Diva Olivka: “I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt.”

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 1 - изображение

With Alevtina, better known as the blogger Diva Olivka, we agreed to meet at ten in the morning. But even before the arranged time, she was waiting for me with a smile for breakfast in a cafe in the center of Kiev. Alya immediately advised me to drink her favorite coffee with halva for company. As soon as I picked it up, my first reaction to the plastic lid of my drink glass was, “What about a clean planet?” With this phrase began our cozy acquaintance and an exclusive interview for Woman. The famous instablogger told about vines, a new lifestyle and true love.

Alya, did you accidentally invite me to a vegan cafe?

It’s the only place that’s open near my house at ten in the morning(laughs). But I actually come here a lot. About nine months ago I started to eat healthily, became a vegan, and realized that illnesses are often from the wrong food. I am what I eat. At first I meditated, even tried the Hindu ekadashi fast(a one-day dry fast combined with various spiritual practices to purify the soul and body). It really refreshed me. Over time, I just eliminated all animal products, sometimes I can only eat a dish that includes milk. That is, if I have no other choice. I don’t even crave sweets or meat, it even disgusts me. I used to be able to stuff myself with a burger, now I pick it up and I smell like some kind of dead, murdered animal.

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 2 - изображение

You have repeatedly told your subscribers that you are eco-conscious and care about nature. In one of your posts, you wrote that you decided to stop buying unnecessary things and get into mindful consumption for the sake of pollution control. What’s the experience without the mega-shopping?

I faced a deep problem because marketers put me on the “needle” of shopping. I always thought you had to buy something to feel complete. There was even this: I went into the store to buy socks, and I came out with a ring I bought. I still have a strong desire to buy. But I started noticing a long time ago how many things I have that I don’t use. It’s unnecessary trash. A place on Earth will end at some point, and right now people are just chopping down the branch they’re sitting on. It’s not just about clothes, it’s about environmentally conscious thinking in principle. When I was in Mallorca, I saw that you can’t buy juice there and just throw the package in the trash. You have to drink it and give the bottle back for recycling. It struck me because it’s not like that in Ukraine. I give things to charity or recycling on my own, have started a bag of reuse bags, and try to buy eco-friendly cleaning products.  

In your instagram bio, you wrote “British scientists have proven that subscribing to my account lifts your mood.” What topics of your videos get the most positive response from your subscribers?

I like to talk about my content(laughs). Surprisingly, I’ve only recently begun to realize the impact I have on people. That’s why I create positive videos, making a mood for everyone who watches. The most popular topics are about what’s vital, real situations with each of us. And in the background is humor. And, of course, humor about exes(laughs). People love it, and I just love it myself! It’s so funny and always relevant, because all girls have exes: real, fictional, unrequited love is also a kind of story about an ex.

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 3 - изображение


You’ve been faithful to the vines format for several years now. There are bloggers like those who have abandoned the genre. What potential do you see in short videos?

I originally started growing up on vines, people started signing up because of them. I can’t afford what I want, I publish what they want to see from me. There is still room to develop further in this genre. I used to have characters in vines. I want to reintroduce them, characters from some TV series, maybe.  But at the same time, I want to add something new to my Instagram, because I’m tired of shooting the same format for a long time.

Have you thought about switching to full conversational videos and vlogs, like YouTube?

I want to get on that platform and get some space right away. I don’t want to shepherd the hindquarters. I need to seriously prepare, put in the resources, I’m going for it. I just don’t want to be “one of those.”

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 4 - изображениеThere have been a lot of innovations in social networks in the last year. But for bloggers, the number one issue under discussion is the abolition of likes on Instagram. What do you think of that?

I don’t really like what’s going on with Instagram. I don’t like the fact that this is all turning into a money squeeze by Facebook. Right now, they’re really cutting back on everyone’s organic coverage so that people buy ads from Facebook and promote publications. I have the same thing going on in my account. The last thing they’re worried about is this so-called concern for people’s self-esteem because of the likes. I think this is done because when people don’t get enough likes on publications, they archive them. And the cancellation of the likes contributes to the fact that the person does not see the real evaluation and publishes more content without feeling judged or pressured. More content means more places to cram ads in. I think over time, the interest of content makers in the Instagram platform will fall. They put a lot into it, and if they get little activity out of it (which is happening now), they will probably leave the platform.

How are you personally motivated by blog statistics?

What matters to me are the views, the recommendations, how much of my video is in the recommendations. If it’s out, it’s interesting. The comments are positive, very uplifting. There are also haters, but if one of them suddenly wanders into the comments, I sincerely feel sorry for him, because he will be torn apart by my followers(laughs). I’m motivated by the views of my storis. I really love this format. Now, by the way, I forgot my phone at home and I’m very worried that I didn’t record the storis. 

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 5 - изображение

Six months ago, you blogged about how you were constantly looking for things to do and rarely allowed yourself to just rest, which is very stressful. Are you still in that mode with no rest?

Things are finally changing! Now it’s the opposite: it’s hard for me to do anything, sometimes I just want to lie down (laughs). But now I feel much more relaxed. I let my brain rest. I used to work my ass off, shooting a video every day. I thought my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. If you posted the video today, you should post it tomorrow. Now I realize the world won’t fall apart if I don’t post a video today. I can afford to live a normal life and talk to people.

Lately, you’ve been involved in more than just blogging projects. You do commercials, and this year you were even a judge in a beauty contest. Are there any other new areas in which you plan to try yourself in the near future?

I am invited, and if I like the project myself, I agree. That’s what happened with the commercials and the beauty contest. It’s true that as a judge in the beauty contest jury, I was very loyal, giving almost everyone a 10. I think it wasn’t really judging, because I don’t think anyone has the right to judge looks, to decide who is better and who is worse by blind poking. But it was an interesting experience. I would also try to work in “real jobs”: as a janitor, streetcar driver, or cab driver. To find out what it’s like to be immersed in a different atmosphere. But still I am a creative person and I want to develop further in the direction in which I have already found myself.

Is something new coming up in your personal life, too? Or perhaps it’s already been outlined?

There is no place for nothing, as they say (laughs). There is always some kind of attention to me. My happiness will find me! I think I’m ready. I can’t name specific people yet. I think, after all, personal should not be public. I already had the experience of our relationship with Murafa being public because he was public himself (he’s a blogger). It was a very cool tandem, thanks to him I became a blogger, he inspired me to do it. But when we broke up, I had to explain a lot to the audience and put up with people not agreeing with the decision I made. Although, in fact, one does not ask permission in such matters. It’s unpleasant when others start to interfere a lot.

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Are you in contact with Murafa now?

Unfortunately, Anton and I do not communicate for some reason. But I still have a very positive attitude towards him, I’m grateful to him. At any time, if he comes to me for help, I will help. And I know he will help me too. Now he’s in a new relationship, as far as I know. And we purposely stopped communicating. I respect him for that, actually. For the sake of new feelings, he broke off ties with his ex. I would potentially want my future boyfriend to do the same.

Is it even possible to remain friends with an ex?  

If it was really strong love, which happens once in a lifetime, then after that it is impossible to communicate further, as if nothing happened. I don’t keep in touch with any of my exes. The question is, is the relationship good after the breakup? It’s a matter of everyone’s inner culture. There’s no need to be angry. I myself once looked at a guy after a breakup with aggression and resentment at first, but then with gratitude.

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 7 - изображение

The moment has come when your girlfriends are already having children. One of them, blogger Alyona Venum, for example, is pregnant. Was that a wake-up call for you to think about your own family?

I love children, I have two little brothers, I have trembling feelings for them. But it makes no sense to think about your own children when you don’t have a partner to do it with. With a man I’m sure I’ll marry, of course I will! But I no longer venture to guess, there was a time when my curiosity may have ruined everything. One day my then-boyfriend and I went to Bali to celebrate the New Year. On the evening of the 31st he left for the grocery store, and I was like, “It’s New Year’s Eve, we’re in Bali! He’s going to propose to me anyway! Now I’m going to look for the ring!” I started looking everywhere, even in the fridge. So I found nothing in the fridge, slamming the door with my foot in despair and breaking my ring finger on my foot! It’s very symbolic that it’s nameless, so now I’m not racing events forward. My basic needs are closed, there’s a business I’m in, so the next step is my own happy family. My mother gave birth to my twin sister and me at the age I am now. But I’m already automatically flying through to do it again. I am soon to be twenty-four.

Will you celebrate the coming 2020 New Year with your family or friends?

I was thinking of giving the family some attention this year. My friends called me to go somewhere, but I don’t know. I have this syndrome: I’m always sad at the holidays, because before there are dreams that it will be a fairy tale, but in fact it turns out – that these days are just as usual as always(smiles).

When you decorate your house for the New Year, do you put up a Christmas tree? If so, from an environmental point of view, which one do you choose – natural, but cut down, or artificial, but plastic?

There are two sides of the same coin: a plastic Christmas tree will be thrown out before it even wears out, it’s hard to find a really good quality one. A live Christmas tree – yes, it’s a log wood, but if you buy a certified Christmas tree, it’s been grown under the log. So there will be no harm to the planet. I always liked the natural one better because it has some Christmas spirit to it. In reality, now I can put except lying down, because I have two cats in my apartment(laughs). They’ll keep tipping it over like they used to.

Diva Olivka: I was working my ass off, I felt like my Instagram was a constant conveyor belt. - 8 - изображение

What are you looking forward to next year?

I’d really like a lot of love, to walk around with a smile in my eyes. This detail is now missing for complete happiness. In general, I want to be surrounded only by pleasant surprises, and the universe will continue to take care of me, as it does now.


Victoria Pokatilova


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