My experience with brand representation started in Ecuador before 2009. I did different free jobs for the primary school Ludwing Van Beethoven. My aunt was the headteacher with a true passion for making education accessible to people in rural areas.  As a student of the school and the nephew of the headteacher, my job was to look polished and pristine. My tasks involved ironing my uniform, polishing my oxford shoes, demonstrating good manners, being on time and keeping my composure – even if I didn’t know the meaning of it. I was a brand ambassador at an early age. It was not any different from the jobs that I have done in my adulthood; I loved it as much as I was able to handle the pressure of being pristine at all times. 

Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the most famous western composers of western classical music. I didn’t get the chance to represent him, but I did represent my aunt’s school. Every year during the school holidays, I distributed leaflets from my aunt’s school to every house and every person that passed my way. I stopped and chatted with people and tried to answer every question they had about the school, the services and the prices. I also remember sweating out of fear running away from barking dogs that were very unpleased with me dropping a piece of paper. The school team had conversations about strategic ways of distributing leaflets and how to face people’s rejection. I was pleased to be part of those conversations and feel part of a team. 

I started taking pictures and writing Facebook posts for a little restaurant in Barcelona in 2011. El Sol restaurant offered Mediterranean and Catalan food. The ambience was unique, an experience for visitors who wanted to escape the city of Barcelona in the weekends. The restaurant was located in a remote area of the county, surrounded by mountains, rivers, fields of wheat and small towns with charm. I needed to capture the vibes of the place and put it on social media. I took pictures of the food, the decoration, the people and the activities. It was a great time. Facebook metrics gave me a lot of details about people’s preferences. I was very happy when a couple who lived 38 miles away came to the restaurant at a weekend, and they mentioned a post they saw on Facebook. 

In 2014, I had the opportunity to move to London and discover the vibrant and growing coffee culture. I filled my Instagram account @wladcooks with pictures of coffee shops and coffee art.  I looked for inspiration from any new magazine that was released into the market. I remember Standart Independent coffee magazine.  I needed to satisfy my passion for single-origin coffee. The hints, the notes, the origin and the culture around it. The Hoxton Grill in Shoreditch invited me on Pancake day in 2019 to promote my experience at the restaurant enjoying a set of sweets, hot drinks and pancakes. My passion for coffee, food and eateries was paying off. Who would have thought I would get free food because of my Instagram activity? I was very happy that to see a message from the Hoxton Grill in my restaurant with an invitation. It was recognition of myself as an influencer. 

I stopped and reflected on my career as a food influencer in 2020 when COVID hit and shook many people’s lives across the country. I found myself in the kitchen looking at the brand-new pans that I bought from IKEA, thinking of the recipes that I could cook with the free time that I had in my hands. Unexpectedly, I needed to turn my attention to fitness and wellbeing. Since then, I am a wellbeing ambassador who has worked running online workshops for the charity Rethink Mental Illness and doing in-person pop-ups for university students with an interest in mental health. Most definitely, University and COVID were an opportunity to reinvent my approach to branding and reflect on all the experiences that I have developed since my childhood.