Halle Burns exemplifies a raw and honest character on social media, which a large following has quickly come to love. This 19-year old is best known for her TikTok account that features simple plant-based recipes, thrift hauls, mini vlogs and so much more.
Halle initially began recording her quirky self doing a spot of cooking, to which she thought only her mom would enjoy. After posting a few more yummy food orientated videos, her account surprisingly attracted an increasing number of followers eager to see more, not only for her recipes but also for her soft-spoken voice.
“I could listen to your voice all day.”
“Why do I feel so calm?”
“Your voice is my therapy.”
These are the types of comments found on the majority of Halle Burns’ content. And it is true, her voice is like therapy. After her TikTok took off, Halle began posting short story and poem readings to demonstrate even more of her dreamy voice to her followers.
With a growing online presence came an important understanding for Halle, as she began to realize the positive impact she could make on others lives. Halle Burns, along with many other positive voices, are working to exemplify the importance of fueling your body properly through eating nutritious food.
Sheesh Magazine dove deep into the mind of Halle Burns to get to know her story and character better, as she is more than just her dreamy voice.
Q: Was there any initial occurrence that sparked your internet fame?
Halle Burns: “I was bored in quarantine and started making TikTok recipe videos. My vegan snacks became a thing on TikTok. Anyone can really make a snack and record it, but I think my TikTok’s started getting a decent amount of views because of my soft-spoken voice. I think they initially did really well because I speak quieter than the average person. I never made it a goal initially, but not changing who I was to get more views ended up working out in my favor.”
Q: Where did you learn to cook?
Halle Burns: “Being vegetarian and then vegan really forced me into cooking, because I didn’t grow up with a family that ate like I did. I kind of had to learn to cook for myself. I always liked cooking ever since middle school. You can get such good ideas online too, like Pinterest and other social media platforms which taught me a lot of what I now know today.”
Q: Why and how long have you been plant-based for?
Halle Burns: “It’s been about two years and the reason I went vegan is because I’ve always appreciated the ethics of it. Once I started eating plant-based, I started feeling much better. I’m not sure if it’s a mind-body thing, but there is something about it that is a comfortability thing to me. There is undeniable proof that there are a lot of benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. I think my thing is, it can be triggering because of the idea of it in the past. I think it used to be, the stereotype where if you’re a vegan you won’t be able to keep it out of your mouth for fifteen minutes. I want to cancel this stereotype. I read this thing about flexi-vegan, where you’re vegan for the most part, but you can occasionally have ice cream or eat a steak if you’re at a fancy restaurant. I think that’s great, and people should eat what is best for their bodies.”
Q: Any future plans on expansion?
Halle Burns: “A lot of people have asked me about doing a podcast, which is cool because I get a lot of compliments on my voice. I never know how to respond to that comment just because I didn’t even know my voice was calming. I think it would be a cool idea though because podcasts are all about your voice. I think it could really work but I am still not sure what I would really make it about.”
Q: Do you find university challenging with the pandemic in the mix?
Halle Burns: “This was kind of a blessing in disguise. Coming into school this year, I really wanted to continue what I was doing on TikTok and YouTube. I was kind of upset to go back to school, because I had worked so hard over the summer and felt like I wouldn’t have enough time for social media. The fact that I was able to take my classes online has allowed me to really mold my schedule for something that works for me.”
Q: How did you get started on doing story readings?
Halle Burns: “I started with this book called CDB. It’s this little mnemonics book that is so cute and has little sentences that are formed out of individual letters. I posted the reading on YouTube and it did really well because a lot of people hadn’t heard about it and it was such a strange concept for a book. Although, reading books isn’t really a thing anymore as I find my followers have moved away from it. I’m not over it, I just feel like I would if I think people wanted me to do it.”
Q: When did you fall in love with reading?
Halle Burns: “I loved being read to when I was little. My mom worked nine-to-five, so we didn’t spend a ton of time together, but she always read books to me at night. There’s a nostalgic element to children’s books for me, and I think that’s why I did something with it on TikTok. I think a lot of people don’t want to admit it, but even if you’re old, there’s some sort of comfort in being read to.”
Q: What’s one message you value in your everyday life?
Halle Burns: “I always am looking to improve. I’ve always been interested in trying new things. Always knowing that there is something else out there that I can try motivates me. I get a lot of questions of people asking me how I got the confidence to start. I mean I’m not ballsy, but I just thought TikTok was a new app and I wanted to try it out. After I developed a following, people thought I should make a YouTube channel, so I tried that out. I think it’s important to try out new hobbies.”
Q: What is something you want your followers to know?
Halle Burns: “To be comfortable with yourself. Never think you’re not enough or not trying hard enough. What I noticed growing up was that I always saw people promoting ideal standards of how to live and look, and it can be very toxic at times. Even with eating and those ‘what I eat in a day’ videos. I watched those growing up and developed this mindset that I wanted to be like the girls in the video. I wanted to change how I looked because I felt uncomfortable seeing all these differences between all these girls. There is a very dangerous side of social media where you compare yourself to others. I want to stay as far away from that side as possible on my platform. I want to be a friend versus a foe to my followers.
I’m happy though because I feel like food content is changing on social media in some ways. I like sharing food but to a certain extent.”
Keep up with all-things Halle Burns on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Check out more SHEESH! interviews with positive and healthy influencers like Katelynn Nolan and Raeann.
