Alex Hirschi, commonly referred to as Supercar Blondie, is arguably the most popular female social media influencer in the automobile world. With a social media followership of over 20 million, she is a professional influencer who left her full-time job to pursue vlogging and driving cars for automakers all over the world.
Her unique selling point, which catapulted the Australian to the height of social media success, is her light-hearted way of describing cars, choosing to focus more on the looks, driving pleasure, and the bells and whistles that high-tech cars come equipped with.
Once a small-time journalist hosting a radio program in Dubai, Supercar Blondie is now paving the way for more women to enter the automotive industry. Here are all the facts that you wouldn’t gather from a quick look at her social media platforms.
8 Automotive Vlogging Was Just A Hobby
Supercar Blondie did not want to become an automotive vlogger from the very beginning, it merely happened to start as a hobby. In fact, she retained her full-time job as a radio host in Dubai for an entire year and a half before deciding to dive head-on into the automotive industry!
Yes, Alex Hirschi actually started out as a radio host in Dubai. Moreover, she'd shifted countries just for the sake of this job in particular, which she subsequently let go of to chase her passion for cars and talking about them in a way that it reaches the masses.
7 She Often Feels Isolated In The Industry
Hirschi's path to success in the automotive industry never came without its fair share of obstacles. Not only does she face constant abuse from internet trolls, but she's also talked about facing hostility within the industry itself.
In fact, even other car journalists tend to negate Hirschi, asking why she would be given cars, as per her own admission. Moreover, she intends to be a stalwart for any woman who wants to enter the industry. In the male-centric automotive industry, Supercar Blondie asks women to "keep turning up at events. It has been a struggle for women, and you need a lot of good people around you".
6 She Consciously Chooses Not To Use Industry Jargon
Many who dislike the internet phenomenon complain that Supercar Blondie doesn't really talk about a car's specifications or display any industrial or technical knowledge. However, what they fail to realize is that it is a very conscious choice on her part.
Hirschi believes that not talking in a way every other car expert does, is the reason for her success. "I’m not a traditional type of car expert and that’s why it works," she claims. In her own words, she is valuable to car brands looking to reach the masses because her videos are free of industry lingo- jargon that usually goes over other people's heads.
5 Haters Drove Her To Therapy
Being a huge social media personality came with its own downsides, one of which was an army of trolls hounding all of her posts with unpleasant remarks, negating her. Such was the pressure, that her husband Nik Hirschi advised her to seek therapy. Eventually, therapy helped her understand why she shouldn't care about the abuse.
4 She worked as a radio show host for 9 whole years
Hirschi moved all the way to Dubai from Australia for her job before Bentley allowed her to take her first step through the door into full-time auto-vlogging. They invited her to one of their events, and covering that event on her personal social media turned out to be such a big hit for Alex Hirschi that she eventually became the Supercar Blondie we know today.
She then served nine whole years as a radio presenter for Dubai Eye, while her social media presence and activities began during the final year and a half before she quit her job at the Eye to work full time as the automotive influencer we know her to be today.
3 A Boring First Car
Alex Hirschi didn't always have fancy hypercars surrounding her. Back when she lived in Australia, she owned a rather subdued Mitsubishi Lancer. Alas, she had to bid goodbye to the Lancer when she packed up everything to pursue her career in Dubai.
However, the one car she is most popular for was her BMW i8. She eventually got her blue i8 wrapped in emirate-esque black, with highlights of light green. It's a very iconic design- one that anyone would recognize as Hirschi's.
2 She Is The Highest-Paid Automotive Instagrammer—Male Or Female
From a modest radio show host to the world's highest-paid automotive Instagrammer, Alex Hirschi's journey to becoming Supercar Blondie is a remarkable one. By 2020 alone, she was estimated to be making a whopping $2 million per year by simply doing what she did best- introduce the general population to cars they'd never heard of, and their coolest features.
Today, Supercar Blondie commands an empire of 9.8 million followers on Instagram, close to 20m followers on Facebook, 8.8 million on TikTok, and 7.3 million YouTube subscribers. Suffice to say, with the army of followers she has, brands tussle each other over getting their vehicles and products featured on her platforms.
1 She Nearly Crashed A Bugatti Chiron
Manny Khoshbin is a name that all gearheads are familiar with. A collector of the most exquisite cars, Khoshbin's garage houses Bugattis, Paganis, McLarens, and more. Thus, it made sense for Supercar Blondie to visit him, and take his one-off exclusive Hermes Bugatti Chiron for a spin.
However, things almost went south for the pair when at a roundabout, they almost crashed into a black crossover. Thankfully, the million-dollar braking system of the Chiron saved the day with no harm to either party.
With the automotive industry forever innovating and the turn of the decade bound to bring in new, unprecedented technologies to cars, Supercar Blondie's reach and success are only going to grow from here.