Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Armstrong
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a performer at heart. I grew up dancing and cheering competitively, and after college, I moved to Florida to perform at Disney World. Life happened and I eventually moved back home where I spent several years working in professional sports, first with a Triple-A baseball team and then with the Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA). While I LOVED my job, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing—I wasn’t creating in the way I wanted to.
Right before I turned 30, I took a leap of faith: I sold my house, quit my incredible job, and moved to LA with no concrete plan, just a small savings account and a deep pull toward storytelling and performance. I took my first acting class and immediately fell in love with it. To pay my bills, I was working as a personal assistant to one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Balancing the unpredictability of a creative career while working in such a structured, high-pressure role was challenging. I found myself attempting to juggle acting, assistant work, and constantly trying to figure out my next step.
Then, 2020 happened. The world shut down, acting opportunities disappeared, and suddenly, I had nowhere to put my creative energy. That’s when I downloaded TikTok—mostly just to play around and be silly. I had zero expectations, but I started posting lip-sync videos for fun, just as a creative outlet. I told myself, no one will ever see these. But then… people did.
Almost overnight, my videos started taking off. I was gaining thousands of followers a night, and I was just having the best time. What started as only comedy quickly became something more—I found myself using my platform to talk about mental health, to share vulnerable moments, and even to advocate for causes that mattered to me. I never set out to “grow” a platform, but the more I leaned into being myself, the more people connected with it.
Now, I’m based in Austin, still pursuing acting while continuing to evolve my content. What started as a casual escape in 2020 has become an unexpected career path, one that allows me to blend my love for storytelling, performance, and real, honest connection. I love creating, I love performing, and I love connecting with people, and I’m excited to see where this journey continues to take me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has NOT been a smooth road to say the least, but I think the challenges are what shaped me the most. After leaving a stable career in Oklahoma City to pursue a life in Los Angeles, I faced the uncertainty of starting over in a new city with no plan and no guarantees. Balancing assistant work with acting classes and auditions was exhausting, but it taught me the value of persistence and grit.
The pandemic in 2020 was another major obstacle. It shut down acting opportunities and my regular movement outlets like dance classes, leaving me feeling lost. That’s when I turned to TikTok—at first, just for fun—but it unexpectedly became an outlet for creativity, advocacy, and connection. Building that platform was a bright spot during a difficult time, but even then, juggling content creation with everything else was a constant challenge, especially once the world opened back up. I had this new platform to cultivate while being thrown in to the demands of an already difficult balancing act.
Moving to Austin came with its own set of hurdles. My car broke down within weeks of moving, leaving me stranded in a new city for five months. It wiped out my savings and made it incredibly difficult to settle in. But in hindsight, it also forced me to slow down and reimagine how I wanted to approach this chapter of my life.
And now, one of the biggest ongoing challenges is the uncertainty surrounding TikTok itself. With constant discussions about potential bans, restrictions, and changes to the platform, it feels like I’m trying to build something on shaky ground. It’s hard to fully invest in a platform when there’s always a looming question of whether it will even exist in the near future. But at the same time, it’s pushed me to expand my content in different ways and think about how to adapt, whether that means growing on other platforms or finding new ways to engage my audience.
No matter what happens, I know I’ll keep creating, keep performing, and keep finding ways to connect with people—because that’s what I love to do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work is a mix of creativity, performance, and connection. I’m an actor and content creator, and while my path hasn’t been entirely traditional, I’ve started to build something I’m truly proud of. On TikTok, I’m known for my lip-syncs, comedy, and relatable content, but it’s also become a space where I talk about mental health, share vulnerable moments, and connect with my audience in a genuine way. My goal is always to be authentic—whether that’s through humor, honesty, or a combination of both—and I think that’s what has helped me build trust with my audience.
As an actor, I’ve been fortunate to book a handful of fun projects and continue to pursue storytelling in a way that feels meaningful to me. Comedy comes naturally to me, and I have a strong sense of timing, but I’ve often found myself in a weird in-between space while trying to find my space in the industry—not conventionally attractive enough for the lead roles Hollywood tends to favor, but not quite fitting the industry’s expectations for the quirky best friend either. It’s as if the industry doesn’t quite know where to place me, but instead of letting that hold me back, I see it as an opportunity to carve out my own lane. I bring something unique to the table—blending humor with depth, unpredictability, and a grounded perspective that makes characters feel real.
What sets me apart is my commitment to authenticity. I don’t believe in pretending to have it all figured out—I think people resonate with my willingness to share the good, the bad, and everything in between. Whether I’m acting, creating, or simply exploring Austin, I always strive to bring joy, laughter, and connection to those who follow my journey.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Pursuing a creative career isn’t always easy, but I’ve been fortunate to have a support system that has really understood the journey. My biggest cheerleaders have been my actor friends and the Actorswork community. Actorswork, led by my coach Steven Anderson, wasn’t just an acting class—it felt like a family. The people I met there truly understood the highs and lows of the industry, and they’ve been with me every step of the way, offering support and encouragement whenever I needed it.
In addition to them and a handful of close friends, the community I’ve built on TikTok has been an unexpected but incredibly uplifting support system. My followers are always so generous with their encouragement—telling me things like, “Why aren’t you on TV? You should be in movies! Why aren’t you a star yet?” The love I get from them is beyond humbling. They don’t even know me personally, but they hype me up more than just about anyone, and it makes me feel truly special.
It’s a rare and special thing to be surrounded by people who genuinely see you and your potential, and I’m endlessly grateful for them.
Contact Info:
- Email: aaarmstrongsocial@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaarmstrong
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ashleyarmstrong
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyannearmstrong
