Reuben de Maid, a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and law, began making a name for himself at age 11 after singing on shows such as “Little Big Shots” with Steve Harvey and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” The use of makeup on television sets inspired de Maid to start a new career as a beauty influencer through platforms such as YouTube, where he would eventually accumulate more than 200,000 subscribers. De Maid’s success eventually landed him on the list of GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 influencers for 2023.

De Maid has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and has collaborated with brand names such as W7 Cosmetics during his 2019 “Here Come the Boys” campaign, which features makeup looks done by male influencers to promote the diversity of makeup users. In particular, de Maid said his documentary series “Being Reuben,” a show depicting the reality of being an influencer and his relationship with his family, was one of his greatest milestones for sharing his experiences to a larger fan base. While de Maid’s work in the beauty community is prominent, de Maid said his anti-bullying activism, informed by his own experience of being bullied, is the main reason he was recognized by GLAAD.

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“I was about 12 years old when I would experience backlash [for my involvement with makeup] online and in person,” de Maid said. “That’s when I became an ambassador for the Princess Diana Award anti-bullying charity, which all contributed towards the Teen Vogue article.” 

After facing criticism by others for pursuing makeup, de Maid said he had to adopt a new mindset to overcome these personal setbacks in his career. Through the support of his family and friends, de Maid said he learned to be more thick-skinned in the face of judgment.

“Even though originally [the bullying] would bother me, I became accustomed to it, as sad as that is, and [I] just persevered through,” de Maid said. “I made it my mission to not be affected by [backlash], and it has made me the person I am today.”

Egbert Liu, a sophomore majoring in real estate development, said he is glad to have influencers like de Maid on campus and that de Maid’s impact shows how influencers have a positive effect on the student community. 

“De Maid’s outreach and his impact on the bullying scene can have a strong influence on the people that are searching for closure or a tight-knit group, uniting people and building a stronger community overall,” Liu said. 

Sima El Barbir, a freshman majoring in business administration, said de Maid’s influence on campus is a positive addition to the USC culture. In particular, El Barbir sees how de Maid’s presence on campus could resonate with more students who have a similar identity to him. 

“USC is unique in the fact that it does have more influencers than a lot of other schools,” El Barbir said. “A lot of these influencers are role models to students here on campus. So I think having their presence here could be important for students.”

Reflecting back on the seven years of his professional journey, de Maid said he thinks his activism work with anti-bullying has been a defining feature that makes him stand out among other influencers.

“Although my content and career is based around singing and makeup, the real message behind my work has always remained the same, which is anti-bullying and awareness,” de Maid said.