Ritenour alumnus Ulises Hernandez graduated in 2023 and has since grown his successful career as an influencer posting on social media with his boyfriend Elijah Crenshaw on their combined accounts under the username @elianduli.
Hernandez started his career as an influencer by posting with Crenshaw, whom he met during his gap year after high school, and now boasts over 100,000 followers on both TikTok and YouTube.
“I started by making TikToks with my boyfriend casually,” Hernandez said. “They would go viral randomly and we would get a lot of attention on TikTok Live, where someone suggested that we make YouTube videos. We began posting in early July of 2024 and within a week we reached 10,000 subscribers!”
Hernandez’s love for performing started early and has followed him throughout high school and into his influencing career, but does not exclusively apply to social media. Starting in the 4th grade, Hernandez began performing music, a passion seen frequently since.
“Stepping out on the stage for the first time in front of a real audience is gut wrenching,” Hernandez said. “It made me hungry for a feeling I would find myself chasing after graduating high school.”
Channeling his talent of performing, Hernandez was very involved during his time at Ritenour.
“Everything I was in taught me so much about myself and my creative lens. KRHS was always my favorite class. Being behind the camera and telling stories became home for me and sparked a creative nerve that trickled into every other aspect of my life,” Hernandez said. “I was First Chair Saxophone in Jazz, Symphonic, and Marching Band as well as Drum Major. I stepped out of my comfort zone my senior year and was the lead role in the “Cinderella” musical. Becoming Prince Topher was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.”
Hernandez’s involvement in his first musical has since left a lasting legacy in Ritenour’s performing arts department by encouraging newer performers to take part.
“It was special in that I did not know that Ulises had not done musicals before,” choir director Stephanie Ruggles said. “Since then, we have had a lot of students who have not done musicals before come out and audition and that’s definitely part of the legacy he left.”
Hernandez’s presence in Ritenour’s performing arts departments was highly supported. Retired band director Hadley Haux gave multiple leadership and honor band roles to Hernandez throughout his high school musical career, including the Bi-State Honor Band, the E Desmond Lee Concert band, the North County Big Band, the Northwinds Band, and Solo and Small ensemble.
“He was always a calm and cool presence. He was mature for his age and that can rub off on classmates sometimes. He is the kind of student that you can build your ensembles around,” Haux said.
Hernandez finds inspiration in his fellow young LGBTQ+ content creators he’s met online, learning consistency, dedication, and confidence from those who have had a longer online presence than him.
“I love how outgoing they are and I’ve learned so much about not being afraid to take up space as a queer person. I’ve always felt the need to have to over-explain myself when making new friends but the connection was instant with them,” Hernandez said. “It was so freeing having the opportunity to surround myself with people that I could fully be myself around.
Creating a safe, supportive community for young LGBTQ+ audiences has always been a major goal of Hernandez and it is one that he and his boyfriend are accomplishing together through their online presence.
“Growing up I did not really have any gay creators that I could truly relate and look up to as a role model. A lot of people resonate and feel seen when they watch our videos and it is beautiful how many young people we have inspired to come out to their families,” Hernandez said. “Something I never expected is the amount of people who come up to my boyfriend and me in public and show their love for our channel. I have taken pictures with 8-year-olds at the mall and 60-year-old men at my serving job.”
For Hernandez, influencing is both a fulfilling passion and a dream come true as he can empower people from all backgrounds through his videos.
“Seeing the engagement our videos would get made me truly realize that this is what I was made for. I would spend hours responding to hundreds of comments everyday. I love making people smile and I wouldn’t think twice about doing it again,” Hernandez said. “Our channel has grown exponentially within the year and a half of us making videos and is on a pretty steady incline. We are currently at 185,000+ subscribers and are on track to reach 200,000 within the next few months.”
