Meet Supercar Blondie, the socialmedia phenomenon from Dubai
AUSTRALIAN SENSATION REVEALS HOWSHE EARNED HER 45 MILLION - AND COUNTING - FOLLOWERS
Imagine your videos be watched for 2.8 billion minutes on Facebook in less than a month? As “insane and hard to comprehend” as that may seem, it’s a boast a Dubai based Australian exp at can make.
Yes, we’re talking about Supercar Blondie, the homegrown social media phenomenon in the UAE, whose recent video on the surprise she sprung on her Filipina staff continues to be in a dizzyingly viral state. In the video, the 34- year- old celeb can be seen giving the staffer Aveline a bouquet of flowers and a box full of dirhams, enough to fund one of her two sons’ university fees. Aveline is moved to tears as she feels like a “millionaire” and gives her boss a bear hug at her waterfront residence.
But that’s off the beaten track — quite literally, as it is Supercar Blondie’s trademark posts on luxury cars that have earned her a staggering following.
“I have over 45 million followers in all. Over 32 million on Facebook, more than sevenmillion on Instagram and nearly fivemillion on YouTube,” she told Gulf News in an interview.
So what is it that makes her such a sensation? And just who is the real woman behind Supercar Blondie?
“I’m a country town girl!,” lets on Alexandra Hirschi. “I grewup in a small country town of 2,000 people in Australia. I was on a hobby farm with cows and sheep and spent most of my free time with animals.”
Now fromthe love of countryside cattle Down Under to a passion for metallic horse power on the streets of Dubai— that’s a sea change. But the journey is what makes the story.
First ever luxury car drive
Hirschi, who went on to study broadcast journalism, recalls how she first came to Dubai in 2008 to work as a co- host of a radio show. “I really loved my career but I found something I loved more, took the chance and went for it. I always loved cars and I got the opportunity to drive a luxury car for the first time while I was on the radio.”
Epic turning point
The turning point, however, came in the form of a surreal experience. “Once I had this trip, with 100 other supercars and a police escort through the rolling sand dunes, I called my boss and quit my job. The experience was so epic, I knew in that moment I needed to give it a go.”
‘ Not like a car expert’
By now, something about her car posts had already made them click- worthy.“Oneof the things I was doing differently was speaking about cars in an everyday manner, not like a car expert, so people could relate to it. The language car experts use often goes over people’s heads. I point out the coolest things about each car inthe simplest ways.”
It’s been a wild ride
She says she quit her radio job when she had 50,000 followers, now three years later, the number had grown to 45 million.
“It’s crazy and it’s been a wild ride. It’s been so rewarding, but also a very difficult journey. It’s just amazing to see how far we’ve come. For the first few years, it was just me and my husband( Nik Hirschi) working together on this, now in the last few months we have been able to expand our teamto six people.”
Teenaged sweethearts
The mention of Nik brings back special memories of how the two met as teenagers in Switzerland. “I was 17 and was visiting Switzerland as part of student exchange programme. Nik, 19 then, was part of the family that was hosting me. He then followed me to Austral ia and we studied together. We got married in 2010.” The couple, still going strong, have now made Dubai their homewhere they live with their two dogs .
About her own supercars
“I recently sold the first ever supercar I owned which was a Lamborghini Huracan. I now own a Rolls Royce Wraith Black Badge. I also have a McLaren 720s which I’m currently doing up with a body kit and new paint,” says Supercar Blondie.
Driven in every terrain
Supercar Blondie loves driving her super cars on Dubai’s state- of- the- art roads as much as does in the desert. In fact, she says she has driven luxury cars in every possible terrain including the coastal highways of California, the Swiss Alps and some cow- spotting streets of Bengaluru.
“My favourite experiences with cars have been going in to a country and being welcomed by the local car communities. For so many years I was just a tourist, heading to the local sights, but now I’m meeting with the locals of each city and being shown an authentic local experience,” she points out.
Family person, animal lover
The farm girl in Supercar Blondie still longs to spend time with animals as much as she does with family. “I’m a huge animal lover and believe that every living being deserves respect. So when I have time off I spend it with my two dogs. I love reading and going to the beach as well. I have three siblings, one younger sister, one older sister and an older brother. Mymum and dad live in the country.”
She lets on that she starts off her day by watching heartening videos of animals. “Who doesn’t love a positive animal story? Familymeans somuch tome. It’s so nice to have family here with me as I’ve lived away from home since Iwas 17,” she says.
“One of the biggest things I’m trying to educate people about is animal welfare. There is nothing worse to me than people taking advantage of the weak or those without a voice,” she adds.
One of the things Iwas doing differently was speaking about cars in an everyday manner, not like a car expert, so people could relate to it. I point out the coolest things about each car in the simplest ways.” Alexandra Hirschi | Social media celebrity
Covid- 19 message to fans:
Supercar Blondie says, “Covid19 has been a struggle for many of us, and at the beginning it was a struggle for me too. I relied so heavily on travelling for my work and then one day to the next, that just stopped. My advice is to adapt. Don’t fight the change, move with it. If what you do currently doesn’t work, take a leap and try something else. Sometimes you have to take risks in order to grow and achieve more than you thought you were capable of. Many of us have more time on our hands than usual, maybe that time can be spent starting something you’ve always wanted to do.”
If there’s one thing that really puts off Supercar Blondie, it’s this: “People who try and scam my followers by setting up accounts that imitate me. They send messages to my followers asking for credit card details and it really upsets me that people I care about are being scammed,” she says, cautioning her 45 million followers not to fall prey to any such scams.