Ballerina Farm's Hannah Neeleman Doesn't See Her Content as Aspirational: 'Last Thing I Want' (Exclusive)
The influencer has millions of followers on social media, but she tells PEOPLE it's still surprising to see how some envy her lifestyle and business
Aubrey Bengtzen-Jones & Crystal Lund
Ballerina Farm's Hannah Neeleman.Between her big family and sprawling acres of land, Hannah Neeleman's bucolic lifestyle content is easy to consume; for some, it's easy to envy as well. But the influencer hopes her millions of followers view her videos for entertainment and inspiration, not as a guide on how to live their own lives.
Neeleman, 34, spoke to PEOPLE about Ballerina Farm's latest product, the nutrition-packed Farmer Protein Powder, and reflected on her social media presence. She's gained widespread attention in the news and across major platforms for her day-in-the-life videos running a dairy with her husband, Daniel, and caring for their eight kids. With her rise to viral fame, she's also seen a number of people voice their wishes to be more like the creator herself.
The Juilliard-trained ballerina says she recently saw someone express an aspirational instinct in an Instagram Stories.
"She basically said, 'I am trying not to envy Ballerina Farm. I'm just going to channel her energy,'" Neeleman recalls, adding, "The last thing I want to do is have women envy the animals I have or the gym I have or the farm I have."
Even with 10 million followers on Instagram and 9.8 million on TikTok, that type of reaction still comes as a surprise to Neeleman. She tells PEOPLE that for the first "four or five years" after she started posting in 2017, most people only commented on how "crazy" her farm life seemed, and some would even ask if they could come to help her out.
"We were just in the trenches putting up fences up until 1:00 AM trying to get animals figured out," says Neeleman, who complements her agricultural and dancing interests with a successful career in pageantry. In 2023, she was crowned winner of the Mrs. American pageant while 20 weeks pregnant.
aubrey bengtzen-jones & Crystal Lund
Hannah Neeleman with one of the animals on her viral Ballerina Farm.She continues, "We've built this business, but when new people come in and see from what we are today, it's hard to really ... see what we were seven years ago."
If her followers take one thing away from Neeleman's videos, she hopes it's that "everyone started somewhere." She notes how she wasn't even raised on a farm, so her work ethic sources from life lessons taught by her parents.
"Hopefully my content isn't aspirational, but just motivating to do the best you can where you're at," the social media star concludes.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
