into perspective how quickly life flies. So, enjoy the moment in time you are in, and do not rush life. This is all just a fleeting moment in time, and try your best to enjoy it because it will all be over too soon.” Passionately, Lucie continued, “Also, be as nice as possible to everyone you come across because when you get older you will realize how vastly important it is to be a kind person. Just being nice to people in my high school days are the moments I am proud of the most. So, just be kind.”

In conclusion, I would personally like to thank Lucie Fink for being nothing short of a gem. Thank you for bringing so much light to our life, and being the internet’s big sister. Thank you for showing the world that it is cool to be kind. I look forward to seeing where your road will continue to lead you. Keep on doing you because you do it so well!