“It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public.” — Tony Robbins — This quote speaks so loud to me because I’m the type that never shares anything until it’s actually happening, and if I do share it, I make sure it happens no matter what, because it’s super important for me to say as I do.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsey Heppner.
Lindsey has become a mogul in the social media marketing world. Through her creative initiatives and memorable moments, Lindsey has completely changed how influencers, social media and the overall culture is perceived. She is the founder and owner of Vampped and Revampped based out of LA.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My career path has always been in the creative space. I grew up with a paintbrush in my hand so I always had a knack for being creative in all spaces. I started working in the surf industry as a swimwear model and really took the tools I learned to then design my own swimwear company which then led to me being a designer for other major swimwear lines. In 2014 I had a life-changing car accident that made me pivot my decisions on what my life was going to look like. This is when I started Vampped — I had no idea what the direction would be, but I dove in head first and never looked back. It has now been almost 7 1/2 years taking the social media space by storm, trailblazing “influencer tours”, creating content for the biggest brands in the space, and being the top 5 best parties at Coachella. My career path has always been to do things that make people smile and make memories that are forever imprinted in people’s hearts. My business has always been a community of good people and positive vibes only.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Vampped is known for making a lot of noise. We started the business being one of the only agencies in the space managing “influencers” before the word was even a word. We led in early 2014/2015 the very first influencer tour that made brands all over the world want to pivot their business into the travel space. Brands come to us when they want to have a “cool” status — we give them a “re-vampping” and create buzz around their business, placing them with the right talent and right content with the purpose to take them to the next level.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Now that I’m on the spot, I can’t even think of a funny mistake. But I am definitely the loudest on set. I want everyone to feel comfortable and have fun at all times. I think it’s super important for me to have an environment at work that makes me feel like a kid. Every creative that works with me knows I am the jokester on set. I’ve always hated as a model going to shoots that were so stuffy — so I decided that my shoots always were going to be different, people were not going to feel like they were at work. I also feel that being funny and excited on set helps the models loosen up and be the best they can be, and that is the best for the client. To see the campaigns come to life even more.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I’ve never really had mentors in the past because I’ve always gone by the beat of my own drum. A lot of people around me never understood my drive nor did they understand the social space I was entering, so I really had to take risks and trust my gut blindly. Not until recently what has been the best guide to my successes has been my heart healer. He has led me to make better choices and clearing out the trauma that makes me hold on to toxic people and to bad decisions based on comfort. I’ve learned so much from him on how not to be a people pleaser and how to say no to clients that don’t align with my values, integrity, morals, and overall healthy mental state. I think it’s important for me to make an impact every day in this space — big or small, how I communicate with my talent, clients, creatives or the team is how I want to see them lead and share with the world that you can be a good person and still be successful.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
For me, Vampped has always been disruptive. We have been going against the grain since day one. I don’t do anything unless my gut says it’s a good idea and I think in an industry that is based on money, fame and fortune, I choose none of those things. I have chosen friendships, happiness and good energy. With that came healthy success, healthy money and a healthy environment. I chose to always be me in every situation. I wanted Vampped to be revampping not only brands, but the industry. It’s very hard for people sometimes to grasp how much I will turn things down if it goes against my values, integrity and overall goals of being a better person. I think the industry has been doing enough years of disrupting negatively that I didn’t come into it to be the same. I’m okay with being a black sheep. I’m okay with it. Everything can be tangible and variable. But my health, my energy, my happiness and my mindset are not.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
— Fear your friends….. — What I mean by this is simple. We have learned from social media that we have a ton of “friends”, but are they really your friends? We need to normalize the term acquaintance. Friends should only be people who are loyal, uplifting, honest, supportive and trustworthy. Not the ones that don’t want to see you succeed, are jealous of you, and talk shit behind your back but are sweet to your face. Choose your friends wisely.
“It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public.” — Tony Robbins — This quote speaks so loud to me because I’m the type that never shares anything until it’s actually happening, and if I do share it, I make sure it happens no matter what, because it’s super important for me to say as I do.
“Good be a person, and good things happen” — Gary V — I’ve noticed that once you have boundaries and respect yourself, you start choosing the right people around you, which in turn helps you be a better person to the people that deserve it. Good things happen then when you do the right things.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
As a company, we get a lot of amazing opportunities which in turn gives me a lot of freedom to shake things up! We will just have to wait and see what we do next xx.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I think women still to this day are always trying to prove themselves. We are still not equally respected in a lot of aspects of the business world. I think men just naturally trust other men’s advice and the work ethic vs. women’s. I think women are so magically creative, nurturing, and natural leaders. We are definitely better at multitasking too, lol.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
I’m very unapologetic, and I think that is why I love Gary V. He is who he is — and you either love him or you don’t. I try to live my life very similarly. You are not going to change me, I am who I am, and if you don’t like it, don’t watch me. I listen to a lot of different podcasts, mostly uplifting and ones that make me tackle the day with drive and motivation.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I want to influence others not to give into peer pressure at any level. I think a lot of people are so afraid to not be cool or not to be accepted for who they are. I try to promote on every level of my existence that it’s okay to be you. I have always been very much in my own lane. I want men and women to find confidence in themselves to be better for themselves. I want to influence people to stay clear of toxic people and energies that don’t help them become their greatest selves.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Always trust your gut. It’s so important to hear me when I say, your first instinct is always the right choice. I think so many people push down their initial gut feeling and then wonder why bad things happened to them or they got into bad situations. I can first hand say that I have definitely been in those situations of not trusting my gut and then everything goes wrong. So now, even if it feels unnatural for me to trust my gut, I do it anyway and it has always served a purpose!
How can our readers follow you online?
You can find me at @linzheppner + @revamppedpodcast or our agency @vampped , vampped.com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
