Spencer Barbosa is a whole Galentine's mood

BEFORE HEADING OUT ON HER 2023 WORLD TOUR, SPENCER HAS A THING OR TWO TO TEACH US ABOUT SELF-LOVE.

-  KATHERINE HAMMER

Three years ago, this was exactly Spencer Barbosa's life: After years of struggling with bullying, she graduated from high school and took a job blending Blizzards at the Dairy Queen in her tiny hometown of Caledon, Ontario, in Canada. Always one to get creative, she also started a side hustle tie-dyeing T-shirts and sweatshirts to stave off her quarantine boredom.

One random afternoon, she began posting on TikTok, opening up about her past struggles with friendships, her body image ups and downs and even creating purposely cringey dances.

A couple of weeks went by. Then, out of nowhere, her account blew up. Turns out that speaking up about awkward moments and being honest about the less-than-glam parts of teen-girl life? Exactly what people were looking for.

"I'm just normalizing being normal-feeling good about yourself, not hating yourself and having a crush on yourself," Spencer, now 20, shares.

And it's that self-affirming message that has propelled her to serious social media stardom ever since (think: 8 million TikTok followers and counting), taking her from dishing up DQ poutine (look it up) to hosting packed meet-and-greets, collaborating with makeup companies and even starting her own clothing brand.

This year, she'll have the opportunity to fulfill one of her most major dreams: heading out on an international tour to meet her supporters IRL. "I just struggled with so many things I feel like girls silently go through," Spencer remembers. "So if I can be someone's social media older sister, why not share it?"

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS