The 60-year-old influencer who 'wasn't prepared for the stress of fame'

The world of social media seems to be the dream place for achieving "fame," in the minds of thousands of people who long to be recognized. However, few know what lies behind the screens.

And to become known by the public, all you need is content that hits the nail on the head. While it can be entertaining, it can also help people's daily lives. As is the case with Marcela Pedraza, a Colombian physiotherapist whose life was turned upside down by the pandemic, thanks to the impact of social media. See more: Do you save the best for last? This would reveal about your personality, according to AI. The therapist told the BBC that her online success came unexpectedly.

She's always been studious, and when she found herself locked down in 2020, like the entire world, she thought, " Well, I'm going to turn 60, and at some point I'll either retire or die , and I have to somehow leave what I've studied to the world ." So her son suggested she create an Instagram profile to share videos based on her knowledge. That's how @PilatesMarcelaPedraza came about.

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" Although the human body doesn't change anatomically, its habits do. Today we are much more sedentary, doing everything, even shopping, digitally, and the human body is made to move ," the influencer noted.

His reach began to grow more and more, thanks to his resourcefulness. " I would teach classes and say, 'Do you need a Pilates ball? Don't have one? Never mind, use two sofa cushions. Don't have a resistance band? Use a belt. Don't have one-kilogram weights? Use two bags of rice ,'" he said. See more: Before dying, Pope Francis made a million-dollar donation: what cause did he give the money to?

Its content was perceived as highly valuable, so its advice was welcome: " During the pandemic, everyone was locked up at home, working on a computer, in whatever chair they had at home. No one had the 'ideal' office chair. Many people used the dining room chair, which is fine for one or two hours, but not for 8, 9, or 10. "

His impact grew so much that he quickly surpassed 300,000 followers, to the point that he fell into the bad habits he recommended his followers avoid. " The project blew up in my face because I went from 18,000 followers and 100 or 200 messages a day to having 1.9 million followers . And I was still working like an ant, from 5 in the morning to midnight, recording, editing, publishing, answering ."

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" I started waking up in the middle of the night, without a sound, without anything. I would sleep five hours, wake up at 3 a.m., and even though I had no specific worries, I couldn't get back to sleep . At 5:30 a.m. my alarm would go off, and even though I was exhausted, I would get up anyway. During the day, you don't feel tired; you just keep going, and you skip lunch, " she said.

Faced with this situation, they realized that the team needed to expand from 3 to 14 people to be able to move the project forward.

" You don't realize you're burning out until you're already burned out. Young people are sometimes focused on making money and being famous. They accumulate money, and when they get sick, that money doesn't buy them health ," the therapist noted.

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" Everything that happened to me ended up being a lesson that I teach today: if you feel like you're not sleeping well, your head starts to hurt, you skip meals because you're not hungry, be careful, because you could be entering burnout. And when it hits, it doesn't go away in a week; it takes at least a year to fully recover, " the therapist pointed out, emphasizing that it's key for people to pay attention to their health and rest.

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