From Dream Board To Real Life: How Luna Montana is Visualizing her Dream Life into Existence
Ballerina and social media personality Luna Montana has been a performer from an early age. “I would make my whole family sit down and watch me dance all day,” she tells me. Luna, 21, just got back from Coachella. Wearing low-space buns and an assortment of gold jewelry, she tells me how her day’s going as I sip a latte.
I first found Montana’s channel back in 2018 after she posted a video titled, “I Hate My Body,” and I immediately subscribed. Struggling with disordered eating and body dysmorphia myself, Montana’s video was someone I actually related to. The video has almost 900,000 views. “I uploaded it and I was terrified, of course, but I got such an amazing response and many girls messaged me saying that they felt the same way.” Montana tells me. “I think social media in general can be so superficial, if I'm just here posting pictures of my outfit and my face. What is the purpose of doing this? There's not much substance. When you have a purpose and are speaking about real-life problems, it means something.” Since the video, Luna has gained over 670,000 subscribers and 319,000 Instagram followers.
Luna Montana’s videos have become a safe space for young people around the world. Uploading videos titled, “Girl Talk,” Luna answers questions from her young subscribers. “I remember when I was 13 and on the internet searching for, “how do I shave this?,” How do I put this on?,” she tells me. “I think talking about those topics and making at least one girl feel a little more comfortable about growing up than I did, and that makes me so happy.”
Luna and I talk about one of her biggest passions: dancing. At just three years-old, Luna’s mom put her in dance. She immediately fell in love with it. Eighteen years later, Luna has choreographed a music video, appeared in a few, and continues to teach lessons at her local studio. Luna tells me about her experience dancing in music videos. “I did Olivia Rodrigo's ‘Brutal’ music video this year. And being able to be on a set with someone who’s album literally changed my life was such an incredible experience,” she tells me.
Luna also uses her channel to talk about the law of attraction and manifesting. Every year, she posts a video where she makes a dream board with all of her goals and aspirations for the next year. At the end of that year, she reflects on those goals and sees what came into fruition. “I've always been super big on the universe. And I think that there's definitely some plan out there and if I manifest, everything good is what comes from that, you know? I love making those dream boards, it's the best. Why not visualize everything you want and put on a board? It's the cutest thing ever.” She tells me about some of the coolest things that have happened after putting them on dream boards. “I remember I auditioned for The School of American Ballet and had never gotten in after five years of auditioning. One day I randomly decided to put my audition tag on the dream board. And I got in a month later.” Luna’s positive outlook on the world is not only refreshing but also encouraging for young people. “Even your wildest dreams aren’t as far as you’d think.”
Luna Montana (a.k.a., the “big sister of YouTube”) is a mentor for young people going through the journey of growing up. When asked what advice she’d give to her younger self, Montana answers without hesitation. “I was so insecure in high school, and didn't do any of the activities or go to any football games because I was so concerned about what people thought of me. Then I'd go on YouTube and upload whatever I wanted. I feel like I missed out on so much of that real-world experience because I was insecure, so I would tell her to ‘ax.’”
Luna can be found on all social media platforms via the handle, @lunamontana. We cannot wait to see what she puts on the dream board next.
Article by Lucy Ivey
Photos: Krissy Saleh
Video: Emma Kopkowski assisted by Carly Jean Sharp
art direction: Lucy Ivey + Krissy Saleh
styling: Ariana Velazquez
hair and makeup: Sophia hutch
photography assistant: Amanda Davis
