Meet Henry Wolsten, an 18-year-old Christian, bestselling author, award-winning filmmaker, martial artist and CEO of Spring Chicken Socials.  

1) What exactly is Spring Chicken Socials and how did it all begin?

Well, I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, from a very young age. I was the kind of kid who would knock on your door and ask if you had anything you need help with, and offer to do it for a buck!

I see Spring Chicken Socials as the evolution of that idea. The business is an amazing way I get to combine my knowledge of social media strategy and algorithms with my passion for storytelling to help small companies entertain and educate their customers!

I never really considered social media as something to make a career out of, until I started helping my dad with his online presence two years ago. We ended up with over 300,000 views in the first six months of creating content, and at that point it really clicked for me that this could be something to help other businesses with as well! 

2) What role does social media play in your life, and what role do you feel it plays in society? 

I think social media is an amazing tool for individuals and businesses alike to reach a wide range of people, and that’s amazing! I think society gets into trouble when people base their entire lives or personalities on their perception on social media, however. The digital landscape is quite volatile, and while Instagram may be the platform where people can find the next amazing cause they want to support or business to visit, it can also be a place where people hide behind their keyboards and make negative comments they wouldn’t dare make face to face. I don’t have much of a personal social media presence, and to be honest, my target market isn’t on social media, so I don’t put as much effort into my page as I do for my clients’ pages.  

3) What are some pros and cons of working in the world of social media? 

Overall, it’s an amazing job! I get to leverage my storytelling skills as well as work on and improve my videography, photography and editing. More than that, I get to partner with other young professionals in the local community and give them business as well!

I suppose for some, one of the cons could be that the work’s not as safe or guaranteed as your regular 9 to 5, but for me, it’s one of the most exciting parts about the job! Being able to make your own hours, work from home and make your own calls is extremely freeing. I’d recommend to any young adults who don’t know what they’d like to do after high school or college: Give entrepreneurship a try! 

4) What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I’m sure there are a few things! I had the great pleasure of being homeschooled by my amazing parents (Hi Mom! Look, I’m in the paper!) and I think they helped instill in me one of the most important tools anyone could have: A love of learning. I’m on the black belt team at Christian Karate in Hayden, and I’m passionate about growing my skills in the martial arts. I don’t think there’s a person on this earth who couldn’t benefit from learning self-defense and developing their physical strength and confidence! (Thank you Sensei Christopher Ardnt and Kohai Mykah Keck for getting me involved in the first place!)  

5) How can people master social media and use it as a tool to improve their lives or livelihoods?

For individuals, social media can be a great tool for building relationships, keeping up with distant friends and family, education, entertainment and inspiration! For businesses, social media can be phenomenal to drive more people to your product or service, to establish yourself as an industry expert and to know (and be known by!) your customer base!