He's the Hawaiian-born social influencer who has made a name (and a brand) for himself on Instagram. Now Jay Alvarrez is travelling the world, putting those surfy good looks to use by modelling for some of the world's biggest brands - including Bonds! With over 5.4 million followers, Jay joined Bonds alum, Shanina Shaik, as the latest face of our new Bonds Swim campaign. Shot on location in Malibu, Jay spoke to ExecutiveStyle about why living in the moment is so important to him.

When it came to working with Bonds, Alvarrez said: "The brand's simple aesthetic is very similar to my own." This is also because he spends much of his time in boardies, jet setting around the globe to exotic places such as Panama, Dubai, Ibiza, Bali and Mexico.

But it's not all fun and games with it comes to the social media sensation. At the young age of just 14, he lost his mother and was raised by his dad.  He admits not having his mother around has been hard.

" To put it simply, she [Mum] taught me how to love and she showed me the incomparable beauty of a woman's soul. I strive every day to show love to those I care about the way she showed love to me."

As for our obsession with social media, he says of the pitfalls, "what you see isn't always what you get from people. A genuine positive energy and charisma weigh so much more heavily than a pretty face or body… but platforms like Instagram have given me the opportunity to travel the world again and again and I've met some of my dearest friends with the same passions, all while humbling me."

As for the many teens and young people who contact him wanting to follow his same lifestyle, he says it's humbling but also possible.

"All I can really encourage anyone to do is trust your creativity and not let anyone around you influence your hopes to do whatever it is you want in life. Keep pushing and pursuing."

 

Shop our Bonds Swim range here >

Explore some more behind-the-scenes imagery from the shoot here >