The 2015 Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team is ready to get things underway.
Led by new head coach Chelsea Shaw, the team will get started in Southern California on Feb. 4 against Azusa Pacific. The Emerald recently sat down with Blaire Wilson, a sophmore back base from Scottsdale, Arizona.
Acrobatics and Tumbling-wise, how is the team feeling heading into the start of the season?
We’re feeling pumped. We’re just putting the final touches together and getting our team routine solid. I think everyone is pretty excited to take the mat this year.
What has changed, other than having a new coach?
Not too much. I mean, yeah, we have a new coach, but the philosophy is still the same. We still do everything the same. The seniors have done a really good job of leading the team and carrying the same philosophy to the freshmen.
Your YouTube account, BeautyByBlaire has over 21,000 subscribers. How did it first get started?
I always watched beauty videos on YouTube during my freshman year of high school and I don’t know. I just always really liked them and was really bored and did it in my downtime. And then, I was showing one of my friends what I got shopping and she was like, ‘You should make videos.’ And I was like, ‘Oh! Never thought of actually doing it.’ And so I just made a video and put it up.
Have you been surprised with the number of people who are interested?
It’s really weird that there’s 20,000 people that, I don’t know — that’s more, that’s twenty times the size of my high school. So, that’s pretty crazy.
How have you seen the growth of your channel in its three years?
It’s definitely grown from cheerleading. I made cheer videos and that’s definitely grown my channel and now that I’m not a cheerleader anymore, it’s still growing, which I didn’t think would happen, but it’s definitely still increasing in views.
How would you describe the style?
My style is always changing. When I’m in Oregon, I’m definitely more athletic and just workout clothes. When I’m home, I like to dress up — so it’s always changing.
What’s it like to receive feedback from your subscribers?
It’s really fun just to connect with people. I didn’t have a sister growing up, I just had my mom. She doesn’t really know how to do makeup or anything, so I didn’t either. But when I started cheer, I got into everything and I kind of learned from the older girls. So I wanted to be the older girl for everyone who watches my videos, so they kind of have a sister in a way.
What’s your favorite video overall?
It’s really hard for me to stay consistent, especially being here, it’s hard to film stuff. So for the past summer, I filmed a lot and got a lot of videos up, but I really liked just some of my DIYs. I really like making things.
You recently met with a fan in person, what was that like?
It was crazy. Her name is Jada. She was the sweetest girl ever. She went to the same cheer gym that I used to go to. People would always say, ‘Oh my god, you have a twin.’ And they’d send me pictures of her, and I was like ‘Oh she really does look like me.’ And my coach made this little meet-up and I went over to her house and surprised her. It was the best thing ever. She was just the cutest.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne