Welcome to the fourth edition of #MCM — comin’ atcha the first Monday of every month about your fave celeb crushes. Sometimes, it’ll be an extended look into our print issue’s Bae Watch and other times, it’ll be someone we haven’t featured yet. For September: Bryce Xavier.
You’ve seen him all over your Instagram feed, and you were low-key high-key obsessed with “Bria.” (Don’t worry; they’re still friends!) Bryce Xavier — the social media influencer who acts, sings, dances, and promotes positivity in anything he does — is definitely #mcm-worthy.
But becoming an influencer with around 2.4 million followers is not what this 16-year-old ever thought he would be doing. “I got my start because I made an Instagram account for acting,” Bryce explains. “Acting is the reason why I got in this industry. I made an Instagram, YouTube, and Musical.ly. My Musical.ly blew up, which transferred over to Instagram and YouTube. From there, I grew it based off that.”
That growth continues on the daily, especially on Instagram, Bryce’s fave platform. He credits IG for giving him his start and making it easy to connect with his followers, or as he calls them, his “Bees”. And because of this special love for the ‘gram, Bryce got the chance to help launch IGTV, alongside other influencers such as, Lele Pons, Lauren Godwin, and Tyler Blevins (aka Ninja). “It was a very collaborative experience, where we all put our personalities into something that meant a lot to us,” Bryce says. “We all got our big break using Instagram and other platforms. It was cool that the thing that you use almost every second of every day knows you exist! One of my favorite moments of this year was when I realized that Instagram followed me on Instagram.”
Besides being named one of five digital stars under age 18 you should know by The Hollywood Reporter, Bryce also launched a clothing line with Always Again called BeeWare and has a blossoming acting career. He’s been on Bounce TV’s Family Time, and he recently joined the cast of Total Eclipse on Brat, where he co-stars as Scott alongside one of his best friends, Mackenzie Ziegler. The new season is set to premiere on Sept. 6. “Scott is similar to me, but not as much as people might see on social media,” he says. “A lot of people don’t know that I love school. I consider myself a very intelligent person. I love writing, reading, and things like that. I feel like portraying this character allowed me to bring out a lot of the old things that I used to do more, when I wasn’t in the industry. I feel like people will see a different side of me.”
Speaking of that different side, a lot of people don’t know that Bryce plays five instruments: violin (which he’s been playing for seven years), viola, cello, piano, and guitar. While he plays his piano and guitar in quite a few of his YouTube and Instagram videos, he would love to introduce his violin skills to his fans one day, too.
Although acting and singing was his original plan, being an influencer is something he wouldn’t change for the world. Bryce’s goal is to be successful in whatever he does, even if that means not being able to to regular teenage things. “I feel like once I decided that I wanted to be in this industry, the normal 16-year-old went out the window,” Bryce explains. “I feel like everything I’ve been doing day-to-day for the past three years has been entertainment. I love that, and I’m totally okay with that because I’m doing what I love every day.”
Main Photo by Luke Fontana
