With all the pomp and circumstance of the digital-led generation, Issa Pressman schools us on how to be genuine, authentic, and real on social media.
Who is Ms. Pressman?
One look at Issa Pressman and you already get a clear sense of who she is: From the striking contrast of her statement-making hair, her equally head-turning sense of fashion, and even more memorable, her genuine and warm demeanor. There is an authenticity that runs through everything that doesn’t feel contrived or curated, especially in a day and age where everything is done for the ‘Gram.
A perennial resident of the world wide web, Issa Pressman has been navigating through the vast landscape of the internet where she has made a name for herself in a paradigm that is chock full of intrepid people with an opinion on just about anything, free-spirites creatives filling up the space with vivid imagination, and as it goes without saying, a saturated timeline of tireless social media influencers.
In the so-called age of influence, the importance of authentic people in the industry has grown bigger and the demand for their input and opinions have become way more important in with fake smiles and ineffective ads traverse freely for us to consume. This is why Ms. Pressman stands out among the rest. She lets her personality thrive through many diverse people with hundreds of thousands of followers and just do her own thing.
And the world has dutifully taken notice—finally.
The Fires That Burn
Beyond the checklist of filters and rigors of curation, Issa Pressman shares her life as real as it can be, utilizing her own little space on the digital plane as a platform to let many of her passions shine through. “For me, passion is when you feel happy when you do something,” she explains, adding a list of things she’s currently obsessed about. “I’m passionate about—no doubt—dancing.” There’s a bunch of dance videos under the hashtag #MoveTaDeath, which features her and her friends. “I’m never gonna say that I’m the best dancer ever or that I have mastered my talent in dancing but when I feel happy when I’m dancing! I feel like there’s energy around me especially when I’m dancing with my friends I just feel like there’s this unity among us,” she explains ever so fervently. “Singing but more as a hobby or in my bathroom,” she laughs. “But then I might be working on something really soon.”
There’s a sparkle in Issa’s eyes as she talks about the things she would be too humble to admit she (already) excels in. Aside from singing and dancing, under #ArtByIssa or #IssaCreates, Issa does—as the hashtag goes—art. “I stopped; I haven’t really done anything in two years, but I’m really getting back into it because I know that I would love to excel in that area.” Issa’s works vary from time to time; she said it all depends on her mood. “I have moods when I just want to do pen, or florally acrylic, then I wanna do something realistic. I really can’t choose!” she laughs and it’s as if she just ultimately gave up on having to choose. “Since I can’t choose, I am just gonna put everything there and let’s see how it goes!” This only teased her plans on holding her very own exhibit and yes, she does want to put up one but as if not to jinx it or get anybody’s hopes up and probably to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on herself, she refrained from sharing details about any future plan she has. What we know is that she’s currently going museums after museums, galleries after galleries—one exhibit after another—to refresh her mind and to get all the inspiration she could get.
Never Not Inspired
As a content creator, Issa Pressman takes a lot of inspiration from many things. “It’s corny if it’s just like my dad, my sister, my family but then it’s not!” she says. With a lot of people denouncing answers like these, it’s easy to understand where Issa is coming from, but it’s not wrong at all. She simply is the person who lets all the inspiration come in and encourage her to do and be all the things she believes she can be but when all inspirations have left the world, Issa knows she has people who will keep pushing her forward. “It can be as dramatic as the biggest stars or whatever but then [for me], your closest friends and family are always gonna matter most to you.” In a world where everything is temporary—be it followers, likes, engagements, and fame or fortune—Issa has people she trusts and cares for to help her move forward. “It’s not just about you, your pictures, how many likes you have, or how many comments you get. At the end of the day, it’s who actually calls you and ask how you are, who likes the things that you actually like that really push me forward instead of double taps on Instagram.”
This point-of-view extends its reach to her sense of style, which is uniquely and distinctly her. Taking cues from her innate fashion game, she is swathed in neon-inspired looks for this shoot, which while it is fantastic in nature, it is merely reality heightened as on any given day, you will catch her in a fashion that is a visceral sum of street-ready edge, out-of-the-box color combination, and just the right amount of femininity and sass for good measure. All this merely alludes to her entire self, because as you begin to scratch the surface, Issa Pressman reveals a facet to her that belies the typical influencer template we have become accustomed to on our saturated social media timelines all while being the unconventional type herself.
In The Mood For Likes
At the shoot, Issa takes a particular liking to the Pandora hot air balloon charm around her neck, which in essence encapsulates the the unconventional woman she is today. Never bound by convention, Pandora continues its credo of pooling together collections that lets its wearer express themselves in style. Defying the norm through its High Summer collection, Pandora encourages one to, among others, dream away, seize the moment, and figure in an atypical journey to a destination. Reflecting the charm and candor of the generation, the high-quality and wink-and-nod travel-inspired decorations of Pandora not only fits in with its wearer, but essentially heightens their spirit and personality, just like the focus of Issa Pressman.
“I’ve decided to just grab what’s not usual or what’s a choice someone wouldn’t usually take. And this time, I ended up in an area where I found me. Through that process I developed myself to know the energy I want around me, the few people I’d want to keep, and putting more importance in quality rather than quantity. With all these, I would like to believe that I am not more aligned in achieving my goals.”
As an influencer, she too is a social media marketer herself. She has her own brand she promotes and while a lot of people in her industry lose their selves in advertisements, Issa makes sure she keeps a touch of Ms. Pressman in her posts. “I ask brands ahead of time: is it okay if everything is my style or if I could create it—I could make the video or post? But sometimes they’re very particular with posts and stuff. Sometimes I follow by meeting them halfway but not giving in and losing what I want to do.”
Talk about a clear and steadfast sense of identity.
This Is Ms. Pressman
“I think I’m just like the go-getter-slash-goal-getter type of person,” Issa tells us when asked what other types of content she’d love to try out next. “Not that I have done everything but I kinda tapped into the things that I am actually interested na which also proves that I’m not a professional in each one.” An artist to her own right, Issa believes that as long as she does what makes her happy, she’s all good. She may not be the best dancer, singer, artist, marketer, or businesswoman in her own eyes, Issa is who Issa is. The creative in her lets herself known through all the many things she’s been doing. What the future holds is not a problem for Ms. Pressman. While its uncertainty can be terrifying for many, holding on to her own principles and personality keeps her fearless, grounded, and on the right path—one that she’s paved for herself through her own efforts and hard work.
Photography ERWIN CANLAS OF NEW MONARQ CREATIVX
Creative and art direction JANN PASCUA
Fashion direction and styling LYN ALUMNO AND RJ ROQUE
Makeup JASON DELOS REYES
Hair MARK ROSALES
Nails EXTRAORDINAIL
Shoot coordination THEA MARTIN
Sittings editor JEBBY
Set design SETCHECK INC.
Shot on location at THE CREATIVX STUDIO
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