If you had told 17-year-old me—shy, quiet, only child me—that one day she’d be confidently speaking on camera, leading marketing campaigns, writing award-winning articles, and living a life she once only imagined, she probably would’ve laughed awkwardly and buried her face in a Tiger Beat magazine. But here’s the thing: I became that woman. And it all started with five guys named AJ, Brian, Howie, Kevin, and Nick.
Being a Backstreet Boys fan didn’t just shape my teenage years and early 20’s—it shaped my entire life.
From Fangirl to Journalist
The very first step in my professional journey wasn’t a journalism class or an internship—it was launching a Backstreet Boys fansite from my bedroom. I was a teenager, fresh out of high school and about to start college, who didn’t yet know what HTML was, but I figured it out. I didn’t know what content strategy meant, but I learned how to update tour news, write album reviews, and create graphics. I even wrote fan fiction. I didn’t have a marketing degree (yet), but I understood what kept fans coming back for more.
That little site became my escape and my education. It taught me how to write with passion, report accurately, and keep an audience engaged. I ended up going back to college thanks to a certain Backstreet Boy’s advice, found my way to the student newspaper, graduated, then working as a journalist full-time. I won awards. I told stories that mattered to people. But it never would have happened if I hadn’t started writing about my favorite boy band. I even got to interview Howie professionally and photograph the group. It was like a dream.
Finding My People
It’s impossible to talk about the power of fandom without talking about friendship. Some of the most important people in my life—the kind of friends who know everything about me, who have held my hand through heartbreak and screamed lyrics with me in the front row—I met because we loved the same band.
We came from different states, different countries, different walks of life. But the Backstreet Boys brought us together. Waiting in line for concerts turned into hotel room sleepovers. Message board usernames turned into lifelong phone contacts. Inside jokes, matching shirts, cross-country road trips. Real, deep friendships that have lasted decades.
There’s something powerful about knowing someone who just gets it. Who gets what it meant when Kevin left. Who gets how emotional “Show Me the Meaning” still is. Who gets why you’re willing to fly across the country just to hear “I Want It That Way” again. Fandom gave me a community—and in that community, I found family.
The Confidence to Be Seen
When I was younger, I hated speaking in class. I never raised my hand. I never volunteered to present. I stayed small, hidden, unsure of my voice. But slowly, something shifted a little – at least in my fandom life.
I started writing fan posts. Then I started running social accounts. Then I posted my first video. Then another. And before I knew it, I was posting pics of myself online, and making videos.
Would I have done that without the fandom? No way.
Loving the Backstreet Boys gave me something bigger than my fear. It gave me purpose. A reason to speak up. A reason to be seen. Because when you’ve stood at the barricade with thousands of fans, screaming at the top of your lungs for something you believe in, it changes you. It reminds you that your voice matters.
Now I wish I could carry that confidence into my professional life. I’m getting there!
From Fandom to Career
It’s wild to think about it now, but that passion I had for creating content around BSB was actually marketing. I just didn’t have the words for it yet. Fan engagement, content strategy, brand loyalty, community management—it was all there. I was living and breathing what brands now pay thousands to understand: how to connect.
That realization led me to where I am now. Working in marketing. Telling stories. Building strategies. Using everything I learned in the trenches of fandom to craft campaigns that resonate. My fangirl roots weren’t a distraction from my professional life—they were the foundation of it.
Fandom taught me the power of authenticity. The importance of showing up for people. The magic of creating experiences that people remember. These are lessons no classroom could have taught me the way being a Backstreet Boys fan did. And because of all that work and determination, I help represent the Backstreet Boys by helping out on the fan club. You don’t get there overnight.
Living the Dream
Sometimes I still catch myself and think: How did I get here? I get to do what I love. I’ve written books, interviewed celebrities, managed creative teams, built communities, and made a career out of storytelling (whether it be books, marketing, or journalism). And it all started because I loved a band that told me it was okay to feel, to dream, to believe in something bigger.
Being a Backstreet Boys fan isn’t just something I was. It’s who I am. It’s woven into my career, my relationships, and my creativity. It gave me purpose when I felt lost, connection when I felt alone, and a voice when I didn’t know how to use it.
So yeah, some people may laugh when they hear I still fly across the country for BSB shows, or that I still get way too excited when they play “Just Want You To Know.” But they don’t get it.
This fandom gave me everything.
And I’ll never stop being proud of that.
